Despite a slight slump in home prices, high housing costs trouble local residents more than concerns about education and healthcare, a new poll showed.
Roughly two-thirds of Massachusetts residents rated housing costs as a significant concern in 2006, up from 48 percent in 2005; concern about housing in 2006 surpassed concern about public education and access to healthcare by nearly 15 percentage points, according to a poll partly conducted by University of Massachusetts researchers.
The poll also found that 36 percent of those surveyed said they or an immediate member of their family "have seriously considered moving out of Massachusetts because of the cost of housing," up from 24 percent in 2005, and many of those interviewed said they hoped Governor Deval Patrick would make affordable housing a high priority.
A major challenge for the Massachusetts economy is retaining young workers who are motivated to move away by cheaper living costs elsewhere.
The poll was conducted by the Donahue Institute, the public service and economic development unit of the president's office of the University of Massachusetts, and by the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, a Boston advocacy group for affordable housing.
This was the third annual poll conducted by the two groups, and this time, 515 residents were interviewed by phone for the statewide section of the poll; they were chosen by a random-digit dialing process, the groups said.
"Despite the softening of the housing market, it is clear from the poll results that many residents throughout the state still face a severe housing affordability crunch," Eric Nakajima, senior research manager at the Donahue Institute, said in a statement.
"The poll results show broad and deep support for addressing the pressing issue of housing affordability in our state," Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, said in a statement.
News that housing prices have fallen in the state seemed to have little affect on people's concerns about housing costs.
In December, the median selling price for a detached single-family home in the state was $335,000, down 5.4 percent from $354,000 in December 2005, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.
The full report is available online.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
