November 6, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
KESQ: New affordable housing community in Palm Desert now open
[11-5-26] // On Thursday, city leaders and community partners celebrated the grand opening of Thomas Village on Country Club Drive. The 40-unit development is designed for working families struggling with the high cost of housing in the Coachella Valley.
Affordable Housing Finance: Citrus Villa a Bright Model for Affordable Seniors Housing
By Christine Serlin [11-5-26] // With colorful architecture, community-centered amenities, and design details inspired by Chula Vista, California’s history as the “Lemon Capital of the West,” Citrus Villa transforms an infill site into a lively, welcoming home for low-income seniors 55 and older.
By Steven Sharp [11-6-26] // Plans call for 316 low- and moderate-income units.
CalMatters: California housing bonds: Voters pass Prop. 37, Prop. 1
By Ben Christopher [11-3-26] // Discusses what each proposition is expected to accomplish.
By Ben van der Meer [11-4-26] // Willowgrove would include 1,250 homes with 250 affordable units in the first phase. The first homes should be ready for residents by late 2028.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Multifamily Dive: What the midterm results mean for multifamily housing
By Julie Strupp [11-5-26] // Housing affordability is likely to remain a top priority for Congress as Democrats take control, experts said.
OC Register: How Gen X is reshaping 55-plus living in California
By Sandra Barrera [11-6-26] // Builders are rethinking these communities as “young-minded” buyers seek active, resort-like living.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Mercury News: San Jose mixed-use village will start gradually and proceed in phases
By George Avalos [11-6-26] // Cambrian Park Village, which would sprout at 14900 Union Ave. next to Camden Avenue in southwest San Jose — now a shopping center featuring a well-known carousel — might produce up to 428 residences, city planning documents show.
By Dorian Hargrove [11-4-26] // The Simon Property Group resurrected its plan, albeit on a much smaller scale, to demolish the JCPenney department store building at Fashion Valley and add new restaurants, retail and 410 housing units in its place. No word yet on affordability.
SF YIMBY: Formal Application for 1037 14th Street, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [11-6-26] // The formal application has been filed for a four-story residential infill at 1037 14th Street in the Corona Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. The proposal invokes Senate Bill 423 to replace a single-family house with three apartments above a three-car garage.
LA YIMBY: 45-Unit Affordable Housing Development Underway at 1248 North Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood
[11-6-26] // Excavation is underway for a five-story apartment building that will provide 44 units for low-and moderate-income households. No parking planned for this small infill project.
Urbanize L.A.: Affordable housing planned at 1135 N. Westmoreland Ave. in East Hollywood
By Steven Sharp [11-6-26] // A vacant lot just north of Santa Monica Boulevard is to be redeveloped with 23 units of affordable housing and on-site parking.
L.A. Times: New Culver City development will add hundreds of apartments, two parks and restaurants
By Roger Vincent [11-5-26] // The project is underway at 11111 Jefferson Blvd. on a 3.5-acre site formerly occupied by a U.S. Post Office, a Coco’s restaurant and a Valvoline auto repair shop. Expected to open in late 2028, the 344 apartments, 52 of which will be affordable, could house as many as 500 people.
HOMELESSNESS
By Ethan Varian [11-5-26] // Almost half of those surveyed along with the [point-intime] count said they were homeless when they arrived in San Francisco, a record high. Critics have long argued that homeless people - about a third of whom report dealing with addiction - often come to San Francisco for what one of [Mayor] Lurie's department heads has described as "drug tourism."
Mission Local: Citywide count shows number of S.F. homeless children increased 27% in 2 years
By Marina Newman [11-5-26] // Changes in methodology may make comparisons difficult, however.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Voice of OC: La Habra Mobile Home Owners Fight for Rent Control
By Sara Leon [11-2-26] // Seniors living at Friendly Village in La Habra have demanded city council members enact rent control for years. Now, city officials are looking to have a robust discussion on the issue.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
By Taylor Hatmaker [11-4-26] // Homes under contract plunged 10.5% in October, the biggest annual decline in nearly three years, as elevated mortgage rates pushed buyers to the sidelines.
By Ted Anderson [11-6-26] // Two S.F. mansions sold for nearly $20M with another going for $17.2M. Interior designer Ken Fulk's home sold for $9.99 million on Oct. 28. Some of the buyers or sellers are well known in the Bay Area business community.
November 3, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Tribal Business News: California tribes awarded $60.5M for housing, climate projects
[10-31-26] // The California Strategic Growth Council approved the awards Oct. 28 for 40 projects representing 36 tribes. They include the first awards through the Tribal Pre-Development Housing Fund: $52 million for 19 tribal recipients, supporting work expected to lead to 900 new homes.
Urbanize L.A.: Affordable housing taking shape at 5749 S. Brynhurst Avenue in Hyde Park
By Steven Sharp [11-3-26] // Plans call for 53 apartments just north of Slauson Ave.
SF YIMBY: Groundbreaking for Affordable Housing at 3440 Walnut Avenue, Fremont
By Andrew Nelson [11-2-26] // The project represents the first phase of the Capital at City Center residential hub, replacing the former Wells Fargo building with several hundred residences.
SF YIMBY: Updated Renderings for Affordable Housing at 1515 I Street, Sacramento
By Andrew Nelson [11-3-26] // Updated renderings and plans have been shared for a seven-story apartment complex in the Mansion Flats neighborhood of Sacramento. The complex will add 90 affordable units to a vacant lot directly across from the Governor’s Mansion.
LA YIMBY: 53 Affordable Homes Under Construction at 5749 Brynhurst Avenue in Hyde Park
[11-3-26] // The development will contain 52 income-restricted apartments and one manager’s unit.
By Drew Sitton [10-29-26] // A piece of Father Joe’s Villages’ ambitious goal to build 2,000 affordable housing units for vulnerable San Diegans fell apart two years ago. A new construction technology has resurrected the project, which breaks ground Monday.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Sacramento Business Journal: Elk Grove reviews plans for more than 3,000 homes outside city limits
By Ben van der Meer [10-30-26] // Elk Grove is reviewing two development plans totaling over 1,110 acres and 3,000 homes. The plans are on land currently outside city limits. The area requires annexation to be within the city.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
By Jennifer Van Grove [10-31-26] // Vintage Housing bought the 19-story tower at 610 W. Ash St. with plans to turn the office building into 184 low-income apartments.
By Theresa Clift [10-29-26] // Elected officials for the city and county of Sacramento have cleared the way for a controversial plan to convert 306 market-rate apartment units into affordable workforce housing.
Mercury News: Apartment complex eyed on site of former Century 24 domed movie theater in San Jose
By George Avalos [11-2-26] // A 264-unit apartment project has been proposed for the former Century 24 domed movie theater in West San Jose.
SF YIMBY: Preliminary Application for 1580 Maple Street, Redwood City
By Andrew Nelson [11-1-26] // The proposal would replace an undeveloped parcel across from the Redwood City Police Department Station and Redwood Creek. MidPen Housing is responsible for the application.
HOMELESSNESS
By Daniel Soucy & Joy Moses [10-20-26] // The Alliance found that, nationwide, these homeless response systems had enough permanent housing for just 9 percent of unhoused people and enough shelter for just 35 percent of unsheltered people.
L.A. Times on MSN: L.A. city and county fend off a court battle over homeless services
By Doug Smith [10-29-26] // Staving off a battle over control of homeless services, Los Angeles County has agreed in principle to let the city of Los Angeles control who gets placed in city shelters and housing.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
CalMatters: California decides on housing bonds with Prop. 1 and Prop. 37
By Ben Christopher [11-3-26] // The two borrowing measures — Propositions 1 and 37 — tackle the state’s affordable housing crisis in very different ways and by targeting very different constituencies.
By Dorian Hargrove [11-2-26] // Developer Kalonymus first pitched “Project Vela” at 970 Turquoise St. in 2024. The developer proposed a 23-story tower offering 65 market-rate housing units, 10 low-income housing units, and 139 hotel units.
By Grace Toohey [11-3-26] // “Parking in this city is a lifeline for people, and to take away their parking — why don’t you just take half my house or apartment?” said Tracey Ellis, 70, who has lived in the eight-unit, rent-stabilized building near the Sunset Strip since 2001.
By Claire Wang [10-30-26] // Huntington Beach is again facing at least $160,000 in fines, along with $50,000 in additional monthly penalties, after housing regulators said the city’s updated housing plan still violates state law, a San Diego Superior Court judge said in a tentative ruling Thursday, Oct. 29.
L.A. Times on MSN: A tribe returns, joyful, to 51 acres in the San Gabriel foothills
By Noah Haggerty [10-31-26] // A 51-acre piece of land along the Pacific Crest Trail above Santa Clarita is going back to descendants of the people who once lived there. The couple who owned it marketed the plot as a potential glamping site, but they decided to sell it instead to the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians.
October 30, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Ben Metcalf, David Garcia & Sarah Karlinsky [10-29-26] // This commentary explores the possible executive actions that the next governor could pursue within their first 100 days that might result in meaningful progress towards stabilizing and boosting housing production, while signaling their dedication to solving the housing challenge over the long-term.
By Ryan Kushner [10-29-26] // The era of chassis-free construction will usher in cheaper, more diverse manufactured homes, experts say, but implementation questions remain.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
CNU Public Square: A regional missing middle strategy
By Robert Steuteville [10-16-26] // If Missing Middle Housing is to be built at a scale that will go far toward solving our housing problems, we need regional thinking and this toolkit fits the bill.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Planetizen: Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
By Ben Schneider [10-29-26] // Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
Mercury News: Hundreds of homes could replace Palo Alto office property
By George Avalos [10-28-26] // A real estate firm is seeking to develop 269 homes on an office property near the interchange of U.S. 101 and Oregon Expressway in Palo Alto, documents on file with city planners show.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
San Jose Spotlight: San Jose school district considers two options for worker housing
By Lorraine Gilbert [10-29-26] // San Jose Unified School District submitted an application to the city late last month to move forward with its workforce housing project at 760 Hillsdale Ave. At the same time, the district is also considering whether it should go in a different direction and purchase 337 condos in downtown at Silvery Towers, located at 188 W. St. James St.
By Anvee Bhutani [10-29-26] // The YIGBY movement has churches building apartments on their property, easing shortages while sustaining their ministries.
HOMELESSNESS
By Donna Kimura [10-30-26] // Unlike other affordable housing studies, “The Shortage Report: Far Too Little Housing Is Available for People Who Are Homeless” focuses specifically on the availability of housing for people experiencing homelessness.
San Jose Spotlight: Gilroy to review plans to help homeless residents
By Giovanni Albanese Jr. [10-30-26] // Despite recent numbers indicating Gilroy’s homeless population appears to be in decline, the city remains without a plan for how to handle unhoused residents — and officials are divided on the best solution.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
NPR’s Code Switch Podcast: Black voters could decide the midterms. Why are they being ignored?
By G. Demby, B.A. Parker, C. Stein & X. Lopez [10-30-26] // (Audio) Every election season, politicians remember Black voters exist, and then lecture them, pander to them or skip their doors entirely. MS NOW’s Eugene Daniels has been reporting on Black voters in Cleveland and Detroit, and he tells Parker what actually gets people to the polls (hint: it’s not guilt-tripping). (29 min.)
UCLA Housing Voice Podcast: Episode 126: The Great Property Tax Freak Out with David Schleicher
[10-30-26] // (Audio) In the 1970s and 80s, a tax revolt broke the property tax system in liberal states like California. In the 2020s, conservative states are joining the party. (64 min.)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
S.F. Chronicle on MSN: Safeway Marina developer accuses opponents of 'weaponizing' civil rights law
By Laura Waxmann [10-29-26] // In their lawsuit, which names Align Real Estate Partners alongside the city of San Francisco, city officials and PG&E, the Marina groups argue that the city violated their constitutional rights to due process by determining that the proposed 22-story project qualified for a streamlined approval process that did not give them the usual right to a public hearing or chance to comment.
Sacramento Business Journal: Sacramento County holding line on fees for affordable housing
By Ben van der Meer [10-27-26] // Sacramento County supervisors rejected fee increases for affordable housing ordinance updates. County Planning Director Todd Smith said board members cited market conditions and development cost burdens. A formal ordinance update will likely reach supervisors in early 2027.
By Ryan Kushner [10-28-26] // The Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Planning Commission says its proposal would modernize zoning standards, unlock development and reduce barriers across the county’s jurisdictions.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
San Diego Union-Tribune: 10 weeks free rent? Lackluster San Diego rental market has deals
By Phillip Molnar [10-28-26] // “Clearly, we overbuilt rental inventory in key urban areas: downtown, (University City), Mission Valley and a few other places,” San Diego housing analyst Gary London said. “I see potential that a lot of these high-end rental projects might consider converting to condos.”
By Alex Veiga [10-25-26] // Sellers who have the option to pull their listing off the market are generally doing so. Those who don’t are under increased pressure to lower their asking price and also kick in thousands of dollars toward a buyer’s costs, real estate agents say.
Harvard JCHS: Immigration Slowdown Poised to Sharply Reduce Renter Household Growth
By Daniel McCue [10-29-26] // The Census Bureau’s third quarter Housing Vacancy Survey, out this week, shows a marked increase in the rental vacancy rate and virtually no growth in the number of renter households over the past year. This may be a sign that the sharp curtailment of immigration has begun to lower demand for rental units in a significant way.
October 27, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
[10-25-26] // Santa Barbara Housing Authority celebrates the grand opening of Bella Vista, bringing 48 affordable family apartments to North La Cumbre Road.
Affordable Housing Finance: The Home Depot Foundation Pledges $1 Billion to Veteran Causes
[10-27-26] // In making the announcement, the organization said it will test and scale new approaches for long-term impact, including grants aimed at preventing homelessness and renovating permanent supportive housing for vets.
