The home improvement grant limit in North Greenwood increased to $25,000 from $20,000
The grant aims to help residents with rising construction costs
Homeowners use the grants for crucial repairs like roofing, plumbing, and HVAC systems
The new limit is $25,000, up from the previous $20,000.
“Well, $20,000 might have been a good amount a few years ago,” said Jesus Nino, Executive Director of Clearwater CRA. “But now with construction prices going up, it’s just a little bit more difficult to have something; for instance, a whole roof replaced for $20,000.”
Homeowners have put grant money toward a variety of repairs and renovations, including: a new roof, windows, replacing heating and air conditioning systems, painting and other home repair safety features.
Rosemary Gainey has lived in the North Greenwood area for more than 40 years. She received $20,000 in grant money and used it to replace her fence and plumbing.
“Because the piping was so old … it could just explode anywhere over the house,” Gainey said. “I just think that the more we put into our community, the more the community will thrive and overall, look better. I’m just over the moon, is that what you call it, and I love it.”
Learn more about the program and view the application form by clicking here.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A group of pink buildings has caught the public’s attention, and it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with Valentine’s Day.
An entire downtown St. Petersburg block, consisting of six buildings, was recently painted pink at the corner of 4th Ave. S and 4th St. S.
It’s part of a new art-infused luxury condo tower being created by a local developer and the French furniture designer Roche Bobois.
Artist rendering of the Roche Bobois St. Pete Tower (Courtesy: Valor Real Estate Development)
Residents in that area will see work going on over the next three years.
“The Roche Bobois St. Pete tower is a project born of art,” said Moises Agami, CEO of Valor Real Estate Development. “It does not incorporate art, but—instead—is actually the child of architecture, design, and art coming together. Art is the ethos of St. Pete, and it is this character that we’re celebrating and bringing to life. What you are seeing today and into the future on this site is not only paying homage to the rich and vibrant arts community but also the true St. Pete resident that lives, works, and plays here.”
A groundbreaking will be held later this year, with completion expected in 2029.
Consumers say they want country-of-origin labelling on wood products sold in Australia, as more timber is shipped in from overseas.
Timber imports have hit record levels, continuing to rise after the pandemic-era jump in demand for building materials.
A recent survey by consumer group Choice showed nearly all buyers want information about the timber they are purchasing.
“People care about making choices that benefit the environment and are less destructive than other options,” Choice reporter Jarni Blakkarly said.
Demand for construction material remains high in Australia. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Choice surveyed more than 7,200 people, with 99 per cent of respondents wanting to know where and how a timber product was sourced.
Nearly all of those surveyed said country-of-origin information would sway their buying behaviour.
Mr Blakkarly said clear labelling laws allow shoppers to vote with their wallets.
“Our survey showed people care about this information,” he said.
Choice says consumers want to know where their timber originates from. (ABC Rural: Warwick Long)
Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a widely used engineered wood product made up of layers of timber.
In Senate hearings this week, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) staff reported that LVL imports alone had risen 40 per cent in the year to 2023-24.
About 120,000 cubic metres of LVL were imported in 2022-23, and 167,000 cubic metres the following year.
ABARES said about half the imported LVL came from China, while Malaysia and Indonesia each supplied about 10 per cent.
Origin labelling ‘urgently needed’
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has been calling for timber labelling reform for several years and is encouraged by the Choice survey.
“If consumers are the loudest voice in this, then I’m sure we’ll get there,” AFPA chief executive Diana Hallam said.
Diana Hallam says better timber labelling gives buyers more information and supports the local industry. (Supplied: Australian Forest Products Association)
Ms Hallam said the current laws are not strong enough and it was clear that consumers and commercial builders want more.
“There will always be demand for both hardwood and softwood in Australia,” Ms Hallam said.
“If we aren’t supplying those types of timbers, then their only options are to be imported.
“In the case of hardwood timbers, if you don’t want to harvest them from sustainably managed forests in Australia … then which forests do you want them to come from?“
A significant volume of timber is imported to Australia from Malaysia. (Supplied: Jarni Blakkarly, Choice)
Australia introduced laws in 2012 to combat illegal logging, and timber importers must maintain records and meet due diligence requirements.
But wholesalers and retailers are not required to provide that information to buyers.
Ms Hallam said recent federal government surveys uncovered imported timber that failed traceability testing.
“We also found a survey that revealed five layers of laminated veneer lumber coming in from China actually contained Russian timber — a banned product,” she said.
Imported wood products were also stamped to indicate they met Australian standards, a practice that Ms Hallam said obscured the timber’s origins.
Julie Collins says there is not enough timber in Australia at the moment, so imports are needed. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)
Federal forestry minister, Julie Collins, said she was open to discussions about origin labelling, but she was focused on ensuring timber supplies meet demand.
“We don’t have enough timber in Australia, so we do rely on some imports,” Mr Collins said.
“We want to make sure that those imports are coming from sustainably sourced forestry operations.”
While she acknowledged origin labels would help buyers make informed choices, Ms Collins said the cost of timber was still top of mind for them.
“The bigger providers of that timber and retailers that are importing. They all tell me that the most important thing for people is price at this point in time.”
Logging has ‘real-world’ impact overseas
Malaysia once had one of the world’s highest rates of deforestation.
While tree loss has fallen to near-record lows and the Malaysian government has cracked down on illegal logging, communities are still feeling the impact of timber harvesting.
Mr Blakkarly travelled to the Malaysian state of Sarawak, on Borneo, to trace the origins of timber products sold in Australia.
Villagers in the Baram region of Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo, say their timber comes at a social cost. (Jarni Blakkarly: CHOICE)
Loggers often operate with government permits, but without the consent of communities, Mr Blakkarly said.
He said he saw villagers forming blockades to stop machinery from taking more of the jungle.
“These are Indigenous communities that are trying to live and maintain a traditional way of life; they gather a lot of food and medicines from the jungles,” Mr Blakkarly said.
“They’re really wanting to push back and try and stop that logging.
“They’re wanting to highlight to people like Australian consumers that there is this real-world impact to them and their livelihoods.“
Now, a foreclosure complaint has been filed against the complex’s owner.
What You Need To Know
Court records show a mortgage lender has filed a complaint for foreclosure against Lurin Real Estate Holdings for a loan it issued for the Elements on Third apartment complex
In the complaint, lawyers for BDS IV Mortgage Capital say Lurin failed to make payments starting in August and now owes more than $110 million
Lurin previously came under scrutiny when the city of St. Petersburg said a water shut-off at two properties, including Elements, was possible after Lurin failed to pay its utility bills
“Am I surprised? No, not really,” said Boshko Stanisic, an organizer with the St. Petersburg Tenants Union. “Lurin has been in kind of a financial fall for quite awhile.”
The complaint was filed on Feb. 6 against Lurin Real Estate Holdings. Lawyers for BDS IV Mortgage Capital claim Lurin failed to make payments on a $110 million loan starting in August.
“I didn’t know this was an ongoing thing. So, it’s a little concerning,” said Elements on Third resident Mitchell Williams.
