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The Real Reason Rents Shot Up During the Pandemic
It’s no secret that rent prices ripped higher between 2020 and 2022. Rents on the West Coast were $1,992 in January 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and peaked out at $2,497 in August 2022, growing 25% in just 30 months. Asking rents grew by a modest 2.5% in February 2020 and then…
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Real Stories Show Why Rent Control Won’t Work in WA
District 2 “Rent control will not allow you to keep up with the market increases that occur with increased taxes, insurance and maintenance. It will create a class system, those who are included in rent control and everyone else. The solution for me will be to sell all residential rentals. The supply will go down…
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Rental Assistance is the Best Tool for Housing Stability
Homelessness hit a record high in 2023 both in the United States and in Washington State. One of the leading causes of homelessness is an acute housing shortage. National and state lawmakers exploring policies aimed at addressing the rising homelessness rate focus on three main policy approaches to keep people in their homes: rent control…
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Is Homelessness a Housing Supply Problem?
The US Department of Housing and Urban Design (HUD) released a report to Congress called 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR). According to the Point-in-Time count, an all-time high of 653,104 people were experiencing homelessness in the US on a single night in January 2023, a 12% increase from 2022. 28,036 people experienced homelessness in…
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The True Costs of Bad Housing Policy
A December 2023 article published by Publicola co-founder Erica C. Barnett claims that the decline in single-family rental units in the Seattle housing market is not due to “renter protection” laws. This activist piece masquerading as “journalism” referenced a report by the Seattle City Auditor, also published in December 2023. Erica crowed that the Auditor’s…
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Rent Control Will Make the Housing Shortage Worse
No matter which way they lean politically, Puget Sound voters loudly agree that housing, homelessness, and safety are the most significant problems in our state. This should come as no surprise. People experiencing homelessness in Washington state reached 28,036 in January 2023, up 18% since 2020 despite an eviction moratorium during the pandemic. Murder has spiked 51% since 2019 to hit an all-time…
