State's Growing Housing Market a Mix of Good News, Bad News
San Gabriel Valley Tribune › February 03, 2006
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Summary
There is no more accurate reflection of California's complex socioeconomic matrix than the good news-bad news story of housing the state's 36 million-and-still-growing population. With 500,000- plus new Californians each year, the good news, at least for some, is that we're currently building the 200,000-plus units of housing needed to keep pace. But there's a shortage for families in the lower economic strata and the new housing tracts are consuming thousands of acres of open space, which is bad news to environmentalists, even though today's building lots are tiny by historic standards. It's not uncommon for six two-story houses to be packed onto an acre of ground, but critics say that even denser development is needed to slow sprawl and support mass transit.
Denser development, even condominiums, however, runs counter to the prevailing desire among Californians irrational in the minds of urban planners, but strong nonetheless to own single-family homes surrounded by dirt they can call their own.See the full content of this document
Extract
State's Growing Housing Market a Mix of Good News, Bad News
That desire may also defy economic reality. Despite the burst of construction activity, and blessedly low interest rates, homeownership is becoming a more elusive drea...
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