Santa Barbara, California, is in need of healthcare workers. A $1 million donation is set to help attract those physicians — by helping doctors pay for their housing.
It's a gift from retired real estate attorney and investor Richard Rosin and his wife, Rosalyn Rosin. The couple contributed the funding "to help support the recruitment of physicians and surgeons" to the Sansum Clinic, a nonprofit, outpatient healthcare provider.
The donation is set to go to the clinic's Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence/Physician Housing Program. Established in 2012, the program provides loans to new doctors to help them afford housing in the expensive Central Coast region.
"Many new physicians exploring this area as a potential work-home experience significant challenges affording a house while also paying off the high cost of medical school due to Santa Barbara County’s high-priced real estate market," the clinic said in a news release announcing the donation on Monday. "This program provides financial incentives which enable the not-for-profit organization to continue to attract top-caliber physicians from around the country."
Last year, the fund offered loans to nine physicians and ultimately funded six of those offers. This year, it's extended offers to eight physicians.
Indeed, an increasing number of homebuyers have acknowledged student loan costs as a barrier to homeownership. Data from the National Association of Realtors showed that 36% of buyers, both first timers and repeat buyers, cited the those borrowing costs as a hindrance in their homebuying journey.
That's especially prohibitive in markets like Santa Barbara where housing costs are higher than the national norm. As of September, the median single-family home price in Santa Barbara was $885,000, according to data from Homes.com. That's roughly $500,000 more than the national media price.