California had long led the United States both in the number of housing units built annually and in the value of their construction, but by 1982 it was overtaken by Texas in both categories and by Florida in the former. However, California still ranks first in the number of housing units, with 12,507,767 in 2002.
The earliest homes in southern California were Spanish colonial structures renowned for their simplicity and harmony with the landscape. These houses were one-story high and rectangular in plan, with outside verandas supported by wooden posts; their thick adobe walls were covered with whitewashed mud plaster. In the north, the early homes were usually two stories high, with thick adobe walls on the ground floor, balconies at the front and back, and tile roofing. Some adobe houses dating from the 1830s still stand in coastal cities and towns, particularly Monterey.
During the 1850s, jerry-built houses of wood, brick, and stone sprang up in the mining towns, and it was not until the 1870s that more substantial homes, in the Spanish mission style, were built in large numbers in the cities. About 1900, the California bungalow, with overhanging eaves and low windows, began to sweep the state and then the nation. The fusion of Spanish adobe structures and traditional American wooden construction appeared in the 1930s, and "California style" houses gained great popularity throughout the West. Adapted from the functional international style of Frank Lloyd Wright and other innovative architects, modern domestic designs, emphasizing split-level surfaces and open interiors, won enthusiastic acceptance in California. Wright's finest California homes include the Freeman house in Los Angeles and the Millard house in Pasadena. One of Wright's disciples, Viennese-born Richard Neutra, was especially influential in adapting modern design principles to California's economy and climate.
Between 1960 and 1990, some 6.3 million houses and apartments were built in the state, comprising more than 56% of California housing stock. Housing construction boomed at record rates during the 1970s but slowed down at the beginning of the 1980s because rising building costs and high mortgage interest rates made it difficult for people of moderate means to enter the housing market. The total number of housing units in the state increased by 53% during 1940–50; 52%, 1950–60; 28% 1960–70; 33%, 1970–80; and 20%, 1980–90.
Of the state's estimated 12,507,767 housing units in 2002, 11,705,477 were occupied; about 57% were owner-occupied. About 56.5% of all units were single-family, detached homes; about 11% of dwellings were in buildings with 20 or more units. It was estimated that about 198,166 units were without telephone service, 63,034 lacked complete plumbing facilities, and 110,062 lacked complete kitchen facilities. While most homes used gas or electricity as a heating fuel, about 263,583 households relied on wood and about 4,742 employed solar heating. California ranked second in the nation for highest home values in 2002 when the median value of a one-family home was $275,526. The median monthly cost for mortgage owners was about $1,592 while the cost for renters was at a median of about $840. The average household had 2.93 people.
California housing policies have claimed national attention on several occasions. In 1964, state voters approved Proposition 14, a measure repealing the Fair Housing Act and forbidding any future restrictions on the individual's right to sell, lease, or rent to anyone of his own choosing. The measure was later declared unconstitutional by state and federal courts. In March 1980, a Los Angeles city ordinance banned rental discrimination on the basis of age. A municipal court judge had previously ruled it was illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent an apartment to a couple simply because they had children. Ordinances banning age discrimination had previously been enacted in the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Davis, and in Santa Monica and Santa Clara counties. During 2002, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded over $107.6 million in community development aid to California state programs. About 159,573 new units were authorized in 2002.