Legally and morally, hospitals cannot discharge patients if they have no safe place to go. So patients who are homeless, frail or live alone, or have unstable housing, can occupy hospital beds for weeks or months – long after their acute medical problem is resolved. — USA Today

Microsoft, King County and the King County Housing Authority will invest $245 million to provide affordable rents for more than 3,000 low- and middle-income residents through the purchase of five apartment complexes.

King County housing authority will buy apartment complexes in Kirkland, Bellevue and Federal Way to ensure that the residents aren’t faced with skyrocketing rental costs seen across the region, the organizations announced Thursday morning. — The Seattle Times

Among the more than 16,200 condo units across 682 new buildings completed in New York City since 2013, one in four remain unsold, or roughly 4,100 apartments — most of them in luxury buildings, according to a new analysis by the listing website StreetEasy. [...]

Already the prices at several new towers have been reduced, either directly or through concessions like waived common charges and transfer taxes, and some may soon be forced to cut deeper. — The New York Times

Sanders railed against Trump’s housing policies and explained his own, which calls for federal investment of $2.5 trillion over the next decade and a national rent control standard. He said he will pay for the policy by establishing a wealth tax on the top tenth of one percent — or, according to his estimate, the wealthiest 175,000 families. — The Washington Post

The Trump administration officials who came to town to study homelessness spent Monday and Tuesday meeting with officials from Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, checking out the Jordan Downs public housing in Watts and touring the long-entrenched epicenter of the crisis, skid row. There was even a trek to Pomona.

An administration official said the purpose was to gather information so that President Trump could begin to develop a plan to address the “tragedy.” — The Los Angeles Times

The city’s [Transit-Oriented Communities] program has been touted as one of City Hall’s most successful initiatives for producing affordable housing. Since it was launched in late 2017, developers have proposed nearly 20,000 new homes, nearly 3,900 of which would be kept affordable for lower-income households, according to the latest data from the planning department. — The Los Angeles Times

We must continue to prepare for acute shocks—
events that could threaten our City’s ability to function, such as
natural disasters. We must also address chronic stresses—challenges that weaken our natural, built, or human resources, such
as income inequality and chronic homelessness. Stresses often
exacerbate the effects of shocks when they occur, particularly for
vulnerable populations. — City of Seattle

The Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program provides eligible low- to middle-income homeowners living in East New York and Cypress Hills, Brooklyn with low or no-interest, or possible forgivable, loans to convert their basement or cellar into a safe, legal, and rentable apartment, based on altered building code legislation passed in February 2019. — NYC Housing Preservation & Development

There’s a visually striking addition to the ever-troubled Tenderloin — a nine-story structure clad in colorful brick that holds 113 apartments for low-income residents, plus a pair of community-oriented retail spaces.

Too bad it took 11 years to summon the newcomer into existence. — The San Francisco Chronicle

Due to many factors, now more than ever, LA architects have a responsibility to offer solutions and creative resources to solve this crisis immediately — as if our currently 59,000+ unsheltered Angelenos were displaced by an earthquake or a wildfire. — AIA|LA

The Trump administration is vastly expanding the scope of condominium purchases eligible for lower-down-payment loans.

The move, announced Wednesday by the Federal Housing Administration, could help revive the entry-level condo market for first-time buyers because FHA-backed loans require only a 3.5% down payment and lower credit score than conventional loans. — The Wall Street Journal

San Diego approved new growth blueprints Thursday that allow for mid-rise housing and dense urban villages in neighborhoods near new trolley stops in Linda Vista and the northeast corner of Pacific Beach.

City Council members said the new zoning will simultaneously help solve San Diego’s housing crisis, reduce carbon emissions that cause climate change and revamp blighted areas where bicyclists and pedestrians face major challenges. — The San Diego Union-Tribune