California Housing Summit In Oakland Sees Market On The Mend

OAKLAND (KCBS)— California remains one of the most expensive places in the country to own a home with more people renting than owning in urban areas. A summit meeting on the future of housing in California is underway in Oakland where experts claim the housing market is on the mend.

Despite the foreclosure crisis, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America, Brian Moynihan, said with an improving California economy, the housing market here is improving as well.

"We're seeing good recovery in the housing market and good recovery in elimination access inventory and in house price increases. I think in this state, as opposed to some of the other states we do business, you are on the downward side of the hill and moving quickly," he said.

Governor Jerry Brown said CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) rules initially passed in 1969 for public works projects were expanded through a series of court decisions to impact almost all development resulting in thousands of court cases and almost halting development.

"It's a landmine that often blocks things so I think that some reform is definitely in order," said Brown.

The governor said that CEQA reform is something that he'll be working on this year to find reasonable changes.

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