Apple $1 Billion Fund for California Affordable Housing Projects

Apple has deployed more than $1 billion in funding for housing projects across California as part of its ongoing effort to combat the state's enormous housing crisis. The money is being used to pay for new housing, construction, help first-time home buyers and fund p

BY Realty Plus
Published - Thursday, 15 Jul, 2021

Apple $1 Billion Fund for California Affordable Housing Projects

Apple has deployed more than $1 billion in funding for housing projects across California as part of its ongoing effort to combat the state's enormous housing crisis. The money is being used to pay for new housing, construction, help first-time home buyers and fund programs to curb homelessness in some 25 counties across the nation's largest state, the tech giant announced Wednesday. It's Apple's biggest instalment as part of a multibillion-dollar initiative. The announcement comes about 18 months after Apple pledged to donate $2.5 billion to improve California's housing crisis in a state where the average cost of a home is $813,980, according to the California Association of Realtors. The state's finance department also reports a similar figure. With affordable housing at a premium, about 90% of Californians are concerned about escalating housing prices, and a third of them are considering moving to more affordable states, according to a recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California. Besides Destination: Home’s Homelessness Prevention System, a program funded by Apple, the company is partnering with the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), and Housing Trust Silicon Valley. With CalFHA, Apple said has provided mortgage and down payment assistance to thousands of low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Nearly a majority of borrowers identify as Hispanic, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native American, said Apple which did not provide specific figures. With a public-private partnership with Housing Trust Silicon Valley, Apple said it has committed funding to create more than 800 affordable housing units in the San Francisco Bay Area, many reserved for homeless senior citizens, veterans, and those with developmental disabilities.