Opinion: San Diego housing crisis is daily reality with shrinking access to help

For years, San Diegans have heard the same message: housing is a serious problem, leaders are working on it and relief is on the way. 

But for too many families, the crisis is no longer something that might happen. It is already shaping where they sleep, how far they commute, whether they can stay near their jobs and schools, and whether they can imagine a stable future here at all. In San Diego, housing insecurity is no longer a policy discussion on paper. It is a daily reality. 

The numbers alone tell a painful story. Redfin says the median sale price of a home in San Diego was about $950,000 last month. Zillow says the average rent in San Diego is now about $2,992. Even if some parts of the market have cooled slightly, that does not mean housing has become affordable. It simply means many people are still priced out of buying, while renters continue carrying enormous monthly burdens. 

What makes this moment especially urgent is that the pressure is not just coming from high prices. It is also coming from shrinking access to help. 

This year, the San Diego Housing Commission closed its Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and public housing waitlists on Feb. 1. County officials closed the county’s Section 8 waitlist on February 20. These were not minor administrative updates. They were signs of a system under strain, where demand has grown far beyond the support available. In the city, no one had been pulled from the Section 8 waitlist for more than three years, and the list had grown to more than 76,000 people. In the county, the waitlist had reached nearly 124,000 applicants. 

Then came another blow. Earlier this month, inewsource reported that federal emergency housing voucher funding is running out years earlier than expected for San Diego households. The report said households promised support through 2030 now face uncertainty because the money is ending ahead of schedule. It also noted that the San Diego Housing Commission asked HUD to approve rent increases for existing voucher holders in order to avoid having to remove about 1,700 families from the program entirely. That is not just a policy shift. That is a warning flare. 

To be fair, housing production is happening. The city of San Diego announced this month that its Affordable Housing Permit Now program has permitted 6,746 homes over three years, with 2,148 already completed and open to residents. That is real progress, and it deserves recognition. The city should continue speeding up affordable housing approvals and construction. 

But progress on paper does not erase hardship on the ground.

A family cannot live in a permit. A senior cannot sleep inside a progress report. A working parent cannot tell a landlord, “Please wait, the city has a promising housing pipeline.” 

San Diego’s housing debate too often swings between extremes. One side talks only about building more. Another talks only about protecting existing residents. The truth is that we need both. We need more homes, yes. But we also need a stronger safety net for the people who are one rent increase, one lost job or one funding cut away from losing the homes they already have. 

That is why the timing matters right now. Mayor Todd Gloria’s draft budget, released April 15, comes as the city deals with a major deficit and includes slightly lower homelessness spending than last year, even as leaders say progress depends on uncertain outside funding. Budget season is when priorities become real. It is when values stop being slogans and start becoming line items. 

San Diego should not accept a future where housing assistance disappears, waitlists close and ordinary residents are told to be patient while costs remain crushing. A city cannot call itself inclusive, compassionate or economically strong if teachers, caregivers, service workers, retirees and young families cannot remain here without constant fear of displacement. 

Housing is not just about real estate. It is about dignity, stability and whether San Diego remains a place where people can build a life instead of merely survive one paycheck at a time. 

The crisis is no longer coming. It is here.

Shikha Bansal is a San Diego writer, parent and caregiver.

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