A recent Sacramento Bee article looked at how California’s housing crisis occurred, and one of the primary conclusions goes back to the 1970s. Coastal neighborhoods — like many of the pricier areas in Los Angeles — began opposing new housing developments back then, and quite a few continue to do so today. This lowers supply, driving prices up and forcing buyers to look inland for homes. 

According to the piece, California built an average of around 120,000 new housing units each year from 1980 to 2010, when 230,000 per year were needed to meet demand. That’s created a major shortfall that still has the state 100,000 units off the pace each year.

Even recent decisions in LA show how the county has been reducing new housing units. Redondo Beach put a temporary ban on mixed-use developments that could be extended to September. Developers claim that new Santa Monica regulations around low-income housing could stifle residential building growth there. Recent findings also showed parking supply policies hindering builds.  

Recent data around Downtown LA home sales showed inventory down 31 percent year-over-year, while prices continue to increase.

Many of these issues also trace back to what the Sacramento Bee article points out as the state’s primary hurdles: High costs of development, unsuccessful housing laws to push new builds, and deprioritization of affordable housing in many communities. Moves like Santa Monica’s mandate for 30 percent of developments being dedicated to affordable housing is a step forward there. However, if that also increases the cost of building too much, it could mean less new units overall.