Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder — Report

Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder

Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder report cover

Our flagship 2026 housing report examines how to restore access to homeownership and rebuild the pathway to American success, combining demographic data with practical policy direction.

The report anchored the Center's Housing Summit and continues to inform conversations with policymakers, researchers, and housing practitioners across the country.

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The Research

The Data at a Glance

A two-page visual summary of the report — the crisis, and the fix. Click either page to open the full infographic, or download it below.

Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder — page 1 of 2 RESEARCH BRIEF · JUNE 2026 Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder California's Housing Crisis: A Market Failure in Attainable Homeownership By Karla López del Río · Center for Demographics & Policy, Chapman University THE BOTTOM LINE California doesn't just have a housing shortage. It has a homeownership delivery failure: the state builds rentals more reliably than homes families can own. THE LADDER IS BREAKING · each red figure is California, vs. U.S. CALIFORNIA 56% own their home U.S. 63% CALIFORNIA 24% own a home under 35 U.S. 38% CALIFORNIA $899K median home price U.S. $423K CALIFORNIA 18% can afford that home U.S. 37% THE PAYCHECK CAN'T REACH THE PRICE Income needed to buy the median California home $213,000 Even these incomes fall short (bars scaled to $213K): 2× CA median$192K Dentist$179K K-12 teacher$99K CA median$96K Firefighter$95K THE HUMAN FACE OF THE CRISIS “The house I bought in Sacramento, two hours from my station, in 2020 when rates were low, I probably couldn't afford now — even if the house were the same price.” “BRIAN SMITH,” name changed at his request A top-of-scale Bay Area firefighter — bought two hours out in Sacramento, moved near grandparents after his first child, and now commutes 5½ hours each way to protect a community he can't afford. 15% / 47% of income goes to child care — a married couple / a single parent. FAMILIES WANT TO OWN; WE BUILD RENTALS 86% want a detached single-family home 61% of new units are apartment rentals Most of what California builds is rental. Texas builds more — and mostly for sale. HOMES PER YEAR · CA vs. TX CA need (low)180K CA need (high)312K CA built 2024100K A COMPETITIVENESS ISSUE HUMAN CAPITAL · PEOPLE LEAVING 268,000 left California in 2024. Leavers are 48% more likely to own (~$672/mo saved). BUSINESSES · EMPLOYERS LEAVING Tesla · Oracle · Chevron · Charles Schwab — citing quality of life Center for Demographics & Policy · Chapman University · June 2026 PAGE 1 OF 2
Page 1 · The Problem
Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder — page 2 of 2 REBUILD THE HOMEOWNERSHIP LADDER · THE FIX THE FIX: REBUILD THE MISSING MIDDLE The path families climb from renting to owning, and how California restores it. THE OWNERSHIP LADDER TOP · Luxury single-family ownership built readily THE MISSING MIDDLE — WHAT CALIFORNIA FAILS TO BUILD • Condos & townhomes • Small-lot & starter homes • Manufactured homes on owned land • ADUs as starter homes • Shared-equity ownership The rungs where the middle class is formed. BOTTOM · Subsidized & market-rate rental built readily THE FOUNDATION · LAND · FEES · FINANCING · INSURANCE Land is the single biggest cost of new housing — and the binding constraint on infill. TWO CALIFORNIAS The same worker rents on the coast, and owns inland. COASTAL = RENT apartments $708K / door INLAND = OWN starter to single-family $350–645K Middle-income families who stay are moving inland, where ownership is still in reach. A HOMEOWNERSHIP-LADDER POLICY AGENDA The test is simple: can families actually climb from renting to owning? 1 Measure ownership, not just units. A permit is not a homeowner. 2 Modernize land, infrastructure & rules. Build for real regional conditions. 3 Align capital, insurance & subsidy with ownership. No finance, no rung. START A BETTER HOUSING CONVERSATION California does not simply lack housing. It lacks enough attainable homes that working families can own. Rebuilding the ladder keeps California competitive, middle-class, and true to the promise that the next generation can do better than the last. READ · SHARE · DISCUSS demographicsandpolicy.com · chapmanhousingsummit.com CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder · Karla López del Río © 2026 Center for Demographics & Policy, Chapman University Sources: U.S. Census · C.A.R. Q4 2025 · NAR · CA HCD 2025 · RAND 2025 · UC Berkeley Terner Center · California Policy Lab · PPIC · IRS SOI · CA LAO. Firefighter name is a pseudonym. PAGE 2 OF 2
Page 2 · The Fix
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2026 Housing Solutions & American Success Summit flyer
Event Recap

Housing Solutions & American Success Summit

Held June 24, 2026 · Bush Conference Center · Beckman Hall, 4th Floor

A defining dialogue on housing and opportunity — the Center's signature convening, anchored by our flagship report Rebuild the Homeownership Ladder.

The sold-out Summit brought together leaders from research, policy, and the housing industry to chart practical paths toward expanding homeownership and American success. The conversations, research, and recordings are now gathered in one place.

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