California voters to decide on $11 billion housing bond aimed at lowering housing costs

California's average home value is now $877,000 — something only 17% of people can afford.

Polls show that affordability is one of the top concerns in California, and now voters will have a chance in November to decide if more tax money should be spent on lowering housing costs.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators have reached an agreement to put an $11 billion housing bond on the November ballot.

"We think voters are going to be just as excited as us," said Chione Flegal, the executive director of Housing California.

Flegal said the bond money will help build new homes for people who are currently struggling to pay their bills.

"They're spending half of their income or two-thirds of their income on rent or housing expenses," Flegal said.

Supporters say plans are already in place to build the new units, but developers just can't afford the construction cost.

"We have over 40,000 affordable homes that are waiting to be built," Flegal said. "They've been entitled. They've been reviewed. They're ready to hit the ground but they don't have funding."

"It turns out there's no money to build. We have sites and they have everything they need except there's no cash to bring it home," State Senator Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo) said.

Cabaldon said the funding could go towards more low and middle-income units, veteran and student housing and help get homeless people off the streets.

"It's clear this is absolutely needed," he said.

The housing bond would be paid back by state taxes over the next 35 years. It currently has no formal opposition, but some lawmakers voted against it due to concerns over the state's multi-million dollar deficit.

"I will not be supporting any more bonds," Sen. Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) said. "I'm very concerned about our budget in the future."

But housing advocates say there's a huge demand for more units across California and this bond money will help make them a reality.

"We need to build a million new homes that are affordable to low-income families," Flegal said. "Right now, we're doing about 20,000 a year, so we have a long way to go to fill that gap."

If passed, a portion of the bond money would also go towards farmworker and Native American tribal housing, along with some wildfire prevention projects.