Tootfinder

"But supply shortages tell only half the story. In some countries, such as the UK, housing analysts note that the shortage of affordable homes is made far worse by private developers prioritising high-end projects over affordable housing."
"urban land prices, limited housing finance and weak incentives for affordable housing push developers toward luxury projects instead of affordable ones"
Soaring rents and a four-hour commute: the misery of the Lagos hous…

"But supply shortages tell only half the story. In some countries, such as the UK, housing analysts note that the shortage of affordable homes is made far worse by private developers prioritising high-end projects over affordable housing."
"urban land prices, limited housing finance and weak incentives for affordable housing push developers toward luxury projects instead of affordable ones"
Soaring rents and a four-hour commute: the misery of the Lagos hous…

San Francisco's housing market is seeing a big rebound, driven by the AI boom; Apartment List says rents rose 14% YoY in February, the fastest growth in the US (Katherine Bindley/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/san-fr…

"Dorsey is a sincere person. Even his most strident critics believe the SoMa supe means well."
I'm right here, Joe. I think he's a sadistic piece of shit. https://missionlocal.org/2026/04/sober-housing-mat…

Will a new state law put teeth in S.F. supe Dorsey’s plan to fund only drug-free homeless housing? 
YIMBYs fear and loathe the plan, and deride it as mere ‘virtue signaling.’ But a proposed change to California law could change all that. 

Trump goes his own way on housing (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/13/trump-goes-his-own-way-on-housing-00829047
http://www.memeorandum.com/260314/p44#a260314p44

The Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at boosting the supply of housing and bringing down prices,
marking a rare bipartisan breakthrough on a major issue.
The ✅ "21st Century ROAD to Housing Act",
written by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C.,
and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,
won 89 votes.
Ten senators voted against it.
Scott is the chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee,
and Warren is the ranking member.

Senate passes major housing affordability bill by Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott
The Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at boosting the supply of housing and bringing down prices, marking a rare bipartisan breakthrough on a major issue.

The war in Iran hits home as housing rebound stalls (Sam Sutton/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/14/iran-war-housing-rebound-stalls-00870047
http://www.memeorandum.com/260414/p37#a260414p37

Please explain to me why people believe the "market" will solve the housing crisis, if only we removed barriers like zoning. The market certainly doesn't seem to do so well at maintaining existing properties at affordable prices.
‘My bill keeps escalating’: how Toledo, Ohio, became the epicenter of the US housing crisis

Please explain to me why people believe the "market" will solve the housing crisis, if only we removed barriers like zoning. The market certainly doesn't seem to do so well at maintaining existing properties at affordable prices.
‘My bill keeps escalating’: how Toledo, Ohio, became the epicenter of the US housing crisis

"It's one of the features of modern Western democracies that political parties seek their crucial election finance from those people who have surplus wealth, and those who have surplus wealth are by definition those who are profiting from the status quo... So it's little surprise that when 'financial services' institutions shudder and fall, our politicians, whom we elected with their money, choose to use our money to bail them out" -- me, 2012

Missing a trick here.
Not a word on Labour's trashing of environmental protection and building boom. That boom won't deliver affordable rent housing.
Greens to launch local elections campaign with promise on affordable housing which ‘failing Labour councils’ haven’t delivered - Green Party

This is why I don't fully trust 48hills, even though they're on "my side" in being pro-labor and anti-billionaire. Tim Redmond thinks it's a good thing that a 100% affordable housing development was forced to lop a floor off to preserve views 😫
"The staff reached out to the neighbors,[...]took feedback, and as a result made some changes that lowered the height of the new buildings. That, in a reasonable world, is how this should work" No it's not!!…

Supes approve affordable senior housing project—but discussion raises larger issue - 48 hills
Nonprofit housers are good neighbors. Speculators are not. But Wiener's law treats both the same way

How the money spent on Trump's Iran war could have helped Americans (Philip Bump/MS NOW)
https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-iran-war-11-billion-income-housing
http://www.memeorandum.com/260314/p71#a260314p71

A very important meeting happening next week on the 16th of April at the Druid / Mick Lally Theatre.
'Emergency public meeting in Galway to demand housing be made central bye-election issue'
https://www.connachttribune.ie/new…

Emergency public meeting in Galway to demand housing be made central bye-election issue
A broad coalition of trade unions and community groups has announced an emergency public meeting in Galway to highlight the worsening housing crisis and demand that it becomes a defining issue in May’s bye-election.

