What Does it Take to Build Housing?
Session 4: How do access to labor and labor costs influence housing production?
We know that housing is unaffordable, with a six-figure income required to afford an average rental apartment in Santa Clara County and a more than $250,000 per year income required to purchase a median-priced home. In 2018, our Lunchtime Forum series dove into the cost of building housing, including the component costs of market-rate and affordable development, the impact of various local government policies on housing prices, and creative solutions and policies. This year, we will take on another key component of the housing production process.
What determines where, when, and how housing actually gets built? Our 2019 Lunchtime Forum series will explore this question. The first session covered where housing gets built, an in-depth discussion of Housing Elements and General Plan process. The second session, delved into the entitlement process, the steps and challenges, as well as possible improvements. The third session considered how we can update zoning to accomodate for different housing types in our existing neighborhods. In this fourth session, our panel will discuss broader labor trends, as well as how labor cost and access to labor impact construction timelines and the number of projects that are completed.
Confirmed Panelists:
Framer: Steve Levy- Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, Director and Senior Economist
Speaker: Jeffrey Buchanan – Working Partnerships USA, Director of Public Policy
Speaker: Cynthia Parker – Bridge Housing, President and CEO
Speaker: Jan Lindenthal – MidPen Housing, Chief Real Estate Development Officer
Lunch will be provided