WASHINGTON (TNND) — California’s housing affordability crisis has deepened even as the state has directed billions of taxpayer dollars toward housing and homelessness programs, according to an analysis from OpenTheBooks.com.
Rachel O’Brien, the organization’s deputy public policy editor, said the average California home price rose from about $522,000 in 2015 to $953,000 in 2024. The state estimates it needs to build 180,000 new homes annually, but fewer than 100,000 homes were built in most years during the 2010s and 2020s, she said.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, he pledged to build 3.5 million new homes by 2025. Fewer than 500,000 homes were completed during that period, leaving the state roughly 3 million units short of that target, according to O’Brien.
California has spent nearly $24 billion on housing and homelessness programs over the past five years, she said. Newsom is now backing a proposed $11.3 billion bond measure expected to appear on the November ballot, with funding aimed at expanding affordable housing.
O’Brien said much of the state’s reported affordable-housing spending comes through loans and tax credits rather than direct grants. In fiscal year 2026, California provided about $6 billion to homeowners, largely through mortgage-interest and property-tax deductions, compared with nearly $3 billion for renters, she said.
Construction costs and regulatory delays also remain central obstacles, O’Brien said. She cited restrictive zoning, slow permitting and impact fees as factors that can make affordable-housing projects in California cost two to four times more than comparable developments in Colorado or Texas.
Nearly 40,000 affordable units are already designed and permitted but are awaiting final funding, according to O’Brien, who said the projects face an estimated $4 billion funding backlog.