The cost of housing here in the Silicon Valley is through the roof. It's great for homeowners looking to sell, and it's great for us Realtors, but not so much for low income buyers. Renters are fairing no better in trying to find affordable apartments to rent. This trend of ever escalating housing costs has not gone unnoticed by the powers that be here in the valley.
So, The City of San Jose has lead the way with it's push for affordable housing, much to the dismay of developers. So what that means for developers is that when they want to build a new condo complex, the city won't grant them the right to build unless that builder designates at least 15% of their unit units for affordable housing. So if you are a developer who wants to build a 100 unit luxury condo complex in the City of San Jose, before the city will grant you the permits to build, you have pledge 15 of those 100 units as below market properties for low income buyers. If you say, "screw that, I only want my luxury condo complex for high end buyers!" That's fine by city, it's your chose, you just have to pay fee to the tune of $100K+ per property.
So developers got fed up with this meddling by the city in the free market in the housing industry, in their view, and took the city to court. San Jose's affordable housing law has temporarily been put on hold until it can be reviewed by the California supreme court, which will make its ruling this week.
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