The Homework: January 26, 2026
Welcome to the January 26, 2026 Main edition of The Homework, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team.
News from Sacramento
Welcome to the new year! At the beginning of each legislative session, California YIMBY develops a set of themes for the types of pro-housing legislation we’ll focus on during the year. In 2025, the theme was “CEQA reform and more homes near transit (and, always, ADUs).”
This year, we’ll be working to advance our prior progress by addressing additional barriers to affordability that show up in places like financing, building codes, and local fees. (And, of course, ADUs):
A preview of our 2026 roadmap:
- Lowering barriers to affordable homeownership: Cutting the financing and construction costs that delay “starter homes.”
- Rein in excessive rules and fees: Reining in local fees and rules that have the effect of blocking new housing
- Strengthen and refine existing pro-housing law: Closing technical loopholes that can slow down implementation of new laws.
And here are the changes in legislative committee assignments for the year:
- Senate Housing Committee:
- A big congratulations to Senator Jesse Arreguín, who officially steps in as Committee Chair this February. Welcome to Senator Lena Gonzalez, who joins the Committee for the 2026 session.
- Senate Local Government Committee:
- Senator Maria Elena Durazo remains Chair, and Senator Steven “Steve” Choi is the new Vice Chair. We also welcome Senators Angelique Ashby and Sabrina Cervantes to the Committee.
- Assembly Local Government Committee:
- We welcome Assemblymember Natasha Johnson to the committee.
The second year of our two-year legislative cycle begins in January. For those following two-year bills, the final day for each house to pass or reject two-year bills is January 31st.
Be sure to stay tuned for future editions of The Homework (and follow California YIMBY’s Twitter and Bluesky channels), to stay current on housing policy research, news, and legislative updates.
Housing Research & Analysis
Pay More, Get Less: When Rising Home Prices Mean Declining Living Standards
Rising home prices appear to be a boon to many, but the same mechanism that leads to higher property values – severe constraints on home building – reduces real living standards by forcing families to pay more for worse housing than their income historically provided.
In “‘We Are Not as Wealthy as We Thought We Were’: Elevated American Household Net Worth Reflects Poverty, Not Wealth,” Mercatus Center’s Kevin Erdmann analyzed whether rising home values represent genuine wealth creation or just inflated prices from chronic housing shortages.
Key Takeaways:
- We stopped building homes: Before 1980, America built over 2 percent of GDP in new housing annually. After 1980, construction rarely hit that level. After 2008, it turned negative—homes deteriorated faster than builders replaced them
- The housing ladder is broken: In roughly 38 of 75 major metros studied, homes now “filter up” when resold, new residents have higher incomes than previous residents.
- Scarcity punishes the poor: In LA, homes in the poorest neighborhoods jumped from roughly 4-5 times local income in 1999 to 12-18 times by 2022, while the richest neighborhoods rose from 4-5 to 6-8 times.
California’s Climate Progress – Snarled in Traffic?
Since it first passed landmark climate legislation in 2006, California has been focusing on squeezing climate pollution out of every sector of its economy – and much of this has been successful. But California’s relative success in areas like electricity generation and agriculture stands in stark contrast to its failure on transportation – the largest source of climate pollution in the state.
In “California’s Road to Climate Progress,” a five-part research series by the Brookings Institution, Ben Swedberg and Adie Tomer examined why California has struggled to reduce transportation pollution, which is primarily the product of long driving distances and the failure to increase infill development in urban areas.
Key Takeaways:
- Spending on the wrong projects: Agencies such as Caltrans continue to fund roadway widenings. A review of recent and in-progress state projects from 2019 to 2027 shows $2.2 billion committed to projects that induce more driving and pollution
- Planning without enforcement: California requires each region to develop climate pollution reduction strategies, but there are no consequences for failing to meet targets.
- Compliance burden without funding: Local governments face a substantial compliance burden in tracking evolving regulations, often forcing even high-capacity cities to hire consultants rather than build internal expertise.
Houser Headlines
- How a former Forest Service employee changed the future of housing in California
- California passed big housing laws in 2025. What does that mean for building more homes?
- Opinion: Denser housing near transit routes will help people like me stay in San Diego
- New state law tries to build more apartments near public transportation stops
- Here’s how California’s powerful new housing laws will change the state in 2026
- Housing dominated California’s 2025 legislative agenda — and the push continues in 2026
- Newsom signals major shift in housing strategy for final year — with tech at the center
- After devastating fires, L.A. made one part of rebuilding easy. There’s much more to do
- SF’s historic plan for thousands more homes gets a green light
YIMBY Social – Top Posts
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