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June 23, 2006

Survey: Support for affordable housing strong in region

Full Report (pdf)

The majority of Sacramento area residents now see affordable housing as a major concern and support allotting a portion of new home construction to low-income homes, according to a survey released by Sacramento State.

Seventy-seven percent of residents see affordable housing as a problem, trailing only transportation as the top concern. More than two-thirds of those surveyed think 15 percent of new homes built in their county should be priced as affordable housing.

Those are just some of the findings of a recent survey about affordable housing in the “2006 Sacramento State Annual Survey of the Region,” conducted Feb. 4 to March 5 by sociology professor Amy Liu and more than 30 students through the University’s Institute for Social Research. The survey covers El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties.

Among other survey results:

• High housing costs in the area continue to cause residents to consider leaving the region. Nearly one-third are considering moving and of those planning to leave, 70 percent are thinking about leaving California altogether.
• Nine in 10 residents think families earning $51,000 or less should have the opportunity to live in their communities.
• For the first time in the five years of the survey, length of residence doesn’t seem to impact views of affordable housing. More than half of long-time residents and 48 percent of newer residents think that affordable housing is a major problem, a big change from a year ago when 39 percent of residents who had lived in the area for six years or less saw it as a concern.
• More residents of all income levels are concerned about affordable housing than last year. Nearly two-thirds of residents with incomes below $50,000, half of those making $50,000 to $100,000 and more than 40 percent of those making more than $100,000 see affordable housing as a problem.

The survey included 1,122 randomly selected adults in the Sacramento Region who were interviewed in English and Spanish. It has a margin of error of 3 percent.

More information is available by contacting Liu at amyliuus@yahoo.com or (916) 278-7572.

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