Lily Cheng in #Willowdale is again advocating against new housing next to a subway station
According to her, adding 2000 new residents to the neighborhood would be a risk to lose the Costco (???). As if adding new people to the neighborhood would make Costco leave.
Yes some "essential local retail shops" (aka Starbucks) would leave... But there's no shortage i…

"A National Audit Office investigation revealed in October last year that a staggering 98% of external insulation fitted under the previous government’s home-improvement schemes was installed so ineptly that it will have to be repaired or replaced."
Surprise, surprise.
Britain's building industry is unbelievably shoddy.

I'm shocked, shocked, that waiving the transfer tax on downtown office to residential conversions did not result in a single such conversion happening.
Well, not that shocked. (The real point of March 2024 Prop C was the sneaky provision letting the SFBOS reduce the transfer tax altogether without an election. Not to produce housing but to cut downtown landlords' taxes.)

🏘️ Factory-built housing hasn't taken off in California yet, but this year might be different
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-14/factory-built-housing-hasnt-taken-off-in-californ…

Factory-built housing hasn’t taken off in California yet, but this year might be different
This year, state legislators in California believe that with a little state assistance, they want to make 2026 the Year of the Housing Factory.

"Trump supporters report higher levels of psychopathy, manipulativeness, callousness, and narcissism"
...
"Trump fans are much angrier about housing assistance when they see an image of a black man
In contrast, Clinton supporters seemed relatively unmoved by racial cues"
https://www.…

Study: Trump fans are much angrier about housing assistance when they see an image of a black man
In contrast, Clinton supporters seemed relatively unmoved by racial cues.

When the government offers to provide rebates or tax credits to low income Canadians, as recently announced by our Federal Government, most welcome the extra cash. But it doesn't address the key issue in affordable food, housing, or utilities. All of that extra government cash, provided by taxpayers BTW, gets sucked up by corporations that continue to rake in record profits. If you want to truly attack the #Affordability problem then implement laws that penalize excess profit taking by corporations. Take key necessities (food, transit, shelter, utilities, etc.) and create public options that are run as cooperatives and have controlled profit margins.
Marit Styles points out the difference between food prices at independent grocers versus the big chains. The policy position from @… on establishing a public grocery option makes sense, as long as we also protect the small independent vendors in our communities.
#CorporateProfiteers
https://youtu.be/Hj-ncCLSaZY

Capitol agenda: House revolt ahead for housing bill (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/12/congress/housing-affordability-bill-senate-vote-00824598
http://www.memeorandum.com/260312/p26#a260312p26

Russia strikes ENERGY AND HOUSING: 1,700 DRONES and 69 MISSILES in one week #shorts: https://benborges.xyz/2026/01/25/russia-strikes-energy-and-housing.html

oooof. this incumbent running for re-election to the SF Bike Coalition board is literally a landlord lawyer.
if you're a member, the voting details are here and there are 10 candidates for 8 seats. https://sfbike.org/news/meet-the-candidat…

Senate passes major housing affordability bill by Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott (NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-passes-major-housing-affordability-bill-warren-scott-rcna263046
http://www.memeorandum.com/260312/p93#a260312p93

Nobody really knows the scale of the U.S. housing crisis
America faces a serious housing shortage, one that Moody’s estimates would take more than 2 million new homes to resolve.

But over at Goldman Sachs, analysts put the number at
3 million.
Zillow’s estimate tops 4 million,
while Brookings projects 5 million,
and McKinsey says 8 million.
Meanwhile, congressional Republicans insist the shortfall is closer to 20 million.

Then there are the …

Why nobody really knows the scale of the U.S. housing crisis
Experts say the U.S. needs an additional 2 million to 20 million homes to fix the shortfall, underscoring the challenge of meeting the nation’s housing needs.

