Homeownership in the Sacramento region has reached its highest level in nearly four decades, despite rising housing costs and affordability challenges, with more than 64% of households now owner-occupied.
The United States is facing an existential crisis due to a lack of political imagination and a scarcity mindset, which has led to the criminalization of poverty, homelessness, and immigration, and a reliance on punishment rather than investment in social programs.
The argument that declining birth rates will eventually relieve housing pressure is flawed, as it ignores the economic, migratory, and climate forces that will shape demand far more powerfully than fertility trends in the decades ahead, and the housing crisis is a present shortfall that needs to be addressed now.
The National Fair Housing Alliance has expressed its support for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, urging the Trump administration to partner with her on affordability and other “kitchen table issues” facing Americans, rather than attempting to remove her from office.
The Trump administration and HUD’s policy moves have created confusion and instability for local agencies relying on federal housing grants, leaving administrators uncertain about how to comply with shifting federal directives while maintaining services in their communities.
Cornerstone, a mixed-income affordable housing development in South Sacramento, has been awarded a Bronze World Habitat Award for its role in affordable housing, homelessness prevention and community development, providing housing for over 400 people and offering financial coaching, support services and opportunities for residents to participate in community decision-making.
The National Fair Housing Alliance has denounced a proposed rule from HUD that would weaken fair housing discrimination protections by scaling back the use of disparate impact, a tool used to address policies that have discriminatory outcomes.
The Sacramento region has seen a surge in housing production, with over 12,500 new homes completed in 2024, but affordability remains a major issue as housing costs have risen faster than wages, leaving many households struggling to afford housing.
The National Housing Law Project has warned that the lapse of funding for SNAP will have severe consequences for low-income families, as 44 million tenants face rent, 24 million people face health costs, and 40 million people, including 16 million children, face food insecurity.
The Placer County Planning Commission voted to halt a 240-unit apartment complex in Penryn, despite potential legal risk, highlighting the tension between local officials and the state’s housing agenda.
The National Housing Law Project has condemned the government shutdown, warning that it will have a disproportionate impact on poor and working families, and urging Congress to fight for them and end the “assault on our government”.
The Trump administration has been accused of drastically weakening enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, with internal documents and interviews revealing a coordinated effort to halt or curtail discrimination cases, reassign experienced lawyers, and impose new restrictions on the office responsible for enforcing fair housing protections.
SB 5, legislation to prevent developers from exploiting the special tax status of protected California farmland to finance urban improvements, passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and now goes to the governor.
The Sacramento Housing Alliance is urging the city council to reject a developer’s appeal to downzone key parcels in Crocker Village from multifamily to single-family housing, arguing that such a move would worsen Sacramento’s housing crisis and undermine state housing laws.
Millions of Americans are living in homes that are crumbling and unsafe due to a lack of maintenance, and programs designed to help are overwhelmed with long waiting lists, resulting in a need for federal support to address this aspect of the housing crisis.
The Trump administration is facing criticism for a HUD directive that would require public housing authorities to identify immigrant tenants and families with mixed immigration status, which could lead to destabilization of families and worsen the nation’s housing crisis.
The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) announced that the region built 12,500 homes in 2024, marking the highest housing production year since 2005 and a 60 percent increase compared to just five years ago.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal to develop more of the North Natomas basin, which is a floodplain surrounded by levees that were originally so weak that a grant to expand regional sewer contained a $6 million penalty if that capacity were used to serve North Natomas, and the land speculators controlling North Natomas were able to get the penalty waived and receive $43 million in levee improvement grants, which is bad for the public realm and the environment.
Local leaders gathered to mark the grand opening of Powell’s Landing, a new permanent supportive housing project that offers 69 units for adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness, featuring on-site support services and amenities, and is being held up as an example of public-private collaboration in addressing homelessness and housing insecurity.
As the American housing crisis worsens, policymakers, advocates, and residents are considering bold solutions such as public ownership, rent control, and social housing to address the failures of the private housing market.