Why this is important:
As ownership and rental housing prices continue to rise, there is little to no hope for low-income families to own a home with a traditional mortgage. Reports such as the 2014 California Department of Housing and Community Development’s “Highlights of the State of Housing in California” and the Public Policy Institute of California’s, “California’s Future” identify the following challenges facing Californians:
- 2/3 of renter households earn less than 60% of the area median income (AMI);
- 1/4 of renters earn less than 30% of the AMI;
- In 2014, the median sales price in CA was $404,250 – requiring an income of $87,000 a year;
- In 43 counties in California, half of all families pay more than they can afford for housing;
- CA’s housing market is not providing an adequate number of homes affordable to low- and moderate-income households;
- In 5 years, CA is at-risk of losing 57,000 federally subsidized affordable apartments through conversion to market rate
How you can Help:
Elected officials listen to the priorities of the people they represent, so speak up! Contact your Senators and Representative and ask that they support policies that help place families in safe, decent and affordable homes. With your voice, we can truly make poverty housing a thing of the past.
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