The majority of San Diegans are renters, but rents are crazy expensive because supply is so low. Very few new homes are built, so those that are sold come with a steep price. The average home in San Diego sells for $900,000. 

How did we get here? What caused our region’s housing crisis? How do we fix it? What do we need to do to build more homes San Diegans can afford? 

Tony and Juan get answers to these questions from two of the region’s leading housing advocates, Lori Pfeiler and Hannah Gbeh, on this episode of Dear San Diego.

In addition to housing policy and politics, Lori and Hannah talk about what it’s like working in an arena mostly dominated by men at the top of the food chain.

Lori is CEO of San Diego County Building Industry, and Hannah is the organization’s Vice President of Government Affairs.

The key moments in this episode are:

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:00 - Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:05:21 - Housing Crisis in San Diego
00:07:05 - Impact of Regulatory Environment on Housing
00:13:37 - Infrastructure and Funding Challenges
00:14:09 - Challenges of Bureaucracy and Budgets
00:15:03 - Unprecedented Leadership
00:19:33 - Gender and Leadership
00:22:00 - Housing Crisis and Regulations
00:26:16 - Environmental Impact and Building
00:28:13 - Government Regulations and Impact on Housing
00:35:55 - The Cost of Building in California
00:37:45 - Influence of Local Policy and Education
00:40:32 - Life as a Single Mom and Former Farmer
00:41:37 - Diverse Farming Experiences
00:41:48 - Lucrative Non-Edibles
00:42:20 - Missing Being Mayor
00:43:12 - Coffee vs. Tea
00:47:14 - Policy vs. Politics
00:49:25 - AI and Housing Crisis