20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com Home Price With or without a transfer tax on high-priced home sales, we need to solve our housing crisis. By Kate Daniels FORUM Anyone who tells you we just need to build more housing is not getting to the systemic issues underlying our housing crisis. The problem we face requires intentional planning and leadership to address the realities of our housing market. That was the purpose of the real property transfer tax proposal, a measure I introduced to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors for discussion this spring. If placed on the ballot and approved by at least two-thirds of voters, it would have placed a 3-percent tax on real estate sales of more than $10 million. The funds would have gone toward creating housing for the “missing middle.” On the Monterey Peninsula, we have two housing markets. Except for deed-restricted affordable units, we only build, price and sell homes for one of them: the luxury home market. The second market consists of wage earners—anyone whose income comes from a paycheck. Hourly workers, salaried workers, people with large paychecks or small, are all in this second group. Those in the luxury market have seen their wealth turbo-charged by tax policies, equity investments, stock portfolios and other assets that have appreciated dramatically over the past decade. Meanwhile, the salaries of wage earners have remained largely flat. What has not remained flat is the cost of a home. Unless your annual gross income is $600,000, you will not qualify for a mortgage on a $2 million home on the Monterey Peninsula. How many of our wage earners—teachers, firefighters, nurses and even doctors and lawyers—make that kind of income? The transfer tax proposal was designed to create a fund for building housing that intentional planning can deliver market-rate, missing-middle homes built in a size and scope with locals in mind, so wage earners can afford to live where they work. The transfer tax measure is not moving forward because it lacks support and a clear pathway to victory in November as demonstrated by polling. Despite its demise, the problem has not gone anywhere, and it deserves a public conversation that does not end with the proposal itself. If not this, then what? I ask you to consider what not solving it means for the place we live and love. It may mean your favorite restaurant cannot fully staff a dinner shift. It may mean new doctors do not come here to open practices. It may mean school enrollments drop and classrooms are eliminated, and teachers choose other districts where housing is attainable. It may mean more public safety workers commuting hundreds of miles each week to serve a community they cannot afford to call home. And if you hope to age in place, ask yourself: Will the caregiver you rely on be able to drive the distance to reach you? Think of the small business owners, artists, docents, ranchers and visionaries who built and stewarded this region—the people who make our home remarkable. Will they be here tomorrow? Kate Daniels is a Monterey County supervisor who represents District 5. She introduced the real property transfer tax. OPINION On the Peninsula, we have two housing markets. Domenico’s on the Wharf features Cioppino-a house specialty, Boat to Table Wild Alaskan Salmon, Oysters Rockefeller are a sample of the many great menu choices. Also enjoy Fine Wines and Cocktails, Desserts and Great Service. A local favorite celebrating 45 YEARS on Old Fisherman’s Wharf. 50 OLD FISHERMAN’S WHARF MONTEREY • 831-372-3655 www.domenicosmonterey.com Open Daily 11:30am to close Fresh Seafood, Italian Classics, Prime Steaks , with Beautiful Harbor Views. ’25 Voted Monterey County’s BEST Restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf TAKE THE SURVEY! Want to shape strategies for urban greening and open space preservation in Monterey? Take the General Plan Conservation/Open Space Element Update SURVEY TODAY! Survey closes Friday, July 24 multiple language options monterey.gov/COSsurvey
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