We here at The CREM Group wish to make sure our clients are updated on all things having to do with real estate and probate-real-estate-related topics in California. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10 on September 16, 2021. These two senate bills are intended to fight the housing crisis in California.
We here at The CREM Group wish to make sure our clients are updated on all things having to do with real estate and probate-real-estate-related topics in California. Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10 on September 16, 2021. These two senate bills are intended to fight the housing crisis in California.
From the Office of the Governor website, the SB9 Senator who proposed the bill, Senate Pro Tem Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) states:
“SB 9 (also referred to as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency (HOME) Act will open up opportunities for homeowners to help ease our state’s housing shortage, while still protecting tenants from displacement. And it will help our communities welcome new families to the neighborhood and enable more folks to set foot on the path to buying their first home.” SB 10 was sponsored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). State Senator Wiener said: “California’s severe housing shortage is badly damaging our state, and we need many approaches to tackle it. SB 10 provides one important approach: making it dramatically easier and faster for cities to zone for more housing. It shouldn’t take five or 10 years for cities to re-zone, and SB 10 gives cities a powerful new tool to get the job done quickly.”
Affordability and Homelessness
AFFORDABILITY
There’s no argument. California is facing a housing crisis. Homelessness is up, and affordability for an existing median-priced, single-family home is down. This website quotes the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.): “affordability…in California in the second quarter of 2021 fell to 23 percent from 27 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and 33 percent in the second quarter of 2020.”
HOMELESSNESS
Homelessness figures from this 2020 State of California report were updated in May 2021. Here is a summary of the statistics from the site for a Single Night
• California had 161,548 homeless people, which accounted for 28% of the nation’s homeless population. California also had the highest rate of unsheltered people at 70.4% (113,660 were unsheltered).
• More than half of all unsheltered people in the country were in California (51%).
• California had the largest increase in homelessness from 2019-2020, which amounted to 10,270 more people (a 6.8% increase). It also had the second-largest increase from 2007-2020 (28,670 people or a 45.8% increase).
Attempts to stem this intractable problem are necessary, but there are some issues with SB9.
THE PROS:
SB9 says you can split your lot and have two homes on your property instead of one. You could rent out the second home, providing you meet requirements like ensuring your property is not in the State Historic Resources Inventory and that you meet size and design standards, etc. The application process would be less complicated, and the possible net gain in homes for sale is estimated as high as 800,000 new living units.
THE CONS:
The November 1, 2021 National Law Review states that people who oppose SB9 (nearly 250 municipalities across California) say it undermines local governments’ ability to plan for housing in their immediate communities. These cities mention that the law will dilute a local government’s police power, the authority for land use control and planning. They question whether a lot that has one home on it could reasonably accommodate four units, which the SB9 supports. Many laws surrounding the rental requirements of the extra units, zoning, and setback laws, among others, would have to be in place.
OUR VIEW
As long-time probate real estate agents specializing in probate, trust, and conservatorship homes and properties, we always like to be aware of any bills from our state assembly or senate relating to real estate or the state economy in general. Our job is to help our clients know their options as they buy and sell probate and regular property here in California. These two bills along with Senate Bill 8, which extends the provisions of the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 through 2030, all affect housing and the real estate market in California. Buying a large probate home on an oversized lot could be a source of income for an investor or even a homeowner looking to increase their income while they help the homeless situation. If the local municipality is not happy with SB 9, there could be friction. We will certainly do our best to let our clients know the local communities’ sentiments if at all possible.
BONUS: More news about California real estate follows. According to the National Law Review.
“California announced the California Housing Accelerator – a $1.75 billion component of the California Comeback Plan. The California Housing Accelerator fund is intended to expedite construction of affordable multifamily units in projects stalled due to constraints on the supply of tax-exempt bonds and low-income housing tax credits. Housing officials expect the fund will back 90 shovel-ready projects by the end of the year, creating between 6,300 and 7,200 units of low-income housing – including 1,200 units for homeless individuals. Recipients of the California Housing Accelerator funds have not yet been selected.”
Bottom line: the California real estate market is volatile, political, and topical. We’ll try to keep you up to date!
* * * We at The CREM Group have been handling probate real estate transactions for both residential and commercial properties in Los Angeles and Orange Counties for years now. We try to ensure that we support our clients, so they know the legal and tax aspects of selling their probate, trust, and conservatorship homes in California. We also try to make our readers aware of the many trends in probate real estate and related issues.
As always, contact us by email here if you have any questions about real estate, probate real estate, conservatorship, or trust real estate properties, especially in Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California. Or directly:
Mark Cianciulli, Esq. [email protected]
DISCLAIMER: This content is meant purely for educational purposes. It contains only general information about real estate and related matters. It is NOT legal advice and should not be treated as such. We recommend consulting a legal or tax professional before acting on any material, opinion, or point of view described herein.
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