What We're Reading, Watching, and Listening to: March 2023

A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:

San Francisco

• ‘It’s insane’: Only-in-S.F. tactic to kill or slow housing might be on the chopping block (San Francisco Chronicle): Assembly Bill 1114 could bar San Francisco from allowing building-permit appeals.
• Everything Is About the Housing Market (The Atlantic): Examining the impacts of high urban rents on everyday life in places like San Francisco.

California

• This California Assembly bill could pay developers to convert office buildings into housing (San Francisco Chronicle): New legislation could make office-to-residential conversions faster, easier, and less expensive.
• California housing development remains abysmal despite reforms. Here’s what’s missing (Los Angeles Times): How can California promote the large-scale residential development it needs to become affordable?
• New California pay-to-play law taken to court (CalMatters): Industry groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of SB 1439.
• CARE Courts are coming to California (Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast): Discussing Governor Newsom’s new CARE Court program.

National Real Estate

• Office Landlord Defaults Are Escalating as Lenders Brace for More Distress (The Wall Street Journal): The delinquency rate for office loans backing commercial-mortgage-backed securities remains low, but is heading higher.
• Wells Fargo economists on commercial real estate: There’s plenty to worry about (The Business Journals): Although layoffs may fuel more office vacancies, are there also reasons for hope?
• Are Tiny Homes a Solution to the Housing Crisis? (The New York Times): How are builders, manufacturers, and architects responding to a constrained market?
• With housing costs rising, tiny homes offer one solution to address homelessness (PBS News Hour): Examining the growing interest in tiny homes serving the unhoused population.