July 2019 Builders Bulletin: OFM Releases Annual Population Estimates

By MBAKS Senior Policy Analyst Allison Butcher

The Washington State Office of Financial Management has released its April 1 official population estimates of all cities and towns of the state, showing continued strong population growth. According to the annual estimates, the state’s population grew by 118,840 persons, a 1.6 % increase over the past year. The Puget Sound region’s population as of April 1, 2019 was 4,198,400. You’ll find the breakdown by county in this month’s Builders Bulletin.

The Builder's Bulletin is intended to provide a convenient way to track housing in our market and includes information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, State of the Cities Data Systems, Office of Financial Management and the Washington State Employment Security Department.

Download this month's report:

Annual Performance Report Marks Key Milestone for Permit Reform Law

by MBAKS Government Affairs

Report reaffirms the need to improve housing permit timelines so housing can be available more quickly.

The Washington State Department of Commerce has published the first draft Annual Performance Report required by Senate Bill 5290. The data reflects permits for which a decision was issued in 2024, before the current SB 5290 timelines went into effect. Performance is measured on the average duration it takes to process certain permits by category using calendar days.

The draft report shows where jurisdictions are falling short and reaffirms there is a long way to go to shorten review timelines, enabling housing to proceed more quickly.

Among the initial findings from the report are:

Construction Permits on average took 81% longer to process than the statute.
Preliminary Subdivision on average took 199% longer to process than the statute.
Final Subdivision on average took 184% longer to process than the statute.

The report reinforces the need to reform and streamline the state’s outdated subdivision laws, a top legislative priority for MBAKS. This information is also important for our ongoing work with cities and counties to improve permit timelines. Having transparency in the permit processing data will help us to better identify roadblocks and work with jurisdictions to lower barriers to adding much needed housing.

Seven counties are subject to SB 5290’s annual reporting requirements, including Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom.

For more information on SB 5290 requirements, visit Commerce’s Local Project Review page