Housing shortage, worst in California, is moving to America’s heartland (2024)

America’s housing crisis is spreading from big cities to the nation’s heartland, with housing shortfalls worsening in 230 out of 309 U.S. metro areas.

The nation’s shortfall reached 3.8 million homes in 2019, more than double 2012’s tally of 1.7 million “missing” homes, according to a study by the non-profit group Up For Growth. With a shortage of 978,000 homes,California had the nation’s biggest shortfall in 2019.

The number of cities with a housing surplus decreased to 140 metro areas in 2019, downfrom 212 in 2012.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in an urban area or a rural area or really anywhere in between, the cost of housing and the demand for it has grossly outpaced salaries and supply,” said Up For Chief Executive Mike Kingsella, who discussed the study this month at the National Association of Realtors conference in Orlando, Fla. “Our study really found that for far too many Americans, folks can’t afford to live well where they work, play and gather.”

While housing underproduction more than doubled in metropolitan areas, it nearly tripled in “non-metropolitan America.”

The three cities with the biggest housing surpluses in 2012 — Tampa-St. Petersburg, Las Vegas and Phoenix — all had housing shortages in 2019. Phoenix went from a surplus of 32,699 homes in 2012 to a shortage of 108,564 homes by 2019, the study found.

Despite high rates of construction, housing shortfalls tripled in Dallas and Houston.

Southern California and the Bay Area are epicenters in the nation’s housing crisis.

The Los Angeles-Orange County metro area had a shortfall of 388,874 homes in 2019, or 31% more than in 2012.

The shortfall tripled in the Inland Empire to 153,372 homes in 2019, fourth highest in the Up For Growth study.

The San Francisco Bay Area ranked seventh with a shortage of 114,000 homes as of 2019.

Kingsella discussed the study’s findings with the Southern California News Group. Here are highlights of that conversation:

Q: Why is the nation’s housing shortage getting worse?

A: ‘Why’ is really the confluence of NIMBYism, exclusionary and restrictive zoning codes and other artificial impediments to building needed homes.

Housing shortage, worst in California, is moving to America’s heartland (1)

If you look at, for example, in the state of California, we measured housing elasticity, which is to say, what is the market response is to increases in housing need.

California had about a 0.49 housing supply elasticity, meaning for every 1% increase in housing demand, builders responded with a 0.49% increase in supply. So, you’re building essentially half of the housing need year over year, which is why the state’s falling further into a housing deficit.

Other states, like Texas and Florida, are also following similar trend lines. In other words, their rate of underproduction is increasing quite faster than inCalifornia.

It all goes back to uncertainty and unpredictability in obtaining building permits.

In more than 80% of residential zoned land, only single-family, detached housing can be built. Then, you have layer upon layer of other sorts of barriers and land use policy that artificially constrains building envelopes, building height, setback requirements, meaning that fewer units can be built on any given lot.

And all of these things takentogether mean that there’s this gap between the housing that’s needed in communities and the housing that we have.

Q: Why does California have the nation’s worst underproduction rate?

A: Going back to the taxpayers’ revolt and the creation of Prop. 13 in the 1970s and to exclusionary zoning … in the 1930s, these barriers to production are manifold.

Also, California is a popular place. A lot of people have moved to California for the past 50 years for access to jobs, for the quality of life.

And so, you have layer upon layer of artificial barriers to building versus a lot of demand drivers that have led to really this sort of extreme deficit of homes.

Those barriers in California have proven to be extraordinarily acute, and have perpetuated and worsened housing deficit over the past several decades.

Q: California lawmakers passed a lot of bills to boost housing production in the past five years, making it easier to build backyard units, subdivide single-family lots, build small apartment buildings in single-family neighborhoods and new housing on commercial land. Is that going to help?

A: I believe so. As has been illustrated in the case of Santa Monica (where developers are seeking to build new homes under the “builder’s remedy,” which makes it hard to block plans containing affordable units).

The city actually saw 4,000 units of production (being proposed), a large share of that being affordable.

So, Santa Monica is a perfect case of an exclusionary and affluent suburb that is predisposed to deny housing, particularly affordable housing, from attaining building permissions. And that is really the crux of this issue.

