City Government

Oakland’s Housing Market Skyrockets, Continues to Displace Longtime Residents

Published

12 years ago

May 1, 2014

Oakland continues to be plagued by foreclosures and rent increases that threaten to displace many long time Oakland residents, according to a report released Tuesday at the City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee meeting.

Housing prices are skyrocketing in Oakland, which is “considered to be one of the nation’s fastest-moving housing markets,” according to the report. Oakland’s current median listing price is $475,000, up $7,500 from last quarter’s median listing price, reflecting an 18.6 percent increase over last year.

In addition, rents are going up dramatically. In the past quarter, the city has seen a 15 percent increase in rents in apartment buildings and a 10.3 percent increase for buildings of 50 units or more. These increases are in addition to the 11.5 percent increase the previous year.

Photo courtesy of http://www.casselsf.com/

The high cost of housing may contribute to the long-term decline in the percentage of African Americans living in Oakland, which fell from 43 percent to 26 percent between 1990 and 2011, the most of any group, according to the report.

During the same time period, the percentage of African American homeowners in North Oakland dropped form nearly 50 percent to 25 percent.

“We have to aggressively look at how we can be proactive. We need to analyze the data so we can support home owners and renters – to maintain the rich diversity here in Oakland,” said District 6 City Councilmember Desley Brooks, who sponsored some city’s legislation to protect homeowners from foreclosure.

“We have to level the playing field, to help (residents) compete in market place,” she said.

With the pressure on housing costs, Oakland neighborhoods where residents are experiencing a “significant risks” of displacement include North Oakland, San Antonio and West Oakland. Displacement potential also exists in Chinatown, the Fruitvale District and Central East Oakland and Elmhurst.

The report cited a recent Brookings Institution study that says Oakland ranks as the seventh city in the nation for the highest income inequality. The 20 percent of the lowest income households earn $17,646, while the top 5 percent earn $233,965.

While there are fewer foreclosures than a few years ago, longtime homeowners are still losing their homes. Foreclosures are 29 percent lower than a recent peak last spring, but in January and February there were 165 Notices of Default filed.

In Oakland’s foreclosure crisis, one in 14 households lost their homes, the report said.

At present, 90 percent of Oakland families in foreclosure have owned their homes for at least six years, with over one-third of them in theirs home for over 10 years. Some of them have lived in their residences over 50 years, residing in family homes passed down through multiple generations.

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Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 15 – 21, 2026

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2026

Oakland Post

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.