Los Angeles residents are sounding the alarm on soaring housing costs, and they want action fast.
A new survey commissioned by the Los Angeles Business Council Institute reveals a city under pressure, with nearly 70% of Angelenos struggling to afford housing.
The burden cuts across demographics, hitting 86% of renters and more than half of homeowners.
The frustration is pushing people to consider drastic moves.
Three out of four renters say they’ve thought about leaving LA altogether, while nearly two-thirds of voters share that sentiment.
At the same time, voters are rallying behind aggressive solutions aimed at boosting housing supply and cutting costs.
A strong majority of those surveyed support a wide range of housing types, with voters overwhelmingly in favor of building rentals for veterans, public workers, seniors, and middle- and low-income families.
The survey also highlights growing support for state-level intervention.
By a two-to-one margin, voters favor a larger role for Sacramento in local housing decisions.
Around 40% say the state should step in and require cities to build more housing.
Among statewide proposals, roughly 79% of respondents support using underutilized state land for housing and adopting new construction technologies to lower costs.
About three-quarters favor expanding suburban development and boosting first-time homebuyer programs.
Similar numbers back speeding up housing-related lawsuits and creating a centralized approval system for affordable housing projects.
But not every idea is gaining traction.
Voters oppose, by a 20-point margin, a proposed statewide measure that would raise the threshold for approving local special taxes and potentially overturn existing ones like Measure ULA, the so-called “mansion tax” that funds homelessness prevention and affordable housing.
The findings come as housing shapes up to be a defining issue in upcoming elections.
The results are set to frame discussions at the LABC’s annual Housing, Transportation, and Jobs Summit on Friday, where gubernatorial hopefuls including Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer and Antonio Villaraigosa will take the stage.
The urgency is unmistakable.
Nearly nine in ten voters describe housing affordability and cost of living as serious problems, second only to homelessness among the city’s top concerns.
John Fairbank of FM3 Research, which conducted the poll, noted rare consensus among voters.
“It’s rare to see Angelenos this aligned on the urgency of the housing crisis and the need to expand supply across income levels,” he told the LABC Institute, adding that dissatisfaction with the city’s direction remains widespread.
Still, deep divisions persist, especially over where new housing should go.
Only 40% support building apartments in neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes, and nearly half of homeowners worry that affordable housing could drag down property values.
Skepticism runs high among renters as well.
Fewer than 30% believe that building more housing will actually lower rents. Even so, they still favor expanding housing supply by nearly a two-to-one margin.
Many projects, both market-rate and affordable, have yet to break ground, and construction continues to fall short of annual targets.
Meanwhile, rents keep climbing and homelessness remains stubbornly high despite major public spending.
The broader outlook is grim.
Only one in six voters believe Los Angeles is heading in the right direction, and just a quarter feel the same about California overall.