Council News Release

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen

CITY COMPLETES SEATTLE HOUSING INVENTORY REPORT
Council Committee to review landmark housing study

SEATTLE –Today, the City Council received the just-completed Seattle Housing Inventory, an analysis of housing data citywide. “We are seeing more and more workers leaving Seattle because they just cannot afford our rising housing prices,” said Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, chair of the Housing, Human Services and Health Committee. “It is very important for us to collect data like this to monitor what effects our major zoning and land use decisions have on our affordable housing stock.”

The City’s Office of Housing will formally present the results of the study to the Housing, Human Services and Health Committee tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20th at 9:00 a.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers.

Last year, Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Nick Licata and Peter Steinbrueck secured $50,000 to conduct a housing affordability inventory intended to give City officials and policymakers more information about Seattle’s private rental housing market and subsidized housing stock.

The Housing Inventory is a comprehensive data review that quantifies Seattle’s rental housing in both the private and subsidized markets, as well as homeownership trends in the University District, Center City, Central Area and Southeast Seattle. The report illuminates a variety of factors that may place pressures on the city’s affordable housing environment, including condo conversions, rental vacancy rates, building demolitions and zoning code changes. It will be used to inform the Committee’s springtime review of the Multifamily Tax Exemption Program, upcoming rezone decisions, the planning of the next Seattle Housing Levy and Councilmember Rasmussen’s Land Acquisition Pilot Program.

I look forward to using this data to shape future housing policies that continue to encourage both the development and protection of affordable housing,” stated Councilmember Rasmussen. “Now that we have undertaken this initial review, we can update the report periodically to stay informed and on top of our rapidly changing housing market.”

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City Council