The California Association of Realtors says that in January, 24% of local households earned enough money to buy a median-priced home - unchanged from December but 15% lower than January of 2004.

"What it really means is that first time home buyers are having an increasingly difficult time getting into the housing market."

Chief economist with the association, Leslie Appleton Young, says statewide, only 18% of households in California are able to afford a median-priced home. So Sacramento is still one of the most affordable places in the state. 

"Even though Sacramento remains relatively affordable compared to the San Francisco Bay Area for example, for households with growing children that live in the Sacramento region I can certainly understand them asking ‘where are my kids going to live?’"

The median price of a Sacramento home was nearly $347,000 dollars in January, about $85,000 higher than January of 2004.