| The Washington Association of Realtors (WAR), a professional organization for real estate professionals, has proposed that Gov. Chris Gregoire and state legislature create a Housing Opportunities Legislative Agenda to increase the supply of homes in Washington. The group states that the availability of homes that typical families can afford has dropped to a 15-year low in this state.
Across the state, home prices increased by an average of 19 percent last year, according to the Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University. Locally, Kitsap County prices jumped 24 percent and Pierce County rose 21 percent, while King County rose 18 percent and Thurston County 29 percent.
WAR proposes that legislators form a bipartisan work group to develop recommendations by October to increase the supply of mid-priced housing. Solutions could include: loosening Growth Management Act regulations to allow for added housing; requiring that Growth Management plans account for projected job growth when figuring housing numbers; increasing affordable housing units through lot-size averaging and allowing for attached/detached accessory dwelling units; and making the funding of critical infrastructure projects a priority in state and local budgeting. |