"Green spaces should be the norm for all new housing developments in England, guidelines say"
#UK #UnitedKingdom #Houses

On housing for students at Ontario universities.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/ontario-university-housing-survey/article_569933c2-2e92-4732-b7f0-4fc0ddde9e1f.html

Students at these two Ontario universities have lower rents, better commutes and more financial help from Mom and Dad
A report by research firm Studenthaus found national average rent for students this past fall was $1,146, with 66% of renters receiving family help.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #NickGrimshaw
The Stone Roses:
🎵 Elephant Stone
#TheStoneRoses
https://theblogthatcelebratesitself.bandcamp.com/track/housing-crash-elephant-stone-the-stone-roses
https://open.spotify.com/track/57inMtXj5ZwnevKzP49bTT

The SDA Housing Podcast
A leading voice in the Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) sector, delivering in-depth discussions, expert insights, and the latest updates related to housing solutions for people with disabilities...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com/sda-…

Aramark tells Yosemite workers it's axing most of their housing rights
https://www.sfgate.com/national-parks/article/aramark-yosemite-employee-housing-21307621.php

Even after so many policy changes on housing, that this kind of shit can still happen is very discouraging.
From the article:
Members said they found Malhotra’s plan both inappropriate and undesirable — too tall for the street at six storeys, even while they acknowledged its height would be within regulations under a new law and therefore not subject to their approval.

Both Amazon & Microsoft cooperatively push for 5 policy changes to address housing crisis in WA state.
▶️ WA must make it easier to build our way out of housing crisis | The Seattle Times
https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/wa-mu…

Home Builders Turn to White House for Help on Inventory Glut - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/economy/housing/home-builders-turn-to-white-house-for-help-on-inventory-glut-7e41e708?st=MYUJhb&refli…

Testing some ideas in case my next linear algebra publication needs a photo
(... or category theory?) 🐈

You load 16 server racks, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St Peter, don't @ me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/20

"The governor’s proposed 2026–27 budget includes no funding for existing affordable housing. Federal housing programs face deep uncertainty. Locally, San Francisco is staring down a structural deficit... In this context, proposals to eliminate transfer taxes and weaken development impact fees...are deliberate choices that would lock in housing scarcity for years to come."

You Can’t Build Abundance by Defunding Housing
Why cutting housing revenue in a moment of scarcity guarantees failure

To house the hundreds or thousands of temporary workers needed to build an AI data center, developers are increasingly relying on temporary villages known as "man camps".
This style of camp was popularized as housing for men working in remote oil fields.
For example, as a Bitcoin mining facility in rural Dickens County, Texas is converted into a 1.6 gigawatt data center, Bloomberg reports its workers are living in gray housing units with access to a gym, a laundromat, g…

Owner of ICE detention facility sees big opportunity in AI man camps | TechCrunch
AI data center developers are increasingly relying on a style of camp popularized as housing for men working in remote oil fields.

I've been wondering if "one-off rural housing" can be described as ultra-low density suburbanisation. I've been looking at data: Census Small Area statistics, in fact.
Result, this map:
Rural Census Small Areas with >40% of housing stock build in the period 2000-2022 (bulk in 2000-2008, 2nd phase of Celtic Tiger). Huge patterns of ultra-low density suburbanisation in some areas (Galway city environs) but not others. What's going on east of the M11, SE coa…

TIL about "iceberg homes", and wondered why we don't let all the wealthy people live in deep holes and build affordable public housing on top of them. It's a win-win people...
https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2026/02/toronto-figuring-out-controversial-iceberg-homes/

Milwaukee (and every city) needs more third spaces for youth.
“The “LIT Lounge” was born out of a critical need in Milwaukee, where Black and Brown youth often face systemic inequities, housing insecurity, and too few safe spaces after school. LIT renovated its Milwaukee office to create a space that is by and for young people, where they can simply be.”

Post From Community: Leaders Igniting Transformation opens the “LIT Lounge,” a new youth third space in Milwaukee
The "LIT Lounge" was born out of a critical need in Milwaukee, where Black and Brown youth often face systemic inequities, housing insecurity, and too few safe spaces after school.

