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From coast to coast, the rising cost of living is a major concern. But in the Bay Area, it’s more than a concern — it’s a crisis.
There used to be a naturally occurring homeownership ladder, beginning with a small “starter” home or condominium that new wage earners could buy with a few years’ worth of income. They then would buy a bigger house for a growing family and sell their first home to make it possible, therefore providing for another new homeowner. In the 1970s, my mother was able to purchase our family home in East Palo Alto on a teacher’s aide salary. Today, that entry point has largely vanished, with the median home price in San Mateo County at $2.4 million, in contrast to the state’s baseline median household income of $99,122.
This doesn’t only impact people starting on their life path, it also prevents seniors from downsizing into smaller residences, which further restricts the circulation of housing stock. And, critically, we are pricing out workers who provide essential services: nurses, teachers and first responders, among many others. It’s not just a matter of fairness and equity. If an emergency strikes and emergency staff live outside the county, it becomes a matter of public safety.
That is why middle housing deserves greater attention.
“Middle housing” refers to housing types that fall between a detached single-family home and a large apartment building: condominiums, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, courtyard apartments and small multi-unit buildings. These homes are often compatible with existing neighborhoods while providing more housing choices than traditional single-family developments.
These homes fill an important gap in today’s market, providing attainable homeownership opportunities for residents who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing and cannot afford a $2 million single-family home. As Melvin Gaines, city manager of East Palo Alto, noted in a recent conversation with me, “Affordable housing programs remain essential, but they cannot be our only strategy. Thousands of working families earn too much to qualify for assistance while earning far too little to purchase a home or afford market rents.”
Today’s young adults are buying homes later and less often than previous generations. Millennials were about 8 percentage points less likely to own a home than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers at the same age, according to a 2015 study by the Urban Institute comparing homeownership rates by age. Meanwhile, the median age of a first-time homebuyer has risen from the late 20s in the 1980s to nearly 40 today, the highest on record, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The share of first-time buyers has also fallen to historic lows.
As local leaders, we have a responsibility to balance thoughtful planning with the urgent need for more homes. When I spoke with former San Mateo County Housing Director Duane Bay, he asserted “That means encouraging housing that is middle-cost because it is middle-density, and that respects neighborhood character while expanding opportunities for the next generation.”
If we want teachers to live where they teach, firefighters to live where they serve, and our children to have the opportunity to remain in the communities that raised them, we must rebuild the missing middle of our housing market.
Middle housing won’t solve the crisis by itself. But without it, the dream of homeownership will remain out of reach for far too many families.
Lisa Gauthier is the County Supervisor for District 4 on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