MSN: $100 million partnership aims to speed up affordable housing in San Diego
[10-6-26] // The public-private partnership between the city of San Diego, developer Naturally Affordable Housing, Bear Creek Asset Management and nonprofit San Diego Foundation is moving forward with a plan to provide studio apartments for households earning up to 80% of the area median income.
Inland Empire Community News: Fontana Will Build 106 More Affordable Housing Units by 2027
[8-2026] // The first phase of Fontana Courtplace will consist of 50 affordable apartments across two residential buildings and include community gathering spaces, a children’s playground, multipurpose room…and resident health and wellness services and programs.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Sacramento Business Journal: Cities, developers move away from ground-floor retail
By Ben van der Meer [10-26-26] // Sacramento developers increasingly convert ground-floor retail to apartments, as retail tenants take longer to lease than residential units in urban infill projects. Sacramento County is removing ground-floor retail requirements from its North Watt Avenue specific plan.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
[10-24-26] // Resolving legal delays to blend historic adobe preservation with low-income downtown housing.
LA YIMBY: Seven-Story Modular Development Planned at 5600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood
[10-26-26] // Plans call for a seven-story residential development containing 168 apartments, 20 of which will be reserved as affordable.
The Real Deal: HVN plots 77 more affordable apartments in Valley with Sherman Oaks proposal
[10-26-26] // HVN Holdings has applied to build a five-story building in place of six single-family homes at 5003 N. Kester in Sherman Oaks. The builder is also planning income-restricted projects in NoHo, Studio City, and Toluca Lake.
The Real Deal: Alliant advancing 200-unit affordable project at Northridge retail site
[10-12-26] // Alliant Communities is moving forward with plans to replace a decommissioned Rite Aid at 18444 Plummer Street with a six-story building boasting 200 affordable apartments.
SF YIMBY: Formal Application for 477 East Hillsdale Boulevard, San Mateo
By Andrew Nelson [10-26-26] // The proposal looks to replace the former Hillsdale Inn with a mix of townhomes and apartments. Of the 277 apartments, 41 will be affordable.
SF YIMBY: Office-to-Housing Conversion at 2134 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [10-26-26] // The project would create four apartments by adding a minor residential addition to a small Tudor Revival-style office building.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
Yahoo! News: Ventura Unified property sale not guaranteed for educators
By Makena Huey (Ventura County Star) [10-17-26] // Although district leadership said they hope the project will help attract and retain employees, Jeffrey Lambert, CEO of Ventura Housing, said there is nothing in the agreement that guarantees any VUSD staff will be able to live on the site, as that would require the district to maintain ownership.
OC Register: Two closed Huntington Beach schools may become sites for new housing developments
By Charlie Borla [10-23-26] // The Ocean View School District board entered into agreements with firms to explore repurposing two of its closed school sites into residential developments.
SF YIMBY: Housing Approved for 8100 Valentine Avenue, Sebastopol
By Andrew Nelson [10-27-26] // The project would replace a vacated Mormon church with 39 single-family houses.
HOMELESSNESS
Shelterforce: Homelessness Experts Want Housing without Strings Attached
By Franklin Schneider [10-14-26] // Housing First has been the U.S.'s main homelessness policy since the Bush administration. Experts say it works—and that the Trump administration's alternative doesn't measure up.
KOMO: Seattle city councilmembers detail $37M budget priorities to address homelessness
By Joel Moreno [10-27-26] // Seattle’s response to homelessness is about to change, with the mayor promising more shelter, more coordination, and a new way to track whether people are actually getting off the streets.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Terner Center Webinar: 2026 California Housing Policy Round-Up
Thursday, October 29, 10:00 a.m. Following a presentation of 2026 housing policy updates, Pedro Galvao, David Garcia, Kate Rodgers & Steven Stenzler will discuss the year’s legislative actions. Register for free event.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Terner Center: 2026 California Legislative Round-Up
By Julie Aguilar & David Garcia [10-27-26] // This commentary provides an overview of key California bills signed into law by Governor Newsom, as well as other housing policy-relevant changes that have occurred this year. This commentary does not capture every housing-related bill that passed this session but instead highlights legislation that reflects the session’s broader housing policy trends.
By Daniel Eduardo Hernandez [10-26-26] // The city of Riverside earlier this month sent a letter to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) defending its efforts to fulfill several housing goals it pledged to complete years ago.
By Ben van der Meer [10-26-26] // The designation would require that future development of the property includes affordable housing.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
OC Register: Southern California homebuying crashes to 2nd slowest pace on record
By Jonathan Lansner [10-27-26] // So, how sluggish are sales across the six counties, based on closed transactions in the 12 months ended in July? 33% slower than the average homebuying pace seen since 2005.
S.F. Chronicle: 9 in 10 S.F. homes are now selling for more than asking — sometimes much more
By Christian Leonard [10-26-26] // In September, nearly 92% of single-family homes in the city sold above asking price, the highest percentage on record. The same was true of nearly 3 in 4 condos sold in the first three weeks of October.
Hoodline: Free Rent Vanishes in San Francisco as AI Boom Squeezes Tenants
By Emily Johnson [10-24-26] // Just 1.2% of San Francisco rental properties offered new tenants at least one month's rent discount in September, a steep drop that puts the city among the stingiest rental markets in the country for deals.
Hoodline San Jose: Old Aptos Golf Course Site Hits Market with Nearly 500 Homes Planned
By Nina Singh-Hudson [10-23-26] // A broker has begun marketing townhomes planned for the long-vacant Aptos Par 3 golf course site, even as the broader project awaits formal approval from Santa Cruz County. Village on the Green would bring market-rate townhomes and affordable apartments to 2600 Mar Vista Drive.
October 23, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
L.A. Times on MSN: A time bomb for renters: L.A. County’s cheapest apartments are getting old, fast
By Jack Flemming [10-23-26] // Los Angeles County’s average home is 58 years old, and many of its cheapest rentals are in aging buildings that could become unlivable or be demolished. A USC study found that small apartment buildings built before 2000 are a key source of affordable homes.
California Housing Partnership: Who Can Afford to Rent in California’s Many Regions?
[10-2026] // This brief provides key findings and the data that supports them, as well as recommendations.
Terner Center: Preserving NOAH as an Anti-Displacement Strategy
By Taesoo Song & Carolina Reid [10-23-26] // This is a brief based on the recently published article, The Implications of Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) Sales for Residential Mobility.
By Ann Owens [10-2026] // The supply of LIHTC units affordable to extremely low-income renters increased from 2011 to 2023 in L.A. County. However, most units funded by the program are unaffordable for the poorest residents, and affordable housing need in L.A. County far outstrips supply.
UCLA Lewis Center: How does neighborhood location affect the cost of producing affordable housing?
By Aaron Barrall & Michael Lens [10-2026] // This brief examines whether and to what extent affordable housing costs vary across California neighborhoods.
Planetizen: Cheaper manufactured homes could be having a moment, if only states can catch up
By Robbie Sequeria [10-21-26] // A new law could make manufactured homes cheaper, but old zoning barriers could slow their expansion.
By Shelby R. King [10-22-26] // Property insurance rates are falling nationally, but affordable housing providers remain largely shut out of the recovery. When conventional insurers decline them, the alternatives can cost more, cover less, and leave owners and the public carrying more risk.
S.F. Chronicle on MSN: Wealthy Marin County town could see first big housing project in decades
By J.K. Dineen [10-22-26] // A&C Ventures is submitting applications to build 127 workforce rental homes across three downtown parcels along Tiburon Boulevard. The plan repurposes surface parking and two vacant commercial buildings and includes 20 affordable homes.
Smart Cities Dive: Seattle social housing hits milestone with land acquisition
By Ryan Kushner [10-23-26] // The Seattle Social Housing Developer Board will build around 20 mixed-income homes in the city’s Central District. The organization purchased its first building, a 150-unit apartment complex, earlier this year and expects to own around 1,000 homes by the end of 2027.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Sacramento Bee: Controversial 499-home project in rural Elk Grove heading to Planning Commission
By Camryn Dadey [10-22-26] // The Summer Villas project, proposed for an undeveloped parcel southeast of the intersection of Sheldon and Waterman roads, seeks to amend the city’s general plan to remove the site from the rural area and allow higher-density housing.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
By Andrew Nelson [10-21-26] // Preliminary plans have been filed by Tenants and Owners Development Corporation for an affordable senior housing complex, replacing the Alice Street Community Gardens with more than a hundred apartments and a reduced community garden space.
By Jessica Blough [10-20-26] // San Francisco has staked its downtown recovery on retail and foot traffic. “This is not a data center in the traditional sense,” Jared Krieger, CEO of KG Growth Partners, told The Standard. “It’s a new category: a regenerative urban energy center.”
By Andrew Nelson [10-23-26] // The Mercy Housing project will replace a vacant lot within the medical campus with 159 affordable apartments, community space, and a childhood day care center. Half of the affordable units will be designated as mobility units, and 10% will be designed to assist hearing- or visually impaired individuals.
SF YIMBY: Proposal Grows to 20-Story Affordable Housing at 3403 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland
By Andrew Nelson [10-22-26] // The proposal now calls for a 20-story affordable housing tower and residential conversion of the Saw Mill Furniture Building, overlooking the intersection of Broadway and Piedmont Avenue.
SF YIMBY: Groundbreaking Takes Place for a Two-Building Site at 1555 El Camino Real in Redwood City
By Gabriel Clark-Clough [10-21-26] // The project will consist of two separate buildings totaling over 500 new units of housing on a site located in a formerly industrial/commercial area between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks. A portion of the units will be reserved as affordable housing.
LA YIMBY: 300-Foot Apartment Tower Proposed at 6409 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood
[10-23-26] // The 27-story development, located between Cahuenga Bl. and Ivar Ave., would contain 239 apartments, including 37 income-restricted homes for very low- and moderate-income households, all over ground-floor retail.
CapRadio: Sacramento Railyards housing debate heats up again ahead of council vote
By Tony Rodriguez [10-22-26] // Union members from UNITE HERE Local 49 rallied outside Sacramento City Hall on Wednesday, calling for the city to require more affordable housing, a grocery store, and better-paying jobs once the area is built.
By George Avalos [10-23-26] // A downtown San Jose apartment project linked to the city’s purchase of a historic building landed final city approval despite concerns from some neighbors and a union-backed group over its height and construction.
HOMELESSNESS
Shelterforce: How Massachusetts Organizers Turned a Proposed Camping Ban into an Outreach Program
By Adam Nuñez [10-21-26] // When organizers in Pittsfield fought for a more compassionate approach to unsheltered homelessness, the city did something rare. It listened.
Voice of San Diego: South County Leaders Turn Away from Housing First
By Jim Hinch [10-22-26] // Policymakers in the region increasingly favor homelessness policies centered on treatment, shelter and enforcement over permanent housing.
The Center Square: Seattle mayor unveils new strategy using same providers as homelessness rises
By Tim Clouser [10-21-26] // Mayor Katie Wilson unveiled a new homelessness strategy on Wednesday, citing similar initiatives in Denver and Houston as evidence that she can deliver results for Seattle taxpayers.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Terner Center Video: When NOAH Changes Hands: Scaling up Strategies for Long-Term Affordability
[10-22-26] // Recording of yesterday’s Webinar. (58 min.)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Mercury News: To increase housing, San Jose to study tiered rezoning
By Ryan Macasero [10-21-26] // In an effort to stretch limited staff resources amid sweeping state land-use mandates, San Jose is asking staff to focus on exploring whether to abandon a one-size-fits-all approach by focusing taller, multi-unit homes near transit lines and commercial corridors.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
By Terry Castleman [10-23-26] // Homes in Los Angeles County sold for 66.8% higher than in L.A.’s surrounding suburbs—in Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Orange County, where average home prices are higher than Los Angeles County’s, boasts bustling job centers and was counted as its own urban area.
SiliconValley.com: 69 California ZIP codes make priciest-housing list, the most of any state
By Jonathan Lansner [10-23-26] // Need another reminder that California housing is really expensive? Just look at PropertyShark’s annual list of the nation’s most expensive ZIP codes, which includes 69 Golden State neighborhoods among the 122 members of this priciest-home club. Atherton is #1.
New York Times: How to Buy a House with a Gig-Economy Income
By Aimee Ortiz [10-22-26] // Freelancers, content creators and others face higher scrutiny in getting a mortgage than those with traditional incomes. Here’s what you should know before starting the hunt.
New York Times: Home Prices Are Starting to Fall in Some Pockets of the U.S.
By Gregory Schmidt [10-22-26] // The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped slightly to 7.32 percent as prospective home buyers continue to struggle with affordability. But home prices are starting to drop in some areas.
October 20, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Mercury News: Affordable homes project set to start in downtown Fremont
By George Avalos [10-20-26] // The proposed homes are part of the Capital at City Center residential hub at 3440 Walnut Ave., which is slated to consist of 119 affordable units and 216 market-rate, for-sale condominiums, according to city officials.
By Laura Waxmann [10-20-26] // After years of trying to close financing gaps, Freedom West 2.0 has a new public subsidy and a proposed 25-year development agreement with the city to push it forward — and is again aiming to break ground. Its first building, a 115-unit affordable housing building for seniors, would precede the market-rate towers planned for the four-block site in San Francisco’s Fillmore District.
Sacramento Bee: Rocklin delays vote on 281-unit affordable housing project again. Here’s why
By Nicole Buss [10-19-26] // A proposed 281-unit affordable housing development in Rocklin faces another delay as City Council members continue to raise concerns about traffic, parking and the city’s authority under California housing laws.
By Ben van der Meer [10-16-26] // Southgate Crossing would have more than 260 workforce and affordable housing units and would be constructed at 7270 Stockton Blvd.