Bondi Is Said to Move to Military Housing Because of Threats (Glenn Thrush/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/us/politics/bondi-military-housing-threats.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260310/p150#a260310p150

This is absolute madness.
No. We need less private landlords, ideally none.
It doesn't matter how you slice it, once-off pension, multi-property business, investment funds. None.
Housing should be a right, a public need, not an investment opportunity.
FG/FF are the reason we are in this mess.
ht…

Ireland needs more landlords 'that have five or more houses who treat it like a business'
The government is trying to ‘change the housing culture in Ireland’, according to Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty.

A look at Amjambo Africa, an immigrant-founded publication in Maine that focuses on immigrant life and news from Africa with coverage in seven languages (Tandy Lau/Editor and Publisher)
https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/h…

How one immigrant newsroom is connecting Maine’s communities
When Georges Budagu Makoko arrived in Maine in 2002 after fleeing violence in Central Africa, he spoke five languages — but English wasn’t one of them. Finding housing, healthcare or even basic services in his new home proved frustrating and often confusing. Years later, those early struggles inspired him to launch Amjambo Africa, a multilingual newsroom dedicated to helping new Mainers navigate life in the United States while sharing the stories of immigrant communities too often overlooke…

This is clearly timed to take the heat off Mahmood after he introduced legislation to slash $100 million a year in funding for affordable housing.
There’s a new streamlining bill or measure every year, and we’re clearly hitting diminishing returns. Meanwhile all over the city thousands of affordable homes are stalled for lack of funding. Want to speed up housing? Fund it.

S.F. supervisor to ‘explore’ ballot measure to speed up housing
Bilal Mahmood wants to address the bottlenecks created by having five separate departments involved in issuing building permits

Good evening!
Starlings over Utrecht, at dusk.

The low-hanging fruit just isn't that juicy for the technolatrous UK government.
"The Warm Homes Plan provides an opportunity to change course, but the approach taken by government prioritises heat pumps and solar panels over ensuring that homes reach basic standards of health and energy efficiency."
A Plan for Places: Transforming Housing and Lowering the Cost of Living Through Home Improvement Corporations

A Plan for Places: Transforming Housing and Lowering the Cost of Living Through Home Improvement Corporations
A proven institutional framework for delivering housing retrofit.

Happening now in North Minneapolis somewhere just southwest of 2nd Ave N and Van White Memorial Boulevard, police ordering more people with nowhere to go to leave otherwise-unused land by 1pm today. The City of Minneapolis has been using violence (physical force or the threat of physical force) to shove unhoused people around constantly since the destruction of community-supported encampments, and so long as this is allowed, the human right to housing will never be fulfilled. See you there…

Just one more example demonstrating that the "market" and #MayorLurie's "Family Zoning Plan" will not solve even a small part of the affordable housing problem.
But it might make more mansions available.
SFMTA approves slashing 365 units from Mission housing project

S.F. approves slashing 365 units from Potrero Yard housing project
Despite opposition, SFMTA board greenlights reduced plan at Muni bus yard in the Mission

Just one more example demonstrating that the "market" and #MayorLurie's "Family Zoning Plan" will not solve even a small part of the affordable housing problem.
But it might make more mansions available.
SFMTA approves slashing 365 units from Mission housing project

S.F. approves slashing 365 units from Potrero Yard housing project
Despite opposition, SFMTA board greenlights reduced plan at Muni bus yard in the Mission

Hell YES! And hold senior management at NO Transpo accountable.
Yesterday... leave work. Bus at 15:20, arrive home 16:30. Should have arrived at home by 15:45. One missing bus, second full and waited for the 3rd.
https://flip.it/9z2x0m

I'm not saying there isn't any problem, but I am saying that thatcherism/reaganism is absolutely how everyone dies. How about we stop American private equity from draining the economy, ignore all US laws against reverse engineering, stop paying copy levy to the US, and legalize squatting again to make it so giant corporations can't hold all the housing stock? Maybe we can check in after that.

