Hey, the San Francisco Homeownership Summit is happening this evening, so I thought it was worth a reminder. Since I first mentioned it, I found this video interview (Quicktime and Windows Media) with Wade Randlett, the leader of SFSOS — the organization that is hosting tonight’s Homeownership Summit. Checking out the interview and the group’s (somewhat minimal) website, it’s clear that SFSOS is a centrist group focused on bread-and-butter quality of life and homeownership issues. In other words, the kinds of issues that tend to get ignored in San Francisco.

If you’re interested in becoming a Homeowner or supporting opportunities for others to become homeowners themselves in San Francisco, come by the Homeownership Summit tonight, if you can. I’ll be there. And I’ll be sure to report back to you my impressions of the event.

July 13 Summit Will Address Bleak Prospects for Homeownership for Middle Class

The spiraling cost of homeownership in San Francisco and the lack of concern on the part of a majority of the members of the Board of Supervisors about the exodus of teachers, firefighters, police and nurses from the city who just cannot afford to buy here has created a homeownership emergency. Already the number of families in the city has plummeted to around 10 percent of the population. Artificially limiting the supply of ownership housing, as the supervisors have done, has driven the prices of ownership housing to unprecedented levels and attacked those on the lower rungs of the ownership housing ladder.

What’s left of the middle class in San Francisco needs to react to this homeownership emergency. The members of the Board of Supervisors who have opposed the expansion of ownership housing opportunities in San Francisco need to be confronted. To allow this to happen in the most forceful manner possible, the grassroots lobbying organization, SFSOS, is forming a new coalition of like-minded citizens and civic organizations to take whatever measures are necessary to create new homeownership opportunities for the middle class in the city. Its efforts will begin with a city-wide Homeownership Summit to educate and organize concerned citizens and the members of participating organizations.

The Summit will be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral conference facility on Wednesday, July 13, from 6-8 pm. Participants will include SFSOS, Plan C, the Small Property Owners of San Francisco, the San Francisco Association of Realtors, the Coalition for Better Housing, the San Francisco TIC Coalition, as well as legal, financial and real estate experts.

The event is being hosted by SFSOS, an advocacy group whose self-proclaimed mission is “the return of clean, safe neighborhoods, protecting the rights of the ignored, while moving toward a vibrant economy, improved public services and greater opportunity for all.” As SFSOS seems dedicated to free market-orniented solutions and expanding homeownership, I believe this “Homeownership Summit” is probably worth a look.

I like the panels they’ve announced:

* “How to Protect Yourself from the Board of Supervisors” – A discussion on legal, banking and other private sector resources for the homeowner.

* “Where Do We Go From Here?” – A discussion of political and public sector strategies and campaigns to repair the homeownership climate in SF.

Also, they’ve gotten a whole range of City notables and organizations on board as backers, panelists and speakers, including the Association of Realtors, Small Property Owners of San Francisco, and Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Fiona Ma (two generally pro free market Supervisors).

The flyer for the event can be found here. (PDF format.)

I will be attending this event, and I’ll be sure to report back. If you live in the area and decide to drop by, I’ll be the one passing out cards promoting The Golden Gate. Say hello, if you’ve a mind to.

July 13th, 2005 | Economics, Liberty, SF Politics & Culture

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