Marin Independent Journal: San Rafael selects developer for low-income housing project
By Adrian Rodriguez [10-18-26] // By A city plan to turn a shelter for homeless people into a long-term affordable housing complex in San Rafael is moving forward, but not without friction. Eden Housing will be the developer of 350 Merrydale road.
By Lori Weisberg [10-17-26] // Proposition 1 would provide more than $11 billion to help fund low-income housing projects and assist aspiring home buyers.
By Ryan Kushner [10-19-26] // With investments of $450,000 to $750,000 in 14 cities, Bloomberg Philanthropies wants to replicate housing programs from Atlanta, San Diego and Austin, Texas.
San Jose Spotlight: Hidden fees hinder Palo Alto housing program, audit shows
By Riley Cooke [10-19-26] // The Below Market Rate Housing Purchase Program covers a small subset of the city’s affordable housing strategy — about 10% of all existing affordable homes — and was the primary subject of the audit report conducted by Kate Murdock with consulting firm Baker Tilly, which acts as the city auditor.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
By Andres Lira Vigneaux [10-19-26] // An off-site manufacturing system that combines rigid cross-laminated timber floor and roof slabs with lightweight structural wall panels can be assembled in curved walls. The architecture obscures the number of individual units…allowing the perception of density to be controlled, concealed, or emphasized through architectural form.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Voice of San Diego: Manchester Group Promises Housing Will Be ‘Major Part’ of NAVWAR Development
By MacKenzie Elmer [10-20-26] // Housing will be “a major part” of whatever final plan moves forward to redevelop 70 acres of U.S. Navy land near downtown San Diego, representatives for the developer Manchester Financial Group confirmed.
Multi-housing News Exclusive: Vintage Housing Buys Foreclosed San Diego Tower
By Claudiu Tiganescu [10-20-26] // The office property at 610 W. Ash St. in San Diego is headed toward conversion. More than 1 mile away, Vintage also plans to convert the 19-story 707 Broadway into a 200-unit fully affordable multifamily project.
[10-16-26] // Midway Rising will transform the underutilized 48.5-acre former Sports Arena site into a vibrant, walkable neighborhood with thousands of new homes, public parks, shops and restaurants, and a modern entertainment center.
SF YIMBY: Residential Conversion Plans Approved For 901 Market Street, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [10-20-26] // The city planning department has approved plans for a residential conversion of the former Old Hale Brothers Department Store at 901 Market Street, San Francisco. The proposal would add over a hundred units above retail. Hudson Pacific Properties is responsible for the application.
HOMELESSNESS
By Jennah Pendleton [10-19-26] // Califia Carlisle’s story, chronicled in The Sacramento Bee, was the focal point of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting about behavioral health. At the same time six miles away, Califia Carlisle was being arrested by Sacramento Police on drug possession and domestic violence-related charges.
LA YIMBY: The Pano Completes 90 Supportive Homes at 8209 Sepulveda Boulevard
[10-20-26] // A former motel property in the San Fernando Valley has completed its transformation into The Pano, a permanent supportive housing community providing 90 homes for people who have experienced homelessness.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Terner Center Webinar: When NOAH Changes Hands: Scaling up Strategies for Long-Term Affordability
Thursday, Oct. 22, 10-11 a.m. This webinar will present findings from new research on the impact of naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) property sales on residential instability. A panel will discuss what’s needed to scale up efforts to maintain the affordability of these properties for lower-income renters long-term. Register for free event.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
L.A. Times: How California is fast-tracking construction of much-needed college student housing
By Aaron Friesen & Anahid Valencia [10-20-26] // Four new California laws aim to speed student housing construction by exempting projects from environmental review, curbing certain lawsuits and offering developer incentives.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Yahoo! Finance: The Housing Market Could Stay Frozen Through 2027
Diccon Hyatt [10-19-26] // Typical households now only makes 75% of what it would take to afford a median-priced home.
Yahoo! Finance: Pending Home Sales Decreased 7.3% in September
By National Association of Realtors [10-20-26] // Pending home sales in September decreased by 7.3% month-over-month and 11.3% year-over-year.
Los Angeles Times: Home insurance now costs more than property taxes in most U.S. counties
By Eric Roston [10-20-26] // Home insurance rates have risen so dramatically over the last decade that the average premium now exceeds the average property-tax bill in two-thirds of counties, according to an analysis published Monday by Bloomberg Intelligence.
October 16, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Voice of San Diego: Midway Rising May Not Create 2,000 ‘Net-New’ Affordable Homes
By Scott Lewis [10-15-26] // As the nearly four-year negotiation with the Midway Rising team came to an end recently, city of San Diego staff insisted the final agreement require them to build new affordable housing and not become a so-called “receiver” site that would accept the housing other developers are required to build because of their own nearby projects.
By Marisa Kendall [10-16-26] // Supporters say California desperately needs money to fund housing construction and make a dent in its homelessness and affordability crisis. Critics say bond financing isn’t the way to do it.
Urbanize L.A.: More Pasadena affordable housing in the works at 1976 E. Colorado Blvd.
By Steven Sharp [10-14-26] // It's the third project for Meta Housing on this stretch of Colorado.
Urbanize L.A.: Jamison flips to affordable housing at 679 S. Harvard Blvd. in Koreatown
By Steven Sharp [10-15-26] // A hotel plan is cancelled and replaced with filings for a seven-story, 114-unit apartment complex with a one- and two-bedroom units for low- and moderate-income renters.
By Diego Vargas [10-9-26] // A new report shows improvements for student attendance and behavior for a select group of Fort Miller Middle School students a year into the project’s launch.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
CNU Public Square: One million homes, two million housing opportunities
By Eric Osth [10-13-26] // Let's put all production housing to work in solving the housing crisis.
San Jose Spotlight: 100 homes planned off freeway exit in Morgan Hill
By Giovanni Albanese Jr. [10-16-26] // The developer will leverage Builder’s Remedy and has agreed to pay $500,000 to the city’s housing fund and a 15% fee in lieu of providing affordable housing. The 100 two-story houses will range from 2,147 square feet to 2,615 square feet.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Urbanize L.A.: Rendering vs. Reality: 176 apartments at 2225 Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park
By Steven Sharp [10-16-26] // The seven-story development is setting aside 18 of the units for extremely low-income renters thanks to TOC incentives.
Urbanize L.A.: More housing completed, new park breaks ground at Jordan Downs
By Steve Sharp [10-16-26] // The public housing redevelopment has seen more than $1 billion in investment over the past decade, resulting in the construction of new parks, 120,000 square feet of commercial space, and 863 new homes by the Michaels Organization and Bridge Housing.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Condos recommended for former ranch property near Oceanside’s mission
By Phil Diehl [10-14-26] // Plans call for 88 for-sale units including 10 live-work units and 13 reserved for moderate income tenants.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
SF YIMBY: Affordable Housing Approved at 2120 Euclid Avenue, East Palo Alto
By Andrew Nelson [10-14-26] // The project involves a ground-lease deal with Ravenswood City School District to redevelop the district’s former Euclid Avenue headquarters into two six-story buildings with 430 apartments.
HOMELESSNESS
Planetizen: Denver is solving homelessness. Why aren't the rest of us?
By Christine McLaren [10-14-26] // Since 2023, Denver's street homeless population has decreased by 64%, proving that effective tools exist to support those in need of housing. “With the help of social workers, the city connects those people to services and shelters. Crucially, it has expanded those services to ensure that officers and social workers have something to connect people to," writes German Lopez in the NYT.
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. to overhaul its shelter policy. Will it get more people off the streets?
By Ethan Varian [10-16-26] // San Francisco plans to set new limits on how long homeless people can stay in most city shelters, a move that critics worry could push some back to the streets.
MSN: Chico's Builder's Village opens to house homeless adults and seniors
By Nathan Chiochios [10-14-26] // Rows of nearly finished homes lined a horseshoe-shaped driveway Tuesday as community members gathered to celebrate the opening of Builder’s Village, a 61-unit permanent supportive housing community for adults and seniors experiencing chronic homelessness and living with disabilities.
By Tessa Nápoles & Carolina Reid [10-15-26] // A new Terner Center brief describes recent changes to CalAIM, how they are affecting providers’ ability to support PSH residents, and the implications for state policy.
L.A. Times on MSN: LA city and county remain at odds over who will run key homeless systems
By Doug Smith [10-14-26] // The county faced no opposition to its bid for the point-in-time count and the regional application, but the city submitted competing bids for the database and matching system.
By Dorian Hargrove [10-15-26] // A National City councilmember and mayoral candidate visited Encinitas to urge city leaders to abandon a plan to send its unhoused residents to a shelter in his city.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Friday, November 13, 2026, 12:00-1:30 p.m. The 2026 Water Policy Center Fall Convening is an in-person and online event—your choice. Register to attend.
UCLA Housing Voice Podcast: Episode 125: Single-Family Rentals and School Access with Tom Mayock
[10-14-26] // Single-family rentals have a bad rap, but they also have underappreciated benefits. Virginia Tech's Tom Mayock shares how places with a bigger single-family rental stock provide better access to high-quality schools for disadvantaged kids. (1 hr.)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Urbanize L.A.: Southwest Valley Community Plans take a step forward
By Steven Sharp [10-15-26] // After seven years of workshops, outreach, and stakeholder meetings, the update to the Southwest Valley Community Plans has cleared a key milestone: the release of its draft environmental impact report.
By Phillip Molnar [10-14-26] // This article discusses impacts in San Diego County of SB 344 and 958; SB 1014; AB 2074; SB 1116 and AB 1751; and SB 1117.
By John Blanchard et al. [10-14-26] // We created a 3D model of the city to highlight where the Family Zoning plan raises height limits. The model compares what exists now to the maximum allowed under Family Zoning. It is not a comprehensive picture of where development could happen in San Francisco.
KSBW: Monterey County planning commission approves overdue housing plan
By Michael Rosales [10-15-26] // The housing element was initially due in December 2023, but the county has spent years negotiating with the state over rezoning options. On Wednesday, the planning commission recommended rezoning five opportunity sites for higher-density housing.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Mercury News: Oakland waterfront apartment complex is foreclosed after loan failure
By George Avalos [10-15-26] // The 385-unit Portico Waterfront in Oakland’s Brooklyn Basin neighborhood is now owned by an affiliate of Essex Property Trust, which gained control of the housing property on Oct. 7 through a speedy foreclosure proceeding. The transaction placed a value of $70.4 million on the property—58% below the assessed value of $168.2 million.
By Ethan Varian [10-14-26] // Voters in Redwood City, San Pablo and Berkeley will decide this November whether to approve new caps on rent increases.
October 13, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Danielle Berstrom [10-13-26] // Central Valley YIMBY hopes they can forge new coalitions to get more housing built in Fresno.
By Ben van der Meer [10-13-26] // The Sacramento City Council will vote Oct. 13 on steps toward the purchase of Maven on Broadway, a 408-unit property built in 2022 at 230 Broadway.
Ventura County Star: Santa Paula approves $1.6M in affordable housing loans
By Wes Woods II [10-8-26] // The projects will be for two projects about two miles apart.
Abridged: Willowgrove could bring 1,200 new homes to Davis. Here’s what voters should know
By Daniel Hennessy (KVIE) [10-12-26] // November’s vote on Measure W follows an unsuccessful ballot measure for another Davis housing development in June.
Mountain View Voice: 108-unit affordable apartment complex breaks ground in Mountain View
By Emily Margaretten [10-12-26] // Made possible by land swap, construction on Terra Bella Avenue is underway.
Urbanize L.A.: Affordable housing secures financing at 1756 Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena
By Steven Sharp [10-12-26] // The first phase will include 44 apartments.
Your Central Valley: Merced celebrates groundbreaking of 66-unit supportive housing project
By Christian Valdez [10-8-26] // This project will serve those who are experiencing or are in danger of falling into homelessness and are enduring mental health challenges.
SF Gate: Sonoma Co.: Community Celebrates Opening of Affordable Homes, New Park
By [10-10-26] // Casa Roseland by MidPen Housing Corp. has 75 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in Santa Rosa for people earning 30% to 60% of area median income. A park also across the street.
SF YIMBY: Construction Starts for 1020 Terra Bella Avenue, Mountain View
By Andrew Nelson [10-11-26] // Construction has officially started for La Bella, an affordable housing complex at 1020 Terra Bella Avenue in Mountain View, Santa Clara County. Developer Alta Housing is looking to add over a hundred units of supportive housing.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
KPBS: California Coastal Commission clears way for 120 townhomes near South Ponto Beach
By Alexander Nguyen [10-9-26] // At its Oceanside meeting, the state agency approved land-use changes that will allow a San Diego-based developer to build 120 rental townhomes, including 24 affordable units. Residents wanted one of the last undeveloped parcels of land to remain open space and become a park.
S.F. Chronicle: Bay Area county wants to help older adults age in place — by selling their homes
By Jessica Roy [10-11-26] // A new program in Alameda County has a creative solution: Help older homeowners build accessible backyard ADUs, then move in, split the lot and sell their original home to help pay for the construction.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
SF YIMBY: Final Environmental Report Published For Tanforan Mall Redevelopment, San Bruno
By Andrew Nelson [10-12-26] // The proposal for a mixed-use neighborhood includes at least 1,000 apartments on a 44-acre BART-adjacent property.
New York Times: San Francisco Isn’t Giving Up on Turning More of Its Offices into Homes
By Joe Gose [10-11-26] // The city has not completed a single office-to-housing conversion, despite hopes to meet housing demand and inject life into empty downtowns.
By Carlos Reyes [10-11-26] // Development plans reveal new details for an eight-story residential project on the former Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Monica site. Twenty-four apartments of the 232 will be reserved for moderate-, low-, and very low-income households in exchange for more units through density bonus.
Palo Alto Online: Chipotle building could make way for housing project near Cal Ave.
By Gennady Sheyner [10-12-26] // New development would include 156 apartments.
