Housing

An excavator operates at the Quito Village Development Project in Saratoga on April 13, 2023. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Housing

A Bay Area homebuilder planned a project with union rules. Can it work anywhere else?

A builder in a wealthy Bay Area community agreed to a strict union-hiring standard to take advantage of a new housing law. Then it tried to change the deal.

By

Ben Christopher

• May 8, 2023

Muhammad, who declined to provide his last name, warms his hands at a fire next to his tent in Sacramento. Feb. 24, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Housing

California’s next housing crackdown could force cities to plan more homeless shelters

California cities of every size lack shelter beds for the state’s growing homeless population. A new bill would force local governments to do more, and punish ones that don't plan housing for homeless Californians.

By

Marisa Kendall

• May 1, 2023

Housing

Cracks in California labor coalition raise hopes for YIMBY breakthrough on housing bill

A California housing law grants generous benefits to builders who agree to only hire union workers. Trouble is, few if any builders found a way to do it.

By

Ben Christopher

• April 24, 2023

A homeless encampment on W Street and Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento on April 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Capitol

California lawmakers want to know why billions in spending isn’t reducing homelessness

At the direction of a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, the state auditor will complete a detailed audit of spending on California homelessness programs. The number of unhoused has grown, even as spending has increased.

By

Marisa Kendall

• April 17, 2023

Neighborhood resource coordinators Gustavo, center and Jawid Sharifi, right, meet with unhoused residents at a homeless encampment on W Street and Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento on April 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Housing

California cities are cracking down on homeless camps. Will the state get tougher, too?

Democratic voters in California cities are pushing mayors and city councils to clear homeless camps. Leaders are responding with new ordinances, from Sacramento to San Diego.

By

Marisa Kendall

• April 13, 2023

A "for sale" sign is posted in front of a home in Sacramento on March 3, 2022. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo

Housing

California approved $300 million in state-backed home loans. Who got the money?

California Democrats carved out the Dream for All money to help first-time buyers. The funds ran out after just 11 days with the average loan hitting $112,000.

By

Alejandro Lazo

and

Ben Christopher

• April 11, 2023

A dirt road in the Shady Lane Estates mobile home park in unincorporated Thermal, a community within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County on March 23, 2023. Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Housing

A California program to fix mobile home parks approved 1 application in 10 years. Will a rebrand work?

A program to help mobile home park residents got a huge revamp last year because nobody was using it. Will more than tripling the size of the loan fund and streamlining the application process yield results?

By

Manuela Tobias

• March 27, 2023

Housing

What the decay of one mobile home park means for affordable housing in California

In the new episode of "Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast," CalMatters Housing Reporter Manuela Tobias shares her findings from a five-month investigation on California’s mobile home parks, the last stop in housing affordability for the state’s most vulnerable residents.

By

Manuela Tobias

• March 23, 2023

A real estate sign in front of a home in the Tower District in central Fresno on June 28, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

California Divide

State may scale down its new home loan program designed to assist first-time homebuyers

Gov. Newsom wants to spend $300 million the first year, which could help about 2,300 buyers. But home prices are falling and mortgage rates are rising, complicating the launch.

By

Alejandro Lazo

• March 22, 2023

Garbage piles at Stockton Park Village in Stockton on Nov. 22, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters.

Housing

Mobile home parks offer refuge from California’s housing squeeze. Who’s watching them?

Mobile home parks are a last bastion of unsubsidized affordable housing in California. But when the health and safety of their residents is on the line, is the state doing enough to help?

By

Manuela Tobias

• March 20, 2023