UC Davis Annual Apartment Vacancy and Rental Rate Survey

University of California, Davis

The University of California, Davis has conducted an annual survey of rental housing availability and pricing since at least 1975. In the past, the survey was administered by Student Housing with the assistance of student researchers. UC Davis hired BAE in 2013 to improve the efficacy of the survey effort. UC Davis by hiring a consulting firm to update the survey tool and administration protocol and to begin the transition to an online survey method.

BAE has since administered the survey on an annual basis through the 2019-2020 academic year, continually refining the survey instrument and administration protocol to improve the response rate and yield additional information that the UC administration can use to help inform planning decisions on campus and throughout the broader Davis area.

For example, survey results help campus officials assess the current housing market conditions faced by UC Davis students, faculty, and staff. The survey results also help the university to assess the likely feasibility of proposed campus housing projects.

As of the most recent survey, conducted in the fall of 2019, the survey captured information for 122 apartment complexes representing more than 9,000 rental housing units, which covers approximately 76 percent of the total estimated rental housing stock in the broader Davis community.

Over time, the survey instrument has changed to reflect new developments in the local rental housing market. For example, over the last five years, the survey has evolved to track trends in the leasing of student housing units on a per-bed basis, as well as changes in nit characteristics and common area amenities, etc.

The survey results are frequently quoted in the local news media and used extensively by the University, the City and local developers and property owners to understand local housing conditions and needs.