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U the Bay Area has meant that sales of upper end housing in the Planning Area E (generated to a great extent by Bay Area workers in search of more affordable housing in the Central Valley)have declined and that developers have had to adjust both the price and size of their single family homes in order to be more responsive F to the housing demands of local workers. f r Discussions with housing professionals indicate that between seventy and eighty . e purchases in the percent of all homPlanning Area are made by first time home i buyers. By contrast, a study of home buyers in California indicates thafo profile of percent of all home buyers in 1992 were first time home buyers. A typathat a first time home buyer in the Planning-Area reveals that the home buyer is between twenty-five and thirty-five years of age and has a spouse who also works. Childless couples are just as likely to purchase a home as couples with children. The price of housing that is most in demand is in the $100,000 to $120,000 range. According to local realtors and mortgage lenders, the major obstacle faced by first time home buyers is coming up with the money for the down payment and closing costs. Home buyers often have sufficient income to afford the debt represented by mortgage payments, but do not have enough savings for the down payment. Of those that do qualify,it is estimated that as many as sixty-five percent have received gifts of money from parents for the down payment. All housing professionals that were contacted indicate that there is a "huge"demand for housing by first time home buyers. Current Estimates: General Housing Demand } The data previously presented indicates that demand for housing in the Planning Area is high. The decline in both the number and percentage of multiple-family units, the increase in the incidence of overcrowding, the conversion of single-family ownership housing to rental housing, and the extremely low vacancy rates for both rental and ownership housing all support the conclusion that there is a large unmet demand for housing. Housing Condition There are over 8,700 substandard housing units in the Planning Area. This is a conservative estimate, based on extrapolations from a "condition-of-housing windshield survey, of primarily older housing units conducted during the 1970's. Based upon thatsurvey is estimated that the number of substandard units represents about nine percent of the total housing stock. The remainder of the housing stock is considered to be sound. Of the 8,700 substandard units, 5600 are suitable for rehabilitation-, while the remainder are not considered suitable for - rehabilitation. By local definition, a substandard housing unit is defined as one having a condition rating of three or more on a one to five scale. Generally the higher the number,the greater the number of building code of health problems that exist. A housing unit considered suitable for rehabilitation is defined as having a condition rating of three or four. A housing unit regarded as not suitable for -26-