In the nearly three years Williams has lived at the complex, he’s seen it go through ups and downs.
Back out at Elements on Third today in #StPetersburg – this time because a complaint for foreclosure was filed against the owner, Lurin Real Estate Holdings. Court documents say Lurin stopped making payments on a $110 million loan from its mortgage company in August. @BN9pic.twitter.com/pUAQtibIVw
“I think they were running out of cash or something,” he said. “The property started to get a little bit dirty.”
Then, the city said Lurin wasn’t paying its water bill at Elements and another of its properties, The Morgan Apartments.
“It was a little scary when we were notified that we might be without water and might have to make other accommodations when we’d been paying for it the whole time,” Williams said. “So, that was definitely frustrating.”
Williams said things started getting better in the fall, with maintenance and amenities being brought up to par. A city spokesperson also said back in August that Lurin paid its outstanding utility balance on the property.
Now, the BDS is seeking for force Lurin to pay the principal of the loan, plus interest and expenses, in full.
Stanisic said he’s working with residents at The Morgan as they navigate their own uncertain situation. He said tenants of a property facing foreclosure wouldn’t necessarily see immediate impacts.
“A lot of it is just a change in ownership, a little bit of uncertainty,” he said. “A new owner, they might purchase the property, they might come in and change up the property manager.”
Williams said residents haven’t been notified of the proceedings or any changes.
“We’re happy at the moment, but hopefully nothing goes downhill to where we were a few months ago,” he said.
A spokesperson for Lurin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The complaint says BDS is requesting the court appoint a receiver for Elements on Third. It also asks that the property be sold at a public sale if Lurin doesn’t pay the debt.
Los Angeles officials just made it easier to convert empty commercial buildings to housing, opening the door to the creation of thousands of apartments across a city clamoring for housing.
Developer Garrett Lee is already rolling.
After years of struggling to find white-collar tenants for a gleaming office high-rise on the edge of downtown, he has just begun converting its office space into close to 700 apartments.
With the new Citywide Adaptive Reuse Ordinance going into effect this month, many more housing conversions are coming to Los Angeles, Lee said.
“This is monumental for the city.”
The ordinance opens the possibility of conversion for many more buildings than the 1999 guidelines, which paved the way for converting older downtown buildings and jump-started a residential renaissance that turned downtown into a viable neighborhood after decades as a commercial district where few wanted to live.
The first ordinance applied to buildings erected before 1975 and was focused primarily on downtown. Under the new guidelines, commercial buildings that are merely 15 years old throughout Los Angeles can be converted to housing with city staff approval, rather than going through lengthy review processes that may reach the City Council.
Streamlining conversion approvals for projects that meet city guidelines will remove one of the biggest hurdles for developers who have historically had to guess how long it would take to start construction, Lee said.
“When you take that risk off the table, it materially improves the feasibility of conversions,” he said.
“It addresses both the housing shortage and the long-term office vacancy issue,” said Lee, president of Jamison Properties.
Jamison Properties is converting this office high-rise on the edge of downtown Los Angeles into housing.
(William Liang/For The Times)
There are more than 50 million square feet of empty office space in Los Angeles, according to industry experts, spread among the city’s many commercial districts and corridors such as Wilshire Boulevard.
The new ordinance inspired developer David Tedesco to move ahead with plans to convert a high-profile office building in Sherman Oaks, a neighborhood that wasn’t previously included in the city’s adaptive reuse guidelines.
His company, IMT Residential, plans to turn the former headquarters of Sunkist Growers into 95 apartments.
The eye-catching inverted pyramid designed in brutalist style is visible from the 101 Freeway and served as Sunkist’s headquarters from 1970 to 2013. The Los Angeles Conservancy called the building “a symphony in concrete,” worthy of city landmark status.
Earlier, there were plans to renovate the building for new offices, but as demand for office space plunged after the pandemic, developer Tedesco says his company decided to use the new adaptive reuse ordinance to make it into residences.
The new rules mean “we could move forward a lot faster” and avoid a potentially lengthy environmental impact review, he said.
The 1999 ordinance proved that people wanted to live downtown and that converting old office buildings to housing or hotels could transform a neighborhood, said Ken Bernstein, a principal city planner in L.A.’s Planning Department.
People walk through the Union Bank Plaza in downtown Los Angeles in August.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Construction of new apartments followed the wave of conversions downtown in the early 2000s, and the ordinance was expanded to a few other neighborhoods with older buildings, including Hollywood and Koreatown.
But until this month, residential conversions in most of the city still required more approvals, permits and hearings as well as an environmental review, Bernstein said.
“That could be a very time-consuming, cumbersome and expensive process,” he said.
The new rules “unlock the potential,” he said, of thousands of underutilized structures all over the city, including such commercial centers as Westwood, Olympic Boulevard, South Los Angeles, Ventura Boulevard and the Harbor District.
The ordinance is not limited to office buildings. Industrial buildings, stores and even parking garages are eligible for conversion to housing.
Bernstein envisions shopping center owners converting part of their retail and garage space to housing under the new guidelines. Even smaller strip malls would qualify for conversion to housing.
While the new ordinance lowers hurdles for landlords interested in converting their underused buildings, they still face market and regulatory forces that bedevil all housing developers.
Mockup of an apartment inside a 1980s office tower at 1055 W. 7th St. in Los Angeles that is going to be converted to housing.
(Eddie Shih/E22 Studios)
Among them are interest rates that make construction loans more expensive . Higher tariffs have driven up the prices of construction materials and equipment, while the crackdown on undocumented workers has thinned and spooked much of the international workforce on which the housing industry depends.
Developers also say that Measure ULA, the city’s “mansion tax” on large property sales, hurts the outlook for the profitability of any housing.
Measure ULA “is really impeding developers from doing any development in the city of Los Angeles,” said local architect Karin Liljegren, who specializes in adaptive reuse projects and helped the city craft the new ordinance.
Developers also worry that new apartments won’t generate enough income to cover construction costs.
Apartment renters accustomed to steady price hikes saw a downward shift last year as the median rent in the L.A. metro area dropped to $2,167 in December — the lowest price in four years, according to data from Apartment List.
Experts disagree on the momentum behind the drop. Some say it’s a sign of things to come, while others suggest it’s merely a brief price plateau and rents will rise again this year.
Conversion activist Nella McOsker, president of the Central City Assn. business advocacy group, said the new ordinance is “tremendous” and creates “incredible flexibility” for owners who want to make changes. But L.A. needs to follow the example of other cities and do more in the way of financial incentives for developers trying to make a project pencil out.
The Central City Assn. wants the city to consider financial incentives for conversions, even though it is experiencing budget shortfalls, McOsker said.
City leaders should consider offering financial incentives, such as those used in other cities, to bridge the gap to profitability, McOsker said, citing programs in other central business districts.
New York, Washington and Boston have property tax abatement programs, for example. San Francisco offers transfer tax exemptions, and Chicago uses tax-increment financing to encourage some redevelopments. In Canada, Calgary offers direct grants.
