A message from Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa.Office of the Mayor City of Los Angeles
There is a housing crisis in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. we cannot ignore. Owning one's own home has been the touchstone of the American Dream American dream also American Dream n. An American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire: . For 84 percent of us here in Los Angeles, this measure of the American Dream is not a reality. Our housing crisis has put at risk our ability to provide financial security for our families and stability in our neighborhoods. This is the reality we face: * Currently 84 percent of the California population cannot afford to own their own home; or said another way only 12 percent of Los Angeles County residents can afford a median priced home. * Over the past year, households in California able to afford a median priced home have decreased from 25 percent to 14 percent. * The median home price in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, is $476,500, a 132 percent increase from prices in 2000. * The minimum household income in California needed to purchase a median priced home of approximately $568,000 is just under $134,000 a year. This calculation is based on an average mortgage interest rate of 5.87 percent with a 20 percent down payment. * Family household earnings below six figures are priced out Priced out The market has already incorporated information, such as a low dividend, into the price of a stock. of the Southern California homebuyer home·buy·er n. One who is in the process of buying a home. market. * Since 1995, housing production in Los Angeles has lagged behind San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Boston, New York Boston is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 7,897 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Boston, Massachusetts. The Town of Boston is an interior town of the county and one of the county's "Southtowns. City, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas. * Since July 2002, home prices in Los Angeles County have risen 77 percent, from 269,000 to 476,000. At the same time, real household incomes in LA County have decreased 13.4 percent. The solutions we will address at the 4th annual Mayoral Housing Summit are challenging. We must secure financing, find the land, increase the density, and preserve what we have. Solutions to this crisis require leadership, investment, and collaboration. Civic leaders, private developers, affordable housing advocates, and above all--every resident of the City of Los Angeles has a critical role to play in reversing these trends. The "have's" in our community are going to have to reach out and give a hand up to our rapidly increasing number of "have-not's." As a community, we are going to have to address these controversial issues, and each one of us must compromise in order to arrive at a solution benefiting us all. Together we must-and we will--address this crisis. Very truly yours, Antonio R. Villaraigosa Mayor |
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