The slowdown in California’s labor market is continuing, according to an analysis released jointly by Beacon Economics and the UCR School of Business Center for Economic Forecasting and Development. One metric shows that the state lost 8,200 jobs in August; however, a different measurement shows the state added 15,800 jobs in August. Year-over-year job gains remain at national levels. By Beacon Economics...
State governments, in partnership with cities and other local jurisdictions, can and should do more to promote housing development and choice through smarter local land use policies and incentives, according to a new ULI report, Yes in My Backyard. By Trisha Riggs...
Legislators in the Assembly passed Senate Bill 2, a $75 fee on mortgage refinances and other real estate transactions except for home and commercial property sales. … The lack of a decision on SB 2 had been holding up votes on potentially more than a dozen housing bills in the Legislature. The Assembly passed five other housing bills Thursday night, including SB 3 and SB 35. The state Senate must still vote on these measures. By Liam Dillon...
About 20 percent of Californians lived below the Census’ “supplemental” poverty measure from 2014 to 2016, according to data released by the Bureau on Tuesday, exceeded only by D.C. “I think the fact that California’s poverty rate essentially held steady might mean that rising housing costs are really limiting the extent to which gains in the job market can lift people out of poverty,” said Alissa Anderson, senior policy analyst with the California Budget and Policy Center. By Lisa Pickoff-White and Erika Aguilar...
For more than 40 years, Massachusetts’ signature affordable housing policy-Massachusetts “40B”-has served as a model for how states can motivate and sometimes bully reluctant localities into meeting their fair share of affordable housing. The state has led the way in ensuring housing is built for households of all income levels… By Matt Levin...
A new Urban Land Institute (ULI) report, Yes in My Backyard, shows how state and local governments can create more of the housing options communities increasingly need through smarter local land use policies and incentives. By Rosie Hepner...
(Video and text) A modest four-bedroom home in a quiet neighborhood recently sold in seven days for $2,470,000–$782,000 over the list price. Nearby, a 1,400 square foot, three-bedroom sold for over $1.8 million. By Len Ramirez...
Not only have home prices in Bakersfield not fully recovered from the national crisis, Bakersfield is the second-least recovered metro area on a list of 100 major metro areas across the nation… By Steven Maye...
NHC’s annual release of Paycheck to Paycheck provides insights into the ability of working households to afford typical housing in metropolitan areas across the country.
The morning our Orange County Habitat for Humanity team arrived to go to work in Nanyuki, Kenya, dancers met us as we entered the site where we would work for the next 5 days. Their joyful songs and big smiles assured us we were in a place where we would have a completely new and delightful experience. The orientation meeting held the day before in Nairobi prepared us for the work we would do and for interactions with our new friends helping us with the build. In no way did...
