Google Steps Up to Address Bay Area Housing Crisis

Google has committed a $1 billion investment to ease the housing affordability crisis in the San Francisco area, hoping to add about 20,000 homes over the next decade.

CBS News reports that the company also plans to rezone about $750 million of its land to support the construction of 15,000 homes, and will create a $250 million investment fund to meant to incentivize developers to build 5,000 additional affordable housing units.

Experts have long criticized Silicon Valley tech companies for driving up real estate prices, contributing to an affordable housing crisis that is pushing middle- and low-income out of the Bay Area. Median home prices in San Francisco have surged 45%, from $936,000 to nearly $1.4 million, just in the past five years, according to Zillow. Meanwhile, about 7,000 people in San Francisco are homeless.

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