Some folks have called it a tragedy of the anti-commons where local governments are working to respond to the voiced concerns of their constituents. But at that level of government, it’s very hard to balance those hyper-local concerns with regional and statewide policy priorities.

We certainly applaud several of the pieces of legislation that have moved statewide, including fixing RHNA (the Regional Housing Needs Assessment program), strengthening the Housing Accountability Act, and some of the direct zoning interventions in SB 9 and SB 10. Our organization worked (to support former Assemblymember Lorena) Gonzalez’s bill, AB 2435, which really was, I think, a terrific bill … to provide more allowable unit density on any given site (that includes) affordable housing.

Q: During the NAR conference, you spoke about addressing the “missing middle” of the housing market, not just low-income housing. What solutions are you proposing?

A: The idea of the missing middle is that we used to build a lot of stuff, a lot of different housing typologies. I’d say living in between single-family homes and high-density multifamily housing. So, these are ADUs, backyard cottages, duplexes, triplexes, cottage clusters, even six-plex and eight-plex apartment buildings.

In a lot of cities across the country, these types of properties are not allowed under modern zoning codes.

The benefit of (developing the) missing middle is that you can deliver more units in a compact, walkable format that yields all kinds of benefits from economic to environmental, and of course, to affordable because these units by and large are cheaper to construct per door than high-density multifamily.

Yet, they are amazing solutions for infill development, which is a way to leverage existing investments and infrastructure.

Mike Kingsella profile

Position: CEO,Up For Growth, a policy center focusing on the housing crisis

Age: 41

Location: Washington, D.C.

Education: Bachelor’s in community development from theToulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University

Housing shortage, worst in California, is moving to America’s heartland (2024)

FAQs

Housing shortage, worst in California, is moving to America’s heartland? ›

The nation's shortfall reached 3.8 million homes in 2019, more than double 2012's tally of 1.7 million “missing” homes, according to a study by the non-profit group Up For Growth. With a shortage of 978,000 homes, California had the nation's biggest shortfall in 2019.

What state has the worst housing shortage? ›

Story at a glance

California currently has the largest deficit of homes at 980,000.

Why does California have a housing shortage? ›

The imbalance between supply and demand; resulted from of strong economic growth creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs (which increases demand for housing) and the insufficient construction of new housing units to provide enough supply to meet the demand.

What is the root cause of the US housing shortage? ›

The housing market's crash during the Great Recession led the industry to pull back on construction for many years, and materials and labor shortages during the height of the pandemic fueled another slowdown.

Does the US really have a housing shortage? ›

As a result, there is a sizable shortage of new homes after more than a decade of under-building relative to population growth, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com released Wednesday. The gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022.

What state has the biggest housing crisis? ›

California's chronic shortage of housing manifests itself in sky-high housing costs, the nation's worst poverty and its highest level of homelessness.

What are the 3 states most at risk of a housing downturn? ›

California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Delaware are home to the most at-risk housing markets, according to a Special Housing Risk report released by real estate data firm ATTOM. “Some parts of the country remain considerably more exposed to housing market declines than others,” says Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM.

Why are residents moving out of California? ›

More and more people are leaving California's urban areas like Los Angeles and moving into less-expensive communities like the Inland Empire - or exiting the state altogether. "The main reason is people are looking for where their money goes a little further than here," Coelho said.

Why is California so unaffordable? ›

California is so expensive because of its strong economy, high-income tax rates, and limited housing supply which make it difficult for residents to save money. Moreover, the prices of basic necessities such as food, gasoline, and transportation are comparatively steep in California as compared to most other US states.

Why does California have such a high homeless rate? ›

They found that high rates of homelessness are caused by shortages of affordable housing, not by mental illness, drug addiction, or poverty. They found that mental illness, drug addiction and poverty occur nationwide, but not all places have equally expensive housing costs.

What states have a housing shortage? ›

Chicago, Illinois, Houston, Texas, Dallas, Texas and Washington, DC follow, where the affordable housing shortage exceeds 150,000 rental units. The gap between affordable housing supply and demand is slimmer in Louisville, Kentucky, short by 15,300 rental units, and Buffalo, New York, short by 17,300 units.

