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How California’s Housing Market is Failing to Meet the Needs of Low-Income Households. James Pappas, Housing Policy and Preservation Associate California Housing Partnership SCANPH Webinar 03/17/2014. About California Housing Partnership.
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How California’s Housing Market is Failing to Meet the Needs of Low-Income Households James Pappas, Housing Policy and Preservation Associate California Housing Partnership SCANPH Webinar 03/17/2014
About California Housing Partnership California Housing Partnership Corporation is a 25 year old private, nonprofit organization created by the state of California to monitor, protect, and augment the supply of homes affordable to lower-income Californians and to provide leadership on affordable housing finance and policy. Since 1988, California Housing Partnership has assisted more than 200 nonprofit and local government housing organizations to leverage more than $5 billion in private and public financing to create and preserve 20,000 affordable homes.
Affordable Housing Need Nearly 1 million ELI households do not have access to an affordable home. Median rent in California rose over 20% from 2000 to 2012 while income declined by 8%. The percentage of low-income renters who pay more than 50% of income in rent continues to grow.
California Counties with Greatest Shortfalls Counties Total Shortfall Available Units per 100 ELI HH
Rents are High and Rising as Incomes Stagnate Inflation-adjusted median rent rose over 20% from 2000 to 2012 while income declined by 8%
LA County shows the same pattern with even greater divergence Inflation-adjusted median rent rose 25% from 2000 to 2012 while income declined by 9%
California is home to 6 of the 10 most expensive housing markets in the U.S. San Francisco San Jose Oakland Orange County San Diego Los Angeles
Percentage of households paying more than 50% of income in rent has increased from 2000 to 2011
Who are ELI and VLI households? ELI households are the most vulnerable residents of the state. More than 50 percent of ELI households are elderly or disabled. VLI households are more likely to include low-wage workers. In fact, hundreds of thousands of workers throughout the state earn less than half the state’s median household income or less than $28,510.
The foreclosure crisis has increased pressure on the rental market • 46% of Californians rented their homes in 2012, compared to 42% in 2006. • The number of renter households increased by over 700,000 while homeowner households decreased by over 300,000 • Increased demand in the rental market has driven up median rents.
Los Angeles County shows the same pattern as the rest of the state
The average renter wage is far below what is necessary to afford the state median rent In 2013, the median rent in California was $1,550 while the average renter wage was estimated at $17.99/ an hour. The average renter would need to work at least 66 hours a week year round in order to afford that rent.
Home prices have drastically increased from their lows of the foreclosure crisis making homeownership an unaffordable option • In September 2013, the median sale price of a single-family home in California was $428,810, a 75 % increase from the bottom of the market in 2009. • Assuming that the average renter earning $17.99 an hour could put 10 % down and qualify for a 4.5 % interest mortgage, she would still have to devote over 60 percent of her income to afford home ownership.
When cost of living (including housing) is accounted for, California has the highest rate of poverty in the U.S. According to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, 23.8% of Californians (8,952,000 people) are living in poverty – by far the highest percentage and number of any state.
And Los Angeles County has the highest percentage and total number of people living in poverty in California. According to the California Poverty Measure, another alternative to the official poverty measure that accounts for cost of living, including housing, and government assistance, LA County has 26.9% of its population living in poverty- the most of any county in the state.
State and federal funds for affordable housing have been cut by more than $1.5 billion annually • The elimination of Redevelopment Agencies in 2012 led to the loss of more than $1 Billion annually in funding for affordable housing • State housing bond funds from Propositions 46 and 1C will likely run dry by 2014 resulting in the loss of nearly $400 million annually • Recent cuts in federal housing funds have lead to the loss of another $200 million annually
Change in affordable housing funding from FY 2007/2008 to FY 2012/2013
Change in affordable housing funding from FY 2007/2008 to FY 2012/2013 Funding dropped by $2 billion or 79%
Change in LA affordable housing funding from FY 2007/2008 to FY 2012/2013 Funding dropped by at least $300 million – not including the exhaustion of state bond funds
Recommendations to state leaders • 1) Replace the exhausted state housing bonds • (Propositions 46 and 1C) by: • Passing the Homes and Jobs Act (SB 391) • $500 million per year for affordable housing • Making an immediate General Fund investment in the state’s existing rental housing production programs.
Recommendations (Continued) 2) Invest a significant portion of Cap-and-Trade auction revenues in HCD’s existing TOD program
3) Give local governments tools to replace lost funding and comply with SB 375 obligations to create and preserve affordable homes by: • Lowering the required voter threshold to 55% to approve funding for basic infrastructure including transportation, housing, and parks.* • Authorizing a tax increment financing (TIF) program that gives local governments the ability to fund the development of infrastructure including transportation, housing, and parks. • Allowing local jurisdiction to require inclusion of a percentage of homes affordable to low- and moderate-income households in new housing development by passing into law a new version of AB 1229, which the Governor vetoed in 2013. Recommendations (Continued)
Contacts California Housing Partnership Corporation James Pappas, Housing Policy & Preservation Associate jpappas@chpc.net or 415-433-6804 x320 Megan Kirkeby, Sustainable Housing Policy Manager mkirkeby@chpc.net or 415-433-6804 x 319 Matt Schwartz, President & CEO mschwartz@chpc.net or 415-433-6804 x 311