Model Places Illustration

Housing

We believe: Housing is a human right and should be affordable to everyone.

Our Goals

• Increase the supply of housing.

• Provide more affordable housing for low- and middle-income residents.

• Protect low-income communities of color from displacement.

Monte Vista Gardens apartments in San José

SPUR Report

Structured for Success

A key cause of California’s high housing costs is its decentralized and fragmented housing governance system. SPUR makes 11 recommendations to set California and the Bay Area on the path to produce the housing we need.
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photo of balconies on an apartment building

Research

Losing Ground

SPUR examines how the Bay Area’s housing market has become shaped by scarcity and wide economic divides — not only among income groups but also among races and ethnicities.
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Apartment Building

Research

Housing the Middle

SPUR digs into the housing market’s failure to meet the needs of middle-income households. California can look to innovative programs across the country as models for how to address the state’s housing challenges.
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Apartment Construction

Research

Planning by Ballot

SPUR has created the most up-to-date database of local land use ballot measures that impact housing production in California. Over the long term, measures that restrict infill housing can undermine housing affordability and have the potential to exacerbate racial segregation.
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Updates and Events

Non-Primary Residences and San Francisco's Housing Market

Research
How many housing units in San Francisco are not occupied by a permanent resident? And do such units further constrain the city's tight housing market and drive up housing prices? While it's very difficult to exactly quantify the number of non-primary residences in San Francisco, we provide a rough picture of how many there are and how SF compares to other cities on this issue.

Are Second Homes Driving Up San Francisco Housing Prices?

News /
In cities like San Francisco, where housing is expensive and the market is competitive, emotional reactions can inform the policy debate. Is San Francisco’s housing supply being taken up by people who own units they don’t live in? Our study, Non-Primary Residences and San Francisco’s Housing Market takes an analytical approach, looking at numbers from the 2012 American Community Survey.

SPUR Comments on San Jose 2040 General Plan Amendments

Advocacy Letter
The San Jose Planning Commission proposed two amendments to the 2040 General Plan: 1) To increase the downtown density cap from 350 dwelling units per acre to 800 dwelling units per acre; and 2) To propose new language intended to promote job-generating land uses instead of housing.

Are We in an Affordability Crisis or a Housing Bubble?

News /
No one in San Francisco is arguing about whether real estate is expensive. There is, however, some debate about how to characterize the astronomical prices. Now that median home values have returned to pre-recession highs, some are compelled to ask: Are we in another housing bubble? Real estate experts Jed Kolko and Tim Cornwell spoke to this question at a recent SPUR forum.

SPUR Weighs in on Proposed Housing Metering Legislation

Advocacy Letter
Although Supervisor Jane Kim's proposed housing balance legislation intends to increase the amount of affordable housing in San Francisco's District 6, SPUR analysis indicates that the plan is likely to backfire — resulting in less market-rate housing, not more affordable housing.

SPUR Supports In-Law Unit Legalization Legislation

Advocacy Letter
While legalizing existing in-law units (estimated at 30-50,000) will not increase the availability of housing in San Francisco, it will maintain an existing source of affordable housing, protect tenants, increase property tax revenue to the City and provide a safe and clear path to legal status for property owners.
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