Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley

These Fees Make Affordable Housing More Expensive. Developers Want to Slash Them - KQED One of the reasons building affordable housing in California is so difficult is that developers are asked to pay for many things, from expanded gas lines to public art projects. And those costs add up...

New story from @kqednews.kqed.org on our research about impact fees charged to new affordable housing developments in CA. (ow.ly/gAWU50Y92w6) While fees can be an important source of city revenues, they can also drive up the cost of affordable housing production. ow.ly/rFBE50Y92FP

Faculty Research Advisor Carolina Reid is quoted in a look at mortgages in Maryland.

Please join us for a webinar on Tues, Feb 10, 11am–12pm PT. Experts from the City of Elk Grove, City of San José, and City of San Diego will explore recent changes to CA’s impact fee landscape and how cities are working to make it more navigable for housing developers. ow.ly/xczr50Y0Kov

Thrilled to have a terrific panel of experts speaking at our webinar on state and local reforms to development impact fees, Feb 10, 11am PT. It will explore recent changes to CA’s impact fee landscape and how cities are working to make it more navigable for housing developers. ow.ly/xczr50Y0Kov

Coverage of our new research on how impact fees add costs to affordable housing developments in CA: ow.ly/QIhS50Y1jmX

Thanks to KQED for covering our new research assessing the cost of impact fees on affordable housing: ow.ly/QIhS50Y1jmX

Assessing the Cost of Impact Fees on Affordable Housing: An Analysis of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects in California - Terner Center Building new affordable housing in California has always been complex, but costs have risen significantly in recent years. This Terner Center research brief looks at a key cost contributor: local impa...

Our new research finds that while on average, development impact fees contributed to less than 5% of total development costs for new subsidized affordable housing developments in CA, from 2020–2023, affordable developments paid an average of approximately $300M in fees each year. ow.ly/QIhS50Y1jmX

Thanks to @xianleonard.bsky.social for covering our new research on local impact fees charged to new subsidized affordable housing developments in California.

2026 Federal Housing Policy Preview - Terner Center Author: David Garcia, Deputy Director of Policy After a surprising year of housing policy bipartisanship, lawmakers in Washington, DC are poised to continue pushing for housing supply and affordabilit...

With 2026 as an election year, a new Terner Center commentary offers a look at what federal lawmakers are doing to advance housing and housing affordability—including through proposed bipartisan legislation, the FY2026 budget, and Executive Actions. ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/2026-fe...

Homeowners don’t want to move. It’s a big deal for their shrinking backyards. Americans have more and more reasons to have smaller outdoor spaces.

Ben Metcalf is quoted a Washinton Post piece about shrinking backyards: “People are spending less unstructured time, and valuing the kind of activities they do in a backyard less than the kind of things they do indoors.”
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Testimony to the California State Assembly Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation - Terner Center On January 14, 2026, Tyler Pullen testified to the California State Assembly Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation. Testimony by Tyler Pullen Assistant Director of Building Innovation, T...

In testimony to the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, Tyler Pullen outlined policy ideas to help CA become a leader in housing innovation. Read Tyler's testimony and watch the video: ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/testimo...

Testimony to the Congressional Progressive Caucus - Terner Center On January 14, 2026, Terner Center Deputy Director of Policy David A. Garcia testified to the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Watch the hearing video (testimony starts at 17:41) David A. Garcia, Dep...

In testimony to the Congressional Progressive Caucus, @davidagarciajr.bsky.social discussed how zoning & land use regulations play a role in limiting housing affordability, and he highlighted policies in proposed legislation that draw on best practices & research. Read & watch: ow.ly/oUWC50XYhzv

Honored to have Deputy Director of Policy @davidagarciajr.bsky.social testify to the Congressional Progressive Caucus today about how Congress & the federal government can support zoning and land use reforms to spur the creation of more homes.
Catch the livestream, 11am PT/2pm ET: ow.ly/fbA250XWREv

Supporting the Implementation of CalAIM within Permanent Supportive Housing - Terner Center In 2022, California embarked on an ambitious effort to improve its Medi-Cal system—the state’s Medicaid program that insures nearly 15 million people, or 40 percent of California’s residents. It joine...

An @latimes.com story today highlights the importance of California’s Medicaid system for providing critical homelessness services: ow.ly/RyHy50XVTHB
The article references the Terner Center's CalAIM case study series. ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/support...