In Washington and New York, there has been widespread adoption of adaptive reuse, Lee said, resulting in makeovers of buildings that each add 1,000 to 2,000 residential units.
Lee, who has converted nearly 2,000 apartments so far, said he plans to take advantage of terms in the new ordinance that will allow him to put more apartments on each floor.
“We’re taking projects that are fully designed already and we’re redesigning them for more, smaller units,” he said, which helps reduce rents.
The new rolling 15-year age requirement will also bring up a new crop of conversion candidates every year. More recently built structures need fewer upgrades and may not require seismic retrofits to meet safety codes.
“Vintage matters,” Lee said. “Converting a building from 1990 versus one from 2010 is night and day due to the differences in code eras.”
LARGO, Fla. — With housing costs continuing to climb across Pinellas County, local leaders say a new development now underway could help some working families stay in the community.
What You Need To Know
Crews officially broke ground Tuesday on Olea on 126, a 144-unit apartment complex in Largo where every unit will be reserved for lower-income residents — something officials say is increasingly uncommon.
The project is expected to cost about $55 million, including $7.92 million from the Penny for Pinellas fund.
County leaders say the project targets workers who are increasingly being priced out of Pinellas County.
Construction is expected to be completed in June 2027.
Crews officially broke ground Tuesday at Olea on 126, a 144-unit apartment complex in Largo where every unit will be reserved for lower-income residents — something officials say is increasingly uncommon.
Not only does Largo see few new affordable housing developments, but projects where all apartments are income-restricted are even rarer.
The complex will include two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments designed for families. Units will be set aside based on area median income (AMI):
35 units for households earning up to 40% AMI
72 units for households earning up to 60% AMI
38 units for households earning up to 80% AMI
County leaders say the project targets workers who are increasingly being priced out of Pinellas County.
“We have so many folks that are trying to work in this community, whether they’re teachers, whether they’re hospitality workers, first responders, whatever. A wide range of folks looking for housing, a place to call home,” said Dave Eggers, Pinellas County Board of County Commission Chair.
Officials say without more housing options, many workers are forced to move to neighboring counties — and sometimes leave the workforce locally altogether.
“So yeah, it’s a unique one. Many of them are 100% AMI of 80%. So it’s a little higher income threshold. This (Olea on 126) is a lower income threshold and really goes to the heart of some of the workers right here in Pinellas who are struggling to find a place, in fact, have to go to Pasco County or live somewhere else. And eventually we lose those workers,” Eggers added.
Cost and funding
The project is expected to cost about $55 million, including $7.92 million from the Penny for Pinellas fund.
Instead of a traditional retention pond, developers are installing an underground stormwater system designed to reduce flooding while freeing up land for housing and parking. Similar systems have been used in Orlando, Jacksonville and Fort Myers.
“It takes away the water from the streets, the surface streets where everyone is walking and driving, where it’s going to keep it underground and out of sight, out of mind,” said stormwater consultant Mike Nester.
County officials say the project shows that affordable housing can still include modern infrastructure.
“These projects are not easy to make work. So our County Commission and our residents have said affordable housing is important,” added Eggers.
Construction is expected to be completed in June 2027.
Once finished, the development will provide family-sized units — one of the hardest types of affordable housing to find in the region.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump wants to keep home prices high, bypassing calls to ramp up construction so people can afford what has been a ticket to the middle class.
Trump has instead argued for protecting existing owners who have watched the values of their homes climb. It’s a position that flies in the face of what many economists, the real estate industry, local officials and apartment dwellers say is needed to fix a big chunk of America’s affordability problem.
“I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes, and they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen,” Trump told his Cabinet on Jan. 29.
That approach could bolster the Republican president’s standing with older voters, a group that over time has been more likely to vote in midterm elections. Those races in November will determine whether Trump’s party can retain control of the House and Senate.
“You have a lot of people that have become wealthy in the last year because their house value has gone up,” Trump said. “And you know, when you get the housing — when you make it too easy and too cheap to buy houses — those values come down.”
But by catering to older baby boomers on housing, Trump risks alienating the younger voters who expanded his coalition in 2024 and helped him win a second term, and he could wade into a “generational war” in the midterms, said Brent Buchanan, whose polling firm Cygnal advises Republicans.
“The under-40 group is the most important right now — they are the ones who put Trump in the White House,” Buchanan said. “Their desire to show up in an election or not is going to make the difference in this election. If they feel that Donald Trump is taking care of the boomers at their expense, that is going to hurt Republicans.”
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before departing the White House, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
FILE – Construction equipment is seen near new homes on July 11, 2025, in Happy Valley, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
FILE – A “For Sale” sign is seen on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
FILE – An aerial view of homes in the northern subdivisions is seen in Vacaville, Calif., Dec. 27, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)
New housing is underway near the Bishop Ranch Shopping Center in San Ramon, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026./San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn before departing the White House, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
In the 2024 presidential election, 81% of Trump’s voters were homeowners, according to AP VoteCast data. This means many of his supporters already have mortgages with low rates or own their homes outright, possibly blunting the importance of housing as an issue.
Older voters tend to show up to vote more than do younger people, said Oscar Pocasangre, a senior data analyst at liberal think tank New America who has studied the age divide in U.S. politics. “However, appealing to older voters may prove to be a misguided policy if what’s needed to win is to expand the voting base,” Pocasangre said.
Booker Lightman, 30, a software engineer in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, who identifies politically as a libertarian Republican, said the shortage of housing has been a leading problem in his state.
Lightman just closed on a home last month, and while he and his wife, Alice, were able to manage the cost, he said that the lack of construction is pushing people out of Colorado. “There’s just not enough housing supply,” he said.
Shay Hata, a real estate agent in the Chicago and Denver areas, said she handles about 100 to 150 transactions a year. But she sees the potential for a lot more. “We have a lack of inventory to the point where most properties, particularly in the suburbs, are getting between five and 20 offers,” she said, describing what she sees in the Chicago area.
New construction could help more people afford homes because in some cases, buyers qualify for discounted mortgage rates from the builders’ preferred lenders, Hata said. She called the current situation “very discouraging for buyers because they’re getting priced out of the market.”
But pending construction has fallen under Trump. Permits to build single-family homes have plunged 9.4% over the past 12 months in October, the most recent month available, to an annual rate of 876,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Trump’s other ideas to help people buy houses
Trump has not always been against increasing housing supply.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump’s team said he would create tax breaks for homebuyers, trim regulations on construction, open up federal land for housing developments and make monthly payments more manageable by cutting mortgage rates. Advisers also claimed that housing stock would open up because of Trump’s push for mass deportations of people who were in the United States illegally.
As recently as October, Trump urged builders to ramp up construction. “They’re sitting on 2 Million empty lots, A RECORD. I’m asking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to get Big Homebuilders going and, by so doing, help restore the American Dream!” Trump posted on social media, referring to the government-backed lenders.
But more recently, he has been unequivocal on not wanting to pursue policies that would boost supply and lower prices.
