Despite a California mandate that cities in the state are expected to approve a specified number of affordable units every eight years, most local counties aren’t coming close to those goals.

Contra Costa County approved just 37% of the 8,350 low-income unites required, while Alameda County approved only 41% of its 16,516 unit goal. Elsewhere, Santa Clara met only 30% of it’s 25,700 target while San Mateo reached a lofty (by these standards) 59% of it’s 7,102 goal.

State regulators are considering new penalties for those communities who lag far behind. Also under consideration is bond measure worth up to $20 billion to help boost affordable housing.

Not long after the recall was shut down, Governor Newsome announced California’s first housing accelerator fund, which is a $1.75 billion dollar initiative to help fund 90 projects of more than 7,000 units of affordable housing in California.

California is prioritizing projects that have already gotten an allocation of state funding and will begin work in the next 180 days.

This is much needed. California has to find a way to make room for its workforce with more affordable housing.

As mentioned in an earlier post, “Affordable Middle Class Housing? Try Ohio”, affordable housing for today’s middle class is clustered in mid-America with 5 of the top 10 area in Ohio. It probably won’t come as a complete shock to Bay Area residents to learn that 7 of the top 10 least affordable areas are in California, including San Francisco (#1), Los Angeles (#2), Orange County (#3), San Diego (#5), Ventura County (#6), San Jose (#7) and Oakland (#10). Rounding out the non-California areas are New York City (#4), Fairfield County, Connecticut (#8) and Honolulu (#9).

According to a recent report by Trulia, middle-class affordability to buy a home has worsened in the past year as prices have continued to rebound. The good news is: due to low mortgage rates and undervalued home prices there are still areas in the US where home are affordable to the middle class. The bad news: none are anywhere near the East Bay. In fact, of the ten most affordable markets, five are in Ohio. The remaining states represented in the Top Ten are Indiana, Michigan, Arkansas, South Carolina and, somehow – New York (Rochester).

Not surprisingly, California has 7 of the 10 least affordable housing markets for middle-class buyers.