They're talking about government-mandated #RentControl. The article doesn't mention it, because #jermalisms, but we have it in #Canberra. My

SF YIMBY has endorsed Alan Wong, whose whole campaign is about reopening the Great Highway, after previously endorsing Stephen Sherrill who's doing everything he can to block Marina Safeway housing. They are just a mod Dem club. Housing and urbanism are their marketing pitch, not their goal. #sfpol

The US Treasury Department, State Department, and federal housing agency are ending use of Anthropic products; State Department says it will switch to OpenAI (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-treasury-ending-all-use-anthropi…

Buhay Australia
Listen to information that will help improve health, housing, employment, visas and citizenship, Australian laws and more...
Great Australian Pods Podcast Directory: https://www.greataustralianpods.com/buhay-australia/

Kind of a cool proposal in terms of squeezing density onto a slim site, but I wish it didn't have 10 parking spaces for 11 units. That much parking shouldn't be allowed so close to BART, inducing more driving trips on Guerrero which is already a traffic sewer.
https://missionlocal…

Mission BUZZ: Housing, a brewery and an owner who stands her ground on cannabis
Los Tigres del Norte received the keys of the city from Mayor Daniel Lurie. Lover's Lane is back for its fifth straight year.

Alright, I'm starting to be kind of impressed by this Mamdani guy.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-zohran-mamdani-new-york-housing-3835daca395dbe46c2f3da2433ec24f4

Mamdani pitches Trump on housing in latest White House visit
President Donald Trump has met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the White House to talk about big federal housing investments. Mamdani on Thursday presented Trump with a mock New York Daily News cover that reads “Trump to City: Let’s Build.” His team says the goal is to show Trump the positive headlines a deal could generate. Mamdani’s office did not detail the housing plan, but his spokesperson says Trump responded with enthusiasm. Mamdani also asked Trump to release a detain…

🍊 Cardboard crazy! Scavenger genius Shigeru Ban on building cathedrals and quake shelters with paper
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/feb/17/shigeru-ban-architect-cathedrals-quake-shelters-beer-crates-paper…

Cardboard crazy! Scavenger genius Shigeru Ban on building cathedrals and quake shelters with paper
From high-end boutiques to housing in disaster zones with beer-crate foundations, the Japanese architect creates with things people throw away. What will his distillery in whisky’s holy land look like?

We have a public meeting coming up the 19th of April at 6:30pm in Oughterard.
We'll be hearing from a few different speakers on issues that affect rural Galway including housing in the Gaeltacht, resisting large corporate seaweed over-harvesting of our coasts, and agroecology and food sovereignty.
1/2

To execute its mass deportation campaign,
the Trump administration has big plans for small-town America.
In the rural town of Williamsport, Maryland, just next to Hagerstown,
the Department of Homeland Security recently purchased a massive shipping warehouse for over $100 million
and plans to convert the facility into an immigrant detention center
that will hold upwards of 1,500 human beings per day.
In this on-the-ground report, TRNN takes you to the si…

‘A black site concentration camp’: Residents fight ICE detention warehouse in rural Maryland
“A warehouse is meant to be an economic hub… Turning it into a jail and housing humans inside is ... well, it's gross. It's wrong.”

Democrat Khanna refloats bill to block investors from buying up homes after Trump proposal
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/18/trump-khanna-housing-investor-ban.html

2019 time capsule: “The successful implementation of a public bank could be a windfall for affordable housing advocates.” By @…. Now, finally, it’s headed for a ballot near you!

A public bank could make affordable housing more affordable
How would a public bank fund affordable housing?

Sources: the US Senate's crypto market structure bill is likely to be delayed by several weeks as key lawmakers shift focus to potential housing legislation (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-21/…

I was at a meeting last night of key decision makers in the two main civic institutions of my village, and no one in the room was under seventy.
There are reasons.
1. House prices are way beyond what people of working age can afford;
2. Limited social housing is (rightly) allocated to the most vulnerable, but they typically don't have the bandwidth to take on civic roles;
3. There are few jobs in the local economy for degree-educated young people;
/Continued…

The race for the next mayor of Los Angeles has become even more intense as
Council Member Nithya Raman officially launched her campaign on Saturday.
Her announcement came just hours before the city’s filing deadline.
Nithya Raman said Los Angeles needs a leader who will take full responsibility for the challenges the city faces.
Raman represents District 4, which stretches from parts of the San Fernando Valley to neighborhoods like Los Feliz, the Hollywood Hills, and…

Who Is Nithya Raman? Meet The Latest Candidate In Los Angeles Mayor’s Race
Nithya Raman has officially joined the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral race just before the filing deadline. She brings experience in homelessness, housing, and community planning.

