Sacramento, CA – California YIMBY, Assemblymember Juan Carrillo (D-Palmdale), California Community Builders, and UnidosUS introduced AB 595, a new bill designed to create affordable homeownership opportunities for moderate-income Californians and communities of color by offering tax credits to builders constructing income-restricted, for-sale homes.
The bill addresses the challenge of rising home prices that are increasingly out of reach for most Californians. According to data, fewer than 55% of Californians own homes. People of color face even greater disparities, with African American homeownership rates 26% lower and Latino homeownership rates 19% lower compared to white Californians, due to decades of discriminatory housing practices.
“For far too many Californians, the dream of homeownership remains just that—a dream,” said Assemblymember Carrillo. “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. 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 create a pilot program known as the Building Homeownership for All Program. The program will provide state tax credits to homebuilders for constructing income-restricted for-sale homes, ensuring they are affordable to moderate-income families. By incentivizing homebuilders to increase the production of affordable homes, the bill aims to make homeownership more attainable for working families across California.
“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.”
Currently, state programs supporting homeownership primarily offer down payment assistance to help qualifying buyers secure mortgages. However, these programs don't provide incentives for builders who face high land, labor, and material costs, making affordable home construction difficult. By offering tax credits, AB 595 will help lower construction costs and encourage more affordable housing projects.
“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.”
Adam Briones, CEO of California Community Builders, emphasized the urgency of addressing the state’s housing crisis: “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. AB 595 is an opportunity for our state to make affordable homeownership a reality. This is the year we do something about it.”
Originally reported by California Yimby.