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Civitas Outlook
Topic
Pursuit of Happiness
Published on
Feb 18, 2025
Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Photo by Cedric Letsch on Unsplash

California’s Housing Problems Require a Better Solution than Densify, Densify, Densify

Contributors
Joel Kotkin
Joel Kotkin
Senior Research Fellow
Joel Kotkin
Summary
California’s mounting housing problem requires more alternatives, especially for people seeking lower rents and affordable single-family houses.
Summary
California’s mounting housing problem requires more alternatives, especially for people seeking lower rents and affordable single-family houses.

The Palisades and Eaton fires represent thousands of personal tragedies, but they also constitute a collective disaster, adding new housing shortages to California’s already massive shortfall — a catastrophe that stems not from acts of nature but from human policy blunders.

Gov. Gavin Newsom bought a new $9-million house in November, but too many of his fellow Californians may never own a home or find an affordable rental. Under Newsom, the state has tried reforms designed to increase building and affordability, but precious little has changed.

Home prices in coastal California are nearly 400% above the national average, and statewide, the median cost of a home is 2.5 times higher than in the rest of country. California has the second lowest homeownership rate in the nation, 56% (New York’s is lowest, 54%).

Continue reading at the Los Angeles Times

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