The Homework: October 29, 2026
Welcome to the October 29, 2026 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
California YIMBY released its full slate of endorsements for the November general election, covering statewide offices, state legislative seats, and six ballot measures. Voters can enter their address on our endorsements page to see which candidates we back in their state legislative districts.
Each ballot measure summary below links to our analysis, which explains how we arrived at our position and how the measure relates to housing costs and home building.
- Prop 1 (Yes): An $11.25 billion bond for subsidized affordable homes.
- Prop 2 (Yes): Reforms California budget rules so the state can save more in its “rainy day” fund.
- Prop 37 (No recommendation): Creates a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers.
- Prop 40 (No): A one-time wealth tax, with revenues earmarked 90% for health care.
- Prop 43 (No): Raises the voter threshold to fund infrastructure and other public amenities from 50%+1 to 66%.
- Prop 45 (No recommendation): Reforms the California Environmental Quality Act to speed up development of projects like energy and related infrastructure.
Follow California YIMBY on Twitter and Bluesky for more housing policy news. If you find this newsletter valuable, forward it to a friend.
Housing Research & Analysis
Rent Too Damn High? Blame City Permitting Delays
A new study of 60 U.S. cities finds that cities that take longer to issue building permits for new homes tend to have higher rents. In “Where Is Housing Slow to Build, And Is It Getting Slower?” researchers found that a new apartment building in Los Angeles or San Francisco took more than four years from building-permit application to completed construction – about double the roughly two years in Sunbelt cities such as Orlando and Phoenix.
The connection between long permitting timelines and rents is an under-explored area of housing research; this new report finds a strong link between rents and permitting delays.
Key Takeaways
- Long Waits, High Rents. Among dozens of cities studied, those with longer apartment permit waits had higher median rents. Each extra year of waiting for a permit is linked to roughly 40 percent higher rents.
- Permits Take a Year Longer in Slow-Building Cities. In the slowest cities, it took about two years longer to get a standard apartment building from permit request to completion than in the fastest cities. About one of those extra years was due to permit approval time.
- Permit Waits Increased Over Past 20 Years. On average across all the cities studied, approval took 0.6 years for an apartment permit requested in 2000 and 1.5 years for one requested in 2023; the increase appeared in every region.
California’s Rules for Starter Homes are a Fixer-Upper
Over the past decade, California home building has remained stuck at the lowest levels since World War II. A January 2026 report commissioned by UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab attributes much of that slowdown to rules that forbid or delay housing construction.
In Housing Abundance in California: A Starter Home for the 21st Century, UCLA professor Paavo Monkkonen examines why California home building is so anemic – and offers recommendations on how to unlock construction of starter homes, like apartments and ‘plexes, that are affordable to the typical California family.
Key Takeaways:
- Outdated Rules: Single-family zoning bans new housing on the majority of urban land, while outdated building codes limit construction of multifamily housing on small residential lots.
- Strings Attached: Senate Bill 9 (SB 9), which lets homeowners convert their one-home property to a duplex, has had limited effect. And while cities must now zone for more homes to align with state law, the process can take up to three years.
- Two-track Fix: Fixing rules one at a time is slow; the author recommends a model neighborhood planned around a target outcome.
Housing Headlines
- California’s Next Insurance Commissioner Faces a Climate Dystopian Future (paywall)
- Bass Vs. Raman: Who Can Make Housing More Affordable?
- Newsom Signs Six California YIMBY Housing Bills Aimed At Reducing Construction Costs And Expanding Housing Options
- Newsom Signs Law Expanding Starter Home Rules
- What California’s New Laws Mean For Your Bills, Job And Family (paywall)
- California Just Passed A Ton Of Housing Laws. Here’s How They Will Affect San Diego (paywall)
- Do Impact Fees Do More Harm Than Good?
- Inside The New Group Hoping To Shake Up Fresno’s Development Politics (And Make Homes More Affordable)
- How States Can Clear The Way For The Starter Homes We Need
- L.A.’S Mansion Tax Cost City 9,000 New Homes As Builders Pulled Back, Study Finds
Share the good word
We welcome your ideas and feedback — send story tips and ideas to Homework@cayimby.org.