As COVID eviction moratoriums expire up and down the state, investment in rental properties is on the rise and back to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, the wages and wealth of renters have remained pretty much stagnant for the better part of this century, while homeowners have seen a surge in their net worth since the early 90s, despite the housing bubble bursting in 2007-08.
In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s getting wet out there. Following a record-setting atmospheric river over the weekend, the Bay Area is about to be hit by another 3-5 inches of rain, 40-60 mph winds, and all the mess that comes along with it.
Get more from SFGate.
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you’ve probably heard of “housing elements” – plans that every California city need to update every eight years to set goals for housing development based on projected growth.
If that sounds super geeky, well, that’s because it is. But it doesn’t make it any less important, especially if you’re considering the affordability of homeownership in Silicon Valley.
For example, here’s a Mercury News article with a map of where the City of San José would like to build 77,500 new homes in the next ten years.
AAA estimates that about 113 million people will travel for the holidays, with more than 100 million of them traveling by car. That’s a huge increase of 3.6M travelers over last year, and the latest sign that we’re growing more and more comfortable with post-pandemic living. But it could only take one viral surge to turn an entire industry on its head again. How are you getting to grandma’s house this year?
Right here in Silicon Valley, the innovation capital of the world, thousands of foster youth are falling through the cracks. 75% of foster youth in Santa Clara County are performing below grade level, and 47% receive special education services — compared with 12% of the general population. Meanwhile, foster youth supported by Pivotal graduate from college at 10x the national average.
Do these numbers convince you to give?
