Policy experts at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce are exploring a new strategy for tackling Southern California’s housing crisis: asking Los Angeles voters to upzone sections of the city, allowing larger and taller residential buildings on commercial boulevards and in other areas. The group has spent weeks poring over ballot language to double […]
New Fontana Development to Offer $400 Rent
A $23 million affordable housing development in Fontana will offer 60 apartments for as low as $400 a month. City leaders and representatives with Irvine-based developer Jamboree Housing Corporation broke ground Wednesday, Jan. 29, on the Ramona Avenue lot. Since 2001, Jamboree has raised more than 350 affordable apartments in Fontana. The nonprofit’s seventh and […]
SB 50: Senate Rejects Transit Density Bill
Another defeat has occurred for SB 50, a controversial proposal in the California legislature that would have rolled back zoning requirements in urban areas around transit. Senate Bill 50 was aimed at scaling back local zoning rules that limit the density of housing near transit lines and job centers. In a Senate vote this afternoon, the […]
C.A.R. Supports Senate Bill 50
California REALTORS® are urging the Legislature to act swiftly on SB 50, which would help address the state’s housing shortage and affordability crisis, before Jan. 31 deadline. C.A.R. issued a statement stating that the association stands with Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), mayors and other housing advocates “who are united in urging […]
Report Finds Path Toward Affordable LA
Los Angeles’ affordable housing future won’t be found in a skyline crowded with tall towers, but in duplexes, bungalow courts, and accessory dwelling units, according to a new report. “There is space available inside Los Angeles to add 1 million units within the next decade—without having to turn every corner into a high-rise,” says Steven […]
City Wants Shot at Rent-Controlled Buildings
If an owner wants to demolish a rent-controlled building, should the city of Los Angeles or the tenants get the opportunity to buy it first? The Los Angeles City Council’s housing committee endorsed the idea last week. It was proposed by Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who wrote in a motion that “we need to come up […]
Tech Companies Pledge Funds for Housing
A tech company paying six figures to a college grad–or someone right out of high school–might seem like a dream, if finding housing they could afford wasn’t such a nightmare. Average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is about $3,700, in Los Angeles it’s about $2,500. The median family income for the United […]
Oct. 14 CVAR At A Glance
Featured Classes and Events Oct. 14 | CRMLS Training – CVAR East -Free Oct. 16 | zipForm® Mobile – All Locations – Free Oct. 17 | Reverse Mortgage Lunch & Learn Oct. 22 | Tax Strategies – All Locations Oct. 23 | Mortgage 101 – CVAR East Oct. 23 | Sphere Up – Maximize Referrals Lunch & Learn Oct. 24 | Notary […]
What ‘Affordable’ Looks Like
Communities often oppose “affordable housing” because they think it’s for the destitute. But these days, middle-income earners usually qualify for “affordable housing.” Affordable housing could be more accurately termed “workforce housing.” One REALTOR® describes a difficult transaction that not only involved an individual buyer, but also the local community, which at first opposed her development […]
Homeless Crisis: From Black Suburb to Streets
Pacoima is one of the few Los Angeles suburbs that offered the American dream of home ownership to African Americans who had been locked out of other neighborhoods by racial covenants. But the 1990s brought deindustrialization, the crack cocaine epidemic and mass incarceration. With the advent of fair housing laws, some black people moved to other […]