By Stephanie Hastings Miranda [10-13-26] // The two housing proposals would bring additional residential development to northwest Redlands, including apartments with designated lower-income units and a new neighborhood requiring changes to the city's General Plan and zoning regulations.
By Eric Tanaka [10-9-26] // The project would bring 528 rental units, a rooftop deck, and amenities. Of the 528 apartments, 40 would be reserved for very low-income households and 40 for moderate-income households.
HOMELESSNESS
Yahoo! News: They were homeless but turned their lives around. Here’s how they did it
By Steve Lopez (L.A. Times) [10-10-26] // An epiphany. A push. A purpose. An opportunity. It can take all of those things to help break the cycle of homelessness, and for those who make it to Chrysalis, Nicole Bastiany, an employment specialist, is there to help.
San Jose Spotlight: East San Jose navigation center is a one-stop resource facility
By Lorraine Gabbert [10-13-26] // The Grail Family Services navigation center, which opened in late September, brings San Jose, Santa Clara County and nonprofit partners together in an effort to connect East San Jose families with services and support.
San Jose Spotlight: Palo Alto to expand overnight RV parking ban to more residential areas
By Riley Cooke [10-13-26] // While RVs are not allowed to park overnight in most residential areas of Palo Alto, the city is gearing up to address a potential loophole for streets that fall outside of residential zoning.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Times of San Diego: Affordable housing law expected to prevent foreclosures
By Madeline Shannon [10-10-26] // Assembly Bill 2020, authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), will allow the California Department of Housing and Community Development to permit owners to transfer money produced by their affordable housing units to another property to prevent the latter’s foreclosure.
L.A. Times: Newport Beach’s use of housing overlays to meet planning goals challenged in court
By Gabriel San Román [10-10-26] // A resident group, Newport Beach Stewardship Association, is taking Newport Beach to court over allegations the city is “flouting” the law by not revamping its housing plan to exclude overlay zoning that permits but does not require residential development.
October 9, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
[10-6-26] // The announcement coincided with the groundbreaking of Louisiana Street, a new 38-home development in North Park and the first of four projects creating 257 affordable homes in that and the Normal Heights neighborhoods.
LA YIMBY: Leasing Underway at Luma Point at 1400 Long Beach Boulevard in Long Beach
[10-8-26] // The six-story development contains 163 apartments, of which 162 are income-restricted and one is reserved for on-site management.
By Ben van der Meer [10-6-26] // Rancho Cordova City Council approved $50 million in bonds for the project on Oct. 5. The project includes 199 units for residents earning 80% or less of area median income and will be in the Anatolia neighborhood on over 9 acres of undeveloped land.
By Phillip Molnar [10-7-26] // Potential renters cannot earn more than 80% of the area median income. There will be no parking added for residents in an area where parking is difficult to find, but the building is close to bus lines.
Voice of OC: Brea Moves to Issue $60 Million Bonds to Build Affordable Senior Housing
By Sara Leon [10-8-26] // Brea City Council members approved the allocation of $60 million in bonds to finance an 85-unit affordable senior apartment complex on the corner of Mercury Lane and Berry Street – a debt the housing developer is on the hook for.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
LA YIMBY: Compton May Welcome a New 60-Home Community Proposed at 2320 North Parmelee Avenue
[10-6-26] // G3 Urban is identified as the applicant for the 4.37-acre all-electric project, providing 48 market-rate residences and 12 affordable homes.
San Jose Mercury News: California multifamily permits jump 33% this year
By Jonathan Lansner [10-8-26] // Are all the efforts to boost homebuilding in California finally paying off? To check, my trusty spreadsheet eyeballed building permit data from the Census Bureau.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Noozhawk: Santa Barbara Commission Approves Senior Housing Redevelopment
By Rebecca Caraway [9-28-26] // The Presidio Springs redevelopment project includes demolishing five buildings with a total of 48 units and replacing them with two three- to four-story buildings totaling 104 units.
[10-5-26] // The proposal would replace the existing preschool and automotive services with 79 apartments and ground-floor commercial space. Six of the units would be reserved for very low-income households and six for moderate-income households.
SF YIMBY: Updated Renderings for 360 5th Street in SoMa, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [10-7-26] // The 21-story tower is expected to add nearly 300 apartments and ground-floor parking to a vacant corner lot, cleared years ago for a residential project abandoned after 2020.
By J.K. Dineen [10-7-26] // A city program helped ensure this couple didn’t have to give up their apartment in San Francisco, but the money that made it possible is running out.
Mercury News: Developer proposes townhomes for ‘agrihood’ in Santa Clara
By George Avalos [10-6-26] // Forty-four for-sale townhomes will be a key piece of the final stage of the Agrihood project in Santa Clara. Initially, Core Cos. proposed 160 market-rate apartments, but the developer says that is no longer financially feasible for this project.
HOMELESSNESS
By Charlotte Rene Woods [10-9-26] // Trump administration’s proposal would also eliminate classroom ratios and group-size limits, reduce requirements for serving children with disabilities and multilingual learners and cap administrative spending for the program.
Sacramento Bee: West Sacramento creates homelessness department as unhoused population rises
By Daniel Lempres [10-9-26] // Previously, several departments handled homelessness response and support services, including Parks and Recreation, Economic Development and Housing, Police and Public Works. As a result, decisions were not always made efficiently or in coordination with other departments, according to a staff report.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Smart Cities Dive: More diverse housing types could result from new laws in California
By Ryan Kushner [10-7-26] // From cheaper ADUs to streamlined “missing middle” housing to high-rises in transit-rich cities, the state adopted a slew of housing reforms.
By J.K. Dineen [10-9-26] // For years, housing advocates have championed a change to a little-known building rule as a way to encourage construction of smaller multi-family projects in San Francisco. Now, “single stair” reform is finally coming to the city.
By M.F. Massoud, A. Millard-Ball & H. Shahbaz [9-18-26] // Communities have opposed housing by referring to increased traffic and parking shortages, but this paper argues the same happens for proposals to build mosques.
October 6, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Malik Washington [10-4-26] // At a City Hall hearing, residents of historic Fillmore housing developments described disputed evictions, inaccessible homes, missing financial records, questionable rent accounting and years of unanswered complaints. Who is accountable when the systems created to preserve Black housing fail the people they were supposed to protect?
Mercury News: San Jose schools keep options alive for workforce housing gambits
By George Avalos [10-6-26] // Apartments are slated for 760 Hillsdale Ave. in South San Jose, while school district officials are analyzing the possibility of purchasing an apartment tower near downtown’s San Pedro Square.
By Ryan Macasero [10-6-26] // A proposal to provide aging agricultural workers with affordable homes is on the Nov. 3 ballot in Half Moon Bay, where voters will make a key decision on whether the long sought 40-unit housing project moves forward.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Abridged KVIE: Sacramento region sees boom in new multifamily housing as construction slows
By Phillip Reese [10-1-26] // The number of new units shot up in 2025 but may have started cooling off.
By Jonathan Lansner [10-1-26] // In the first eight months of 2026, permits were filed to construct 16,643 multifamily units in the two-county metropolitan area. That’s 82% higher than the same period a year earlier, and it’s the best start to the year since 2015.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Mercury News: Developer sues Menlo Park over delays on 665-home Sunset Magazine site project
By George Avalos [10-5-26] // Real estate group files lawsuit after state attorney general claimed city violated California housing laws. The development was proposed as a builder’s remedy project on the former site of Sunset Magazine offices.
By Ben van der Meer [10-1-26] // Records show affordable housing group California Supportive Housing bought the Motel 6 property at 7407 Elsie Ave. for $14.35 million. The nonprofit previously filed a pre-application with Sacramento County to turn the 122-room hotel into 59 units of supportive housing.
SF YIMBY: Updated Renderings For 430 Broadway in Jack London Square, Oakland
By Andrew Nelson [10-6-26] // The five-story senior affordable housing project, currently named 430 Broadway Building A, will replace the surface parking and annex of the former Alameda County Probation Department offices.
SF YIMBY: New Building Permits Issued for Mission Bay Block 4 East, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [10-5-26] // The project will include two affordable housing blocks, rising 16 stories and 23 stories. Curtis Development and Bayview Senior Services are the joint developers.
Mercury News: Sunnyvale’s Carroll Inn renovation brings air conditioning to 122 affordable homes
By Sanestina Hunter [10-4-26] // Project included all-electric conversion, accessibility upgrades.
[9-21-26] // Augusta Communities, a women-led nonprofit, closed $118.1 million in tax-exempt financing and completed the purchase of nine manufactured home communities across seven California counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, Amador, Tuolumne, Orange and San Diego.
HOMELESSNESS
Times of San Diego: La Mesa’s homeless action plan expires with goals achieved but ‘more work to do’
By Drew Sitton [10-5-26] // The city touts having met the plan’s core goals while developing an outreach model that other cities have copied.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Berkeleyside: Newsom signs law prompted by Berkeley housing projects that dodged labor standards
By Nico Savidge [10-2-26] // The law bars developers of big projects from using California’s “density bonus” law to exempt themselves from local labor mandates.
Mercury News: Gov. Newsom signs bill advancing Concord Naval Weapons Station redevelopment
By Thomas Gase [10-5-26] // “Coming on the heels of the landmark agreement with the U.S. Navy, [SB 328] keeps this project moving forward to produce thousands of well-paying construction jobs and add many homes to our community.”
San Francisco Examiner: California prepares to ban quartz countertop production
Rebecca Davis O'Brien [10-5-26] // California is set to become the first state to ban the production or installation of manufactured quartz, amid mounting cases of silicosis, a lethal lung disease among workers who carve the material for kitchen countertops. Original scientific investigation of the disease available here.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Realtor.com: The ‘Silver Tsunami’ Could Solve the Inventory Problem—and Create a Demand Problem
By Allaire Conte [10-5-26] // Between 2026 and 2036, an estimated 13.9 million homes currently occupied by baby boomers and the Silent Generation will be released from older owner-occupancy, according to the Generational Housing Succession report from Realtor.com® released on Monday. However, restoring the supply does not necessarily mean prices will decrease.
By Kate Talerico [10-5-26] // When the landlords of Meridian Apartments in San Rafael said they would be converting the property to affordable housing, its working-class tenants thought their rent would decrease.
Fast Company: National housing market inventory growth accelerates again—here’s the data by state
By Lance Lambert [10-5-26] // Nationally aggregated inventory is up +5.6% on a year-over-year basis between September 30, 2025, and September 30, 2026. That marks a mild acceleration from June.
October 2, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Michael Karpman et al. [9-23-26] // In this brief, we examine 2019–25 trends in the share of adults ages 18 to 64, both renters and homeowners, who had challenges paying housing and utility costs. Our analysis draws on data from the Urban Institute’s Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey (WBNS), a nationally representative annual survey last fielded in December 2025.
CalMatters: California colleges don’t have enough housing for students. Will these 4 new laws help?
By Aaron Friesen & Anahid Valencia [10-2-26] // Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of four bills on Wednesday meant to speed up the process of building student housing and reduce the cost for developers.
Santa Cruz Sentinel: 128-unit affordable housing project opens in downtown Santa Cruz
By Caroline Hemphill [9-30-26] // Pacific Station North Apartments, located at 900 Pacific Ave, began welcoming residents in July.
LA YIMBY: 237-Unit Flats on Sunset Proposed at 1150 West Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park
[10-1-26] // Of the total, 187 units are designated for low-income households, 48 for moderate-income households, and two for on-site managers.
SF YIMBY: New Affordable Tower Proposed at 439-451 South 4th Street in San Jose
By Gabriel Clark-Clough [10-1-26] // The new plan totals are estimated at 368 units to be set aside as affordable below-market-rate apartments, with four additional manager’s residences.
SF YIMBY: New Affordable Housing Project Begins Construction at 1397 California Circle in Milpitas
By Gabriel Clark-Clough [10-2-26] // Once completed, the project is expected to add 75 new units of affordable housing to the Silicon Valley city.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Multifamily Executive: NMHC Survey: Multifamily Developers See Better Days Ahead
By Christine Serelin [9-25-26] // “Low rent growth combined with an uptick in interest rates and rising costs for labor and materials is making multifamily development more difficult to pencil,” said Chris Bruen, NMHC’s senior director of research and chief economist. Yet, developers remain optimistic overall.
Mercury News: Proposal seeks to build more than 100 apartments near major San Jose shopping centers
By George Avalos [10-2-26] // A preliminary proposal calls for a seven-story apartment building at 2858 Stevens Creek Boulevard, near Westfield Valley Fair and Santana Row. There is no indication yet that the 110 units will be affordable.
JPMorganChase: Building more housing in Oregon through mass timber and modular construction
[9-30-26] // The use of mass timber is a key factor: the prefabricated renewable resource requires less manufacturing energy than traditional building materials, and it can be quickly assembled on site. It’s also durable, highly energy efficient and fire-resistant.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
SF YIMBY: Preliminary Plans For 770 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-30-26] // The project would add over a hundred apartments to a corner lot currently occupied by the main branch of the San Francisco Federal Credit Union.
Mercury News: New plans emerge for stalled San Jose housing tower near SJSU campus
By George Avalos [9-28-26] // On a 0.5-acre site on South Fourth Street between East San Salvador Street and East William Street, plans now call for the development of 372 housing units in what was previously proposed as a 25-story housing tower. All but the four manager units will be affordable.
HOMELESSNESS
RAND: Veterans Support to Self-Reliance Pilot Program Final Evaluation Report
By M. Buenaventura, B. Senator & S.B. Hunter [9-30-26] // California’s Veterans Support to Self-Reliance pilot kept formerly homeless veterans housed at a fraction of the cost of nursing facilities or assisted living—and their health outcomes improved.
