September 20, 2017 - A whopping 56 percent of California voters surveyed for the latest Berkeley IGS Poll say they have considered moving because of the high cost of housing, with one in four saying if they decided to pack up, they’d probably leave the
state.California housing costs are hardly news, but a new survey of registered voters by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies shows just how serious the problem is becoming.
The poll finds that 48 percent of those surveyed say the problem is “extremely serious” in the area where they live; 36 percent say it’s somewhat serious; and 60 percent support letting local governments establish rent controls to help low- and middle-income people stay in the communities where they now live. Rent control support breaks down to 76 percent backing by Democrats, 55 percent by nonpartisan voters and 34 percent by Republicans.
Some 65 percent of San Francisco Bay Area voters surveyed see housing costs as extremely serious, compared to 55 percent in Orange and San Diego counties. Statewide, renters are more likely to say housing affordability is a serious issue than are homeowners.
A multimillion-dollar statewide bond proposed for the November 2018 general election ballot to help pay for building more low-income housing in California is supported by 51 percent of those surveyed and opposed by 27 percent. Some 22 percent said they were undecided.
Source: UC Berkeley
