The roofs above our heads

Zocalo Public Square Commentator Joe Mathews recently revisited six homes that members of his extended family have owned in California over the last century. It wasn’t just a nostalgia trip – Mathews wanted to see what’s happened to those properties during the boom and bust periods of the state’s ever-shifting real estate market. Some of those houses and their new owners have fared well, others less so. For Mathews, the tour also highlighted some unexpected revelations about homeownership in the Golden State.