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In the San Francisco Bay Area, employers are rethinking what it takes to attract and retain workers. While stock options and relocation bonuses have long been standard for high-paid tech employees, some local governments, hospitals, and universities are now offering something different — help with a down payment on a home.

A handful of employers — including county governments and hospitals — are providing loans to help middle-income workers buy homes near their jobs, according to the San Jose Mercury News. These programs aim to give social workers, teachers, and city planners a chance to compete in a housing market where median prices often exceed $1 million.

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For San Mateo County social worker Aldo Quintero and his wife, Liza, the assistance made homeownership possible. The couple earned solid salaries in their government jobs but were priced out of the area, where the median home price reached $1.4 million and topped $2.2 million in some parts of the county, according to The Mercury News.

After years of long commutes, Quintero entered the county’s employee lottery, which awards 20 loans of up to $100,000 each year. In 2023, they were selected — allowing them to purchase a two-bedroom townhouse in Foster City, just 10 minutes from work and their children’s school. “We got used to these hour-long commutes, and now that we don’t have to do that, it’s such a privilege,” Quintero told the newspaper.

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The concept of employer-assisted housing isn’t new. Fannie Mae launched a similar program in 1991, providing down payment loans that were gradually forgiven for employees who stayed with the company. The National Housing Conference noted that the initiative significantly reduced turnover while helping hundreds of workers buy their first homes.

Now, the idea is resurfacing — particularly in expensive metro areas like San Francisco, where essential workers struggle to live near their jobs. Housing stipends and down payment programs are being used not just to recruit high earners, but to help middle-income employees avoid exhausting commutes or leaving the region altogether, The Mercury News reported.

For employers, these programs offer practical advantages. San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy said that commute times and housing costs are among the top reasons employees leave. “As a large employer in the county, we have to be creative in finding ways to incentivize people to move here,” he told the newspaper.

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Other organizations are following suit. The Mercury News highlighted several examples:

Kaiser Permanente provides up to $250,000 in housing loans for newly hired physicians.

San Francisco Unified School District partnered with Mercy Housing to open a 135-unit teacher housing complex.

Stanford University offers housing stipends of up to $200,000 for new faculty members.

While economists debate whether such assistance might contribute to rising home prices, experts like Ben Harris of the Brookings Institution told The Mercury News the impact is limited, especially if new housing supply continues to grow.

For families like the Quinteros, however, the benefit is clear. “It’s really nice to have a place where [our daughter] feels secure,” Quintero said, “and to know we’re not going to have to move again.”

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This article Forget Stock Options — San Francisco Employers Now Offer Down Payments To Keep Workers Local originally appeared on Benzinga.com