Where are the biggest housing shortages? ›

Southern California and the Bay Area are epicenters in the nation's housing crisis. The Los Angeles-Orange County metro area had a shortfall of 388,874 homes in 2019, or 31% more than in 2012. The shortfall tripled in the Inland Empire to 153,372 homes in 2019, fourth highest in the Up For Growth study.

What is the affordable housing crisis in the US? ›

There is a shortage of 7.3 million affordable and available rental homes for renters with extremely low incomes in the US, up 8 percent from 6.8 million in 2019. The lack of housing options for renters with extremely low incomes are driving the overall affordable housing shortage across the country.

When did California become so expensive? ›

Between 1970 and 1980, California home prices went from 30 percent above U.S. levels to more than 80 percent higher. This trend has continued. Today, an average California home costs $440,000, about two–and–a–half times the average national home price ($180,000).

When was the last US housing crisis? ›

The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. The crisis led to a severe economic recession, with millions of people losing their jobs and many businesses going bankrupt.

When was the last housing crisis in the United States? ›

What Caused the Financial Crisis of 2008? The growth of predatory mortgage lending, unregulated markets, a massive amount of consumer debt, the creation of "toxic" assets, the collapse of home prices, and more contributed to the financial crisis of 2008.

What is the least affordable state to live in? ›

Hawaii and California are the LEAST affordable places to live in the U.S as incomes fail to keep up with soaring property prices.

Will house prices go down in 2023 California? ›

Then in 2023, he expects the Federal Reserve's actions to fight inflation will cause a mild recession, and the combination of job losses and higher rates will cause the statewide median price to fall 7.1% compared with this year, with similar declines in Southern California housing market specifically.

Will houses drop in California? ›

But a smidge of good news could be coming Californian home-buyers way. The average house price has dropped in the last year, falling 1.7% since April 2022 to stand at $728,134. Home prices are likely to continue falling.

Which state in the US has the best housing market? ›

The combination of record-fast home value growth to start the year and a record number of newly built homes increased the total market value of residential real estate in the U.S. in 2022, despite price drops to end the year. California remains untouchable on its perch as the most valuable housing market in the country ...

What goes up when housing market crashes? ›

As prices become unsustainable and interest rates rise, purchasers withdraw. Borrowers are discouraged from taking out loans when interest rates rise. On the other side, house construction will be affected as well; costs will rise, and the market supply of housing will shrink as a result.

What state has the most affordable housing right now? ›

Cheapest States To Buy A House
RankStateQ4 2021 All-Transactions House Price Index
1Tennessee310.42
2Illinois280.26
3Oklahoma407.56
4Ohio543.83
16 more rows
May 1, 2023

What state are most Californians moving to? ›

The most common destinations for California migrants were Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. Texas had the most California transplants from 2020 to 2021: 105,000. Arizona (with 63,000 California transplants) and Nevada (55,000) were next highest.

Are the rich leaving California? ›

Now one has dug into the latest data and discovered that people of all economic classes are leaving, including the wealthy. “Most striking, California is now losing higher-income households as well as middle-and-lower-income households,” the independent Public Policy Institute of California reported Tuesday.

What state is like California but cheaper? ›

Take a look at the 10 cheapest states to live in for 2022.
  • Mississippi. Coming in as the cheapest state to live in in the United States is Mississippi with a cost of living index score of 83.3. ...
  • Kansas. ...
  • Alabama. ...
  • Oklahoma. ...
  • Georgia. ...
  • Tennessee. ...
  • Missouri. ...
  • Iowa.
Mar 31, 2023

Is it cheaper to live in California or Texas? ›

Cost of Living in California vs. Texas. In Texas, you can get a lot more bang for your buck. A MyMove study evaluating the cost of living in the United States in 2022 shows that California has a cost index of 151.7, while Texas has a cost index of only 91.5.

Are people moving out of California? ›

California continued to lose residents in 2022, but the state's population decline is slowing as immigration ramps up again following the COVID-19 pandemic. The state is currently home to about 38.9 million people, down more than 138,400 year-over-year, according to the California Department of Finance.

