Rendering of Charities Housing Development Corporation project in San Jose
Apple
Late last year Apple AAPL pledged a $2.5 billion commitment to combat the housing crisis in California and this week the company released the details for how the first $400 million will be allocated. The total will be divided into a mixture of downpayment and mortgage assistance programs, donated land and support for building affordable housing units throughout the state.
According to a recent report from UC Berkley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation, California needs 1.7 million housing units to meet the existing demand for affordable housing. Within California, metropolitan areas such as San Jose and the Bay Area, where Silicon Valley is located, have some of the highest priced homes in the nation. Data from Zillow Z show the current median sales price of homes in San Jose is $925,000 and for San Francisco it is $1.3 million.
The new buildings will include 250 units of affordable housing in several regions of the Bay Area in conjunction with Housing Trust Silicon Valley. Another 1,000 affordable units in are to be developed in conjunction with the non-profit Destination: Home. These different projects will have many spaces reserved for specific populations, such as veterans, people who are already homeless, seniors at risk of homelessness or those with developmental disabilities.
A housing development reserved for vulnerable seniors.
Apple
“We were able to immediately invest [Apple’s] funding into several new housing developments that will provide a permanent home to vulnerable residents across the region and reinforce our Homelessness Prevention System at a time when we’re seeing an unprecedented number of at-risk families in need,” said Jennifer Loving, Destination: Home’s CEO in a statement.
The funds have already started to be dispersed in the wake of the Covid pandemic through the existing Homelessness Prevention System offered by Destination: Home. The program provides temporary financial assistance with rent, utilities payments or deposits for those on the brink of losing their home and with the influx of Apple’s contribution kept 1,500 families from losing their homes—an increase of 67 percent compared to a year ago, according to the release.
The breakdown of the $2.5 billion to be spread out over the next few years will be mostly in the form of earnest money for either new construction or financial assistance, whether it be for help with mortgages, downpayments or rent. At least $1 billion is dedicated to a first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance fund, with a special focus people who work in essential services, school employees and veterans. Also, $300 million will be an in-kind donation of land Apple already owns that will be used instead for affordable housing units.