Housing, camping and the police issue

Last week, as widely reported by media in the Imperial Valley and elsewhere, the police decided to clear out the encampment of farmworkers and homeless people installed on a property in the city of Calexico. Calexico Police Chief Gonzalo Gerardo explained the reasons and gave extensive details of the justification for removing the few who remained in the dirty site.

For their part, those who promoted the encampment denounced alleged anomalies in the removal operation — from perceived violations of civil rights to the threats of arrest against those attempting to interfere with police.

Meanwhile, the five City Council members all found ways to put in their 2 cents on the issue, either for or against.

However, regardless of whether readers or local residents stand on the encampment, the issue that led to its installation in the first place – the high cost of housing – remains unaddressed.

At no time did the mayor or other council members address the price for rent or the purchase of a residence. Nor did they talk about proposed solutions to this problem that affects thousands of people who want to change their address to Imperial County.

In fact, as a border city and one of the largest municipalities in the Valley, Calexico has some of the highest residential prices in the area.

An analysis by the Inspection Support Network (ISN) revealed that in the El Centro metropolitan area, which covers the entire Imperial Valley, there was an average of 103 active homes listed per month in 2020. In total, there were 42 active listings for each 10,000 owner-occupied homes, compared to the national average of 124.

The study indicates that, of all the small metropolitan areas in the United States, El Centro has the third fewest number of homes for sale, proportionally speaking.

The report adds that the number of active listings on an annual basis fell 37.1 percent. According to the ISN, the average number of new homes listed added per month was 60. In addition, the average home price is $280,995.

According to the study, the pandemic has had an inflationary effect on the price of houses for sale. It was driven by the drop in the number of homes put on the market, along with plenty of buyers willing to support higher asking prices. The coronavirus has also caused homes for sale to close quickly, leaving potential buyers with less purchasing power with fewer options and alternatives to negotiate.

And while the pandemic-induced recession left millions of Californians out of work, median home values jumped statewide 11 percent over the past year to an all-time high of $635,055 in February 2021, a California Public Policy Institute (PPIC) study says.

This is in stark contrast to the Great Recession, when values fell 24 percent after one year and continued to decline. While rising prices are good news for current owners, potential buyers could be locked out, the study adds.

Market trends may also widen existing disparities in home ownership for low-income, Latino and African-American households, groups disproportionately affected by the economic consequences of COVID-19, the institute says.

The problem is wealthy Californians, who thanks to their resources and a decrease in the cost of loans, coupled with the housing shortage in the state, have driven prices up.

Thus, the pandemic has not only left the working class with fewer jobs, fewer working hours, additional expenses and higher prices, but also with greater difficulty getting a home.

In the mean time our officials prefer to continue bickering instead of solving this problem, or at least providing a temporary solution.