Hollister officials may be talking about slowing city growth, but the city’s new housing construction continues to outpace unincorporated San Benito County.
Developers say families are buying new homes just about as fast as they can be built.
The county approved 354 new housing units from 2015-2018, according to San Benito County’s Housing Element Annual Progress Report, which every jurisdiction is required to submit annually to the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The city approved 565 units in the same time period, according to the progress report. Fifty-seven units have been approved so far this year, city planning documents show.
According to a map provided by the city showing new residential projects of various sizes, nine are currently under construction, while 16 are in the planning stages.
The biggest new development in the city is the Allendale project by De Nova Homes, located off North Street west of San Felipe Road.
The project consists of three neighborhoods, totaling 279 single-family units. Sixty multi-family units are currently under review.
Homes range from the mid-$500,000s to the high $700,000s, and fewer than 20 homes are still available for purchase.
New housing attracts new residents, and census data matches the housing growth.
The city and the county continue to be among the fastest growing in California.
According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Hollister’s population was 39,749 in 2018, a nearly 5,000-person increase from 2010. San Benito County’s population was estimated at 61,537, an 11.3 percent increase over the same time period.
