If California’s population is well off its peak, and developers keep on building housing, why does the cost of living in the Golden State remain lofty?
My trusty spreadsheet looked at fresh demographic figures from the state Department of Finance to find any hints of solving this housing riddle.
Start with the basics: California had 38.2 million residents living in households last year – that’s down 375,800 since 2020, or a 0.9% loss.
In the past two years, at least four delegations of housing experts and political leaders from California have visited the Austrian capital, hoping to unlock the secrets of why Vienna regularly comes top in surveys of the world’s most livable cities.
They’re struck by the absence of homeless encampments, and marvel at the sheer scale of the subsidized housing developments which include shared amenities such swimming pools, gyms, workshops, communal gardens and spacious roof terraces.
For the first time, unless I have missed something, a court in California has ruled that there’s no demonstrable connection between increased density and housing affordability.
If the appellate courts agree, it could be a profound defeat for the free-market Yimby agenda, which holds that any new housing, anywhere, will eventually bring down prices.
For years, San Francisco politicians and housing advocates have fought for the creation of “missing middle” housing for workers with incomes high enough to be middle class in most markets, but who are often priced out of the famously expensive city.
But developers who have recently built apartments aimed at moderate-income families in San Francisco have discovered a harsh reality: The missing middle seems to have gone missing.
In southern Santa Clara County, an orchard could be razed for 320 single-family homes. On a pasture on the northern edge of Benicia, cows could give way to 1,080 houses. On a road cutting through Sonoma County wine country, there could soon be traffic from 514 homes. Homebuilders are proposing these houses — and thousands more — on farmland and grassy hills on the outskirts of the Bay Area. And because of state housing law, local governments may be powerless to stop them
Parkmerced, one of San Francisco’s biggest apartment complexes, is at risk of defaulting on its nearly $1.8 billion mortgage.
Owner Maximus Real Estate Partners has requested the transfer of the mortgage to special servicing, a move that can lead to foreclosure, according to a report by Morningstar, a financial services firm.
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
A statewide non-partisan group made up of elected officials, nonprofit and organization leaders, and individuals. We advocate for the empowerment of local governments to foster equitable, self-determined communities offering a path for all to a more livable California Teleconferences Every Other Saturday at 10AM: By Invitation only. Register Here
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
A weekly Zoom call to talk about housing legislation and strategies to preserve local control. Bring your questions and ideas. Informal networking, announcements, and updates. PLEASE NOTE: You have to register in advance the first time to get the new Zoom link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The Zoom link will work for the rest of the year. REGISTER
A statewide non-partisan group made up of elected officials, nonprofit and organization leaders, and individuals. We advocate for the empowerment of local governments to foster equitable, self-determined communities offering a path for all to a more livable California Teleconferences Every Other Saturday at 10AM: By Invitation only. Register Here
