CBIA Update

California Building Industry Association (CBIA) Update

In the current housing market, the reality is that many Californians cannot afford to purchase a home in their own state, effectively widening the racial homeownership gap. At the short end of this crisis are Black and Latino families, whose prospects of homeownership are disproportionately and acutely compromised by California’s staggering home prices. California’s homeowner class has been notably whiter and wealthier than its true demographics for decades. For this reason, CBIA prioritizes a message of Housing for All, or expanding California’s diverse homeownership by increasing home production and supporting legislation that advances housing that is affordable. Housing for All highlights the disparities in homeownership in California, particularly and especially for Black and Latino families who have historically faced undue barriers to acquiring a home.

The California Legislature frequently promises to improve Black and Latino homeownership levels, yet acts in contrast to this by routinely imposing new and excessive laws and regulations on homebuilding. In March, a legislative meeting between the State Assembly Housing and Banking Committees was pulled together as a “call to action” to address racial disparities in housing. Ultimately, however, this meeting resulted in little to no substantive solutions. The proposed policy suggestions focused on lowering credit score requirements and mortgage rates rather than acknowledging the issue at the heart of the problem: burdensome building regulations that perpetuate the plight of Black and Latino homeownership. Though they may be well-intentioned, the Legislature’s steep regulations on homebuilding both draw out the building process and push additional costs onto consumers. A recent study conducted by the National Association of Homebuilders finds that for every $1,000 home price increase in California, a little over 12,300 families are priced out, or no longer able to afford the home. The ever-growing price tag for a home in California, most recently driven by new regulations imposed by the Legislature, has clearly captured the attention and concern of most Californians. A 2021 statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that six in ten Californians think housing affordability is a major problem in their part of the state. The majority of Black respondents (56%) feel that the state has not done enough to make housing more affordable; likely a reflection of their disproportionate share of the impacts of the housing crisis.

Without access to affordable homeownership, Black and Latino families are barricaded from both the American dream of owning a home and the wealth-building benefits that it provides. Simply put, high home prices perpetuate racial inequality in homeownership. For racial disparities in California’s homeownership levels to truly be balanced out, the Legislature can no longer turn a blind eye to the part they play in exacerbating the problem.

Marissa Saldivar

CBIA Political Communications