Would Amazon's HQ2 exacerbate L.A. and Southern California's housing crisis?

Source: The Mercury News

While Amazon choosing to locate its second headquarters in Southern California could benefit the region’s economy, the new facility could also stress an already under-supplied housing market, experts say.

A California Association of Realtors report released Monday showed the state’s available supply of homes hit its lowest level in 13 years in December.

Due to a lack of home building and an increasing population from people coming from out of state, CAR President Steve White said California is already 1 million housing units below what’s needed.

“We expect that over the next eight years that could grow to 2 million,” White said. “It’s supply and demand. There just isn’t enough housing available for folks in all economic sectors.”

Economist Christopher Thornberg, a founding partner at Beacon Economics, said leaders in the city and county of Los Angeles are “panicked about the rising cost of housing” and the low supply of affordable housing at a time when many low-income people already can’t afford homes.

“So we’re going to plop 50,000 high-tech workers down in the middle of all this?,” Thornberg said. “Are you kidding me?”