With home prices skyrocketing in the Golden State, Apple has announced a $2.5 billion plan to help address the housing availability and affordability crisis in California.
“Before the world knew the name Silicon Valley, and long before we carried technology in our pockets, Apple called this region home, and we feel a profound civic responsibility to ensure it remains a vibrant place where people can live, have a family and contribute to the community,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. “Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride. When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.”
Apple designed its initiative to accelerate and expand new housing production; jump-start long-term developments that would otherwise not be possible; help first-time buyers purchase homes; and support new housing and programs to reduce homelessness, after extensively studying the issue and listening to different perspectives.
Apple’s commitment to the state of California includes: a $1billion affordable housing investment fund that will provide the state and others an open line of credit to develop and build low and moderate income housing; a $1 billion first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance fund; $300 million in corporate-owned land in San Jose, California, to be developed into affordable housing; $150 million in a new affordable Bay Area housing fund and $50 million to support Destination: Home, which addresses homelessness in Silicon Valley. The commitment is expected to take about two years to be fully utilized. Capital returned to Apple will be reinvested in future projects over the next five years.
In addition to these initiatives, Apple is working to identify private developers who, with the right financing and investment, are ready to start construction on affordable housing projects in the Bay Area immediately.
“This unparalleled financial commitment to affordable housing, and the innovative strategies at the heart of this initiative, are proof that Apple is serious about solving this issue. I hope other companies follow their lead,” said Gavin Newsom, governor of California. “The sky-high cost of housing — both for homeowners and renters — is the defining quality-of-life concern for millions of families across this state, one that can only be fixed by building more housing. This partnership with Apple will allow the state of California to do just that.”