In testimony to the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, Managing Director Ben Metcalf explores construction innovation and factory-built housing as much-needed approaches to tackling the housing affordability crisis. ow.ly/1M2n50XSMaX

“Factory-built housing offers real opportunity if we can create the enabling conditions. It doesn’t have to mean that every house is built in a factory, just that these methods can be a valid alternative for developers looking to avoid taking on extra risk.” - Ben Metcalf @ternerhousing.bsky.social

Honored to have Managing Director Ben Metcalf testify today at the first hearing of the Select Committee on Housing Construction Innovation, chaired by @buffywicks.bsky.social. He will discuss the role construction innovation can play in making housing more affordable & accessible. ow.ly/tNoq50XSxTE

New case study: How Homeward Bound of Marin, the leading provider of #homelessness services in Marin County, has implemented CalAIM to improve care coordination, including establishing staffing, data systems and partnerships across housing and health systems. ow.ly/fFoY50XLb6S

New case study: How Homeward Bound of Marin has implemented CalAIM, California’s effort to reform Medicaid, to strengthen supportive services and improve housing stability for residents who previously cycled between homelessness, hospitalization and shelter. ow.ly/AYVm50XLcfY

The housing crisis, explained in 101 seconds - Berkeley News Watch UC Berkeley’s Ben Metcalf break down the policies needed to make homes affordable again.

Why is housing so expensive—and why is it so hard to fix? UC Berkeley's @ternerhousing.bsky.social Managing Director Ben Metcalf breaks down the housing crisis and solutions in just 101 seconds. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/11/t...

"'Housing isn’t being built because of the need for gap financing and the cost,' said Ben Metcalf ... of the Terner Center ... which recently produced a study showing that every extra layer of public financing adds about $20,000 per affordable unit in administrative costs." ow.ly/rmOq50XL5RO

The Potential End of Emergency Housing Voucher Funding: Public Housing Agencies’ Search for Solutions - Terner Center Authors: Christi Economy, Research Associate Ryan Finnigan, Deputy Director of Research Claudia Aiken, Director of New Research Partnerships, NYU Furman Center Ellie Lochhead, Doctoral Fellow, NYU Fur...

4/4 Researchers estimate that a ~3.3% increase in the 2025 annual Housing Choice Voucher budget would allow the program to absorb all current Emergency Housing Vouchers, significantly reducing the risk of returns to homelessness for recipients.
ternercenter.berkeley.edu/blog/the-pot...

3/4 The research highlights creative ways public housing agencies (PHAs) are exploring to sustain support to voucher households. However, many PHAs do not have available resources for other rental supports or may have to push back waitlists & affordable housing pipelines.

2/4 At the peak, emergency housing vouchers helped house almost 70,000 U.S. households. Now, the lack of funding could push voucher holders into precarious housing situations, place administrative burdens on strained public housing agencies & disrupt partnerships with landlords.

1/4 New research w/ @claudiaaiken.bsky.social & Housing Solutions Lab: The Emergency Housing Voucher program was established in 2021 as a 10-year effort to provide rental assistance to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. HUD has announced that funding will run out before the end of 2026.

Home insurance costs are up 150% in one part of California. This map shows premiums by county Climate change is making insuring homes more expensive. And in neighborhoods where that risk is the greatest, higher insurance costs are starting to eat into property values as well.

New reporting in the @sfchronicle.com by @xianleonard.bsky.social and Sriharsha Devulapalli on rising home insurance premiums in CA cites our latest research.
www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/a...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: National Housing Supply Webinar: 2025 Year in Review. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: National Housing Supply Webinar: 2025 Year in Review. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Next Tuesday, 12/16: Catch Terner Center Managing Director Ben Metcalf at the webinar, "U.S. Housing Supply Market and Policy Achievements in 2025 & Opportunities for 2026," 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Article on our new report about home insurance in CA

Todays' Mercury News features our analysis of home insurance costs for CA homeowners, which finds that while historically costs have been relatively low compared to other states, housing affordability challenges may be exacerbated as rates increase. ow.ly/j3Ao50XAQnU

We're thrilled to have Terner Center leaders supporting the Select Committee's research and helping to identify promising emerging opportunities for policy reform and investment!---->