OCTOBER 2021
SOUTH BAY NEWSLETTER MONTHLY REAL ESTATE INFORMATION
MORE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BUYING HOMES
new california senate bills The state took a step toward creating higher-density neighborhoods as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate bills 9 and 10. Senate bill 9 allows duplexes to be built in most neighborhoods across the state, including places where apartments have long been banned. Senate bill 10 reduces environmental rules on multifamily housing and makes it easier for cities to add high-density development.
There is a misconception that young people do not want to be homeowners. Research shows the opposite! More and more Millenials are purchasing their first home. So, where did this misconception come from? Well, Millenials are putting off home ownership in exchange for focusing on other lifetime achievements such as getting, married and education. The gap between first-time homeownership between generations is widening. The average first-time homeowner Millenial in 2020 was 33 years old. In comparison in 1981, the average first-time homeowner was 29. As the largest generation, millennials’ impact on the market is growing as more and more people from that generation reach homebuying age – and Generation Z isn’t far behind, either. That means younger generations will likely continue to drive demand in the housing market for years to come.
The classic California suburb of rows of houses, each with its own yard and the fence is largely a product of something called single-family zoning, a regulation that dictates that there can be only one house per parcel of land. These laws prohibit, for example, building a highrise in a residential cul-de-sac. Senate bill 9 essentially ends single-family zoning by allowing homeowners to split their lots into 2 with certain restrictions.