By Laura Ungar and Geoff Mulvihill [9-30-26] // The Trump administration is moving federal homelessness policy away from ‘Housing First,’ which pairs permanent apartments with voluntary services, and toward short-term housing requiring treatment.
Mercury News: ‘Inspiring and motivating’: Dozens celebrate Richmond Tiny Village grand opening
By Sierra Lopez & Ray Chavez [9-30-26] // The community-led project opens 12 residences for young adults at risk of homelessness.
CalMatters: New California law frees up funds for sober homeless housing
By Marisa Kendall [9-29-26] // The new California law intends to free up state funds for housing that requires residents to stay sober.
By M. Mitchell, S. Neilson & M. Barba [10-1-26] // The closure of HomeRise, a housing provider that has received almost a quarter-billion dollars in public funds over a recent four-year period, means city officials must transition operations and supportive services at 17 complexes for more than 1,500 residents to new providers.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Sacramento Bee on MSN: What to know about Proposition 45, a bid to streamline CEQA for many projects
By Andrew Graham [9-28-26] // The new rules would apply to eight categories of building projects - housing and public health developments (such as hospitals); clean energy; water infrastructure; schools including higher education facilities; public safety projects, including wildfire mitigation work like creating forest fuel breaks and conducting vegetation management; transportation; and broadband and digital access.
Mercury News: Election 2026: Measure U could add senior housing in Walnut Creek
By Sierra Lopez [9-30-26] // As demand for commercial office space dips and the region’s senior population grows, the owner of a 6.8-acre site in Walnut Creek is asking voters to allow him to turn a third of the parcel into 282 newly constructed senior housing units. The property is BART-adjacent.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Developer withdraws application to build 33 condos in Carlsbad’s Village
By Phil Diehl [9-30-26] // City finds previous property owner removed tenants in violation of state Housing Crisis Act.
Phys.org: How cities and extreme rainfall shape each other
By Newcastle University [10-1-26] // A study published in Nature Cities and led by Long Yang, a professor at Nanjing University in China, brings together recent advances in urban hydrology, boundary-layer meteorology, extreme precipitation and flood-risk research and proposes a new framework for understanding how cities and extreme rainfall interact and co-evolve. The paper identifies three major pathways through which urbanization can affect rainfall.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
L.A. Times: California condo fees are soaring. Some owners fear they can’t survive
By Grace Toohey [10-2-26] // Megan Blanda knew her San Clemente condominium complex was aging, but she assumed monthly fees of more than $500 were keeping up with maintenance and upgrades. Then she received a notice that she would have to pay $26,000 for her unit’s new roof.
L.A. Times on MSN: Mortgage rates rise to the highest level in nearly 3 years at 7.28%
By Michelle Chapman [10-2-26] // The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.28% from last week’s 7.03%, Freddie Mac indicated Thursday. This is the sixth consecutive week in which mortgage rates have risen.
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. rent increases keep smashing records. Here’s how much it has gone up
By Christian Leonard [9-29-26] // The median asking rent for a one-bedroom unit in the city was about $3,920 this month, the highest-ever in nominal dollars and up a whopping 26% from the $3,110 average in September 2025.
September 29, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
LA YIMBY: Pioneer Village Opens 340 Affordable Homes at 515 Pioneer Drive in Glendale
[9-28-26] // Linc Housing and National CORE, in partnership with the City of Glendale, has completed Pioneer Village, featuring 245 homes for families and 92 apartments for seniors, all for households earning 30-80% AMI.
By Chloe Decas [9-22-26] // Sendero Apartments will provide 60 units of rental housing to low-income and below households at 165 Cessna Court, just south of downtown San Luis Obispo. The development will feature a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom units.
San Francisco Public Press: Proposition I Pushes City to Build New Type of Affordable Housing
By Madison Alvarado [9-27-26] // Tenants and anti-displacement organizations want San Francisco to use funds from an existing real estate transfer tax to develop mixed-income social housing and provide rent relief.
By Chronicle Editorial Board [9-24-26] // Proposition C is a City Charter amendment on the November ballot that would extend the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established in 2012 and set to expire in 2029, for another three decades and increase its annual funding from $51 million to $125 million.
SF YIMBY: Affordable Housing Nearly Complete at 950 West Julian Street, San Jose
By Andrew Nelson [9-28-26] // The View at Julian Apartments, will soon add three hundred units to the bustling neighborhood just west of Downtown San Jose.
SF YIMBY: Construction Underway for 2200 Bancroft Way, Berkeley
By Andrew Nelson [9-29-26] // Crews are quickly moving on the 23-story, 1,625-bed student housing tower on the southwest corner of the UC Berkeley campus.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Times of San Diego: Opinion: Midway Rising plans affordable housing, but there’s no guarantee
By Christine Smith [9-20-26] // Midway Rising goes before the city’s Land Use and Housing Committee in October and the City Council later this fall. It’s billed as a major affordable housing win for San Diego with 4,254 homes, including 2,000 deed-restricted ones for households at or below 80% of area median income. But the developer’s pledge to build those affordable units is not enough.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Urbanize L.A.: Affordable housing coming to 18444 Plummer St. in Northridge
By Steven Sharp [9-29-26] // The six-story building would replace a shuttered Rite Aid near CSUN with 200 apartments for those earning 30-80% AMI.
LA YIMBY: Leasing Planned for 40-Unit Development at 5566 West Pico Boulevard in Mid-City
[9-29-26] // This mixed-use project will reserve four of 40 apartments for extremely low-income households.
HOMELESSNESS
The Oaklandside: Mothers ‘reeling’ after city demolishes West Oakland tiny home shelters
By Natalie Orenstein [9-25-26] // Oakland said it dismantled the structures, which nobody was permanently living in, during a scheduled encampment closure.
San Jose Spotlight: New methodology reveals drop in San Jose street homelessness
By Joyce Chu [9-19-26] // The reduction in encampments and unhoused people was made possible through building temporary shelter in the form of tiny homes, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said.
CityWatch: LAHSA Is Gone, but the Homeless-Industrial-Complex Lives On
By Nick Patsaouras [9-28-26] // Frankly, this in fact is a twofold civic failure, a humanitarian crisis worsening in plain sight and a leadership failure that lets resources intended to ease suffering be consumed by mismanagement.
Los Angeles Daily News: Judges keep LAHSA as lead agency for LA homeless response — for now
By Jose Herrera [9-24-26] // The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday ruled to largely deny an appeal filed by the Trump administration over a preliminary injunction that halted their June suspension of LAHSA from accessing federal funding.
By Chris Jennewein [9-28-26] // Father Joe’s Villages announced a five-year project Monday to dramatically expand housing for homeless seniors in downtown San Diego thanks to a $50 million gift from Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs.
[9-9-26] // More than a dozen people who had been living on or around the Bob Jones Trail are new residents of Welcome Home Village.
New York Times: The Homeless Community That Became a Self-Governed Village
By Brian Barth [9-26-26] // Oregon: Portland’s Dignity Village has been a place for people without housing for more than 25 years.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Thursday, Oct. 22, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Register for free event.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
San Francisco Standard: SF’s housing solution may be hiding in plain sight: Land it already owns
By Maggie Angst [9-29-26] // A new report finds 147 city-owned properties ripe for development, but funding gaps are the real obstacle.
By Alyce McFadden [9-29-26] // San Francisco built more than 2,000 affordable units and 1,475 market-rate units on public sites over the past 11 years. More than 19,000 additional homes are under construction or in the pre-development phase on public sites, including major projects on Treasure Island and at Candlestick Point, according to the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst’s report (pdf).
CNU Public Square: Charming urbanism inside the block
By Robert Steuteville [9-22-26] // A series of small, diverse developments in Edmond, Oklahoma, is building on the idea of inner-block urbanism—explained and illustrated here with links to other Public Square stories on inner-block paths, alleys, and courtyards.
Crosstown: How ADUs became a major source of new housing in Los Angeles
By Laury Li [9-28-26] // A decade ago, a law cut the red tape that allowed accessory dwelling units to surge.
Hey SoCal: Monterey Park City Council endorses Measure HOM
[9-24-26] // The Monterey Park City Council earlier this month passed a resolution supporting Measure HOM, a proposed ballot measure to establish housing overlays in designated commercial and industrial areas.
Berkeleyside: Berkeley wants a vibrant San Pablo Avenue. Will more housing deliver it?
By Nico Savidge [9-28-26] // The City Council will consider on Tuesday raising height limits and taking other steps to spur housing development on West Berkeley’s main thoroughfare.
Fresno Bee: Clovis council considers rezoning to allow apartment buildings at Shaw Avenue corner
By Leqi Zhong [9-24-26] // A proposal to rezone a parcel of land for higher-density housing in the Loma Vista area is under review by the Clovis City Council, despite the plan being voted down by the city’s Planning Commission.
CalMatters: How Airbnb is fighting for its place on California’s coast
By Kathryn Wheeler [9-25-26] // Residents of cities like Pacifica want to limit the presence of visitors and corporations. Companies like Airbnb want to keep their lucrative coastal listings. That tension has led to increased attempts to influence a small but powerful committee—the California Coastal Commission.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Harvard JCHS: As Baby Boomers Age, Housing Demand Faces a Rising Headwind
By Daniel McCue [9-24-26] // As the number of households headed by seniors declines, newly formed households by younger adults are also projected to decline, “which would add to the decreases in net household growth and new housing demand.”
September 25, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
L.A. Times: L.A. approves $466 million in affordable housing spending, the largest pool ever
By Jack Fleming [9-23-26] // The funding, generated largely by Measure ULA, will support new construction and renovation projects, with recipients to be announced in February 2027.
By Charlotte Bruce, Megan Sandel, & Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba [9-9-26] // Two briefs—Stable Homes, Healthy Children and A Foundation for Every Child—examine housing as a foundation for child health and well-being.
[9-18-26] // The 60-unit project is designated as 100 percent affordable under the Affordable Housing Incentive Program, with 80% of the residences set aside for low-income households and 20% for moderate-income households.
KCRA: Factory-built apartments offer affordable senior housing in south Stockton
By Maricela De La Cruz [9-17-26] // Crews in South Stockton are using cranes to lift factory-built apartment modules into position at Fairview Terrace, a new development aimed at providing affordable senior housing. (See also Stockton Record article.)
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
By Tristan Navera [9-25-26] // This week, at the Innovative Housing Showcase on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., builders touted the latest housing ideas, from manufactured housing to 3D-printed homes and modular construction.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
SF YIMBY: Factory-Built Housing Proposed for 2809 Rio Linda Boulevard, Sacramento
By Andrew Nelson [9-24-26] // Updated plans have been published for the hundred-unit supportive housing development in the South Hagginwood neighborhood, aiming to provide 100 homes for unhoused individuals with behavioral health challenges.
L.A. Times: Newport Beach Country Club eyed for future housing development
By Gabriel San Román [9-18-26] // The Newport Beach Planning Commission this week recommended City Council approval of a development agreement that could bring 78 housing units to the Newport Beach Country Club’s grounds. Jim Mosher, a former City Council candidate, criticized the lack of affordable housing discussion.
MidPen Housing: Carroll Inn Rededication Celebrates $2.7 Million All-Electric Rehabilitation Project
[9-22-26] // 122 affordable homes benefit from electrification and interior upgrades, reflecting the long-term commitment by MidPen and partners to creating healthy, sustainable communities for residents—and preserving them for years to come.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
SF YIMBY: Amended Plans Filed for 2800 Florin Road, Meadowview, Sacramento
By Andrew Nelson [9-25-26] // The newest application, filed by property owner Christian Church Homes, shows an increase from the previous iteration circa 2020, with the overall unit count rising from 150 to 200.
The Real Deal: Holy housing: Glendale church poised for redevelopment with apartments, retail
[9-25-26] // United Community Church has filed an application with Glendale’s Planning Department to build a 323-unit apartment complex with ground-floor commercial space at 305 Colorado Street, LA YIMBY reported. The site is currently a parking lot next to the church. 33 unit will be very low-income.
HOMELESSNESS
By Aaron Schrank (LAist) [9-24-26] // A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s latest attempt to sideline the L.A. region’s lead homelessness agency from a $239 million federal funding process, clearing the way for the agency to complete an application due next month.
By Marisa Kendall [9-24-26] // Senate Bill 802 requires Sacramento, as well as all smaller cities within the county, to coordinate and form a joint powers authority that will lead the region’s homelessness response. This new experiment in co-governance is highly atypical for a number of reasons.
ABC: More than 12,000 homeless-related fires already reported in LA this year, straining fire crews
By Kevin Ozebek & Sean Myers [9-24-26] // The ABC Data Team mapped out the fire incidents in L.A. to show how they're impacting your neighborhood.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
WBUR: ‘Buy American’ rules are slowing affordable housing construction
Nicole Ogrysko [9-25-26] // (Audio) Five years ago, Congress mandated that builders must use American-made construction materials for things like roads, bridges and affordable housing if they want to get certain federal funds. (3:35)
Streetsblog Talking Headways Podcast: People Based Accessibility
By Jeff Wood [9-24-26] // This week we’re joined by Dr. Wendy Zhou to discuss her recent USC dissertation on dynamic accessibility — you know, how static maps without a time-based dimension don’t tell the whole story on access and how it’s time for a “people-based” accessibility. (33 min.)
Streetsblog Friday Video: What ‘A Week Without Driving’ Costs
[9-25-26] // What would taking a week off of driving cost you — and how much would you gain if your city made living car-free a realistic choice? (7:36)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Noozhawk: New Coalition Wants Voters to Decide on City Rent Control Law
By Laura Teutschel [9-24-26] // A coalition of housing providers, small business owners, renters and residents have formed the Help Save Santa Barbara Housing Committee (HSSBHC) to give voters the final say on the city’s rent control and rental registry ordinance.
