By Vic Cox

Housing prices are notoriously high on the South Coast but how tough is it on UCSB employees who rent? According to a recent survey, tougher than on those who already own homes. And concern is growing about likely impacts on the work force.

More than 60 percent of the 940 employee renters who responded to a UCSB opinion survey on housing and transportation reported they would “seriously consider” leaving campus employment if they could not purchase a home in the area.

Breaking down that group into faculty, academic staff, and nonacademic staff, 73 percent of faculty renters say they would seriously consider leaving UCSB if they fail to become homeowners. Similar responses were recorded from nonacademic staff (63 percent) and academic staff (60 percent).

“Twenty years ago a fair number of faculty and staff could buy their own homes. Now very few can,” Academic Senate Chair Joel Michaelsen told UCSB’s Campus Planning Committee late last month. He leads the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee for Faculty and Staff Housing, which originated the survey. The Office of the Chancellor financed the survey.

As a statistician, Michaelsen looked at the survey data as a window into the future, and he is concerned with the projections. “The data shows we have a lot of older employees getting ready to retire, and they are not likely to leave their homes” to their UCSB replacements, he noted wryly. “We need to look at current staff and faculty housing needs before we look at the needs generated by (work force) turnover.”

Nearly 4,900 faculty and staff members received the 49-question inquiry by e-mail and hard copy—and 46 percent filled it in, a very high return rate. The survey results can be seen at <http://bap.ucsb.edu/realestate/hsng_summ_2006.pdf>.

Homeowners made up 1,248, or about 56 percent, of respondents. Even though their housing costs averaged $900 a month more than the renters, homeowners reported an 81 percent overall satisfaction level with their housing, while renters reported only 47 percent satisfaction level.

Other results, as analyzed by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, revealed that the average respondent was just over 44 in age and has worked at UCSB nearly 11 years; two-thirds have no children under 18; and roughly three-quarters of responding employees own or rent in Santa Barbara or Goleta. The survey found that the majority of homeowners and renters alike have lived on the Central Coast for substantial periods—40 percent have lived in the area for more than 20 years.

In a 93106 interview, Michaelsen said that the transportation numbers are revealing: Nearly two-thirds say they take between 10 and 30 minutes to travel to campus, making it clear that few rent in Lompoc or Ventura. “They are mostly homeowners.”