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REALTORS® Fight For Affordable Housing Solutions in Los Angeles

By Tanya Svoboda
December 2017

Los Angeles

Prospective residents in the Los Angeles area are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase, or rent a home for their family. No one is more aware of the increasingly sparse housing conditions than local REALTORS®. “Production of affordable housing for our Los Angeles workforce is at crisis level. Residents are being priced out of the rental housing market by the increased demand created by a lack of supply of affordable housing” shares Aaron Leider, President of the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of REALTORS® (BH/GLAAR).

BH/GLAAR represents over 9,000 REALTOR® and AFFILIATE Members in the cities of Beverly Hills, Culver City, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. A big part of the organization’s mission is to advocate for homeowners by protecting property rights and supporting relevant legislation.

BH/GLAAR has taken an active role in addressing the area’s housing affordability crisis. Most recently, they endorsed the successful Proposition JJJ. “Proposition JJJ was important because it ensured that affordable housing construction, both rental and purchase, would be an integral part of the area’s planning approval process” explains Leider. “Prop. JJJ will be able to accomplish this without increasing taxes or fees on the already tax-burdened residents of Los Angeles.”

Proposition JJJ also helps homeowners who depend on public transportation by incentivizing builders. Developers who construct the required number of affordable housing units within 750 feet of a busy Metro rail stop will be eligible for financial incentives. This motivates builders to increase affordable housing in the areas that commuters need it to be.

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party was also an endorser of Proposition JJJ. Eric C. Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party shares why, “Too many hardworking families are getting pushed out of the City of LA by rent that they cannot afford.”

Rusty Hicks, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO and convener of the Build Better LA Coalition, spoke about how important it was to have the backing of two powerful organizations in the fight to pass Proposition JJJ. “The Los Angeles County Democratic Party has always been our partner in the fight for economic and social justice, and having the support from the Beverly Hills/Greater Los Angeles Association of REALTORS® creates a real pathway to more housing options that Angelenos could actually afford.”


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