University of Washington

1
University of Washington

• Employer Assisted Housing

2
Background

• Population 66,000 faculty, staff students
• Annual Budget 2.6 Billion
• Housing options for students not many for
  employees
• Recruitment retention issues are changing this

3
UW Interest in Employee Housing

• UW competes nationally against other universities
  and private sector
• Other cities have cheaper housing
• Other employers offer housing programs
• Total employment offers need some housing
  component to be competitive

4
UW Interest in Employee Housing

• UW wants employees to live closer to work
• Improves traffic around campus
• Strengthens and revitalizes communities
• However communities around UW are out of reach
  for many employees

5
Employee Housing Research

• What do employees think about housing?
• UW has researched employee housing interests on
  two occasions
• 1998 survey of junior faculty, professional staff
  and classified staff
• 2003 survey of all staff

6
1998 Employee Housing Survey

• Findings
• Home ownership rates were lower for employees who
  live closer to campus. Rates were also lower for
  professional classified staff
• Nearly half of all respondents said that housing
  affordability was critical in their decision to
  stay at the University

7
2003 Employee Housing Survey

• Findings
• 16 of employee households have less than 60 of
  median income for the area 30 have incomes less
  than 80 of median for the area.
• 17 were interested in purchasing housing
  reserved only for faculty/staff
• Affordability proximity to campus were critical
  factors when choosing housing

8
Hometown Home Loan Program

• University is constrained on how much it can
  spend on housing programs
• Hometown Home Loan Program has provided UW with a
  low-cost, effective way to offer an Employee
  Assisted Housing Program to its employees
• Offered since 1999

9
Hometown Home Loan Results

• Nearly 2000 employees have taken part
• 193 were first-time homebuyers
• 242 had incomes between 20k and 39k
• Program has saved employees nearly 2.4M without
  expenditure by the University
• For 2005, average income of participants was 46k
  and age was 26

10
Future Efforts

• Continue to participate in the Hometown Home Loan
  Program
• Investigate potential guaranty pool
• Opportunities for housing construction in the
  surrounding community