On May 21, California Housing Partnership Corporation, in collaboration with Sacramento Housing Alliance, released the annual housing needs data assessment for Sacramento County. The report shows that Sacramento County needs 63,118 more affordable rental homes to meet current demand and renters in Sacramento County need to earn $27.79 per hour – 2.3 times the State minimum wage – to afford the median asking rent of $1,445. The report highlights recommendations for policy changes at the state and local level that can support the production of the homes Sacramento residents so desperately need, particularly identifying new sources of local revenue for affordable homes, such as Measure U.
Excerpts from the press release:
“It’s clear that voters approved Measure U to change business as usual, to fundamentally alter how Sacramento invests in its people and communities,” said Creswell, who also is a member of the Measure U Advisory Committee. “The growing crisis highlighted in this report must compel the city to make significant new investments in the development of affordable homes, especially for renters of modest means, and to provide safe and stable homes for people experiencing homelessness.”
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg strongly supports the idea of directing a portion of the new Measure U funds towards affordable housing.
“In the City of Sacramento, Measure U gives us the opportunity to have a real Housing Trust Fund that will allow us to help bridge the funding gap for projects that will address the severe shortage of affordable housing for our residents,” Steinberg said. “Thank you to the Sacramento Housing Alliance for recommending a comprehensive approach to this statewide crisis, of which a local funding source is a key piece.”
Read the full report here.
