County Supervisors vote down proposal to restrict foreign investment in housing

A for sale sign points the way to an open house in San Diego File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted - Tuesday to reject a proposal to have the county advocate for statewide restrictions or bans on foreign resources in entry-level and single-family housing particularly near military installations and critical infrastructure Supervisor Jim Desmond who authored the proposal and was the sole yes vote mentioned the goal was to prioritize local homeownership and give San Diegans a fair shot at buying a home According to Desmond s office more than billion in U S real estate was purchased by foreign investors last year with of those sales in California In a great number of cases foreign buyers are paying in cash which puts local residents who rely on traditional mortgages at a disadvantage Just now my colleagues voted against my plan to protect the American Dream for young families in San Diego County With median home prices at and of families priced out this vote is a slap in the face to the next generation I ll keep fighting to make sure foreign pic twitter com MA P yLmA Supervisor Jim Desmond jim desmond October He announced his initiative would focus on large foreign corporations not individuals regardless of their national origin including newest immigrants buying homes The intent is to stop the foreign Blackstones Desmond announced referring to the global asset management firm that has been criticized for buying up properties and contributing to the local affordable housing shortage Desmond stated the board passed a proposal last year to address corporate bad actors who purchase homes and may contribute to an already complex affordable-housing situation Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer who sponsored that protocol declared private equity giants and large corporations are increasingly buying up the nation s scarce supply of homes including in the San Diego region driving up prices for their own profit and worsening the housing affordability emergency Desmond revealed he appreciated that his colleagues demanded his item pulled from the consent agenda for discussion along with weighing any expected unintended consequences Opponents during the Tuesday board meeting disclosed the wording of Desmond s proposal seemed to single out certain minority groups Erin Tsurumoto-Grassi of Alliance San Diego a fourth-generation Japanese-American urged the board to vote no during a constituents comment period She cited now-overturned California state laws that once banned Asian-Americans from owning land It prevented us from owning homes from generating generational wealth and put a target on us Tsurumoto-Grassi explained adding such laws were the precursor to the U S cabinet interning Japanese-Americans during World War II We have seen this before we have done this before and we need to reject it now and inevitably she added Board Vice Chair Monica Montgomery Steppe announced the wording on Desmond s proposal doesn t call out firms but instead cites foreign adversaries of the United States The letter shouldn t be representative of what this county believes Montgomery Steppe disclosed adding that the three states Florida Georgia and Texas that passed similar laws on foreign ownership are now in costly legal battles Lawson-Remer declared while she couldn t aid the proposal she would welcome collaboration from her board colleagues including Desmond on improving first-time home ownership opportunities She noted that the San Diego City Council is looking at ballot measure that would tax second homes owned by those living out of the county There s a worthy discussion on how we level the playing field but not by excluding certain people from certain countries of origin Lawson-Remer added In a report after the vote Desmond described his colleagues vote as a slap in the face to the next generation Our young people are being pushed further and further away from the American Dream and at present the board failed them he mentioned Other states have already acted Desmond added Local families deserve a fair chance I will keep fighting to make sure the American Dream doesn t become something only corporations and foreign investors can afford