On February 8, 2024, SV@Home participated in the “Building the Future of Middle-Income Housing Policy in California” event, hosted by SPUR, The Terner Center for Housing Innovation, and Terner Labs at the Mountain View Community Center. This gathering brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to tackle the challenges faced by middle-income residents in California’s housing landscape.

Middle-income households, encompassing those who earn between 80% and 120% of the area median income, face particular challenges in our broken housing market because they earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing and often too little to afford market-rate rents. Panelists outlined some innovative approaches including: new long-term, not-for-profit ownership models, utilizing social impact financing, and integrating minimum affordable housing requirements to streamline ministerial approval processes and reduce costs. The event also highlighted the potential role of new public institutions such as the Middle-Income Housing Authority in Colorado and the California Municipal Finance Authority’s endeavors to fund middle-income housing acquisitions.

At SV@Home, we are acutely aware of the need to tackle the challenges faced by California’s middle-income residents. As the state witnesses a decline in its middle-income demographic largely attributed to a lack of access to housing, the housing sector must face this real need. We are dedicated to supporting comprehensive solutions that effectively bridge the gap between low- and high-income housing options and recognize the importance of a housing coalition representative of the breadth of needs that Californians have.