In office, Trump has so far focused his housing policy on lobbying the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rates. He believes that would make mortgages more affordable, although critics say it could spur higher inflation. Trump announced that the two mortgage companies, which are under government conservatorship, would buy at least $200 billion in home loan securities in a bid to reduce rates.
Trump also wants Congress to ban large financial institutions from buying homes. But he has rejected suggestions for expanding rules to let buyers use 401(k) retirement accounts for down payments, telling reporters that he did not want people to take their money out of the stock market because it was doing so well.
There are signs that lawmakers in both parties see the benefits of taking steps to add houses before this year’s elections. There are efforts in the Senate and House to jump-start construction through the use of incentives to change zoning restrictions, among other policies.
One of the underlying challenges on affordability is that home prices have been generally rising faster than incomes for several years.
This makes it harder to save for down payments or upgrade to a nicer home. It also means that the places where people live increasingly double as their key financial asset, one that leaves many families looking moneyed on paper even if they are struggling with monthly bills.
There is another risk for Trump. If the economy grows this year, as he has promised, that could push up demand for houses — as well as their prices — making the affordability problem more pronounced, said Edward Pinto, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank.
Pinto said construction of single-family homes would have to rise by 50% to 100% during the next three years for average home price gains to be flat — a sign, he said, that Trump’s fears about falling home prices were probably unwarranted.
“It’s very hard to crater home prices,” Pinto said.
Economists, lawmakers, and Wall Street have long preached the need to increase housing supply to improve affordability, but it may not be that straightforward.
According to a recent note written by UC Irvine PhD student Schuyler Louie along with San Francisco Fed researchers John Mondragon, Rami Najjar, and Johannes Wieland, average income growth “relates strongly” to house price growth.
“However, there is almost no connection between average income growth and growth in housing supply,” they added. “Instead, housing supply growth has a strong positive relationship with population growth. In fact, almost all metro areas saw housing units grow faster than their population—even in expensive residential markets like Los Angeles or San Francisco.”
That challenges deeply ingrained notions that NIMBYism, red tape, and politicians who favor rent controls over new construction are worsening the housing affordability crisis.
Meanwhile, California’s pricey housing markets have been held up as a prime example of these trends and often contrasted with those in Texas, where homes are more affordable.
To be sure, California is expensive to live in, fueling homelessness and migration out of the state. But given that supply was not a factor, the researchers took a closer look at how differences in demand affect home prices.
Drawing on data going back to the mid-1970s, they pointed out that house prices and median income tracked each other closely until 2000. But after that, home price growth far surpassed incomes.
“This research indicates that regulatory reforms may have limited impact on housing affordability and that differences in housing supply constraints are not the fundamental drivers of differences in housing dynamics across metro areas,” they said.
When looking at average income, the researchers found it grew “essentially one-for-one with house prices” from 1975 to 2024.
So rather than a lack of supply, housing affordability “may primarily be about differences in income growth at the top of the distribution relative to the middle.” In other words, income inequality drives home prices.
Meanwhile, when looking at incomes and housing supply from 2000 to 2020, there was no relationship. The reason may be that when U.S. households become wealthier, they prefer renovating homes, relocating to nicer locations, or finding some other way to improve their housing quality—rather than buying additional homes.
Instead of higher incomes, the arrival of new households to a city boosts supply, and the data show that “housing supply growth is strongly related to population growth across essentially all metro areas.”
The researchers highlight two different types of demand. When demand grows for better housing quality, home prices rise while demand for the number of housing units stays relatively unchanged.
But when housing demand comes from population growth that keeps average incomes steady, demand for the number of units increases, driving up both prices and supply.
“This suggests that the housing affordability crisis may be best addressed by understanding changes to the labor market, especially the relative distribution of economic growth across income levels and jobs in different areas,” they concluded.
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman is running for mayor, shaking up the field of candidates one final time.
Raman said she will challenge Mayor Karen Bass, her onetime ally, campaigning on issues of housing and homelessness, transparency and “safety in our streets.”
In an interview, Raman called Bass “an icon” and someone she deeply admires. But she said the city needs a change agent to address its problems.
“I have deep respect for Mayor Bass. We’ve worked closely together on my biggest priorities and her biggest priorities, and there’s significant alignment there,” said Raman, who lives in Silver Lake. “But over the last few months in particular, I’ve really begun to feel like unless we have some big changes in how we do things in Los Angeles, that the things we count on are not going to function anymore.”
Saturday’s announcement — hours before the noon filing deadline for the June 2 primary election — capped a chaotic week in L.A. politics, with candidates and would-be candidates dropping in and out of the race to challenge Bass, who is seeking a second four-year term.
Raman would immediately pose a formidable challenge to Bass. She was the first council member to be elected with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, which scored an enormous victory last fall with the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Councilmember Nithya Raman jumps in the race for mayor, challenging former ally Karen Bass in the June primary.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
At the same time, Raman has deep ties to leaders in the YIMBY movement, who have pushed for the city to boost housing production by upzoning single-family neighborhoods and rewriting Measure ULA, the so-called mansion tax, which applies to property sales of $5.3 million or more.
Raman’s eleventh-hour announcement caps what has been the most turbulent candidate filing period for an L.A. mayoral election in at least a generation. She launched her bid less than a day after another political heavyweight, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, decided against a run.
Until Raman’s surprise entry, the field had seemed to be clear of big-name challengers. Former L.A. schools superintendent Austin Beutner ended his campaign on Thursday, citing the death of his 22-year-old daughter. That same day, real estate developer Rick Caruso reaffirmed his decision not to run.
Bass campaign spokesperson Douglas Herman did not immediately provide comment.
Raman’s announcement comes as Bass continues to face sharp criticism over the city’s handling of the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Unlike some of the candidates, Raman has not publicly criticized Bass about the city’s preparation for, or response to, the disaster.
Bass, 72, faces more than two dozen opponents from across the political spectrum.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican, has received praise from an array of Trump supporters, including Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, of Florida. Pratt has focused heavily on the city’s handling of the fire, which destroyed his home.
Spencer Pratt poses for a portrait in Pacific Palisades.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Democratic socialist Rae Huang is running against the mayor from her political left. Huang has called for more public housing and for a reduction in the number of police officers, with the cost savings poured into other city services.
Brentwood tech entrepreneur Adam Miller, who has described himself as a lifelong Democrat, said the city is on a downward trajectory and needs stronger management. The 56-year-old nonprofit executive plans to tap his personal wealth to jump-start his campaign.
Also in the race is Asaad Alnajjar, an employee of the Bureau of Street Lighting who sits on the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. Alnajjar has already lent his campaign $80,000.
At City Hall, Raman’s entrance into the mayor’s race is a bombshell, particularly given her relationship with Bass.
In December 2022, not long after taking office, Bass launched her Inside Safe program, which moves homeless people indoors, in Raman’s district.
