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3 Priorities for Addressing Housing Issues in Washington

Note: In a recent LinkedIn post, MBAKS Executive Director Jerry Hall shares his views on Microsoft’s proposed initiatives and strategies to address the housing shortage in Washington. Below is a modified version of his original post.

Microsoft recently published Closing Washington’s Housing Gap, a report that lays out a clear-eyed assessment of Washington’s housing supply and affordability challenges. In doing so, the report reinforces what builders and housing advocates have been saying for years: we cannot solve the housing crisis without addressing the policies and constraints that limit supply and drive up costs.

Microsoft gets several fundamental points right:

“Housing at all income levels benefits everyone and is essential to economic growth, workforce stability, equity and environmental responsibility.”
“We are not building enough housing, fast enough, at all income levels.”
“…regulations that govern development have not kept pace with realities…”
“Large portions of our state remain off-limits to housing development… inflating land prices.”
“For decades, housing has been treated as a sector that can ‘absorb’ escalating fees, taxes and regulation.”
“Well-intentioned policies… have layered new costs and complexities onto every project.”
“Every added cost ultimately shows up in rent…”
“We cannot increase supply without addressing regulatory and cost barriers.”

Much of this analysis aligns squarely with what the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) has long advocated for. In particular, Microsoft’s report reinforces three priorities that are essential to meaningfully reducing Washington’s housing shortage:

Unlock more buildable land.
Restrictions such as urban growth boundaries, setback requirements, historic preservation rules, and environmental protections have steadily reduced the amount of land available for housing. When large portions of the state are effectively off-limits to development, land scarcity drives up prices and limits housing production across all price points.

Reduce the cost to build.
Homebuilding costs continue to rise due to code requirements, system development charges, impact fees, excise taxes, and land prices inflated by scarcity. Unlocking more land is necessary, but it is not sufficient on its own. Without addressing these underlying cost drivers, housing affordability will remain out of reach for many Washington residents.

Eliminate unnecessary complexity.
Lengthy and unpredictable permitting timelines, expanded public process requirements, constantly changing codes, and inconsistent interpretation of regulations all increase the time, risk, and expertise required to build a home. The more complex the process becomes, the fewer builders are able to participate—particularly when it comes to delivering entry-level and workforce housing.

Progress will require tradeoffs. There is no path forward that satisfies every stakeholder on every issue, but nothing will move forward without compromise. In his original post, MBAKS Executive Director Jerry Hall put it plainly: “If we truly want to prioritize alleviating our housing shortage, we’ll have to respect and accept some tradeoffs.”

Microsoft is right: we cannot address Washington’s housing shortage without tackling regulatory and cost barriers head-on. Many of these policies were adopted with good intentions, but they have produced unintended consequences that now limit supply and worsen affordability. If we want to ensure that everyone has a place to call home, we must be willing to revisit—and unwind—the policies that contributed to today’s shortage. That means unlocking more buildable land, implementing real cost-reduction strategies, and eliminating unnecessary regulatory complexity.

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