Shared Priorities.
Ending the housing shortage.
We can bring down skyrocketing rents and homeownership costs by reforming policies that limit the supply of homes near transit, jobs, parks, and schools, and encouraging policies that incentivize creative and equitable land use. This includes tackling multi-family housing bans in neighborhoods head-on to ensure that wealthier communities don’t shirk their responsibility to build needed housing, making new housing financially feasible, and allowing more housing where it makes the most sense.
Ending discriminatory housing policies.
The housing crisis disproportionately impacts California’s most vulnerable, including lower-income Californians and communities of color. Reforming housing policy requires that we recognize the impact of decades of redlining and end the practices that have excluded many low-income and working-class families from high-resource neighborhoods with good schools, jobs, and parks. Prioritizing racial and economic equity — and evaluating whether existing policies are achieving it — is a central component of HOME’s collaborative work.
Increasing homeownership rates.
Homeownership is the main way most Californians build wealth, making it critical to dramatically increase and diversify opportunities for all families to own a home.This includes increasing the supply of more affordable entry-level homes, such as condos, townhomes, and modular and small-lot homes, while working to ensure that first-time buyers have support at every step.
Amplifying the voices of vulnerable communities.
Those most impacted by housing displacement—including low-income families, renters, seniors, and communities of color—must have a voice in our work to find solutions. New housing must benefit the Californians who need it most, not put them at greater risk of housing insecurity, and prioritize the well-being and inclusion of existing residents, businesses, and workers. That means elevating projects that benefit the local community and businesses, creating opportunities for homebuilders and workers from the community, and protecting existing residents from displacement.
Bringing down skyrocketing living costs.
Insurance, energy, transportation, childcare, and other costs that are closely intertwined with the housing shortage exacerbate the affordability crisis for underserved communities. HOME works to bring down these interconnected expenses by supporting policies that allow more housing near transit, reduce development in fire-prone areas, incentivize mixed-use zoning, and related community-driven reforms.