California faces housing 'crisis' amid extremely high rents

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By CGTN’s Phil Lavelle

A "crisis" has been declared in the US state of California, where many are struggling to buy a home. The median price of a place to live has now hit 500,000 US dollars and it's forcing some people, who still earn good salaries, onto the streets as rents rise.

California was one of the most popular places to live in, but now it has become increasingly hard to live in, as prices of homes have rocketed. The median price has increased around 75 percent, compared to 2012.

"It takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes to drive 41 miles to work. The cost of housing in LA County and Orange County are probably 300-500 US dollars a square foot, whereas the Inland Empire is closer to 200 US dollars a square foot. Much more affordable housing,” said Ahmed Elbendary, a homeowner in California.

Homelessness is on the rise in California. /Xinhua Photo

As homelessness is on the rise, big changes are looked into by the authorities. Lawmakers considered making some changes with new rules, meanwhile stopping communities vetoing projects they're not happy with.

“A lot of communities don't even want single family homes, because they would be for lower income folks. There are all kinds of prejudices that emerge. And it is a crisis because we all need a place to live,” said Sally Richman from LA Housing & Community Investment Department.

But there are swathes of land out of town that are cheaper. People don’t choose those cheap houses due to the inconvenient transportation. In that case, some are concerned that housing issue cannot be called as a “crisis.”

Experts said the lack of a home people can afford should be a crisis. And William Yu, an economist from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) said it would be “unrealistic” to ask people to raise cost of transportation in exchange for a cheaper house.

“This is a very complex situation, especially in California, because we rely on highways and cars. The thing is people will commute for much time. So it's a bit unrealistic. Because the jobs are here,” said Yu.