Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area is among the most expensive in the nation. Probably, someone you know is struggling under the escalating costs in every Bay Area community.

Several factors combine to create this housing crunch: wages have not kept pace with housing costs; relatively low paying sales and service jobs are proliferating while housing options for lower wage jobs are minimal; new industries in Silicon Valley and other Bay Area towns create a premium demand for any housing; land values remain high and housing production is not meeting demand. All of these factors contribute to the current shortage of affordable housing.