California lawmakers are weighing bills that would reduce regulatory barriers to revive condominium construction, which has dropped significantly from its peak in the years before the Great Recession. Assembly Bill 1406 would raise the state’s liquidated-damages limit on new condominium sales from 3% of the purchase price to 6%. Backers frame the bill as “condo […]
California bills target condo deposits and defect liability Read More »
Austin city lawmakers bent on ensuring the Texas capital sustains momentum in a housing supply expansion that cuts into a home shortage and slows price growth took another step last week. Thursday, the Austin City Council approved a new package of land-use changes that would accelerate construction of missing-middle housing types such as duplexes, fourplexes
Austin council pushes new zoning laws for missing middle housing Read More »
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening legal action against cities and counties that do not comply with a 2025 housing reform law that allows higher density near public transit. During a Wednesday press conference, Newsom said his administration has warned 15 cities and counties that they have 30 days to comply with Senate Bill 79
Newsom warns cities of lawsuits over California SB 79 law Read More »
After failing to turn starter-home legislation into law, Arizona lawmakers are advancing two bills that would curb local control over design standards, homeowners associations and contractor licensing – a renewed attempt to chip away at costs amid the state’s housing shortage. Lawmakers are close to passing a measure that would strip municipalities of much of
Arizona housing reform push would curb HOA, design mandates Read More »
The passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act felt like a rare event in Washington: genuine, overwhelming bipartisanship. In a political climate defined by caustic friction, an 89-10 vote in the Senate isn’t a legislative victory; it is a confession. It is an admission by both parties that housing affordability has reached a
The housing blind spot: Why the Senate’s housing bill is a start, not a solution Read More »
Michigan housing advocates are pointing to Austin, Texas, as they try to build support for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “grand bargain” housing affordability agenda in the state Legislature. Advocates say a multi-year set of zoning, permitting and code reforms in Austin helped drive a surge in homebuilding – and that the resulting increase in supply coincided
Austin housing reforms could influence Michigan legislation Read More »
California lawmakers have spent years passing bills aimed at increasing housing supply, with an emphasis on building more homes near transit. A new analysis from Enterprise Community Partners finds that transit agencies across the state own thousands of parcels that could, in theory, be used for housing – a potential lever as the state tries
California transit agency land could support 240,000 homes Read More »
Small wins on impact fees occasionally occur in costly U.S. housing markets. Teton County, Wyoming, officials agreed last week to refund a $24,325 “affordable workforce housing” fee that a homeowner had to pay to obtain a permit to build a single-family home. The payment settles a lawsuit the homeowner filed last year in a Wyoming
Wyoming refund exposes legal risk for local housing fee ordinances Read More »
Financing affordable housing development – typically for lower-income households – is one of the most challenging matters in real estate. Making the economics work on a deal requires layered “hard and soft” funding sources as developers navigate rising costs, policy instability, and structural gaps in the subsidy system. The process is so complicated that professionals
Housing muni market swells amid affordability policy debate Read More »
As the senior demographic continues to grow and evolve, reverse mortgage professionals may be getting more questions about home renovation projects and how to fund them. Tapping into home equity through a traditional reverse mortgage, a proprietary product or even the vastly underutilized HECM for Purchase program can be a path for seniors to repair
Block Renovation’s Julie Kheyfets on aging-in-place renovations and ADUs Read More »