Why everyone wants to go to California? ›

Opportunity, adventure, and pleasant weather are some of the many appeals of the Golden State. You can search high (Mount Whitney is the highest point in the 48 contiguous states) and low (Death Valley has North America's lowest elevation) and truly find something for everyone in California.

What city in California has the most homeless? ›

In 2022, Los Angeles had the nation's largest homeless population. About 582,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness, according to 2022 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data.

Where is homelessness the worst in the US? ›

Denver and Colorado Springs have the largest homeless communities. In April 2012, Denver enacted the Urban Camping Ban due to the occupy Denver protest and the number of homeless on the 16th Street Mall.

Which county in California has the most homeless? ›

United States homelessness in 2022
City/CountyHomeless Population 2022
Sacramento City & County9,278 people
Phoenix, Mesa/Maricopa County9,026 people
San Diego City and County8,427 people
San Francisco7,754 people
6 more rows
Apr 14, 2023

What is the new law for homeowners in California? ›

The California HOME Act—otherwise known as Senate Bill (SB) 9—took effect on January 1st, 2022 and makes it possible for homeowners to split their home's lot and build up to four homes on a single-family parcel.

What is the new housing law in California? ›

Senate Bill 9 was introduced two years ago as a way to help solve California's severe housing crunch by allowing homeowners to convert their homes into duplexes on a single-family lot or divide the parcel in half to build another duplex for a total of four units. The law went into effect at the start of 2022.

What is affordable housing in California? ›

The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers housing to be affordable when a household spends 30% or less of its income on housing costs.

What cities have the worst housing crisis? ›

The 10 Markets With the Greatest Need for New Housing
RankMarketNew Units Needed/Year
1New York City10,000
2Dallas – Fort Worth19,000
3Houston15,000
4Los Angeles6,000
6 more rows
Feb 24, 2023

How many homes does California need to build? ›

California ranks 49th among the 50 US states for housing units per capita. Benchmarked against other states on a housing units per capita basis, California is short about two million units. To satisfy pent-up demand and meet the needs of a growing population, California needs to build 3.5 million homes by 2025.

How many empty homes are in America? ›

Sixteen million homes currently sit vacant across the U.S. In every state across the country, many homes remain empty while hundreds of thousands of Americans face homelessness.

Is the US headed for a housing crisis in 2023? ›

It's also worth noting that while foreclosure rates are up year-over-year, experts do not expect to see a wave of foreclosures in 2023, even where home values are depreciating, as many homeowners have substantial equity due to progressive home price appreciation in recent years.

What city in the US has the most affordable housing? ›

Here's a look at the most affordable major cities in the country for housing.
  • Kansas City, Missouri.
  • Albuquerque, New Mexico.
  • Louisville, Kentucky.
  • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
  • Indianapolis, Indiana.
  • Tucson, Arizona.
Jan 12, 2023

Is the US housing market in trouble? ›

Are we in a housing bubble right now? While a housing price correction is expected, we aren't in a housing bubble. Demand for homes remains high, and there are fewer home sellers than there were in 2022. And while the market is cooling, experts don't expect an actual housing crash or a housing bubble burst in 2023.

What is the largest expense for California? ›

California's largest spending areas per capita were public welfare ($3,466) and elementary and secondary education ($2,452). The Census Bureau includes most Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to public hospitals.

Is California the most expensive state to live in? ›

Most Expensive States in the US
#StateCost of Living Index
1Hawaii184
2District of Columbia152.2
3Massachusetts149.7
4California137.6
47 more rows

Why does California have so many millionaires? ›

Yes, this is largely because of Silicon Valley. But it's also a reflection of the fact that California has the fifth-largest economy in the world, said Richard Walker, an emeritus professor at U.C. Berkeley who studies economic geography.

Will 2023 be a good time to buy a house? ›

Homebuyer.com data analysis indicates that, for first-time home buyers, June 2023 is a good time to buy a house relative to later in the year. This article provides an unbiased look at current mortgage rates, housing market conditions, and market sentiment.

What happens to my mortgage if the economy collapses? ›

Recessions and housing market crashes may cause your house's value to decrease. However, your set mortgage rates won't lower, meaning your monthly payments will be higher than your home's worth. While many may dip into their savings to help pay the steep bills, others may need outside assistance.

