Affordable housing: What works and what doesn’t

April 20, 2026

Ron Cuff

OPINION by RON CUFF

I’ve spent my career in residential real estate, affordable housing, and private construction lending. I’ve personally housed hundreds of families below market rate without a single taxpayer dollar.

That experience has convinced me that most government housing programs, however well-intentioned, make the problem worse before they make it better.

The Central Coast faces a structural challenge no policy can fully solve: demand to live here is essentially unlimited, and supply is constrained by geography, regulation, and cost. That gap will always put upward pressure on prices.

Subsidized housing doesn’t change that math; it just routes public money into a market that was already expensive, pushing costs higher for unsubsidized buyers and renters who end up competing against government funds.

There are practical steps local governments could take right now that rarely make it onto the public agenda.

Reduce the cost of building. Permitting delays stretch two years or more while builders pay interest, insurance, and rising material costs the entire time. Those costs pass directly to buyers.

Impact fees add tens of thousands of dollars per unit before construction begins. Streamlining approvals and reducing fees lowers costs at the source rather than subsidizing them after the fact.

Revisit residential property tax structures. Ongoing property taxes add significantly to monthly ownership costs. Reform here could improve affordability without new spending.

Engage employers. When workers can’t afford to live near their jobs, that’s a labor market problem as much as a housing problem. Employers throughout American history, from railroads to universities, have provided workforce housing.

A regional employer cooperative or tax-advantaged housing allowance would address the hiring and retention crisis that local businesses already feel, without shifting that cost onto the public.

The housing crisis is real, and it deserves solutions that actually work rather than programs that feel good on paper.

This conversation is focused specifically on private-sector and market-based approaches, not because government has no role in anything, but because reducing the regulatory and cost barriers that prevent builders, employers, and private investors from solving this themselves is where the real leverage is.

If you are a candidate for public office and that’s the approach you want to pursue, experienced guidance is available. Contact me. Ron@roncuff.com.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​