Los Angeles may have year-round sunshine and great beaches, but according to an article in the Los Angeles Times by Tracey Lien, that's not enough to entice workers to accept jobs there.
The article referenced the results of a new survey by the University of Southern California that found the region’s affordability crisis is deterring workers from putting down roots.
From the piece:
“Though we have yet to see a critical mass of businesses priced out of the region, this is an area of concern,” Raphael Bostic, a professor of public policy at USC who led the research, said in a statement.
According to Bostic, high housing costs are leading to employers’ having to develop special hiring packages, subsidize employee transportation or offer relocation costs, which puts a strain on companies’ bottom lines and makes it harder to compete with markets where housing costs aren’t as high.
The affordability problems aren’t unique to only Los Angeles though, as the whole state faces ever-rising home prices. The latest report from PropertyRadar stated that San Francisco Bay Area home sales in February plummeted to the lowest of any month since February 2008 as average home prices soared into the millions.
In order to fix the problem, Madeline Schnapp, director of economic research for PropertyRadar, said, “Local, state and federal housing regulations have made it all but impossible for builders to meet housing demand in California’s growing economy.”
“Conceptually, the solutions to California’s affordability crisis are simple, but politically we should expect the current situation to continue for the foreseeable future,” said Schnapp.
