More than 80 applications for one affordable housing unit

More than 80 people have applied for an affordable housing unit in Los Gatos that is selling for $260,067.

The 982-square foot unit, located at 260 Union Ave., has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and is available to households earning 80% or less than Santa Clara County's median household income of $124,055.

It comes out of Los Gatos' Below Market Price Housing Program, which aims to increase the number of affordable housing units in town, with the help of Housekeys, a Bay Area-based affordable housing program administrator.

The home has garnered a high level of interest from residents. As of Feb. 7, 81 people had applied to purchase the property since the application window opened Jan. 27, and Julius Nyanda, program manager at Housekeys, said he expects more than 100 applications will be submitted by the Feb. 15 deadline.

“We're pretty oversubscribed typically. The program itself has about 694 applicants, so the 81 that applied for that particular property are coming out of that 694,” Nyanda said.

This is Los Gatos' only affordable unit being sold through Housekeys, though Nyanda said more units are likely to come as the town navigates its Housing Element requirements.

The Union Avenue property is only available to first-time home buyers, and Los Gatos is utilizing a point system to rank the applications to give preference to those already living and working in town.

Applicants can earn points based on their occupation and disability status, whether they have senior citizens living with them or if they were displaced by actions by the town council, among other factors. Once the application window closes, Housekeys will randomly assign each application a ranking number and tally up their points.

“The randomly assigned number is the tiebreaker for people who have the same points,” Nyanda said.

Finalists will be selected through a lottery, and ordered based on their Initial ranking number. The higher-ranked applicants will have the chance to officially apply for the home.

The application process is thorough. Candidates must include a loan preapproval letter and income verification with their files, complete an online orientation, pass a quiz and take the Home Buyer Education Class from an HUD Approved Agency, according to Housekeys.

“Normally when you apply for a mortgage loan or a home purchase, it's just about `Can you make the mortgage payment?'” Nyanda said. “It's a very straightforward process. But ours is a little more convoluted because you have to verify eligibility as well as qualification.”

Applicants also have to sign a restriction agreement that keeps the housing as an affordable property if the owner decides to sell in the future.

One key difference between owning an affordable housing unit and renting one is not having to prove income eligibility every year. Renters who end up earning more income could face higher rent payments or eviction from the housing program.

“It's kind of like a stability factor as well,” Nyanda said. “Obviously you get into the school systems, you get access to the amenities of Los Gatos that are not readily available to everybody there, but the other part is that if it's an affordable home vs. rental, you can age in place and grow in place without worrying about being displaced.”

A lack of affordable housing has been a critical issue across California. The state requires all cities to plan for affordable housing development, known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation.

The state determined Los Gatos must add 1,993 new housing units between 2023 and 2031. Of those units, 527 must be priced for very low-income individuals and 310 must be priced for low-income individuals.

“I think it's critical to provide housing for your workforce,” Nyanda said. “A town is only as good as the people that can afford to work there, and the more housing that's available for them to stay there, the more those folks can be a sustainable part of your workforce and maintain those amenities that make the town so great.

“That character, those restaurants and those local businesses, all those folks have to live somewhere.”