April 29, 2003

Survey finds growing regional
concern about affordable housing

full report

Living in one of the nation’s hottest real estate markets has made Sacramento area residents increasingly concerned about affordable housing, according to a survey by researchers at California State University, Sacramento.

The survey shows 51 percent of the region’s residents think affordable housing is a “big problem,” up 4 percent in just one year. That’s higher than in surveys of the state as a whole and Los Angeles (44 percent each) and other Southern California regions (41 percent). In the Bay Area, meanwhile, 59 percent call affordable housing a big problem.

Another 33 percent of Sacramento area residents say affordable housing is “somewhat of a problem,” meaning a strong overall majority is concerned about the issue. The survey also found that a 90 percent of the region’s residents would prefer to live in a single-family detached home, but only 73 percent do.

The findings are the latest from the “Annual Survey of Public Opinion and Life Quality in the Sacramento Region.” Previously released results focused on the war in Iraq and affirmative action.

Researchers say the tight housing market has made affordable housing an issue for area residents. In a recent report from the National Association of Realtors, Sacramento was the nation’s hottest housing market, with the median price of a single-family home increasing 26.7 percent from late 2001 to late 2002.

The second “Annual Survey of Public Opinion and Life Quality in the Sacramento Region” was carried out by CSUS sociology professor Amy Liu and more than 30 students at the Institute for Social Research. They surveyed 996 randomly selected adults in the Capital Region from Feb. 15 to March 13. The margin of error is 3 percent.

Additional media assistance is available from CSUS public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

full report