San Diego’s housing crisis has driven home prices to unprecedented heights, forcing workers to seek more affordable housing in areas like Temecula, Murrieta, and deep into the South Bay, including Tijuana. These long, exhausting commutes add hours to an already-full workday, making remote working not just a convenience but a necessity. Remote working or work-from-home options is one of the key reasons behind the high vacancy rates in office buildings and the significant decline in revenue from commercial leases, as companies simply no longer require excessive office space.
As a result, many office buildings can no longer generate enough rental income to cover operations and maintenance costs. Their values have plummeted, with some selling for a fraction of what they were worth less than a decade ago. Last year, the 34-story Symphony Towers located at 750 B Street in downtown San Diego sold for $45.7 million. The 546,092-square-foot building was purchased for $134.3 million in March 2003. This isn’t just market fluctuation — it’s the direct consequence of failed local policies fueled by excessive building permit fees, restrictive climate action mandates, overzealous environmental regulations, and an inefficient, bureaucratic permitting process that have stifled housing developments, deepening our San Diego housing crisis.
One proposed solution is discontinuing work-from-home options and force employees back into the office. Mandating a full return to the office will only worsen traffic congestion and increase commuting times. This approach is not just impractical, it ignores the reality that many jobs can be performed just as effectively from a home office as they can from a corporate workspace. While in-person collaboration is valuable, requiring employees to be physically present every day is unnecessary when commuting times are excessive. A hybrid model, with limited in-office days, would still foster in-person teamwork. If the goal is to boost the valuation of office buildings, forcing a full return is not the solution. Instead, companies should push local government leaders to remove the barriers to housing development, streamline permitting, and create a business-friendly environment that s growth and opportunity in San Diego.
San Diego has dug itself into a deep hole. The lack of affordable housing and rising housing costs are driving people away and it’s up to our elected officials to change that. Young professionals under 30 are being priced out of the market and leaving the state in droves. Nearly 31,000 more people left San Diego County than moved here between July 2022 and July 2023. If this trend continues, our city will age into a retirement community, mirroring cities in Florida — a fate we cannot afford to accept.
San Diego’s default solution to make housing affordable has historically been rent control, but that makes homes even less affordable as frustrated landlords remove their properties from the rental market, further limiting the supply of housing and driving up rents. Stripping away private property rights and imposing rental restrictions on homeowners were ill-advised attempts to solve the housing and rental crisis and yet these measures became law. However, government leaders are finally realizing the unintended consequences of rent control as San Diego’s rents are some of the highest in the nation.
Rather than knee-jerk reactions or flawed legislation to address the housing crisis, real solutions are needed. Reducing or waiving exorbitant permit fees, avoiding additional climate-action mandates and streamlining the permitting process would help expand the housing supply, lower prices and stem the outflow of people.
Our elected California Assembly and Senate also share some of the blame for San Diego’s housing shortage. At the state legislative level, it is imperative to reform Senate Bill 800, California’s condo construction defect law, which holds builders liable for a range of condo defects for up to 10 years after construction. This extended liability increases developers’ risks, leading to higher insurance costs and a preference for building rental housing, which has a shorter four-year liability period. As a result, condo development, especially in markets like San Diego, has been stifled, limiting affordable homeownership options. By modernizing these outdated regulations, we can unlock new opportunities for developers, reduce unnecessary costs and ultimately create more quality housing for San Diegans. The time for bold leadership and decisive action is now.
Powell is a former San Diego Association of Realtors vice president. He lives in San Diego.