Two years later, while running for reelection, Raman prominently featured Bass on at least a dozen of her campaign mailers and door hangers. Raman’s campaign produced a video ad that heavily excerpted Bass’ remarks endorsing her at a Sherman Oaks get-out-the-vote rally.
Raman, whose district stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda, ultimately won reelection with 50.7% of the vote. In the years that followed, she continued to praise Bass’ leadership.
In November, while appearing at a DSA election night watch party for Mamdani, Raman told The Times that Bass is “the most progressive mayor we’ve ever had in L.A.”
Last month, Bass formally announced that she had secured Raman’s endorsement, featuring her in a list of a dozen San Fernando Valley political leaders who backed her reelection campaign.
Raman ran for office in 2020, promising to put in place stronger tenant protections and provide a more effective, humane approach to combating homelessness. On her campaign platform, she called for the transformation of the LAPD into a “much smaller, specialized armed force” — but never specified what exactly that would mean.
A woman takes a photo with her phone at the C. Erwin Piper Technical Center on Saturday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Since then, the LAPD has lost about 1,300 officers — a decrease of about 13%. The City Council has put in place new eviction protections for tenants, while also capping the size of rent increases in the city’s “rent stabilized” apartments, which were mostly built before October 1978.
Raman does not face the same political risks as Horvath, who had already been running for reelection in her Westside and San Fernando Valley district. Horvath, had she run for mayor, would have had to forfeit her seat on the county Board of Supervisors.
If Raman loses, she would still hold her council seat, since she does not face reelection until 2028.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Approximately $106 million in previously unbudgeted housing funds will now be reflected in the City of Portland’s budget, City Administrator Raymond C. Lee III said in a memo to the City Council on Friday.
The funds were identified through an analysis conducted by city finance and housing staff and include money that had accumulated over multiple years but was not incorporated into the city’s formal budget process.
More than 40% of the unbudgeted total comes from the Housing Investment Fund, which was established in 2016 to track financial activity related to multifamily housing operations. The remaining funds — being publicly reported for the first time — come from other Portland Housing Bureau accounts that are subject to stricter spending restrictions, according to the memo.
Lee said the disclosure reflects a broader shift in how the city manages its finances under its new form of government.
“This moment reflects the City’s ongoing shift from bureaus and offices developing budgets independently to the City of Portland managing its finances holistically,” Lee wrote, adding that he is prepared to support the City Council in making informed decisions about how the funds are used.
City officials noted that it is common practice for municipal governments to allow funds to accumulate over several years before deploying them for major projects or programs. Going forward, Lee said the city will include such contingency and reserve funds in its annual budget process.
Lee also said the administration will select outside legal counsel to conduct an independent investigation into the housing funds.
“The administration is committed to providing accurate information to support Council deliberations and decision-making about these funds, the broader budget, and the City’s long-term financial health,” he wrote.
Q: Our HOA requires minutes of all committee meetings, including those involving vendor interactions. When I requested copies, the management confirmed there have been no such minutes taken for at least the past two years. What recourse is there for homeowners concerned about the practices and expenditures of committees such as “Landscaping” that are spending nearly 40% of our operating budget. There is no transparency, and the current board is silent when pressed. — K.H., San Diego
A: Normally, committees don’t keep minutes because they have no decision-making power. Check your bylaws, because if that power exists, it would typically come from the bylaws. It’s also typical for committees (except for architectural) to exist to make recommendations to the board on a given topic. Those recommendations are embodied not in minutes but in committee reports to the board. The board should be reviewing those recommendations in open session and then responding with decisions in the minutes. Committees should have charters to confirm their responsibility.
Q: In my association, the manager takes the minutes, but they are often incomplete or inaccurate. In the approved minutes, the section for the homeowner forum is minimal, often providing only a vague reference such as “homeowner discussed pipes.” When board members engage in a discussion on a topic presented during the forum, is there a legal requirement to record the details of that discussion in the minutes? — V.P, Solana Beach
A: Open forum is required of every open board or membership meeting, per Civil Code 4925(b), but boards are restricted by Section 4930 from discussing nonemergency matters that are not on the agenda. Directors may answer open forum questions or provide an update, but directors are not permitted to discuss a matter raised in open forum unless it is already on the announced agenda. I generally do not recommend minutes include open forum comments or questions. The purpose of minutes is to record the corporation’s decisions, not comments or discussions, so including open forum questions or comments is unnecessary.
Q: Can an HOA board move, second and approve an action item when referenced and described by proposal number only? Members and audience only hear (and meeting minutes only reflect): “It has been moved and seconded that we approve Proposal No. 22285 in the amount of $950. All in favor say yes. Motion is approved/passed.” It doesn’t seem right that the content and issues related to this motion are not stated at the board meeting or in the minutes. There was no discussion. It seems like the board is hiding something. — P.P., Rancho Bernardo
A: Volunteer boards should be transparent, and your board is not. Civil Code Section 4930 requires agenda items to be posted four days before the board meeting. If the true substance of the decision is hidden behind a “matter number,” then members cannot determine what is to be discussed or what was decided. I think using matter numbers is only acceptable when boards are dealing with assessment delinquencies – because it protects the delinquent homeowner’s privacy. However, otherwise posted agendas and the minutes should contain enough information so the corporate decisions are properly documented and members know what their board decided.
Richardson is a fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and partner of Richardson Ober LLP, a California law firm known for community association advice. Submit column questions to kelly@roattorneys.com.
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The City of New Port Richey is moving forward with a plan to build two coastal cottage homes in the Edgewater Gardens subdivision.
What You Need To Know
Two coastal cottage homes will be built in New Port Richey’s Edgewater Gardens subdivision
Construction of the homes is part of a bigger initiative to develop new housing that aligns with the city’s goal of building resilient neighborhoods
The neighborhood is within the flood zone classification AE, which indicates an elevated risk of flooding
The coastal design of the homes will feature an elevated floor plan with a garage or carport on the ground level, allowing living spaces above so that they are protected from flooding
Both homes will be built on two lots that are currently owned by the city. Those lots are within the flood zone classification AE, which indicates an elevated risk of flooding.
This subdivision flooded during hurricanes Helene and Milton, forcing many of its occupants to leave. The project is being over-seen by the city’s economic development director, Dave Gammon.
Gammon says construction of the homes is part of a bigger initiative to develop new housing that aligns with the city’s goal of building resilient neighborhoods.
“We cannot produce the same neighborhood again,” said Gammon. “These were built decades ago. They’re not sustainable, they’re not safe, they’re not resilient. What we can do with coastal cottage is change that, and if we can figure a way to make it affordable for the residents here and new residents, that’s what the aim is or the goal.”
The coastal design of the homes will feature an elevated floor plan with a garage or carport on the ground level, allowing living spaces above that so that they are protected from flooding.
Gammon says they are still in the process of hiring a builder. As for a timeline, he says they hope to have the two homes finished by early 2027.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A new affordable housing community is coming to St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District, and city leaders say a state law designed to speed up housing development helped make it possible.
