The California Energy Commission has announced new regulations to require rooftop solar panels on all new homes constructed in California beginning in 2020. This forced mandate represents an extraordinary regulatory overreach.

However, don’t expect too much political push-back against these new rules. Why? Because the “winners” who support the regulations have a lot more political juice than the “losers.”

Tops on the list of winners is, of course, the solar industry. When your business is the manufacturing and installation of solar panels, and you can get government to mandate the purchase of your product, you have a guaranteed customer base as well as a guaranteed revenue stream.  For solar companies, spending a few million dollars on political influence results in a great (return on investment).

Read more at Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association.

For decades, California progressives have complained about a “loophole” in Proposition 13 that unfairly benefits the owners of commercial real estate to the detriment of homeowners. This characterization has been widely accepted by the mainstream media with little critical analysis.

There is no loophole in Prop. 13.

There is, however, an ambiguity in the statute implementing the measure that relates to the “change of ownership” rules. That ambiguity can be easily addressed by a statutory amendment without doing violence to Prop. 13. Both the business community and the state’s preeminent taxpayer organization, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, agree that this change is necessary.

Senate Bill 1237, by state Sen. Patricia Bates, would address this technical tax issue involving fictitious entities such as limited liability corporations and complex partnerships in a way that is wholly consistent with Prop. 13.

Read more at the Orange County Register

By John-Michael Seibler at The Daily Signal

March 16, 2018

Thomas Mahon never thought it would take 20 years to build two houses in California. But that’s exactly how long it’s taken—and his legal fight isn’t even over.

His fight shows how overregulation is driving the state’s current housing crisis. And some state politicians are promising to make things worse. The upshot is that other states can learn from California’s big-government failures and welcome ex-Californians with open housing markets.

State politicians know that building new homes is too costly, but they disagree over policy solutions. Some offer less regulation, while others promise more (including new housing quotas, more subsidized units, and reviving “redevelopment agencies” that the state eliminated in 2011 to save money). Less regulation would likely attract more investment for affordable housing, but a better bet would involve changing the state’s approach to property rights.

Read more on The Daily Signal

By Lindsey Holden and Phillip Reese at The Tribune

February 28, 2018

The cost to rent a two-bedroom home has risen more in San Luis Obispo County than anywhere else in the state over the last four years — up more than 50 percent since 2013, according to recent data.

As of December, residents here were now paying a median rent of $2,200 for a two-bedroom home, up from $1,429 in 2013, according to tracking firm Zillow.com.

Read more on The Tribune

by Michele Hanisee in the California Political Review

December 21,2017

Imagine the reaction if, after a loan officer told an applicant they would not receive a loan because of too much debt, the applicant asked “How about we just disregard 25% of my debt?”

As illogical as this sounds, it was the approach recently articulated by a group seeking to downplay the crime rate increases in California following various criminal justice “reforms.”  In a study picked up by a few newspapers, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJJ) opined that the crime rate statewide in California decreased following these reforms – if you excluded Los Angeles County.  Yes, Los Angeles County, where more than one out of four residents of California reside!

The propaganda espoused by proponents of these various reform measures is that crime is not really rising very much so long as it isn’t as bad as it was 30 years ago. They continue that trend with their attempt to manipulate the statewide crime rate increase by excluding more than 25% of the population.

Read more at California Political Review

by Katy Murphy at The Mercury News

December 12,2017

A real-estate site’s predictions for 2018 offer yet more disappointing news for would-be first-time homebuyers in California hoping that the New Year might bring some relief.

“The outlook for next year is rising prices, rising rates and rising property taxes,” said Redfin’s chief economist, Nela Richardson. “I wish I could have better news.”

Read more at The Mercury News

by Kim Schaefer 

December 11,2017

There’s a reason homeownership is still considered the “American Dream.” A home is the best means for building wealth and a pathway to strength and stability in the communities we all call home.

Middle-class families have built wealth for centuries through homeownership and real estate investment. Homeownership allows families to protect themselves against rising rents and inflation, while offering an opportunity to build equity over time. Here in Kern County, things are no different.

For many California residents, homeownership is simply falling out of their reach. There is no denying that there is a housing crisis in California. It is difficult to turn on the television or open a paper without hearing about workers that are commuting farther and farther, contributing to traffic and pollution more than ever to have affordable housing. Many California households have no choice but to spend more than half of their incomes on housing costs. Employers have difficulty finding and keeping workers. It doesn’t appear that there is much relief in sight.

Read more here

by Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times

December  3,2017

The rent steals so much of your paycheck, you might have to move back in with your parents, and half your life is spent staring at the rear end of the car in front of you.

You’d like to think it will get better, but when? All around you, young and old alike are saying goodbye to California.

“Best thing I could have done,” said retiree Michael J. Van Essen, who was paying $1,160 for a one-bedroom apartment in Silver Lake until a year and a half ago. Then he bought a house with a creek behind it for $165,000 in Mason City, Iowa, and now pays $500 a month less on his mortgage than he did on his rent in Los Angeles.

Read more at Los Angeles Times

by Conor Dougherty in The New York Times

December 1,2017

BERKELEY, Calif. — The house at 1310 Haskell Street does not look worthy of a bitter neighborhood war. The roof is rotting, the paint is chipping, and while the lot is long and spacious, the backyard has little beyond overgrown weeds and a garage sprouting moss.

The owner was known for hoarding junk and feeding cats, and when she died three years ago the neighbors assumed that whoever bought the house would be doing a lot of work. But when the buyer turned out to be a developer, and when that developer floated a proposal to raze the building and replace it with a trio of small homes, the neighborhood erupted in protest.

Read more at The New York Times

by David Wharton in Daily Dose

November 29,2017

It’s no secret that rent prices are taking a big bite out of many Americans’ incomes, especially for those not in a position to purchase a home. Even worse, it’s a real obstacle toward being able to save toward a down payment that could make buying a home a feasible possibility. A new report from Zillow highlights just how bad it’s become—renters are spending nearly $2,000 a year more in 2017 than they would have been prior to the housing bubble.

Read more here