"As costs skyrocket for renters and potential homebuyers — and as the availability of affordable housing fails to keep pace with the region's growth — community members like teachers, firefighters, first responders and service workers are increasingly having to make the difficult choice to leave behind the community they have long called home. Nearly 30,000 people left San Francisco between April and June of this year and homeownership in the Bay Area is at a seven-year low", the statement read.
The company granted $1 billion in a loan fund for state construction projects aimed at low- and middle-income residents, another $1 billion was allocated for the first time buyers mortgage assistance fund, $300 for Apple-owned and available land for affordable housing, as well as $150 million for the Bay Area housing fund and $50 million to help the homeless.
Homeless residents sit beside their belongings in downtown Los Angeles
© AFP 2023 / FREDERIC J. BROWN
California Governor Gavin Newsom has already welcomed this unprecedented undertaking.
"The cost of housing in California is the defining concern for millions of families. It can only be fixed by building more housing. This partnership with the state of California will do just that — thank you Apple for stepping up", Newsom wrote on Twitter.
High-tech companies are often criticised for pushing the middle class out of the housing market. Prices in some areas of California are at a record high and continue to rise as there are not enough homes being built in a state with a population of 40 million.