What happens to my mortgage if the housing market crashes? ›

What happens to my mortgage if the housing market crashes? A housing market crash won't affect your existing fixed-rate mortgage. However, if the value of your home drops below your purchase price, then you'll be making payments that are greater than the worth of your property.

What was the worst housing crisis in history? ›

The 2000s United States housing bubble was a real-estate bubble affecting over half of the U.S. states. It was the impetus for the subprime mortgage crisis. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and reached new lows in 2011.

Why does the US have a housing shortage? ›

Several issues have contributed to the country's current housing shortage, including the pandemic, inflation and increased interest rates. Essentially, though, it's a problem of supply and demand: New home construction dropped precipitously after the Great Recession and has yet to fully recover.

Who was president when the housing market crashed? ›

In 1995 Clinton loosened housing rules by rewriting the Community Reinvestment Act, which put added pressure on banks to lend in low-income neighborhoods.

Where is housing dropping the most? ›

Leading the nation with the largest drop from the 2022 peak is San Francisco, where home prices have fallen nearly 17%. Other cities with double-digit home-price declines from last year's peaks include Seattle, San Jose, and Phoenix.

Which cities have the worst housing crisis? ›

Read on to discover which cities in the U.S. have the worst housing shortage and how homeowners can think ahead.
  • Boston, MA. ...
  • Miami, FL. ...
  • Boulder, CO. ...
  • Salt Lake City, UT. ...
  • San Diego, CA. ...
  • Minneapolis, MN. ...
  • Los Angeles, CA. Photo: chrisp0 / E+ / Getty Images. ...
  • Why Is There a Housing Shortage? A Deeper Look.
Oct 10, 2022

What state has the highest housing market right now? ›

Real Estate Housing Market Statistics 2023
Overall RankingStateMedian Housing Prices1
1Texas31
2California2
3New York9
4New Jersey6
37 more rows
Feb 13, 2023

Why is housing so expensive in California? ›

Housing in California is expensive due to high demand and low supply. With strong demand from millennials and retirees drawn to California's warm climate, the limited supply of housing has driven up property values.

Where home prices have fallen the most in California? ›

Those cities were: San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside. San Francisco and San Jose experienced the greatest price decline, falling 13% and 12.7%, respectively. Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles and Riverside all experienced price declines between 8% and 12%.

Will home prices drop in 2023 California? ›

They see existing single-family home sales to fall 18.2% to 279,900 units this year vas 342,000 homes sold in 2022. They expect home prices to improve in Q3 & Q4 this year, over in 2023 they expect the medium home will delince 5.6% compared to 2022, to $776,600 in 2023 ($822,300 in 2022).

Will California home prices ever go down? ›

Home prices are likely to continue falling.

Prices are expected to fall nationally by 5% with the bulk of the price falls to happen in expensive areas, affecting California greatly. “We're estimating about a 5% drop nationally,” says Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM Data.

Which city has the most unaffordable housing? ›

All the cities on this graphic are classified as severely unaffordable⁠—and, for the 12th year in a row, Hong Kong takes the top spot as the world's most unaffordable housing market, with a score of 23.2.

Which city has the biggest housing bubble? ›

The city of Toronto has the highest risk of a housing bubble, according to a recent survey released by investment bank UBS. Other cities at a high risk include Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Munich, Zurich and Vancouver.

What is the hottest housing market in the US? ›

"While many parts of the U.S. are experiencing price declines, home values have held steady in the Southeast." Bankrate said Gainesville ranked No. 1 because homes in the area have appreciated 40% in one year, higher than any other location in the analysis.

Is California an expensive place to live? ›

The cost of living in California is 39% higher than the national average. Housing is 102% higher than the national average, while utilities are 22% higher. When it comes to basic necessities such as food and clothing, groceries are around 10% higher than in the rest of the country, while clothing costs 10% higher.

What is the housing market forecast for California? ›

Housing Market Forecast for California Metro Areas

Based on Zillow's data and CAR's data, the California housing market is expected to experience a slowdown in 2023 and 2024. According to Zillow, the average home value in California is $728,121, down 3.4% over the past year, and homes go pending in around 15 days.

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