Tom Steyer Releases Plan to Build 1 Million Homes and Restore the California Dream

“We cannot treat our housing crisis as just a mathematical shortage of assets; it is a crisis of the California Dream”

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer unveiled a comprehensive, ambitious plan to build 1 million homes in four years, lower costs for working families and restore the “California Dream.” With housing now consuming the largest share of family budgets, Californians can no longer afford to live in California.

“A home is more than a place to sleep or a piece of property to be owned. It defies a single purpose. It connects you to community and it gives you belonging,” Steyer said. “It is where you build your future, raise a family, and it’s how you achieve the California Dream. But today, that fundamental promise — the chance to put down roots and raise a family — is slipping away. Californians cannot afford to live in California. We cannot treat our housing crisis as just a mathematical shortage of assets; it is a crisis of the California Dream.”

Framing the housing crisis not just as a shortage, but the biggest moral and economic challenge of our time, Steyer laid out a sweeping strategy to make housing more affordable, faster to build, and accessible to all.

Key highlights from the plan:

Build 1 Million Homes in four years:

A historic effort to double California’s housing production and deliver homes across all income levels — from shelters to starter homes to family housing.

Make housing cheaper to build and buy:

Make it easier to finance projects, bring certainty and speed to construction, and streamline permitting and zoning.

Use the state’s purchasing power to generate a steady pipeline of projects and build the country’s largest industrialized construction market:

Commit a baseline of state-funded projects — like student housing and emergency shelters — to factory-built housing, giving manufacturers the pipeline they need to make large capital investments to scale.

Enforce the law and unlock housing production:

Ensure that when builders follow the rules, they can complete projects — and step in when local governments block housing.

Close the “Trump Tax Loophole”:

Deliver over $20 billion annually to communities, reduce excessive local fees, and make it cheaper to build new housing.

Free up land and build near transit:

Leverage public land and prioritize dense housing located next to public transit and job centers.

Make building innovative:

Invest in prefab and modular housing, standardize designs, and use the state’s purchasing power to scale production.

Make housing work for working families:

Expand “First Look” programs, protect renters, deliver immediate relief, and match housing with services to address homelessness.

The full housing plan can be found here.

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