The rise of the six-figure income

Who can afford a median priced home in Southern California these days? Well-off people, of course. In his OC Register blog on real estate, Jonathan Lansner notes that between 1999 and 2005, Orange County added 71,000 households with incomes of $100,000 or more - a 32 percent increase. Households making less than six figures fell by 36,000, or five percent. Separately, Lansner mentions that Citigroup analyst P.J. Juvekar is telling clients that paint-related companies are likely to take a hit because of softness in the real estate market.