Apple commits $2.5B to combat California housing crisis

Apple on Monday said it will put up $2.5 billion toward easing California’s housing crisis.

The sum from Apple eclipses pledges by fellow Silicon Valley giants Google and Facebook for addressing the lack of affordable housing in a region where affluent tech workers have helped drive up the cost of homes.

Apple’s commitment Monday includes a $1 billion statewide fund creating an “open line of credit” for the state to build new homes for households with low to moderate incomes. Another $1 billion is a mortgage assistance fund for first-time homebuyers. “It’s a recognition that the San Francisco Bay Area is in a major housing crisis,” said David Shulman, a senior economist with the Anderson Forecast at the University of California, Los Angeles.