Apple, by contrast, has accomplished more than its technology peers. In November 2019, the company announced a $2.5 billion commitment to combat California’s housing shortage, citing data that nearly 30,000 people had left San Francisco within months and homeownership was at a seven-year low. As of July 2024, Apple has spent over $1.6 billion of its pledge, helping build or preserve more than 10,000 affordable housing units and providing support for people at risk of homelessness or struggling to buy their first homes. “We’re proud to be working with community partners across the state to increase access to affordable housing,” Apple’s vice president of global real estate and facilities, Kristina Raspe, told The Wall Street Journal. Despite this progress, some portions of Apple’s initiative, such as a $300 million land project in San Jose, remain without new updates.
While the financial commitments by Meta, Google, and Apple have led to tangible results in some areas, the gap between promise and delivery remains significant. Companies attribute delays to local land-use regulations, permitting obstacles, and changing business needs. All say their funding remains allocated, but many planned projects have yet to break ground—a reality that makes these efforts a slow-moving answer to Silicon Valley’s housing woes.