CalMatters: How do you get a housing permit in California? He can hook you up, for a fee
By Ben Christopher [9-23-26] // Tanner “The Planner” Blackman’s job is a mostly under the radar, but often indispensable, fixture of California’s urban housing market: He helps people get their building projects approved.
Planetizen: What the fall of earth's largest pre-industrial city can teach us about urban sprawl
By Stefan Al [9-18-26] // Angkor was a low-density metropolis. It lasted six centuries, until it could no longer maintain its infrastructure in a changing climate. Today, it offers planners a sobering warning about the risks of dispersed urban living. (This article is the second installment in a multi-part series by architect and professor Stefan Al on the history of planning.)
Planetizen: A Transect of sprawl
By Michael Lewyn [9-25-26] // A development pattern this lifestyle-defining deserves its whole own classification system.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
By Jack Fleming [9-25-26] // Inland Empire rents have climbed sharply while Los Angeles rents have remained relatively flat: A typical one-bedroom now costs $1,959, up 50% since 2022.
KOMO: Housing affordability takes another hit as mortgage rates cross 7%
By Austin Denean [9-25-26] // The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan eclipsed 7% this week, the fifth consecutive weekly increase, according to Freddie Mac.
September 22, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
UCLA Lewis Center: Creating a pathway to Voucher Utilization: The Potential Role of Cash On-ramps
By M. C. Lens, N. Soon-Shiong & E. Berk-Rauch [9-2026] // This report describes the attributes and role of a cash on-ramp program, along with policy and research design considerations.
By Ben van der Meer [9-21-26] // The city will purchase the property for $1.05 million and sell it to Operative Office for the same amount.
SF YIMBY: Construction Underway for Clara Gardens, Santa Clara
By Andrew Nelson [9-21-26] // The project will preserve a portion of a former Bella Vista Inn motel while adding a seven-story, 120-unit apartment complex. Sixty-four apartments will be reserved for households earning up to 30% AMI, 55 units will be for 50% AMI households, and 30 units will be permanent supportive housing for individuals transitioning out of homelessness.
OC Register: 200 former foster youths housed through OC United Way assistance program
By Claire Wang [9-21-26] // In the year since she moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Ana, Nathaly Santana, a former foster youth, has enrolled in Cal State Long Beach to pursue a career in teaching and adopted her 3-year-old sister, Vanessa.
By Trevor Morgan [9-21-26] // Rent for 80-year-old Kathryn Garner is about $1,900 a month. Social security and annuity from selling her home in another state amounts to about $2,500. Assistance from the San Diego County’s Shallow Rental Subsidy Program provided $500 per month of breathing room, but assistance is temporary and qualifying factors have changed.
Mercury News: Election 2026: Propositions 1 and 37 put $36 billion to housing effort
By Ethan Varian [9-21-26] // One initiative funds new affordable homes while another will sell bonds to lend money to homebuyers.
CNU Public Square: How housing affordability relates to choice
By Robert Steuteville [9-15-26] // Expanding the range of housing choices enables new housing that adapts to the needs of a changing demographic.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
L.A. Times: Why L.A. developers aren’t building more apartments, despite epic housing shortage
By Jack Fleming [9-22-26] // Projects don’t pencil. Taxes eat through profits. And the few developers still building are often opting for smaller, safer projects such as ADUs and townhouses as opposed to the taller, denser developments that experts say the city desperately needs to help solve the housing crisis.
San Diego Union-Tribune: Bureaucratic feud over hefty fee could stymie housing projects in San Diego
By David Garrick [9-20-26] // Efforts to boost housing construction in San Diego have hit a potential setback: the San Diego Housing Commission refuses to stop charging a hefty fee that discourages developers by making projects more expensive.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
SF YIMBY: New Building Permits for 249 Pennsylvania Avenue, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-19-26] // This infill project would add 127 apartments to a vacant lot immediately next to Interstate 280. Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and Young Community Developers are jointly responsible for the project.
LA YIMBY: 73-Unit Affordable Housing Proposal Moves Forward at 1945 South Carmona Avenue in Mid-City
[9-21-26] // The five-story Carmona 73 will replace a one-story house, two-story church, and detached garage. The plans calculate a base density of 12 units and permit 73 residences under the 100% affordable housing program.
L.A. Times: Costa Mesa approves Fairview Development Center project
By Roger Vincent [9-22-26] // A large-scale housing development has been approved on the former site of a state hospital campus in Costa Mesa. City Council approved plans for 2,300 residences, including 920 low-income units.
HOMELESSNESS
By Tom Philp [9-21-26] // Christopher Carlisle said he believes his daughter, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, uses drugs to self-medicate while living on the streets.
Sacramento Bee: Newsom signs bill to restructure Sacramento homeless policy, but county could sue
By Theresa Clift [9-22-26] // Gov. Newsom has signed Senate Bill 802, which requires elected officials across Sacramento County to create a new lead entity to address housing and homelessness. The county could challenge it in court. See also CBS coverage.
By Nick Gerda [9-17-26] // Federal and local prosecutors unveil new cases and a guilty plea, while asking: Who was actually watching the books at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority?
Shelterforce: Homelessness Dropped in 2025—But the Reality on the Ground Is More Complicated
By Ivis Garcia [9-18-26] // “The mother I keep thinking about said the shelter was ‘just like jail except for you could have your kid.’ She said she finally felt safe when she moved out with a rental subsidy. But it was a Rapid Rehousing Program subsidy, which only lasts a year. When it ran out, she lost her housing and returned to the shelter.
[9-16-26] // GAO’s preliminary observations indicate that many of the Tribes and tribal organizations GAO contacted had used HUD programs to support their homelessness strategies. However, several challenges may limit broader use of these programs…
CBS: Berkeley homeless encampment sweep creates secondary encampments nearby
By Carlos E. Castañeda & Brad Hamilton [9-21-26] // When the City of Berkeley started its sweep of the Harrison Street corridor homeless encampment last week, the sidewalks of Eighth Street were filled with tents.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
With Shane Phillips [9-16-26] // In the last podcast we talked about what preapproved building plans are and how the existing U.S. programs are going. This time we talked with Alkarim Devani and Eric Kronberg, two practitioners who are designing and implementing preapproved plan programs across North America. (1:22)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Sacramento Business Journal: Two new land preserves protect 240 acres from development
By Ben van der Meer [9-18-26] // Sacramento Valley Conservancy announced 125-acre Crevis Creek Oak Woodland Preserve and 118-acre Golden Hills Preserve are now preserved from development under conservation easements, as mitigation for developing Folsom Ranch. Both properties remain privately-owned working lands where cattle grazing will continue.
Mercury News: How the nation’s 2 oddest job markets create California traffic jams
By Jonathan Lansner [9-18-26] // Long commutes in Inland Empire and San Jose are tied to workplace dynamics. Building more reasonably priced housing near good-paying jobs could cut California’s long commutes and trim – not increase – traffic jams for everybody.
Planetizen: Urbanism before the plan
By Stefan Al [9-11-26] // Some of the first cities emerged without rulers or blueprints. Planners are now trying to recover what that process does well. This is part one of a series of articles by architect and urban planner Stefan Al.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
[9-15-26] // HUD insures billions of dollars in mortgages for affordable multifamily housing each year. Its section 542(c) program has underwritten over $12 billion in multifamily loans since 2016 and helped finance nearly 100,000 rental units. We compared this program—in which HUD and state housing finance agencies share the risk of loss on loans—with traditional mortgage insurance programs.
Mercury News: California tenants suffered 8th-highest rent hikes in US over four decades
By Jonathan Lansner [9-21-26] // Across the country, over the last four decades, the average annual rent increase ranged from 2.9% to 4.5%. In 1985, rent amounted to roughly 21% of California’s median household income. In 2024, that figure was 24%. Only Florida’s was higher at 26%.
By Christian Leonard [9-20-26] // Nearly a quarter of Californian households pay association dues, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Those monthly fees, which cover shared amenities and repairs to common spaces, can range from a few hundred dollars to as much as four figures a month, and have risen in recent years along with the costs of insurance and maintenance.
Brookings: How local homeowners insurance market stress impacts urban and suburban housing markets
By Wesley A. Miller & Matthew E. Kahn [9-21-26] // The authors construct a Local Insurance Strain Index using ZIP code-level data for 2018 through 2022. The index combines three measures of stress in the homeowners insurance market: affordability, measured by premiums relative to homeowner income; availability, measured by insurer nonrenewal rates; and insurer profitability, measured by paid losses relative to premiums.
September 18, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Sacramento Business Journal: Eden Housing plans affordable housing for seniors in downtown Roseville
By Ben van der Meer [9-16-26] // Roseville City Council is considering selling 505 Royer St. and 300 Taylor St. to Eden Housing, which has proposed affordable housing for seniors at the site. The five-story project would have 65 to 70 apartments.
The Observer: Can More Manufactured Homes Help Solve Sacramento’s Housing Affordability Crisis?
By Neenma Ebeledike [9-16-26] // Manufactured homes cost far less than new site-built houses, but land rents, financing and local barriers may limit their affordability in Sacramento.
By Paul Briand [9-17-26] // Data from a NH Housing report focused entirely on New Hampshire dispels the notion that affordable housing development in a community depresses the property values of nearby residences.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
SF YIMBY: Construction Underway for Alexan Icon, South San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-16-26] // Two buildings at 100 Produce Avenue and 124 Airport Boulevard will provide 480 apartments, including 60 affordable units.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Sacramento Business Journal: Mack Road land sold for infill single-family housing project
By Ben van der Meer [9-4-26] // The 10.85-acre site will be entitled for a 51-home single-family subdivision project. Seller fatigue with California's affordable housing funding process ended prior development proposals.
[9-11-26] // Approval is subject to several objective design comments and a standard 10-day appeal period to the City Council. Eleven units would be affordable units for moderate-income households.
Affordable Housing Finance: Santa Cruz Development Links Homes and Health
By Donna Kimura [9-15-26] // Once a 14-room hotel, Jessie Street Terrace has been transformed into studio and one-bedroom apartments for residents earning up to 20% and 50% of the area median income.
OC Register: Costa Mesa approves plan to replace Fairview Developmental Center with 2,300 new homes
By Claire Wang [9-16-26] // The Costa Mesa City Council approved a development plan for the former Fairview Developmental Center with 2,300 new homes, 920 of them affordable, on the lower end of the housing range officials said the state property could accommodate.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
Edhat: Santa Barbara Committee Approves $1 Million Loan for Housing Project on School District Land
[9-17-26] // The housing at 915 East Montecito Street will give preference to employees of the school district (including teachers, educators, and other staff) as well as serve as affordable housing for low-income families.
HOMELESSNESS
California Policy Lab: Employment and Earnings Before, During, and After Experiencing Homelessness
By C. Caprara, M. Gross & T. von Wachter [9-15-26] // A few findings: About half of the people (48%) who experienced homelessness were employed in the four years before enrolling in homeless services and 21% were employed at the time they enrolled in services.
San Jose Spotlight: Santa Clara County sees challenges for 5-year homelessness plan
By Joyce Chu [9-17-26] // Building on what the county has accomplished over the past five years in housing nearly 21,000 people, officials want to help 15,000 more people obtain permanent housing by 2030.
By Theresa Clift [9-5-26] // Senate Bill 802, authored by former Sacramento City Councilmember Sen. Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento), would require Sacramento County and the cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Folsom to create a new joint powers authority of elected officials by Jan. 1, 2028.
Mercury News: San Jose says unsheltered homelessness fell 30%. The county hasn’t seen its model
By Grant Stringer & Caelyn Pender [9-17-26] // Mayor Matt Mahan said San Jose will not wait for the Point in Time count to release a tally of unhoused residents.
NPR: Head Start got her out of homelessness. Trump proposal threatens that help for others
By Sequoia Carrillo [9-17-26] // Things started to unravel for TaNisha Thomas when she lost her job at the shipping company DHL in 2021. She was pregnant, and she got so far behind on rent she had to move back home to Fort Worth, Texas.
By Dezmond Remington [9-17-26] // Local luminaries gathered this morning to cut the ribbon on Ramp House, Arcata’s newest homeless shelter, the climax of years of effort from the Arcata House Partnership, a homeless-services organization.
The Guardian: LA homelessness non-profit workers arrested over alleged corruption and bribes
By Cecilia Nowell [9-16-26] // Pair accused of misappropriating millions in taxpayer dollars as Trump officials target alleged fraud in blue states.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Planetizen | Booked on Planning Podcast: Reigniting the city-building revolution
By Stephanie Rouse [9-14-26] // (Interview) Books such as Michael Eliason’s Building for People on eco districts, Nolan Gray’s Arbitrary Lines about ridding cities of zoning codes, Wes Marshall’s Killed by a Traffic Engineer on the harms caused by traffic manuals and many more help us understand the nuances and details of the built world. All of these ideas and more are brought together in Benjamin Schneider’s The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution. (37 min.)
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. proposal would create new city department to ease housing crisis
By Alyce McFadden [9-17-26] // San Francisco could get a new department dedicated to the production and preservation of housing as the city confronts a staggering rise in rents and home prices that has begun to dominate conversations in City Hall and beyond.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Mercury News: Homelessness nonprofit buys money-troubled Oakland hotel
By George Avalos [9-16-26] // An East Bay nonprofit that focuses on homelessness bought an Oakland hotel engulfed in financial woes, including a failed real estate loan.
OC Register: How federal policymakers can make mortgages more affordable
By Jeff Lazerson [9-17-26] // Buying a home in a bundled package is illegal today but could reduce fees if lending laws changed.
By Megan Fan Munce [9-17-26] // New policies will only be available to homes that meet wildfire safety standards set by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.
September 15, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Amy Egerter, Stephanie Hawke & Ben Metcalf [9-15-26] // An amendment in the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (ROAD) that recently became federal law could have a potentially large impact on housing supply: removing the permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes.