Senators unveil bipartisan bill to tackle housing affordability in rural areas (Julie Tsirkin/NBC News)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senators-bipartisan-bill-housing-affordability-rural-areas-rcna265130
http://www.memeorandum.com/260331/p140#a260331p140

"Both candidates agreed that Market Street should be reopened to cars (a few people booed, then some cheered). They also both agreed that new housing developments should include more parking."
No problem for the "urbanists" at SF YIMBY, who just endorsed Sherrill.
https://

S.F. housing is hottest topic in first debate between District 2 supervisor candidates
Appointed supervisor Stephen Sherrill and neighborhood organizer Lori Brooke face off on housing, cars, and public safety

Luckily, the "Family Zoning Plan" offers opportunities for creative real estate agents and developers to meet this need. Look at what happened to the 7 unit building at Jackson and Presidio.
More millionaires than mansions: AI-fueled demand meets ‘egregious shortage’ of inventory
https://sfstanda…

More millionaires than mansions: AI-fueled demand meets ‘egregious shortage’ of inventory
No winter break in the housing market as IPO anticipation drives buyers into a frenzy. 

“That one wealthy individual can render 37 people (in Cuirt Eigis, Ballybane) homeless like this, during a housing crisis, is a damning indictment of our laws, our housing policies, and our government’s values”, said Rooke.
https://www.pbp.ie/landlord-to-evic…

Here’s a half-block stretch in the Avenues with no trees.
Legislation by Mayor Lurie and Alan Wong made it harder to remove these driveways by allowing them to remain when garages are converted to housing.
Now the Lurie-Wong legislation to let developers not plant trees and limit tree removal appeals is going to Planning Commission tomorrow.
#sfpol

Mamdani heads to White House for meeting with Trump on housing (Chris Sommerfeldt/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/26/mamdani-heads-to-white-house-for-meeting-with-trump-on-housing-00801450
http://www.memeorandum.com/260226/p74#a260226p74

Every SF YIMBY-endorsed supervisor voted for this cruelty, with SF YIMBY's silent, implicit agreement. "Legalize housing" my foot.
https://missionlocal.org/2026/03/sf-rv-ban-housing/

Five months into S.F.’s ban on RVs, 82 former RV dwellers have been housed. Others are now on the street.
Five months into S.F.'s ban on RVs, many have been matched by the city to housing. But several others are now street homeless.

Avram David "Avi" Lewis is the leader of Canada's
New Democratic Party (NDP).
Lewis: “Our NDP has a different offer for this country.
Our plan is to Trump-proof the economy
by investing massively in Canadian economic independence
using the unmatched power of public ownership.
“A network of public providers for food, phones, and internet.
A public housing developer.”

"Denman Rooke has been selected as the People Before Profit candidate to contest the by-election in Galway West.
He is a long-time activist campaigning on issues of worker’s rights, trade unions, anti-racism, climate action, cost of living, and housing."
https://www.

A Build America, Buy America law is causing construction delays amid the US housing crisis (Charlotte Kramon/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/affordable-housing-construction-baba-hud-delays-4302744b3b5839268acaee92bf172eb9
http://www.memeorandum.com/260327/p37#a260327p37

I agree with SF Chronicle columnist Allison Arieff that we should follow in Paris' footsteps by electing socialist mayors. Ok, she doesn't mention what party they belong to, but Allison does praise Anne Hidalgo and Emmanuel Grégoire.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opini…

I read something touting a housing policy bill in Minnesota as “bipartisan” and thought: really? in the year of our Lord 2026? fascists liking your reform isn’t a selling point

