Category: housing

Santa Ana Approves $80 million COVID-Relief Package

The City of Santa Ana, Calif., unanimously approved an $80 million COVID-19 relief plan, the first portion of the $128 million it is set to receive as part of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.    The plan, dubbed “Revive Santa Ana” seeks to provide local residents with more access to green space, food and housing, the Internet, and…


Santa Ana Approves $80 million COVID-19 Relief Package

The city of Santa Ana, California, unanimously approved an $80 million COVID-19 relief plan, the first portion of the $128 million it’s set to receive as part of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.    The plan, dubbed “Revive Santa Ana” seeks to provide local residents with more access to green space, food and housing, the internet, and homeless…


Pushing Against Dependence on Government—Dr. Ben Carson on Homelessness & Poverty

“One of the things that I discovered very quickly at HUD [Housing and Urban Development] as a secretary, is that there are a lot of people on the Hill who don’t agree that people should be independent,” says Dr. Ben Carson. Policies that seemed geared toward making people more dependent on government seemed to be…


Orange County to Provide More than 1,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers

Orange County, Calif. is rolling out a new housing plan that will offer more than 1,000 emergency housing vouchers (EHV) to homeless and vulnerable individuals. The board of supervisors is set to approve multiple contracts during its July 27 meeting with various non-profits that will distribute 529 vouchers. The certificates provide ongoing rental assistance for eligible households. Individuals and families that receive EHVs will…


Most of SoCal Housing Market Begins Normalizing

Commentary The housing market in Orange County, Calif., is finally starting to normalize. Homeowners can still expect their properties to sell in less than a month—historically very fast. But at 27 days, the average market time to sell a home in Orange County has increased 23 percent, from 22 days, in the past four weeks….


LA County Approves More Than $500 Million in Homeless Spending

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on July 13 approved $527.1 million in funding for strategies to battle homelessness in fiscal year 2021-22, while expressing frustration over the rising numbers of people living on the street. Despite the massive inflow of cash from Measure H and dozens of carefully crafted initiatives that…


Orange County Cities Sue State Over Housing Mandates 

A lawsuit filed by an association of Orange County cities alleges California’s housing mandate violated the state local planning laws. The Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) filed the lawsuit June 21 against the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) regarding the 1.34 million home mandate in Southern California; about 183,000 of those units…


Crews Break Ground On Permanent Supportive Housing Project

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Crews broke ground July 7 on a Proposition HHH-funded permanent supportive housing project in West Los Angeles to house seniors and senior veterans experiencing homelessness. The 51-unit, five-story building at 11010 Santa Monica Blvd. is expected to be ready for occupancy in December 2022, according to Councilman Paul Koretz’ office. It will include…


Buying and Selling in a Hot Housing Market

The housing market is white hot right now! Home prices are way up over last year, and 50 percent of homes are selling for more than the asking price—$20,000, $50,000, even $100,000 more in some cases. That’s causing buyers everywhere to do some insane things to get the houses they want. More than half made…


US Home Prices Jump at Fastest Pace in More Than 15 Years

WASHINGTON—U.S. home prices soared in April at the fastest pace since 2005 as potential buyers bid up prices on a limited supply of available properties. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, jumped nearly 15 percent in April from the previous year. That is up from a 13.4 percent annual gain in…