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.