FRIDAY - it's been so long since we've last met
- How to Write a Design Brief for Your New Home or Remodel
- Is the Rent Too High? Renters May Be in Luck in These Cities
- A new fight over California rent control is coming
- San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco job markets expected to cool
- SAN JOSE APPROVES CAR PROGRAM TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS
- Younger Bay Area residents support new housing, but older generation is more hostile
- Open-Plan Living: Partition Your Way to Comfortable Spaces
Enjoy!
Is the Rent Too High? Renters May Be in Luck in These Cities - Renters are now likely being priced out of places like San Francisco and are turning to places like Stockton, CA, about 80 miles away. Median prices have shot up in Stockton about 12.5% over the past year on two-bedroom apartments in the city, according to Apartment List. That might sound like a lot, but at a median $1,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, tenants are still paying less than a quarter of what they would in San Francisco.
A new fight over California rent control is coming - Statewide, average rents have increased 60 percent over the past 20 years. In 2016, median rents in the Bay Area and Los Angeles area ranged from $2,427 to $4,508, according to a housing report from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Nearly half of California’s households rent, and 84 percent of them are considered “burdened,” spending 30 percent to 50 percent or more of annual income on rent. In California, when a tenant leaves a rent-controlled unit, landlords are allowed to raise the rent to market rate, raising the rent-control floor. The number of housing units covered by any local rent-control ordinance is severely restricted. Single-family homes, duplexes and condominiums are also exempt. Under current law, rent control doesn’t apply to housing built after 1995. Cities that adopted rent control prior to 1995 cannot strengthen existing ordinances.
San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco job markets expected to cool - During 2017, the total number of payroll jobs is expected to increase 2.3 percent in Santa Clara County, 2.3 percent in the East Bay and 1.9 percent in the San Francisco-San Mateo region. That is much slower than the job growth in 2016 of 2.9 percent in Santa Clara County, 3.1 percent in the East Bay and 3.2 percent in San Francisco-San Mateo. Part of the problem, experts said, is that construction of new homes has failed to keep up with the employment growth in the Bay Area.
SAN JOSE APPROVES CAR PROGRAM TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS - Late Tuesday, San Jose formally approved a program to get cars and trucks into the hands of people who lost their vehicle to flood waters in February. The program involves connecting donated cars with flood victims. To kick off the effort the City of San Jose made the first 20 donations. In addition to the donations, the 61 dealerships that make up the Silicon Valley Auto Dealers Association have agreed to offer flood victims deep discounts on used cars and car repairs.
Younger Bay Area residents support new housing, but older generation is more hostile - Seventy percent of millennials were in favor of building more housing in their own neighborhood, while only 57 percent of residents age 40 to 64 supported additional homes near them. Lower housing supply benefits homeowners by raising both home sale prices and rental value. Opposition to proposed housing projects is common, with height, effects on traffic and parking and pricing often cited. Opponents can also easily delay or block projects by filing appeals or suing under California's environmental laws.
Open-Plan Living: Partition Your Way to Comfortable Spaces - Double the functionality of a room or add structure to an open-plan space with creative partitioning. Some of my faves:
