Issue Position: Housing Affordability

Issue Position

Housing has reached a crisis point here in Seattle and across our region. With rents and housing costs rising rapidly and neighbors being pushed out of the city every day, the time for inaction has passed.

Access to Housing
Housing instability is one of the defining issues facing Seattle residents right now. The rising cost of living, skyrocketing rents, and a median single family home price of $777,000 in Seattle make it nearly impossible for anyone but the extraordinarily wealthy to afford a home. But this isn't just a city wide problem -- the same factors that created our housing crisis are at work in other parts of the state, particularly in communities on the margins of bigger cities where traditionally low income families and seniors are being pushed out by rising property values, taxes, and rent costs. Part of the puzzle of the housing affordability crisis involves getting people into homes and helping them stay there. Working families deserve housing near job centers, and should not be priced out of our booming market or pushed outside of the borders of job dense areas.

Affordable Housing Investments
Investing in affordable housing is both the right thing to do and a great economic decision. Seattle is growing rapidly, as is the rest of Washington State, and we must ensure there is space for working people and their families.

Homeless Services
Homelessness has increased rapidly in our region, seeing more and more people sleeping in their cars, in tents, and completely unsheltered on our streets. We must invest in health and treatment services, as well as permanent housing and prevention programs.

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