Apple Commits $2.5 Billion to Ease California Housing Crunch

The growth of major tech companies in Silicon Valley has helped drive up housing prices in the area. Apple employs more than 9,000 people at its sprawling new Silicon Valley headquarters, which is a mile in circumference.

“Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride,” Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook, said in a statement posted on the company’s website. “When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.”

In a statement released by Apple, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California called the investment “proof that Apple is serious about solving this issue.”

“I hope other companies follow their lead,” Mr. Newsom said.

On its own, however, investment from the technology industry will not be enough to transform the housing market in California, said Robert Silverman, an affordable housing expert at the University at Buffalo.

Initiatives like the one Apple announced “definitely relieve some of the pressure on the housing market,” Mr. Silverman said. “But you need an extensive policy at the state or federal level to reach more people.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/technology/apple-california-housing-crisis.html?emc=rss&partner=rss