By Anita Lightfoot [9-11-26] // Villa Serena II adds 63 affordable apartments for households earning at or below 60% of the area median income. Five homes are reserved for people in the No Place Like Home program who need behavioral health support and are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Shelterforce: Can Social Housing Deliver? Los Angeles and Seattle Pursue Two Distinct Paths
By Steve Dubb [9-1-26] // In recent years, Los Angeles and Seattle voters have approved major taxes to boost affordable housing using a “social housing” approach. But they offer two very different visions of what that means.
SF YIMBY: Affordable Housing Proposed at 88 Vivian Street, San Rafael
By Andrew Nelson [9-12-26] // The project plans to replace a bowling alley and surface parking with two apartment buildings with more than a hundred units.
SF YIMBY: Plans Refiled for 395 3rd Street in SoMa, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-15-26] // The project team is seeking re-entitlement for the site and now proposes a 45-story skyscraper with 501 apartments, including 51 affordable units.
Stockton Record on MSN: New Stockton apartments offer transitional, supportive path to stability
By Angelaydet Rocha [9-15-26] // The Housing Authority of San Joaquin celebrated two projects on Wednesday with an open house for Satellite Apartments and a wall raising ceremony for Grant Street Apartments.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
Terner Center: Impact Fee Reforms in California: Recent Trends and Promising Strategies
By Ryan Finnigan [9-14-26] // Among the findings: “Most jurisdictions offered fee waivers for new affordable housing developments, but the waivers were contingent on the availability of alternative funding to replace the fee revenues in some places.”
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Urbanize L.A.: Echo Park-adjacent apartments proposed at 820 N. Laguna Ave.
By Steven Sharp [9-14-26] // A proposal from Chalon Group, LLC, calls for the construction of a five-story building on a vacant lot. Three of 25 apartments would be reserved for extremely low-income residents. No on-site parking will be provided.
Urbanize L.A.: Small lot homes proposed at 7032 Cozycroft Ave. in Winnetka
By Steven Sharp [9-13-26] // An existing San Fernando Valley home would make way for five townhouse-style units.
Urbanize L.A.: 75 apartments slated for 7034 N. Baird Ave. in Reseda
By Steven Sharp [9-11-26] // The six-story building would rise one block off of Reseda Boulevard, providing 75 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and 100 semi-subterranean parking spaces. Twelve apartments will be deemed very low-income housing in exchange for density bonus incentives.
By Peter Fabris [9-14-26] // The Brutalist landmark, designed by A.C. Martin, will be converted to 95 residential units under updated adaptive reuse ordinance. The Sherman Oaks building has been vacant since 2015.
SF YIMBY: Approval for Revised 10 South Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-11-26] // Of the now 921 units, 240 will be rental apartments in the modified podium, and 681 will be for-sale condominiums in the tower section. The proposal includes 70 affordable apartments, allowing the developer to seek a 32.5% density bonus, two zoning concessions/incentives, and unlimited waivers.
Mercury News: Menlo Park project at SRI campus adds hundreds of homes, trims office plans
By George Avalos [915-26] // Revised plans show 1,082 homes, up from 800. With a range of residential types, plans call for two apartment buildings, each containing 300 units; 122 single-family homes; 98 small-lot single-family homes; 108 townhomes; and 154 below-market-rate affordable units in a 1.6-acre area.
Mercury News: Homebuilder buys part of former Palo Alto Fry’s Electronics store site
By George Avalos [9-14-26] // Dividend Homes is planning 74 townhomes on 3.9 acres.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
Pleasanton Weekly: Pleasanton council approves rezoning of two church sites to allow for housing
By Christian Trujano [9-7-26] // Trinity Lutheran Church and Rock Bible Church each now have option of constructing up to 10 units in future.
HOMELESSNESS
Mercury News: Oakland changed the rules for homeless RVs. Now vehicle sweeps are accelerating
By Grant Stringer [9-14-26] // City workers recently removed RVs and vehicles from the side of San Leandro Street in East Oakland, a main corridor.
Politico: Major housing nonprofit in Los Angeles’ Skid Row facing financial collapse
By Liam Dillon [9-15-26] // The prospect of SRO Housing Corp., which operates 2,500 units of affordable housing, going under creates a significant new problem for Mayor Karen Bass and other local political leaders.
KTVU: Berkeley starts clearing homeless camp after deadly leptospirosis outbreak linked to rats
By Amanda Quintana [9-15-26] // The city of Berkeley began clearing the encampment on Tuesday. City officials declared the encampment a fire hazard and public nuisance following a deadly leptospirosis outbreak linked to rats.
By Trevor Morgan [9-15-26] // Oceanside's Housing and Neighborhood Services Department had a budget of over $42 million last fiscal year. Over half was spent on rental assistance.
Shelterforce: How Aging and Homeless Services Can Meet in the Middle
By Frances Nguyen [9-11-26] // As more older adults face housing instability, aging and homelessness service providers are building partnerships to fill the gaps between two systems that have long operated separately.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Modesto Bee: Turlock rezones 52 sites for housing as city awaits state approval of overdue plan
By Dean J. Condoleo [9-8-26] // Turlock has approved the rezoning of 52 sites totaling approximately 70 acres as the city seeks state approval of its overdue housing plan, a process that led to a lawsuit by California officials.
By Holly Rusch [9-8-26] // California recently sued the city because its certified housing document is 3 years overdue.
Mission Local: S.F. supervisor announces plan to create new department of housing
By Kelly Waldron [9-15-26] // San Francisco Supervisor Myrna Melgar has put the wheels in motion to establish a new city department, according to plans shared with Mission Local.
By J.K. Dineen [9-14-26] // On Thursday Lincoln Properties won Planning Commission approval for both options, but Wong made it clear his firm was all-in on the office building, while a project that included residential was not feasible.
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. landlords win battle over tax on empty apartments in wake of court ruling
By Bob Egelko [9-11-26] // A state appeals court ruled Friday that voter-approved Proposition M violates property owners’ rights. It conflicts with the 1985 Ellis Act, which “prohibits any requirement for an owner ‘to offer, or to continue to offer, accommodations in the property for rent or lease’.”
By Laura Waxmann [9-14-26] // A new nonprofit is emerging as the antithesis to San Francisco’s YIMBY movement — and not, its founders insist, because it opposes housing, but because it believes the city is approving major projects without adequate scrutiny.
Mercury News: State wants additional fines against Huntington Beach in housing element lawsuit
By Claire Wang [9-12-26] // Three months after Huntington Beach updated its housing element in response to mounting fines, the state is pushing for additional penalties based on regulators’ conclusion that the city’s plan is still out of compliance.
OC Register: Fairview Developmental Center housing plan headed for council vote Sept. 15
By Claire Wang [9-12-26] // The Costa Mesa City Council is set to hold a hearing Tuesday, Sept. 15, on whether to adopt a land use plan that would guide development of 80 acres of the state-owned property into a new neighborhood with up to 4,000 homes for some 10,000 new residents.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
By Christian Leonard [9-13-26] // Prop 13 saved San Francisco homeowners an average of roughly $9,000 in property taxes in 2025, according to a Chronicle analysis of data provided by real estate company Redfin.
September 11, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
L.A. Business First: 20 affordable housing projects receive $220M in grants in L.A. County
By Isabel Sami [9-10-26] // The L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency has issued its first social bond to spur affordable housing development. With the funding, 20 new projects are set to create 1,530 units for more than 4,000 people.
By Julie Johnson [9-10-26] // Point Reyes Station in West Marin County is poised to see one of the county’s largest housing developments in decades break ground next year.
By J.K. Dineen [9-10-26] // FivePoint Senior Vice President Suheil Totah said the initial infrastructure work will support seven blocks of development — six residential and one commercial. It will allow for about 700 housing units, of which 41% will be affordable, and a 350,000-square-foot office building.
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. Mayor Lurie unveils plan to protect renters amid AI-fueled housing ‘emergency’
By J.D. Morris [9-10-26] // Lurie on Thursday announced a package of six ordinances to prevent tenants from being evicted and shield more people from large rent increases as part of his efforts to tackle what he called “San Francisco’s rent emergency.”
MidPen Housing: 71 Affordable Homes Under Construction in Coastal San Mateo County
[9-10-26] // Cypress Point, the first deed-restricted affordable housing in the MidCoast area, offers a Coastal live/work preference as well as homes reserved for agricultural households.
L.A. Times: The California condo is dying. Can this affordable housing option be saved?
By Grace Toohey [9-11-26] // New condo construction in California has plummeted since the early 2000s, which experts say has limited entry-level homeownership options and worsened the state’s housing crisis.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
KQED: San Francisco’s Waterfront Could Get a $17 Billion Climate Makeover
By Ezra David Romero [8-11-26] // San Francisco has a $17 billion plan to save its waterfront from rising seas. Now comes the hard part: funding it.
By Laura Waxmann [9-8-26] // The developers have presented two options: a 700-foot office tower with about 1.3 million square feet of space, or a 650-foot mixed-use tower that would plant roughly 550,000 square feet of new offices and 370 homes in the heart of the Financial District and one block over from Salesforce Tower, the city’s tallest high-rise.
[9-11-26] // Twelve of the 75 residences would be reserved for very-low-income households.
[9-8-26] // Fifteen residences will be permanently income-restricted, including 11 units for very-low-income households and four for moderate-income households.
[9-9-26] // Rather than using conventional single-floor apartment layouts, the plans arrange the residences in two-story configurations, with internal stairs extending individual units vertically through the building. Two of 12 units will be affordable.
HOMELESSNESS
L.A. Times on MSN: L.A.’s homeless authority is put on notice it will have to compete to save itself
By Doug Smith & David Zahniser [9-9-26] // The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has received notice that it will have to compete for its job, likely foreshadowing the breakup of a joint city-county agency that has been the center of local homeless services since the 1990s.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
By Dorian Hargrove [9-10-26] // The lawsuit, brought by Californians for Homeownership and the California Housing Defense Fund — both affiliated with the California Association of Realtors — comes a month after the same groups sued the city of San Diego over the same law, Senate Bill 79, which trumps local zoning restrictions to allow tall, dense housing to be built near transit stations.
New York Times: A Shipyard? A Bunch of New Houses? In California, Not This Year.
By Conor Dougherty [9-5-26] // A legislative setback for a manufacturing and housing proposal shows how hard it remains to build in the largest state — and why a backlash against billionaires could make it even harder.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
L.A. Times: L.A. renters dream of Las Vegas, but outsiders steer clear of L.A., survey shows
By Annika Duneja [9-11-26] // Los Angeles renters are the largest group of people scouring listings in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and elsewhere, chasing cheaper rents and a clearer path to homeownership while few outsiders browse L.A.
By Alex Veiga [9-10-26] // Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes declined in August to their slowest annual pace in more than a year. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year mortgage hit 6.76% this week, its highest level in more than 14 months. It briefly dipped below 6% before the war started.
September 8, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Times Leader: The poorest in the US can’t find housing even as low-income units sit empty
By Claire Rush (AP) [9-7-26] // Mathew Davis, who lives in a homeless shelter in Austin, Texas, would love an apartment of his own. But with the little money he makes donating blood plasma, even a $450-a-month tiny home with no running water and a communal bathroom would be a stretch.
By Ethan Varian [9-6-26] // A San Jose audit found nearly 1 in 8 affordable units housed over-income tenants. A state bill could make it easier to remove some of them.
By David M. Greenwald [8-5-26] // The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that repaying the $10 billion housing bond would cost the state’s General Fund between $500 million and $600 million annually for approximately 25 years.
SF YIMBY: Pre-Application Filed for 1100 Los Gamos Drive, San Rafael
By Andrew Nelson [9-8-26] // The updated project still aims to bring nearly two hundred apartments to a vacant hillside property overlooking U.S. Highway 101, though the floor count has increased and is now fully income-restricted.
SF YIMBY: New Building Permits Filed in Balboa Reservoir Masterplan, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [9-6-26] // Combined with the recent new building permit, BRIDGE Housing Corp., AvalonBay Communities, and Mission Housing Development Corp. are pushing forward with 704 units of the 1,100-unit master plan for Balboa Reservoir.
SF YIMBY: Construction Underway for 156 Shoreline Highway, Mill Valley
By Andrew Nelson [9-5-26] // Crews have begun assembling prefabricated sections for the five-story affordable housing complex near the Richardson Bay Bridge and Bay Trail.
Capital & Main: California Lawmakers Push Back on Trump’s Attack on Renters
By Mark Kreidler [9-3-26] // First-of-its-kind law would prohibit work requirements or time limits on low-income tenants who receive federal assistance.
Noozhawk: Patterson Point Supportive Housing Complex Opens in Goleta
By Pricila Flores [9-4-26] // A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held for the two-story apartment development, which welcomed residents a few months ago.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
LA YIMBY: Available Soon | New Apartments Underway at 3863 Carson Street in Torrance
[9-7-26] // A former surface parking lot is being transformed into Soto, a 200-unit residential development occupying approximately 2.83 acres near Del Amo Circle West.
OC Register: Vacant Riverside Kmart is being torn down to make way for 347 apartments
By Madison Hart [9-2-26] // The apparently market-rate complex will provide 24 studio apartments, 133 one-bedrooms, 180 two-bedrooms and 10 three-bedrooms, as well as 513 parking spaces.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
San Jose Spotlight: Housing planned for former San Jose school campus
By Lorraine Gabbert [9-7-26] // True Life Companies purchased Glider Elementary School, a 9.5-acre site, from Oak Grove School District to redevelop it with 80 homes — a combination of townhomes and single-family houses. Eleven homes will be priced at 80% of the Average Median Income (AMI) and reserved for low-income households.
HOMELESSNESS
MSN: San Francisco ties homelessness contracts to results as service providers worry about cuts
By Tanay Gokhale [9-6-26] // San Francisco will redraw its contracts with organizations that provide homelessness services to build greater accountability within the city's homeless response system, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced.
