DOUBLING UP: Though the median price of...

DOUBLING UP: Though the median price of a single-family, detached home in Orange County came down from $245,050 to $229,120 last year, it’s still so high that many unmarried singles are teaming up to buy houses. . . . Statewide, the number of households made up of two or more unmarried people buying homes jumped to 12%, double the 1986 figure. What one realtor calls the “affordability pressure” is expected to stay strong.

Doubling Up

Percentage of home sales in each county where the buyers were two or more unmarried individuals, in 1990: San Diego: 8.8% Orange: 10.3% Los Angeles: 13.3% San Francisco: 14.2%