The city of Los Angeles has increased the speed at which it is building new homes, but it's still far from fixing its housing shortage, according to LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Los Angeles is nearly two-thirds of the way toward meeting Garcetti's goal of building 100,000 new housing units over his eight years in office, but most of those units are priced at market rates, reports NBC4 media partner KPCC.
The city, meanwhile, is struggling with record homelessness, rising rents and a typical home price of $630,000. Garcetti said at a Los Angeles Business Council summit that the city has sped up permitting for new developments and is subsidizing more units, but added that more housing could be created if LA's half-million homeowners build so-called granny flats in their backyards.
New state laws making it easier to get granny flat permits have already made a difference, with Garcetti housing advisor Ben Winter saying Los Angeles has seen roughly 2,000 applications this year - more than doubling the number of applications the city received over the last 10 years.
