BAY AREA JOBS-HOUSING IMBALANCE GROWS

The Bay Area’s jobs-housing imbalance is getting worse, adding to the region’s affordability crisis and threatening to undermine the region’s strong economy. An analysis of regional housing and employment data by the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area shows that since 2011 the region has added 531,000 jobs while creating just 124,000 new housing units. This amounts to a ratio of 4.3 jobs per housing unit, a rate well in excess of a healthy balance of 1.5 jobs per housing unit. The Council has been working aggressively to advocate for statewide policy reforms that will encourage more housing production. Gov. Brown recently signed legislation the Council sponsored that will allow for up to 20,000 units of new housing near BART stations. The Council is also working to implement legislation we sponsored last year that has the potential to add hundreds of thousands of affordable granny or in-law units. To engage in the Council’s housing policy work, please contact Senior Vice President Matt Regan.