The Homework: December 11, 2025
Welcome to the December 11, 2025 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
The second year of our two-year legislative cycle begins in January. For those following two-year bills, the deadline for any committee to hear and report bills introduced in their house in the odd-numbered year will be January 23rd; the final day for each house to pass or reject two-year bills is January 31st.
With new leadership in the State Senate, we anticipate changes in committee assignments and new committee chairs in the months ahead.
California YIMBY is currently working on finalizing our legislative package for the 2026 legislative year – stay tuned!
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
Building Babies? Baby, Build
New research reveals that rising U.S. housing costs may be responsible for an 11% drop in children being born between 1990 and 2020, compared to a scenario in which rents had remained constant at 1990 levels.
This decline, which accounts for half the drop in fertility between the 2000s and 2010s, is not just about cost; it is about the type of housing available. In “Build, Baby, Build: How Housing Shapes Fertility,” University of Toronto PhD candidate Benjamin K. Couillard argues that, if we want more family formation in our cities, housing policies must specifically boost the supply of large, family-friendly housing; building small units has a much weaker effect on fertility.
Key Takeaways:
- Rising housing costs since 1990 may be responsible for 11% fewer children born—a massive shift that accounts for 51% of the total drop in U.S. birth rates between the 2000s and 2010s
- Big families face a steeper inflation rate than singles. Because parents have a stronger, non-negotiable need for extra bedrooms, rising rents act like a progressive tax on fertility, making the financial penalty for parenthood far higher than the penalty for remaining single.
- Dollar for dollar, policies that reduce the cost of large family homes (3+ bedrooms) result in 2.3 times more births than policies that reduce the cost of small apartments (1 bedroom).
The Family Premium: America’s Missing Bedrooms
Young families are willing to pay a premium for apartments with more bedrooms, yet a significant share of developers are overlooking this profitable market in favor of smaller, one-bedroom homes.
In “Homes for Young Families Part 2: Americans Are Willing to Pay for Family-Friendly Apartments,” Lyman Stone and Bobby Fijan of the Institute for Family Studies examine the disconnect between what is being built and what American families want – and need.
Their findings: While over a third of new housing construction now consists of large apartment buildings, these new units are getting smaller – and have fewer bedrooms than ever before.
Key Takeaways:
- Americans who want children are willing to pay significantly more for apartments with more bedrooms, valuing the difference between two and four bedrooms as much as an extra 600-900 square feet or $1,500 in monthly rent.
- The market is failing to meet demand, as family-friendly units with three or more bedrooms have “available to be rented” vacancy rates 40-50% lower than studios, indicating they are in high demand and rent faster.
- The lack of family-friendly apartments may be suppressing birth rates, as married women in apartments with two or three bedrooms have more children than married women in smaller units.
Houser Headlines
- The housing strategy that has California NIMBYs in a corner
- Homebuyers Are Willing To Pay a Premium for One Perk: Walkability
- No car? No problem. Building apartments near public transit could help address the housing crisis
- Opinion: America’s housing crisis, in one chart
- The Banished Bottom of the Housing Market
- One California city’s idea to tackle the housing crisis: Take the stairs
- Los Angeles desperately needs new housing. So why are its politicians still fighting SB79?
- Why doesn’t California build more condos? How one law is in the way
- San Francisco’s upzoning plan for housing nears finish line
- Opinion: Students, College Area will benefit greatly from added housing
- Portland’s inclusionary zoning program Is finally performing, new data suggests
YIMBY Social – Top Posts
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