L.A. Times: Nearly 6,000 homeless people could be displaced by the L.A. Olympics, study says
By James Rainey [9-4-26] // A new report claims nearly 6,000 homeless people living near Olympic venues probably will be displaced during the 2028 Summer Games.
By Jacob Sisneros [9-4-26] // Long Beach officials thought they would run out of money to pay rental subsidies for the 480 households currently on Emergency Housing Vouchers as early as this month, but they now say they have the time — and money — to transition all of those households to other rental assistance programs by November.
By Betty Marquez Rosales [9-7-26] // Nearly 86,000 of California’s children ages 0 to 3 — more than 5% of the state’s infants and toddlers — are estimated to have experienced homelessness in 2023-24, a 15% jump from the year before.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
[9-2-26] // Preapproved plan programs promise to speed up permitting and lower the cost of building new homes. How do they work—and are they working? Seva Rodnyansky shares findings from a review of more than 40 existing programs.
PPIC Virtual Event: Homelessness and Drug Use in California
Thursday, September 10, 2026, 11:00 am - 11:40 am. Register for free event.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
Marketplace: To spur more housing construction, Denver changed its parking rules
By Amy Scott [9-2-26] // To estimate how eliminating parking minimums would affect the housing supply in Denver, Stefan Chavez-Norgaard used a housing policy simulator developed by Terner Labs, a nonprofit that promotes housing affordability.
SF YIMBY: Draft EIR Published for Five Wounds Urban Village Plan, San Jose
By Andrew Nelson [9-3-26] // The report seeks to consolidate four existing plans into the larger vision. Rezoning would allow over 8,000 units across a high-density mixed-use area, including structures up to 270 feet.
S.F. Chronicle: Map: See every vacant lot in San Francisco
By Christian Leonard & Harsha Devulapalli [9-8-26] // The most expensive city in America still has more than 2,000 undeveloped parcels. What gives?
By J.K. Dineen [9-5-26] // Michigan-based developer Eenhoorn and Netherlands multifamily builder Wessels Zeist have filed an application using the builder’s remedy to develop a 21-building development with 1,225 units spread along about one-third of a former limestone quarry.
S.F. Chronicle: This S.F. suburb lost control of its housing. What happens now?
By Connor Letourneau [9-7-26] // Ray Miller, a longtime Brisbane resident who is a former city council member and mayor, has long opposed plans to build housing on the Baylands site. Now the city faces penalties from the state over its refusal to approve its Baylands housing plan.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
OC Register: What’s the best housing market in Southern California?
By Jonathan Lansner [9-8-26] // Who got high grades, and low ones, among 52 Southern California cities.
By Kristine Hansen [9-8-26] // A Midwest metropolis topped a new ranking of buyer-friendly housing markets, with nearly 20 percent of active listings seeing price cuts averaging 6.2 percent.
Newsweek: Discouraged US Homebuyers Get Two Pieces of Good News
By Giulia Carbonaro [9-7-26] // Even as prices rise, they are 15% lower than they were four years ago. Inventory is nearly at pre-pandemic levels.
ECONOMY / EMPLOYMENT
Sacramento Bee: California’s largest state worker union to hold a strike authorization vote
By Corey Schmidt [9-8-26] // “We’re proud of the work we do, and we deserve the respect for that work,” said Bob Holtz, chair of the bargaining unit for professional educators and librarians. “That includes a Newsom administration that respects us enough to bargain with us in good faith.”
CalMatters: Medi-Cal won’t pay for assisted living in most of California. One brother fought back
By Jessica Blough [9-8-26] // Medi-Cal — California’s version of Medicaid — does not offer a waiver to pay for assisted living care in Siskiyou County, nor does it in 42 others across the state. Only 15 California counties, most of them urban.
September 4, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
By Ben Christopher [9-1-26] // Supporters said a condo construction bill was a key to unlocking the type of naturally affordable for-sale housing that California desperately needs. But deadlines matter.
By Andrew Khouri [9-4-26] // The Los Angeles Community College District abruptly canceled bidding for a major student housing project after a losing bidder challenged the integrity of the process.
Sacramento City Express: 119 affordable apartments and 100 homes planned for South Natomas
[9-1-26] // Plans are moving forward for 119 affordable apartments and 100 smaller-lot for-sale homes following the City of Sacramento’s sale of approximately 17 acres of City-owned property.
County News Center: Senior Affordable Housing Breaks Ground in Imperial Beach
By Anita Lightfoot [9-3-26] // The Haven on Palm will be a 50-unit affordable housing community for older adults in Imperial Beach. Half of the homes will be set aside for seniors exiting homelessness.
The Real Deal: Mercy Housing gets $20M funding boost from LA County for Claremont project
[9-3-26] // The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved up to $20.3 million in bond financing for Mercy Claremont, an affordable development from nonprofit developer Mercy Housing slated for 1364 North Towne Avenue, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.
By Ryan Macasero [9-3-26] // Previous deals to develop the property fell apart over funding issues.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
Mercury News: City gives final approval to downtown San Jose affordable homes project
By George Avalos [9-2-26] // A seven-story, 168-unit building would replace surface parking lot near Hammer Theatre Center. Thirty-three units would be reserved for very low-income households, and 133 reserved for low-income households.
SF Chronicle: Burned-out S.F. restaurant could become 89 condos after years as an eyesore
By J.K. Dineen [9-2-26] // The 89-unit project proposed for the former Hong Kong Lounge property on Geary Boulevard in Jordan Park is only two blocks from the Coronet, a 120-unit senior center and housing complex built in 2011 on the site of a shuttered movie theater. But when it comes to San Francisco’s approval process, the two projects are a world apart.
HOMELESSNESS
Sacramento Bee: Sacramento’s homeless need housing now, not another City Council debate | Opinion
By Robin Epley [9-3-26] // The Sacramento City Council has made it clear they’re utterly incapable of agreeing on new shelters and moving forward. Time and time again, plans crumble apart.
By Trevor Morgan [9-2-26] // San Diego's Office of the Independent Budget Analyst advises the city to think of what services it should provide and then how to fund them, not the other way around.
By David Zahniser & Doug Smith [9-3-26] // The inquiry follows HUD’s effort to suspend LAHSA from applying for and receiving federal grants, which has been blocked by a judge. Bass spokesperson Paige Sterling confirmed that the mayor had received the letter and is preparing a response. She did not say whether Bass will attend the Sept. 15 hearing.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
CityWatch: Investigative Analysis - ED 1 Is Redeveloping Los Angeles—One Neighborhood at a Time
By Eva Amar [9-4-26] // (Opinion) Cities evolve. Housing needs change. But there are real people underneath that zoning map, and they have skin in the game.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
Mercury News: California Legislature withdraws a controversial wildfire liability bill. What now?
By Rob Nikolewski [9-2-26] // The last-minute Senate Bill 492 gets killed at the close of the legislative session. No word on whether it will come back in a special session.
OC Register: LA-Orange County homes still ‘unaffordable’ even with a 0% mortgage
By Jonathan Lansner [8-30-26] // Home prices in 42 U.S. metros – including 11 from California – would not meet a 30% affordability standard even with no interest charged.
September 1, 2026
News & Information
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Smart Cities Dive: Social housing program gets city task force sign-off in Portland, Maine
By Ryan Kushner [8-31-26] // As cities across the country face a dearth of affordable housing options, some are turning to social housing programs, which can help maintain majority city or nonprofit control over housing developments to keep them affordable.
OC Register: 65 units of new affordable housing project in Midway City stacked into place
By Heather McRea [8-29-26] // By using prefabricated, modular units, the housing nonprofit expects the affordable housing project to be done in under a year and with cost savings of tens of thousands of dollars per unit compared to a traditional complex of a similar size.
LAist on MSN: First modular unit delivered for Altadena low-income rental complex
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez [8-31-26] // It’s the first of a new, 14-unit rental complex reserved for low-income renters, like the ones who lost their homes when the original courtyard apartments on East Pine Street in West Altadena burned down.
LA YIMBY: 77 Affordable Apartments Advance at 8911 South Ramsgate Avenue in Westchester
[8-31-26] // The current five-story plan consists of 77 apartments, including 60 units reserved for low-income households, 16 for moderate-income households, and one manager’s unit.
HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
SF YIMBY: CEQA Exemption for 741 South Winchester Boulevard, San Jose
By Andrew Nelson [8-29-26] // The CEQA exemption was granted through the Housing Accountability Act and the Builder’s Remedy provision, streamlining the planning process for 264 residential units.
INFILL / CONVERSION / REDEVELOPMENT / PRESERVATION
San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego tweaks 101 Ash St. deal ahead of closing
By Jennifer Van Grove [8-28-26] // On Sept. 15, San Diego City Council members will vote on a proposed amendment to its ground lease disposition agreement with 101 Ash Venture LP, which is planning to convert the office tower into apartments for low-income families.
Mercury News: 8-story mixed use building for downtown Walnut Creek gets approval
By Sierra Lopez [8-31-26] // The greenlit project would add 104 housing units, including 14 affordable ones, to downtown Walnut Creek. It would be the tallest building in the city’s commercial corridor.
By J.K. Dineen [8-31-26] // The dramatic supersizing of the plan — from 64 to 172 units and from 9 to 12 stories— for the shuttered Empire Theater at 85 West Portal Ave. was made possible by Mayor Daniel Lurie’s recent “Family Zoning” changes as well as the acquisition of an adjacent property.
SF YIMBY: Renderings Revealed for 3300 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco
By Andrew Nelson [8-31-26] // The eight-story proposal will replace three structures with 89 for-sale apartments and ground-floor retail.
LA YIMBY: Apartments and Commercial Hub Advancing at 11905 Wilshire Boulevard in Brentwood
[9-1-26] // This seven-story development will provide 81 apartments, including nine homes for very low-income residents, with ground-floor commercial space.
SCHOOL / RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION LAND USE
By Ryan Macasero [8-30-26] // Proposed 80-home development would replace former Glider Elementary School, vacant since 2018.
HOMELESSNESS
Davis Vanguard: California Homelessness Prevention Bill Heads to Newsom as Advocates Urge Signature
By David M. Greenwald [9-1-26] // AB 1924 would direct the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to develop a statewide homelessness prevention strategy with measurable goals and accountability measures.
PODCASTS / MULTIMEDIA
Talking Headways Podcast: Measuring the Pulse of Urban Development
By Jeff Wood [8-27-26] // This week we’re joined by Karen Seto at Yale University and Zhe Zhu at the University of Connecticut to talk about their new study, The Urban Pulse. We talk about using granular satellite data to measure change in cities and the processes of urbanization.
Talking Headways Podcast: How Money for Highways Could Have Built 36 Paris Metros
By Jeff Wood [8-20-26] // The money we spent on urban freeways could have transformed American cities for the better.
Thursday, Sept. 3, 10:00-11:00 a.m. Rachel Morello-Frosch and Carolina Reid from UC Berkeley will present findings from "Equitable Housing Decarbonization: Implementation Approaches," a recent study prepared for the California Air Resources Board. Panel discussion follows. Register for free event.
LAND USE / PLANNING / REGULATION
By Ryan Carter [8-31-26] // Senate Bill 1090, the Keep Altadena Lands in Altadena Hands Act, passed out of the state Legislature on Sunday, would prevent corporate developers from using existing state land-use laws such to buy up burned lots in Altadena's Eaton fire area.
OC Register: Costa Mesa to consider changes to housing element in response to state lawsuit
By Claire Wang [8-29-26] // Facing legal action from the state, Costa Mesa leaders will consider changes on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to the city’s housing element, which determines where and how 11,760 state-mandated units could be built by the end of the decade.
By Barbara Henry [8-30-26] // The current fee to file an appeal of a Planning Commission decision is $467, which is only about 5 percent of the amount it actually costs Encinitas to provide the service, a new city staff report states.
HOUSING MARKETS / REAL ESTATE
OC Register: Southern California landlords in price-cut mode this summer
By Jonathan Lansner [9-1-26] // Roughly one-third of landlords are trying to fill rental units by using special deals this summer.
ECONOMY / EMPLOYMENT
New York Times: What the Jump in Global Interest Rates Means for the Economy
By Aruni Soni [9-1-26] // Global interest rates are rising. Interest rates on U.S. government bonds can affect everything from auto and student loans to mortgages.
TRANSPORTATION / TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
By David Garick [8-31-26] // 'Ideally, we want to see as little park-and-ride as possible,' says one transit advocate. 'But we can acknowledge the reality that the trolley doesn’t go everywhere, and bus coverage is a bit spotty.'
Streetsblog Cal: Shocked by Newsom’s Cuts to Transit? Don’t Be.
By Damien Newton [8-31-26] // When the going got tough, Newsom looked to cut transportation money that would have reduced car dependency for the last half-decade.
S.F. Chronicle: S.F. is one of America’s most walkable cities. So why is its traffic so bad?
By Izzy Nunes [9-1-26] // “San Francisco is almost perfect for getting around, but the city is punching below its weight in terms of what it could do,” transit advocate Luke Bornheimer said.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Fast Company: The Urbanism Lesson in Dolly Parton’s Dollywood
By M.J. Gutiérrez Chávez [8-28-26] // “The strongest development begins with the history, culture, and physical assets already present in a place, and builds around them. That is a lesson that applies just as much to the revitalization of a downtown or waterfront, making sure that new investment feels ‘of the place’,” said David Kooris of Connecticut Municipal Development Authority. Dollywood has on-site workforce housing, a health clinic, and educational opportunities.
NATIONAL HOUSING NEWS
[8-24-26] // Congress created the Opportunity Zone tax incentive to spur investment in low-income communities. This incentive appears to be mostly funding real estate development in urban areas with access to community support and infrastructure.