What You Need To Know
The Fairfield Avenue Apartments — a 264-unit community — officially broke ground Wednesday on land with more than 50 years of local history
City officials say the project is moving forward using Florida’s House Bill 1339, which allows qualifying affordable housing developments to be approved administratively on industrial-zoned land, significantly reducing approval timelines
City leaders say the Fairfield Avenue Apartments will add hundreds of affordable housing units within close proximity to downtown jobs and transit once construction is completed
The Fairfield Avenue Apartments — a 264-unit community — officially broke ground Wednesday on land with more than 50 years of local history.
The property once housed Tibbetts Lumber and, before that, Cox Lumber — businesses that helped build much of the surrounding city.
“My grandfather immigrated here in the 1940s, (and) had bought a little tiny lumber company,” said Jeff Brandes of the Tibbetts-Brandes family. “(Those businesses) really grew this community and grew along with it and helped build many of the houses that you and I live in today.”
Over the years, the site has served several purposes — starting as an orange grove, later becoming a Seaboard rail line, and eventually operating as a lumber yard. Now, it will be transformed into housing intended for working residents priced out of living near their jobs.
Brandes said conversations with local hospitals highlighted the need.
“I was talking to the leadership of the hospitals and at All Children’s in Bayfront and talking about how what a struggle they were finding for housing some of their employees that were making $20 or $30 an hour, but they still couldn’t find a place to live anywhere near downtown Saint Petersburg,” he said.
City officials say the project is moving forward using Florida’s House Bill 1339, which allows qualifying affordable housing developments to be approved administratively on industrial-zoned land, significantly reducing approval timelines.
“Now, the state passed legislation a few years ago to permit the development of affordable housing on industry zoned land like this. And St. Pete, again, was the first city to take advantage of that opportunity,” said Mayor Ken Welch.
Brandes, who founded the Florida Policy Project, said seeing the project move from policy to reality is meaningful.
“Well, it’s exciting to be able to talk to people, not somebody who’s theoretical, but who’s doing it practically, too,” he said. “I mean, it’s great to be part of that process. And knowing the struggles of putting a development like this together, but also the looks on people’s faces when they get their keys for the for the for their apartments. That’s what I’m really excited about.”
City leaders say the Fairfield Avenue Apartments will add hundreds of affordable housing units within close proximity to downtown jobs and transit once construction is completed.
San Jose has been ranked No. 1 for the least affordable city in the world for first-time homebuyers in a new global study, underscoring how far housing costs have outpaced wages in the heart of Silicon Valley.
The study — conducted by financial services company Remitly — analyzed housing affordability in more than 150 cities worldwide by comparing average local incomes with typical home prices and applying standard mortgage criteria. California dominated the rankings, with six cities in the top 20. After San Jose, Los Angeles ranked second, Long Beach ranked third, San Diego ranked fourth and Vancouver, Canada rounded out the top five as the least affordable cities globally. San Francisco came in 10th and Oakland scored 19th.
In San Jose, where the average home price is about $1.37 million, a worker earning the city’s average salary of $86,605 could afford about 27.3% of a typical home, according to the study. For two average earners making a combined $173,210, it would only buy them about 54.6% of a property.
The findings come as San Jose leaders continue to debate how to address a housing crisis that has increasingly priced out not only low-income residents, but also middle-class workers who keep the city running.
During the Jan. 27 City Council meeting, several residents spoke during public comment on a proposal to expand the city’s downtown residential incentive program to encourage the conversion of vacant commercial buildings into housing. The expansion, approved in a unanimous vote, will waive or reduce certain development taxes and fees and allow eligible conversion projects to include no deed-restricted affordable homes, a tradeoff city officials said is necessary to make conversions financially feasible.
Several speakers said the proposal, while increasing housing supply, will do little to address affordability if new homes are priced beyond the reach of most residents.
“The city needs to ensure that affordable housing is included,” Katherine Hedges, one of several residents who urged the council to prioritize affordability alongside new development, said at the meeting.
Others warned that rising housing costs are already affecting the city’s ability to deliver basic services. John Tucker, a city employee, urged councilmembers to pause the proposal, citing low employee satisfaction, staffing shortages and a hiring freeze that has left departments stretched thin.
“We understand the goal of encouraging downtown housing and conversions, but incentives should come with clear public benefit and guardrails, especially when city services are slipping and budgets are tight,” Tucker said at the meeting.
Residents also questioned whether housing labeled as “affordable” — typically aimed at households earning up to 80% of the area median income which in Santa Clara County is $111,700 for an individual and $159,550 for a family of four — actually meets the needs of San Jose’s lowest-income residents.
Housing advocates said the city’s current approach has contributed to widening economic and racial disparities.
Regina Celestin Williams, executive director of SV@Home, said San Jose has been intentional about building housing in recent years, but much of it has been geared toward residents who can afford high rents or buy a home.
Williams said while the city has invested in shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness, it has largely failed to address the needs of middle-class residents, particularly families.
“Traditionally when you think of middle class, you think of a family,” she told San Jose Spotlight.
She added that families are being displaced along with communities of color, especially Black and Indigenous residents.
“If you allow the market to dictate, rents get extreme,” Williams said. “Once rent is set at $6,000, no one’s going to lower it.”
Data shows the income needed to afford the average asking rent in Santa Clara County is about $10,767 a month, or roughly $62 an hour.
San Jose’s minimum wage is $16.90 an hour, or about $70,000 a year for a full-time worker — far below what is needed to afford a median-priced home in the city.
Real estate experts have previously estimated that households may need incomes approaching $300,000 to qualify for a mortgage in San Jose, a figure that has risen sharply in recent years as prices and interest rates have increased.
A 2022 analysis by San Jose Spotlight found that monthly mortgage payments of roughly $9,000 were being described as “reasonable” in the city’s housing market. Housing advocates said conditions have worsened since then.
Despite its booming tech economy, San Jose’s cost of living now rivals or exceeds that of other major U.S. cities, according to the Remitly study.
Mayor Matt Mahan’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
The mayor has previously promoted San Jose as the best place to live and work, while pledging to accelerate housing construction and streamline development.
Housing advocates said the latest ranking highlights the growing disconnect between that vision and the reality facing residents.
“As a big city, you would think it would be affordable for everybody to live here,” Williams said. “But it’s not.”
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by San Jose Spotlight.
Every day in New York City, thousands of people are stuck in shelters not because they are unprepared to move on, but because the kind of housing they can afford simply does not exist. One of us works inside that reality as a rehousing director for social service providers. The other works on legislation that can change it. From both vantage points, the conclusion is the same. Our city needs modern shared housing, and the recently introduced bill in the City Council would finally allow it for the first time in decades.
Shared housing, in plain terms, means giving people their own private room to call home while sharing certain facilities like a kitchen or a lounge. It can take many forms. Sometimes it is a traditional Single Room Occupancy setup where each person has a private room and shares basic amenities. Sometimes it is a small suite with a few private rooms arranged around a shared kitchen. In other cases it resembles dorm style cohousing, where people have private space but also share larger communal areas. It’s a formal category for the informal arrangement many New Yorkers have – roommates.
