It may be years before the South Coast sees a large housing development priced for middle-income workers, but many companies have already stepped up to provide relief in other ways.

Through membership in the nonprofit group Coastal Housing Partnership in Santa Barbara, dozens of local companies are helping employees shave off some of the costs of buying a home or refinancing a mortgage.

For David Dexter and his fiancee Lisa Leary, the assistance from Coastal Housing Partnership translated into a savings of nearly $3,000 when they bought their first home in Buellton last month.

"Their programs definitely helped us," said Mr. Dexter, who works as a production engineer with Goleta-based Intri-Plex Technologies, a member of Coastal Housing Partnership. Ms. Leary works as a sixth-grade teacher at Vandenberg Middle School.

"The $2,800 that came back to us was really helpful. We were able to buy a dishwasher, a microwave and a refrigerator," he added.

Mr. Dexter is among the 32,000 people in the tricounties who currently qualify to receive benefits from Coastal Housing Partnership. Last year, about 1,500 people took advantage of the money-saving programs.

"It's always been expensive to live in this area. What's different is that 15 years ago, one income would allow you to buy a house," said Corby Gavin Gage, executive director of Coastal Housing Partnership. "Now, two incomes are a must. And even with two professional incomes it's still very hard."

Coastal Housing Partnership aims to cushion the blow of buying a home on the Central Coast. Any company based in Santa Barbara, Ventura or San Luis Obispo counties can join the organization. Companies pay an annual membership fee based on the number of people they employ. The yearly fee ranges from $750 for a firm with 25 or fewer employees to $7,000 for a large business with a staff of 1000 or more.

Most of the organization's 65 members are based on the South Coast and employ between 51 and 100 people, said Jane Helmer, marketing director at Coastal Housing Partnership.

These companies pay annual dues of $2,100.

"If just one employee uses the program to buy a home, the savings from that purchase alone usually equals the price of the dues for the year," she said.

Coastal Housing Partnership was established in 1987 by a group of local employers with the goal of making homeownership more affordable on the South Coast.

By providing some kind of incentive for housing, these employers hoped to attract and retain good employees.

Some of the organization's original members included the city and county of Santa Barbara, UCSB and Cottage Hospital -- all remain members today.

Those looking to buy a home can get help from Coastal Housing Partnership in two ways. One is through the organization's Housing for Employees Loan Program, or HELP loan. This allows buyers to obtain a mortgage with as little as 5 percent for the down payment. The program also lets buyers avoid having to pay for expensive private mortgage insurance through the use of a second mortgage.

With the median home price on the South Coast at about $825,000, a typical 20 percent down payment would be $165,000. A buyer who uses the HELP loan from Chase Home Finance, for example, would only have to come up with $41,250.

Three local lenders -- Chase Home Finance, Montecito Bank & Trust and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust -- work with Coastal Housing Partnership to provide the HELP loans.

More than 60 other businesses -- real estate brokers, home inspection firms, and lenders -- also provide discounts on their services to buyers employed by member companies. Savings can range from the waiver of a loan processing fee, usually about $400, to a discount on a real estate broker commission, which can trim several thousand dollars from the closing costs, depending on the sale price of a home.

To take advantage of the programs, employees simply request an authorization letter from the Coastal Housing Partnership and provide proof that they work for a member company.

First-time buyers aren't the only ones who benefit from Coastal Housing Partnership programs. The organization also can help save money when someone refinances or moves into another home.

Those refinancing a loan with a lender in the organization's network can expect to save money on fees for loan processing, the credit report and sometimes the appraisal. People buying their second home are also eligible for the programs.

Barbara Sharp, an engineer at Goleta-based Indigo Systems, a member company, saved almost $3,000 on the closing costs of a home she bought last fall.

"I bought my first house 11 years ago, but I didn't really like it," she said. "I paid $238,000 for it in 1991 and sold it in October 2002 for $551,000."

Although her father helped her with the down payment on her first house, Ms. Sharp used equity gained from that house to move into what she calls her "dream home" with "a little bitty view of the ocean."

She didn't find out about the Coastal Housing Partnership programs until after she had opened escrow, but she still was allowed to take advantage of the savings.

Ms. Sharp received a discount of about $700 because her lender was part of the network, and she saved a significant amount on the real estate commission.

"Altogether I saved about $2,500," she said. "It was very helpful, and I couldn't believe how easy it was."