Last week, California’s Democratic Senate members included a program in the budget to subsidize housing costs. Affordable housing has been a huge issue in California. Many home buyers are unable to afford buying their first house so a group of Democrats in the government have proposed a “California Dream for All” program that will offer subsidies.

Lawmakers have proposed that the state would pay for and own about 45 percent of a home that is bought by a first-time homebuyer. This will cut costs by almost half, making it affordable for a large swath of the population. It could boost industry, infrastructure and reverse migration as many Californians have left the state, more so during the coronavirus pandemic, due to unaffordable rentals.

A survey conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) reported that ninety percent of California’s residents said there is a problem of affordable housing in their part of the state. Some of them had also indicated that this was the reason why they were thinking of moving out of the state. The PPIC survey was conducted in March this year.

The California Dream Program is looking to bridge the housing gap as wealthy landowners are able to buy more than one home in the Golden State while first time buyers struggle to buy their first house due to exorbitant costs.

The program will look at several factors. The main factor for eligibility will be income levels. The eligibility of the homes will also be based on the prices of the homes. It will differ by region, and it is intended “to reflect the reality that incomes and home prices differ dramatically throughout California.”

Earlier Business Insider had reported that the housing shortage in California is set to increase through the years and will continue to do so. So, tackling the problems of affordable housing for California’s migrating population is the first step forward.