High housing costs threaten California's future economy, quality of life

Sacramento

A FULL-FLEDGED housing crisis has gripped California, marked by a severe lack of affordable homes and apartments for middle-class families. The median cost of a home here is now a staggering US$500,000, twice the national cost. Homelessness is surging across the state.

In Los Angeles, booming with construction and signs of prosperity, some people have given up on finding a place and have moved into vans with makeshift kitchens, hidden away in quiet neighbourhoods. In Silicon Valley - an international symbol of wealth and technology - lines of parked recreational vehicles are a daily testimony to the challenges of finding an affordable place to call home.