In Spokane, a June report from the Spokane Association of Realtors found that, in the last month, housing inventory has gone up by 14 percent. However, with the average price for a home at 436 thousand, housing costs continue to keep home ownership out of reach for some.
Still, Washington lawmakers continue to take on establishing affordable housing across the state.
On Thursday, the Washington Senate Housing Committee held a work meeting in Olympia. There, the committee heard updates on Civic Commons’ Scalable Starter Home Production Plan.
“The reality is that homes have grown larger, as well as they’ve built more amenities,” said Kris Hermanns, the Project Director of SSHPP. “That has priced out many low- and moderate-income home buyers.”
The SSHPP focuses on creating new housing under 1,500 square feet, with basic amenities that can be enhanced over time.
Hermann’s went on to say that one key goal of the SSHPP is making sure the correct home styles are built in the right communities.
“There’s different kinds of housing that are needed for each kind of community and the plan and playbooks ensure that we’re respectful to local context,” Hermanns said. She gave examples like establishing multi-unit homes in urban areas, as compared to single family homes in rural communities.
As progress on the SSHPP continues, Senator Jessica Bateman, The Senate Housing Committee Chair, called the plan “actionable.”