This type of housing is not for everyone, but for many New Yorkers it is the ideal fit. That includes young adults starting out, single working people, older adults on fixed incomes, newcomers trying to find stability, and people leaving the shelter system who simply need a safe, affordable room so they can rebuild their lives. Many New Yorkers already rely on informal versions of shared housing by splitting family sized apartments with multiple roommates. Those arrangements sometimes offer opportunities but often leave people with no tenant protections and very few safety standards. Illegal partitions, overcrowding, and sudden displacement are common. Regulated shared housing offers a far safer and more stable alternative.
For decades, New York City relied on this category of housing to serve single adults and working people. When those homes were effectively outlawed, they disappeared. As they disappeared, homelessness rose. This is not a coincidence. It is what happens when an entire rung of the housing ladder is removed. People fall, and they stay down.
We have both engaged with neighbors who say they oppose shared housing because they worry about vulnerable populations. We share the concern but not the conclusion. Outlawing shared housing does not protect anyone. It traps them in shelters.
We have both met people who are entirely ready to leave shelter. They have their documents. They have their voucher. They attend every required appointment. And still, they wait because the type of unit they can afford does not exist. Each time someone is told that nothing new is available, the hope drains from them. The toll this takes on a person is not abstract. It is immediate and human. Keeping things the way they are has real consequences.
The shared housing legislation introduced in the City Council finally gives us a way to rebuild this missing housing type with modern safeguards that reflect everything we learned from the mistakes of the past. The bill sets strict safety requirements for sprinklers, ventilation, and electrical capacity. It caps suite-style units at three rooms so that we are not creating overcrowded or unstable living conditions. It includes privacy protections that ensure every resident has a real door they can lock. These rules make it impossible to recreate the substandard housing that once gave shared units a bad reputation. This is not a return to the past. It is a reinvention built on dignity and safety.
Some living situations are not intended to be permanent. Some are stepping stones. And our policies must reflect that reality. Thousands of New Yorkers would thrive in a well designed suite or Single Room style home, especially if it means they can finally exit shelter and build stability. Creating this housing would also free up larger apartments for families who desperately need them.
Some argue that opposing shared housing is the progressive position. We strongly disagree. It is not progressive to insist on a housing model that does not exist at the scale we need. It is not progressive to ask a sixty-year-old on a fixed income to compete for a one-bedroom apartment that costs more than their entire monthly benefit. That is not compassion. That is denial.
If you want to understand why real progress is needed, talk to someone who has been living in a shelter for a year with no viable options. Progress is giving that person a safe, regulated, private room they can afford. Progress is acknowledging that our city has changed and our housing tools must change with it.
We support this legislation because we know what it will mean for real people. It will mean fewer older adults languishing in dorm style shelters. It will mean fewer medically fragile people sleeping three feet from strangers. It will mean faster placements, better outcomes, and stability for thousands who do not have it today.
This is our chance to rebuild the missing rung on the housing ladder. The people we serve deserve nothing less.
By Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, Rehousing Director, and Council Member Erik Bottcher
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are considering several proposals that, if voters approve, would potentially reduce property taxes for homeowners across the state. While it’s not clear which proposal lawmakers might choose, any reduction in property taxes could have an effect on the housing market.
What You Need To Know
Florida lawmakers are reviewing proposals to reduce property taxes
An Orlando Realtor says lower property taxes could help buyers afford more expensive homes
Proposed measures will be decided by voters in November
Sayerlen Cardier says her days of renting are hopefully coming to an end. The neurosurgery nurse practitioner says she’s ready to own her own home.
“A place where my family can meet and I know it’s my place,” said Cardier.
But what kind of home depends on what she can afford. If she doesn’t have to pay as much on property taxes, she might be able to spend more on a home.
“Would give you more money in your pocket to distribute, even buying a better place, or a better location, or even paying more on your principal so you can get rid of your debt a little sooner,” said Cardier.
Cardier’s real-estate agent, Rosa Hughes, says less money spent on property taxes means buyers have more money to potentially spend on a higher-priced home, or renovations.
“The money they’re not paying in property taxes they can use for improvements, funds they can save for the future, a lot of things,” said Hughes.
Luckily for Cardier, in the last year, it’s already become more of a buyer’s market.
Data collected by the Orlando Regional Realtor Association shows home prices in Central Florida have cooled off in the last year. After median prices continued to rise over the course of 2024, prices were mostly flat year-over-year in December 2025, with the median price of a home being just above $380,000.
Hughes says if property taxes are lowered, buyers may be able to spend more on a home, which could lead to a resurgence in home values.
“If we reduce property taxes, the buyer has more of a chance to go up in the price, that means the value of the property will go up,” said Hughes.
That could be good for sellers whose homes appraise at a higher value.
About to jump back into homeownership, Cardier says she’s encouraged by the possibilities Florida lawmakers are considering.
“Would be great that somebody sees some sort of relief,” said Cardier. “And if it’s for everybody, that would be wonderful.”
If any of the property tax measures are passed by the state legislature, they will be put on the ballot for voters to decide in November.
During a Cabinet meeting on Jan. 29, Donald Trump made his housing policy unmistakably clear. He does not want homes to become affordable. He wants to keep prices high and make the people already inside the market wealthy. And homebuyers? They can stop dreaming.
Trump’s words were blunt. “People that own their homes, we’re gonna keep them wealthy. We’re gonna keep those prices up,” he said. He even repeated it for emphasis, “I don’t want to drive housing prices down.” Basically, his response to the affordability crisis is increasing the prices even further. But he forgot to explain the part where this makes sense.
The median homebuyers age in the U.S. has gone up to 40 years as of Nov. 2025 (via NAR) Yet, the billionaire president casually framed not being able to buy a house as a personal failure. “If there’s somebody that didn’t work very hard, they cannot buy a home,” he said. Imagine bluntly claiming young people do not deserve to own homes and thinking it helps you? Only Delusional Don can pull something like that.
“We’re going to keep those prices up. We are not going to destroy the value of their homes. I wanna protect the people so that for the first time in their lives, they can feel good about themselves. They can feel like they’re wealthy people.”
Trump: I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people who own their homes. You can be sure that will happen pic.twitter.com/9BupkUmXss
But Trump’s message almost suggests that the real crisis is in the homeowners’ court, not buyers. He just shrugged off the housing crisis as non-existent. And even if it exists, he proudly announced he’s going to make it worse. To soften the blow, Trump dangled interest rates as a distraction:
“We are going to make it easier to buy, we are going to get interest rates down.”
At the same time, he insisted that prices must continue rising. But lower rates don’t help if the principal keeps ballooning. Cheaper financing means nothing when the asset itself is intentionally inflated. And he kept reiterating the reason:
I want them to understand that there’s so much talk about ‘oh we’re going to drive housing prices down.’ I don’t want to drive housing prices down. I want to drive housing prices up for people that own their homes. And they can be assured that’s what’s going to happen.
