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Housing

The housing stock in San Luis Obispo County has grown 13.39% in the last decade.  Although the median home price in San Luis Obispo County at $538,000 is slightly higher than the average median home price for California as a whole, San Luis Obispo County is still relatively affordable compared to other areas such as the Bay Area, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.  Many of these parts of California are experiencing slowing home price growth rates, but SLO County has not followed this trend and experienced at 16.6% home price growth in 2005. So although prices continue to rise, the number of homes sold has not decreased, but rather has experienced a 12.7% increase. The housing stock in the County has also continued to rise and as of 2004 there were 109,798 housing units with a 61.58% homeownership rate.

Housing Stock and Households in San Luis Obispo County
	1990	2000	Percent Change
Total Housing Units	90,200	102,275	13.39%
Single Family Housing Units	61,139	66,079	8.08%
Occupied Housing Units	80,281	92,739	15.52%
Source: U.S. Census Beueau 2000

Median Home Prices in San Luis Obispo County ($ thousands)
City	1997	1999	2001	2002	2005*	Percent Change**
Arroyo Grande	$167	$199	$297	$474	$605	183%
Atascadero	$145	$161	$245	$318	$475	119%
Cambria	$184	$226	$358	$425	$691	131%
Grover Beach	$141	$158	$230	$357	$518	153%
Morro Bay	$163	$195	$307	$421	$582	158%
Nipomo	$177	$188	$287	$377	$559	113%
Oceano	$206	$132	$188	$250	$424	21%
Paso Robles	$131	$151	$214	$304	$441	132%
Pismo Beach	$220	$241	$405	$481	$761	119%
City of San Luis Obispo	$197	$221	$332	$475	$605	141%
San Luis Obispo County	$165	$186	$282	$352	$352	113%
California	$186	$218	$266	$278	$278	49%
Source: UCSB Economic Forecast Project, The 2003 San Luis Obispo County Economic Outlook; California Association of Realtors, Central Coast Regional MLS; Central Coast Home Builder’s Association *Estimates based on partial year data **From 1997 - 2002

For more information about housing please visit www.census.gov. The fact sheet and housing links provide the most detailed information. Also refer to the most recent version of the UCSB Economic Forecast for housing data and projections, please visit www.ucsb-efp.com.

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