AB 595 will create more homeownership opportunities for working families
Sacramento, CA – Today, California YIMBY joined Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale), and their fellow co-sponsors California Community Builders and UnidosUS, to announce AB 595, which seeks to expand affordable homeownership opportunities for moderate-income Californians and communities of color by creating a new tax credit for home builders constructing income-restricted, for-sale homes.
California’s current home prices are out of reach for most Californians. Fewer than 55% of Californians live in homes they or their families own. Due to decades of discriminatory housing practices, people of color have even lower rates of homeownership – African American homeownership rates are 26% lower and Latino homeownership rates are 19% lower than white Californians.
“For far too many Californians, the dream of homeownership remains just that—a dream. AB 595 is a bold step toward changing that reality by making it financially feasible to build the affordable for-sale homes our working families need,” said Assemblymember Carrillo. “Homeownership is more than just a milestone; it’s a foundation for economic security and generational wealth. With this bill, we are not just talking about solutions—we are taking action to ensure that more Californians, especially those historically left behind in communities of color, have a real path to owning a home.”
AB 595 directs the California State Treasurer’s Office to design a pilot program, the Building Homeownership For All Program, to provide state tax credits for the construction of income-restricted for-sale homes that are affordable to moderate-income families, and establishes goals and guidelines for the Treasurer to abide by in the development of the program. By creating an incentive and a tool for homebuilders to increase their production of for-sale housing affordable to California’s working families, AB 595 will help bring homeownership back within reach for this demographic.
“This bill is an important step towards making the dream of homeownership a reality for those too often left behind, including the 1.9 million mortgage-ready Latinos in California between ages 18 and 45,” said Esmeralda López, UnidosUS California state director. “Last November, Latino voters made it clear that they want their government and elected officials to tackle the rising cost of living, which includes the need for affordable housing. We commend Assemblymember Carrillo for introducing this bill and look forward to working through the approval process.”
State programs to support homeownership are primarily available in the form of down payment assistance, which helps qualifying applicants secure mortgage financing. But these programs don’t include supply-side incentives for builders, who face high land, labor and materials costs that can hinder the feasibility of affordable home construction. A tax credit available to builders and their funding partners will help lower total construction costs, and help bring more of these projects to market.
“Too many of California’s families are being denied the benefits of homeownership as a result of the state’s inability to build enough homes to make homeownership affordable,” said Konstantin Hatcher, Senior Director of Community Impact at California YIMBY. “It makes sense to couple our successful downpayment programs with similar construction incentives – and give more hard-working Californians, many of whom have been historically denied this opportunity, a shot at achieving the California dream. AB 595 will be transformative for families and communities across our state.”
“Californians are tired of hearing how much our state government values homeownership while at the same time seeing that dream slip further out of their reach,” said Adam Briones, CEO of California Community Builders. “AB 595 is an opportunity for our state to make affordable homeownership a reality. This is the year we do something about it.”
Read more about AB 595 here.
