Tom Steyer Proposes Building 1 Million Homes in California Over Four Years

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer has released a housing plan built around a large promise: build 1 million homes in California over four years.

The proposal is part of Steyer’s affordability pitch as California’s 2026 governor race moves toward the June top-two primary. His campaign frames the plan as a way to restore the “California Dream” by expanding supply, reducing construction friction and making housing cheaper to build and buy.

What Steyer is proposing

Steyer’s campaign site says California should return to a much higher historic level of homebuilding and “build one million homes over four years.” The housing page says that, as governor, he would take on the housing crisis and make building homes “cheaper, faster, and better.”

A campaign release says the plan would include homes across income levels — from shelters and transitional housing to starter homes, apartments and family housing.

The core mechanics are familiar to California housing debates: speed up permitting, reform zoning, make financing easier, reduce fees and taxes that raise costs, and use the state’s purchasing power to create a larger pipeline of projects.

The scale of the promise

One million homes over four years would mean roughly 250,000 homes per year. That is a major acceleration from California’s recent production levels and would require cooperation across state agencies, cities, developers, labor, finance and environmental review systems.

That is why the plan is politically useful and risky at the same time. It gives voters a simple number, but it also creates an easy benchmark for critics: if elected, Steyer would be judged against a very visible target.

Politico and the Sacramento Bee have both covered the broader problem: California gubernatorial candidates keep reaching for big, round housing numbers, but the bottlenecks are spread across local permitting, infrastructure, construction costs and political resistance.

Is Steyer a leading candidate?

Yes — with a caveat. Recent polling places Steyer among the leading contenders, but the race is crowded and volatile.

CBS Los Angeles reported in March that two new polls showed Steve Hilton, Tom Steyer and Eric Swalwell among the front-runners. In the UC Berkeley-Politico poll cited by CBS, Hilton led with 19%, Steyer was second with 13%, and several other candidates were close behind.

SFGate later reported a CBS/YouGov poll in which Hilton led at 16%, Steyer was second at 15%, and Xavier Becerra was third at 13%. That supports describing Steyer as a leading candidate, but “the leading candidate” would be too strong unless tied to a specific poll or moment.

What is confirmed and what needs context

Confirmed: Steyer’s campaign has introduced a plan to build 1 million homes over four years and is making housing affordability a central issue.

Needs context: the phrase “across California” is directionally accurate, but the plan depends on statewide execution through many local systems, not a single state-run construction switch.

Campaign-race context: polling shows Steyer near the top, but California’s top-two primary and a large field mean the race remains unsettled.

NoDechev rating: verified with feasibility caveat. Steyer has proposed a 1 million-home plan and is polling among leading candidates, but the promise is an ambitious campaign target, not a completed build program.