Trump housing chief Bill Pulte seeks new DOJ probe of New York AG Letitia James (Vaughn Hillyard/MS NOW)
https://www.ms.now/news/trump-housing-chief-doj-new-york-letitia-james-pulte
http://www.memeorandum.com/260325/p136#a260325p136

Lit-dropped Noe Valley in defense of Prop I and got a solid workout 😅 This is how we're gonna win and preserve funding for social housing. #sfpol
- If you live in SF and haven't sent a letter yet: https://dsasf.org/protectpropi

Save Prop I and Affordable Housing Funds
On Wednesday February 25, billionaire Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Bilal Mahmood announced a tax cut for wealthy real estate investors. They propose to repeal 2020's Proposition I, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for rent relief and affordable housing. Although Prop I revenue has never been fully dedicated to social housing as intended, it has funded over $200 million to help San Franciscans afford housing as of 2024, including $42 million for the strongest Covid rent re…

Justice Department Notifies California and Maine of Investigations into Whether Housing Biological Men in Women's Prisons Violates Constitution (US Department of Justice)
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-notifies-california-and-maine-investigations-whether-housing-biological
http://www.memeorandum.com/260326/p173#a260326p173

Alcatraz has been practically frozen in time since the day that the storied prison saw its last inmate 62 years ago.
When the federal government closed the facility, officials had deemed it a deteriorated relic that was insufficient for housing inmates.
Alcatraz closed in part because it was far more expensive to run a prison on an island than on the mainland since everything had to be shipped in.
The small number of prisoners made the extra expense even more questionable…

Trump’s Idea to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison Draws Criticism From Tourists
At the beloved attraction in San Francisco Bay, visitors could scarcely believe President Trump had suggested turning Alcatraz back into a penitentiary.

Me when I meet literally anyone who lives in District 6: Have you considered running for supervisor? Did you know there's still time to file? Can I cover your filing fee?
(This a-hole is running for re-election unopposed when there are parts of the district like Western SoMa that are actually quite progressive)
http…

S.F. supe Matt Dorsey says he’d have deserved being evicted for drug-use, as his legislation now proposes
S.F. supervisor Matt Dorsey says that he feels that, had he used drugs in supportive housing, he should have been evicted to the street.

The median home buyer is 59 years old.
That may sound like a shocking statistic, but it’s part of a trend.
In 2020, the median home buyer was 47 years old, which at the time was also an all-time high.

Here’s another shocking statistic:
The median down payment on a house in 2025 for first time homebuyers surpassed $40,000
— exceeding the median net worth of Americans under 35.
Americans once went in search of their starter homes in their 20s,
but …

HSAs for housing could fix a generational problem
The model pioneered by Health Savings Accounts can help families attain the dream of home ownership.

White House Offers New Details on Its Push to Ban Housing Investors (Rebecca Picciotto/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/white-house-offers-new-details-on-its-push-to-ban-housing-investors-97fb1829?st=FymPTN&reflink=article_imessage_share
http://www.memeorandum.com/260219/p114#a260219p114

The average retiree household spends roughly $60,000 annually, with housing (36%), transportation (15%), healthcare (13%) and food (13%) taking the largest shares of the budget.
Inflation-adjusted spending typically declines by about 26% between the ages of 65 and 84, but long-term care costs remain a major wild card that standard spending data doesn't capture
Seven out of 10 people turning 65 will need some form of long-term care in their lifetimes,
and two in 10 will…

Achievement unlocked: Got the SF Chronicle to publish an argument for social housing!
(it's the second in this batch of letters to the editor)
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/letterstotheeditor/article/licence-p…

FACT FOCUS: A look at false and misleading claims made during Trump's first cabinet meeting of 2026 (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-trump-cabinet-economy-housing-energy-health-california-f4b4fb985300724a7e717863626e5506
http://www.memeorandum.com/260129/p131#a260129p131

"Continuum of Care"
is the federal government’s flagship program to support state and local governments and non-profits in funding housing and other services for individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
The program is built on the principle that getting unhoused people housed can get them on a path to address other challenges.
But in the past months, the Trump administration has tried to issue sweeping policy shifts to the program,
some of which…

Austin's Surge of New Housing Construction Drove Down Rents (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2026/03/18/austins-surge-of-new-housing-construction-drove-down-rents
http://www.memeorandum.com/260318/p58#a260318p58

Good primer on how California housing development laws have changed in the past few years, for better or worse, but also how those changes are unlikely to usher in broad affordability.
"*This* project is all but certainly going to get financing because *this* project is exceptional. But not every project is exceptional... If merely approving a project resulted in its construction, San Francisco would have scores of thousands of additional built units. It doesn’t."

