Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Real Estate Round-Up: What the housing supply in 2021 looks like

2020 started out as a year poised for some great reform in the housing arena. The California State Legislators sponsored multiple bills focused on streamlining the process to expedite housing development as well as modifications to zoning to allow for additional housing along transit corridors.

The bills were crafted to provide solutions to the lack of housing supply. Then COVID-19 arrived, and all legislative plans shifted focus on emergency response to the virus. The California Legislature generally considers 4000 bills in a session. This year most every bill was stalled in committee or appropriations, and therefore never voted on. Only 400 bills were addressed and those that passed were related to emergency response for COVID-19.

The new year is almost here, and even though no one is expecting things to be normal by January, hopefully the legislature will be able to re-focus on the shortage of housing and therefore the lack of affordability.

Did you know that the current average price of a home in Fallbrook is over $690,000? Ask yourself, if you had to get a loan today for a $690,000 home, could you qualify?

Or better yet, if you had to purchase the home you’re currently living in, would you be able to afford your own home? Many people that I speak with openly acknowledge that they would not be qualified to purchase the home they live in.

Don’t get me wrong. Everyone who owns a home, worked hard to create their personal financial, employment and credit package, so they could purchase that home, and they deserve the equity that has been accrued. It is exactly that hard earned equity, that makes moving away possible for the many seniors who are moving out of California.

So, I ask you, do you have a heart for the current generation of people under 45 who are renting and still trying to find a way to own a home? I do.

We all know that the best way to build wealth is by owning your own home. The best way to build stable communities is through homeownership. Homeowners are the people who sit on the school board, the planning group, the fire district, or hospital board. They are the volunteers who give generously of their time and money to all the local nonprofits.

Homeowners also deliberately support their local businesses. Why? Because they are committed to the community when they become a homeowner. Tenants are transient. Therefore, investing time into a community has no long-term value.

Look at cities like San Diego. The reason it thrives is because at its financial core are residential owners. Compare it to cities that don’t have homeownership within the city center, and you see a crumbling, financially strapped city like Detroit or Cleveland.

The demand for housing is reflected in the 15.9% increase in average sales price from September 2019 to September 2020. Homes are selling twice as fast as last year. Total home sales are up 12.8% for the rolling 12 months, September to September.

Put all these facts together, low inventory of homes for sale, increased sales prices because of supply and demand, and despite the low inventory, 12.8% more homes have sold this year than last.

This is great if you are selling your home. But what about the people who are hoping to buy a home. Well-qualified buyers can expect a bidding war on almost any home they write an offer on. Once again, this is great news if you’re a seller, but what about the buyers? The only solution for buyers is an increase in supply.

The California Association of Realtors will be supporting and likely sponsoring two bills to encourage the construction of more housing. Both bills are requesting ministerial approvals. In other words, the approval is granted based upon determinations that the proposal complies with established standards.

Imagine a checklist, with all boxes checked off. That uncomplicated process would lead to ministerial approval. Currently, project proposals go through the discretionary approval process. A discretionary approval is one that requires the exercise of judgement or deliberation by a public agency in determining whether the project will be approved, or if a permit will be issued.

It is a lengthy process, reviewed by many different county departments, that adds cost and time to a project. The discretionary approval process can get derailed at many different points. A crisis requires a quick response. Ministerially approval provides that for the housing crisis.

The first bill would require local government, in Fallbrook’s case, San Diego County, to ministerially approve housing development: (a) on lots zoned for office, retail or commercial use within a residential neighborhood and (b) by request of property owners seeking to convert an existing vacant commercial property, located near a residential neighborhood, from a commercial use to a residential or mixed use residential and commercial use.

Fallbrook currently has Village zones that allow for multi-use or combined use of commercial with residential, and is considering through its revitalization committee, expanding the mixed-use zoning, specifically for the downtown area.

This kind of development lends to the walkability of a community, and therefore provides support for local retail, restaurants, and medical businesses.

The second bill would require local government to ministerially approve simple lot splits and duplexes in urbanized areas if: (a) one of the units will be owner occupied for three years after constructions, (b) owners are permitted to apply for simple lot split or a permit to construct a duplex, but not both; and (c) the states accessory dwelling unit law is limited to the single family detached units that are located on the lots resulting from a simple lot split.

This bill’s focus is on urbanized areas, so would most likely not have an impact on Fallbrook. I particularly like the aspect that the property would have to be owner occupied for three years after construction, so owners would not build something that they themselves would not want to live in or live near.

I hear many comments from longtime Fallbrook residents who say they want to retain Fallbrook’s rural charm and feel. Doing that and adding homes for our younger generation and working-class families are not mutually exclusive. You can do both and we should do both.

The world is clearly not the same as it was 30 years ago, or even last year. Homeownership has always been the American dream. That dream is alive and should be available, especially in a town like Fallbrook.

I am proud of CAR for continuing to propose bills that will encourage housing construction, so that everyone who wants to own a home, has the opportunity to do so.

Home affordability is directly linked to housing availability. This is not some other community’s responsibility; it is every community’s responsibility. The shortage of housing and affordability is a crisis. We need heroes to step up and fix it. Are you on board?

Kim Murphy can be reached at [email protected] or 760-415-9292 or at 130 N Main Avenue, in Fallbrook. Her broker license is #01229921, and she is on the board of directors for the California Association of Realtors.

 

Reader Comments(0)