Single-family detached home

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a batch of housing bills aimed at speeding up residential construction, though most are expected to have a modest effect in San Diego, often considered an easier place to build than other parts of California. Among the changes: lower impact fees for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) over 750 square feet (SB 1117); narrower rules easing construction of for-sale townhouses on vacant single-family lots (SB 1116, AB 1751); a requirement for large cities like San Diego to designate high-density "transit-hub districts" allowing taller buildings near transit (AB 2074); and a mandate for cities to provide upfront, non-binding infrastructure fee estimates to developers (SB 1014).

The most consequential local legislation, SB 344 and SB 958, clears environmental and height-related legal hurdles for the Midway Rising megaproject, which could break ground next year. Plans include a 16,000-seat arena and 4,254 apartments — a regional record — with roughly 2,000 designated as subsidized housing, far surpassing the county's current largest affordable complex.

A bill to cap annual rent increases statewide at 7% plus inflation cleared the California Assembly this week after author Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) agreed to limit the policy to three years, down from an original 10-year proposal with a lower 5% cap. A companion bill, AB 1481, which would have required landlords to state a cause before evicting tenants, failed to get a vote before the Assembly deadline, though its authors say they may try to fold similar protections into Chiu's bill in the Senate.

The rent cap exempts newer construction and small landlords owning 10 or fewer single-family homes, and does not alter existing rent-controlled units or the Costa-Hawkins Act. Landlord groups and the California Association of Realtors, which helped defeat a 2018 rent-control ballot initiative, oppose the measures, arguing they discourage housing development. Backers, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, say the changes are needed to protect millions of cost-burdened renters. Advocates warn a weakened bill could revive a 2020 ballot initiative push by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

A draft report from two New York City agencies estimates the city must build about 700,000 new housing units over the next 10 years to meet demand — nearly double the pace of the past 15 years combined. The figure stems from a 2023 local law requiring the city to set five-year neighborhood housing growth targets. Planners put the current shortage at roughly 290,000 units, projected to grow by another 410,000.

Meeting that target would require a far faster construction pace than recent years, even with Mayor Zohran Mamdani's pledged $22 billion for 200,000 affordable units. The strategy aims to spread new construction more evenly, pushing "low-growth" neighborhoods — including single-family areas and denser ones like the Upper East Side, Upper West Side and Greenwich Village — to add more housing through zoning changes and financing support. Experts are divided on feasibility, and even success might not fully ease record-high median rents of $5,000 in Manhattan and $4,500 in Brooklyn.