25-story Marina Safeway behemoth, inconceivable even to sci-fi futurists, looking very real
D2 supe and mayor can shake their fists at the proposed high-rise — but little more. Neither joined last week's call for a Safeway boycott. 

The Trump 'Affordability' Pivot That Never Came (Catherine Rampell/The Bulwark)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-trump-affordability-pivot-that-never-came-state-of-the-union-inflation-housing-stock-market
http://www.memeorandum.com/260225/p127#a260225p127

Trump is pressuring the Hill on voter verification -- but not his own housing plan (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/18/trump-is-pressuring-the-hill-on-voter-verification-but-not-his-own-housing-plan-00833228
http://www.memeorandum.com/260318/p14#a260318p14

Health care, new cars and new homes feel unaffordable to most Americans,
a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll shows.

Most Americans say that they can afford basic necessities like their current housing costs, groceries, utilities and gasoline.
But large numbers across income levels also say larger expenses and the cost of things associated with an enjoyable life
— including taking a weeklong vacation
— are out of reach.
Overall, 53 percent of adults say…

A new car, home feel out of reach for middle-class Americans, poll finds
Most renters — including those earning six figures — doubt they could afford a home in the foreseeable future.

Apropos of Denim Dan Lurie's tax break for rich real estate investors... The mayor's brother is a luxury real estate agent, and he told the Chronicle in October that the problem with SF housing was a "mansion shortage."
https://www.sfchronicle.com/reale…

War with Iran drives US mortgage rates higher for fourth-straight week (Samantha Delouya/CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/26/economy/mortgage-rates-us-housing-market-iran-war
http://www.memeorandum.com/260326/p129#a260326p129

In a big win for protesters’ rights,
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overturned a lower court’s dismissal of a challenge to sweeping warrants to search a protester’s devices and digital data and a nonprofit’s social media data.
The case, "Armendariz v. City of Colorado Springs", arose after a housing protest in 2021,
during which Colorado Springs police arrested protesters for obstructing a roadway.
After the demonstration, police also obtaine…

Victory! Tenth Circuit Finds Fourth Amendment Doesn’t Support Broad Search of Protesters’ Devices and Digital Data
In a big win for protesters’ rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overturned a lower court’s dismissal of a challenge to sweeping warrants to search a protester’s devices and digital data and a nonprofit’s social media data.The case, Armendariz v. City of Colorado Springs, arose...

Here’s a perfect encapsulation of why #YIMBY hopes for new market-rate housing to lower rents are in vain. San Francisco has the highest rents in the country, but still not high enough for developers to build. It “could really help” if our extreme rents got even higher, though!

This week: SF rents hit No. 1 — but developers say they need more
Developers still struggle to raise equity

Trump is on his way to Davos, where his quest to own Greenland could overshadow his other goals (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-davos-housing-greenland-gaza-a2f3f4c18ba321c8025a3e208fc0ddf6
http://www.memeorandum.com/260121/p106#a260121p106

Fun little double-header at City Hall. I commented at the SFMTA Board asking them not to approve a version of the Potrero Yard project that eliminates the possibility of 360 affordable homes, for want of $70 million. Then I asked the SFBOS not to repeal the transfer tax on high-valued real estate, which would take $100m a year out of the budget that was intended to fund affordable housing. #sfpol

Capitol agenda: House hard-liner headaches ahead (Mia McCarthy/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/17/congress/house-conservatives-fisa-housing-save-america-act-elections-00831120
http://www.memeorandum.com/260317/p31#a260317p31