Buying a home in the Spokane region can be an incredibly frustrating experience. There are two critical factors – rising costs and extremely limited supply.
Among the key driving factors:
- The Spokane area’s housing supply shortage is severe, with a 94% reduction in available homes for sale since 2010.
- This A lack of inventory has escalated the median home price in Spokane County 66.8% since 2015 with a median home increase from $179,000 (2015) to over $300,000 (2020). ($395,000 July 2021)
- From 2010 to 2019 the Spokane Region under built approximately 32,000 housing units to meet demand.
- A lack of inventory has led to thousands of families renting who cannot find a place to buy.
- Vacancies in regional rentals remains at a dangerous level below 1/2% (June 2021)
- The biggest lack of inventory lies in entry level or workforce housing.
- From personal health to family stress, to student performance in school, to increased levels of homelessness, Spokane’s lack of housing has triggered a severe impact on the health of our citizens –especially among families of color and families with children.
- Spokane has high levels of cost-burdened families spending more of their income on shelter than most similar cities in the state and the US.
- The Spokane Region is among the top places to move in the country with expected growth of 48,000 more people by the year 2030.
- Many new home buyers are migrating from larger West coast markets adding 8-to-14,000 new residents annually
The simple answer is that we need more housing – at all levels – immediately.
Our else our housing shortage will just keep getting worse.