Bay Area residents cited high housing costs as their most serious problem.
According to the results of a survey released on the 2nd by the California Public Policy Institute (PPIC), a non-profit organization, 80% of Bay Area residents said housing costs were their biggest problem, while 74% said homelessness was a major problem.
PPIC Research Analyst Rachel Lawler said: “Given California’s declining population over the past few years, state leaders should take a closer look at the findings.” According to census data, 116,000 people (2.5% of the total population) left the San Francisco metro area (including the East Bay and Peninsula) in 2021.
The California Real Estate Association (CAR) announced that only one in five Bay Area residents will be able to afford a Bay Area home, and the median price of a Bay Area single-family home in December was $1.08 million. In addition, 63% of respondents expressed concern about the inability of young families to purchase a home in the Bay Area due to high house prices.
However, when respondents were asked whether they supported the construction of large-scale new homes to lower housing costs, only 52% agreed, while 32% disagreed. The rest said they didn’t know. In fact, opposition from residents intensified over the development of high-density housing around low-income housing, homeless support housing, and public transportation hubs.
David Gracia, policy director at UC Berkeley’s Turner Center for Housing Innovation, said, “State and local governments have phased in new legislation and policies to build more new homes, but in the face of staunch community opposition, only a fraction of the housing needs is met. “We need bolder reforms,” he said.
Meanwhile, 70% of Californians say the number of homeless people has increased from a year ago, up from 58% of respondents in the 2019 survey. Recent data show that during the pandemic, the number of homeless people has increased by 35% in Contracotta County, 22% in Alameda County, 20% in San Mateo County and 3% in Santa Clara County.