This wasn’t a slip, it was a declaration of policy priorities. Trump is choosing equity holders over first-time buyers, landlords over renters, and inherited wealth over entry-level opportunity. If you already own, congratulations, you’re protected. If you don’t, tough luck.
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The National Association of Realtors reports the average age of first-time homebuyers is at an all-time high at age 40. The association also says the share of first-time homebuyers has hit a historic low of 21%.
Twenty-year-old Christina Copelan is bucking that national trend. She bought her Clearwater home a few months ago when she was 19.
“It feels really great, like, I am very proud of myself,” said Copelan.
Graduating from high school at age 15, she said becoming a homeowner was an early goal. She works as a personal assistant for a property manager and a financial services company and started saving soon after graduation.
“The biggest thing was living at home with my parents. I think because I didn’t have many bills. But yeah, really, really saving and being super frugal,” said Copelan, who was able to close on her home in a couple of years. She and her family are now renovating it themselves.
“Instead of just buying it and living in it. I get to, you know, put something into it instead of just occupying it,” said Copelan, who enjoys adding her personal touch.
She is not the norm, according to recent numbers released from the National Association of Realtors.
The association adds that the all-time high age of 40 for first-time homebuyers can create a trickle-down effect on personal finances.
“Delayed or denied homeownership until age 40 instead of 30 can mean losing roughly $150,000 in equity on a typical starter home,” said Shannon McGahn, NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer.
Liane Jamason has been in real estate for 18 years and has responded to the shift.
“I think it’s because we’re having some affordability problems and also interest rates being a little bit higher may have skewed that number a little bit,” said Jamason.
The broker owns Corcoran Dwellings in St. Petersburg, and while she acknowledges the national trend, she said that she and her agents are seeing a different trend in local first-time buyers.
“We’re seeing really closer to low twenties to low thirties here,” said Jamason.
“I mean it’s a young vibe here and especially in downtown St Pete, so I think people love that and really want to get in while they can.”
And with a market Jamason describes as steady, buyers of all ages are aiming to get closer to closing on a home of their own.
“It’s very it’s very cool to tell other people like my age that is possible,” said Copelan, who is also a landlord and rents the other half of her duplex. She hopes to inspire the younger generation of future homeowners.
TAMPA, Fla. — A local housing justice advocacy group is calling on the city of Tampa to bring back a landlord registry, arguing it would give renters more transparency and protection in an increasingly competitive housing market.
Florida Rising said the tool would allow tenants to identify property owners, track repeat code violations and avoid unsafe living conditions — information, they said, is especially critical as rents rise and affordable housing becomes harder to find.
What You Need To Know
Florida Rising is calling on the city of Tampa to bring back a landlord registry, arguing it would give renters more transparency and protection in an increasingly competitive housing market
For years, Tampa required landlords to register rental properties through a rental certificate program. That policy was repealed on May 4, 2023. City officials confirm property owners are no longer required to formally register each rental unit, though landlords must still obtain a city business tax receipt to legally operate
According to a 2025 statewide rental market study from the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, demand for housing has outpaced supply
Florida Rising argues a landlord registry would not solve the housing crisis on its own, but could give renters more confidence when choosing where to live and who to rent from
“Renters need to know who they are renting from because they are signing a contract,” said Robin Lockett, regional director of Florida Rising Tampa Bay.
Lockett, who also serves on the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, said a registry could help renters evaluate landlords the same way they research other major financial decisions.
“How do they treat the the clients or the customers? What eviction rate do they have? Where do you know everything? How clean do they keep the apartment complex? Are there complaints about it? Have those complaints been verified?” she said.
Registry repealed in 2023
For years, Tampa required landlords to register rental properties through a rental certificate program. That policy was repealed on May 4, 2023.
City officials confirm property owners are no longer required to formally register each rental unit, though landlords must still obtain a city business tax receipt to legally operate.
Lockett said removing the registry weakened accountability.
“They used to have a business registry, but there is no way to enforce it,” she said.
Rental market pressure growing statewide
Florida Rising’s push comes as housing pressures continue to mount across the state.
According to a 2025 statewide rental market study from the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, Florida added more than one million households between 2019 and 2023, including nearly 200,000 new renter households. During that same period, the state gained more than 240,000 multifamily units.
But demand has outpaced supply, driving median rent from $1,238 to $1,719, a 39% increase.
Lockett said the consequences are visible on the streets.
“To be honest, because of the housing market and the foreclosures and so forth, I see a lot more people homeless,” she said.
Advocates say registry would empower renters
Florida Rising argues a landlord registry would not solve the housing crisis on its own, but could give renters more confidence when choosing where to live and who to rent from.
“I think with the people that are able to rent. The first step is for them to find out who they’re renting from and for them to make a decision as to whether they fit in regards to that business transaction,” Lockett said.
The group said it plans to raise the issue with city leaders as Tampa continues to grapple with growth, affordability and housing stability.
A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the 17-story building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said.Chief John Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said.Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations, and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. The building was formerly run by the New York City Housing Authority, but it has been under private management since 2024, city officials said.”It’s an incredible tragedy. We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning, said at a morning news conference.Mayor Zohran Mamdani said all utilities in the building were shut down, and all 148 apartments vacated. Officials set up a reception center for the displaced residents at a nearby school, and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs.”As you can imagine, this has been a deeply frightening and devastating morning for them,” Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “They are not alone. Our city will stand by them and do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”The Red Cross said it had registered more than 100 households and 305 people, including 89 children, for emergency aid by early Saturday afternoon.More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department. When the explosion occurred, some firefighters were trapped briefly in an elevator, officials said.”There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city’s housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”In October, a massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a housing authority apartment building in the Bronx collapsed after an explosion, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground but amazingly not injuring anyone. Officials linked it to a natural gas boiler.
A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.
Firefighters responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. to the 17-story building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said.
Chief John Esposito said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.
Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said.
Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations, and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. The building was formerly run by the New York City Housing Authority, but it has been under private management since 2024, city officials said.
FDNY via AP
This image provided by FDNY shows FDNY members operating at a fire on the top two floors of a high-rise apartment in the Bronx, New York City, early Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
“It’s an incredible tragedy. We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” Leila Bozorg, deputy mayor for housing and planning, said at a morning news conference.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said all utilities in the building were shut down, and all 148 apartments vacated. Officials set up a reception center for the displaced residents at a nearby school, and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs.
“As you can imagine, this has been a deeply frightening and devastating morning for them,” Mamdani said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “They are not alone. Our city will stand by them and do everything in our power to help them get back on their feet.”
The Red Cross said it had registered more than 100 households and 305 people, including 89 children, for emergency aid by early Saturday afternoon.
More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department. When the explosion occurred, some firefighters were trapped briefly in an elevator, officials said.
“There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.
Around half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by the city’s housing authority, known as NYCHA, which is the largest in the nation.
Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of NYCHA’s buildings.”
In October, a massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a housing authority apartment building in the Bronx collapsed after an explosion, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground but amazingly not injuring anyone. Officials linked it to a natural gas boiler.
