The Washington Center for Housing Studies released two new policy briefs and a new report in the last month highlighting cost drivers affecting the price of housing in Washington.

Meeting climate goals can be costly

The High Cost of Good Intentions: 30 Affordability Killers Hiding in Plain Sight: This policy brief explores the implementation of HB 1181, a 2023 measure BIAW opposed that added a “Climate/Resiliency” goal to the Growth Management Act. The state Department of Commerce has developed a “Menu of Measures” to help local governments meet this goal in their comprehensive plans, but some of these measures are more costly than others.

Less than 4% of Washington’s land available for urban development

New study: How expanding Urban Growth Areas could improve housing affordability: This new study from the BIAW Center for Housing Studies zeroes in on one of the state’s most pressing housing challenges—land availability under the state’s Growth Management Act (GMA).

The study “How Land Limits Contribute to Washington’s Housing Crisis” reveals how the GMA’s restrictive urban growth areas (UGA) have driven land costs ever higher—pushing homeownership further and further out of reach for Washington families.

Jurisdictions failing to meet new permit timelines

Talk is Cheap but Housing Isn’t: New State Report Shows Structural Resistance to Improving Accessibility of Housing: In 2023, the legislature also passed a BIAW-supported measure, SB 5290, reducing the timelines for permit approval in five categories and requiring jurisdictions to report whether they were processing their permits within the new timelines. As required, the state Dept. of Commerce recently released a new progress report detailing how various jurisdictions have responded to the new law. Spoiler alert: Many are failing to process permits within the new legally defined timeframes. Our policy brief provides more information. 

New search function

With so much great research now available within the BIAW Center for Housing Studies, we’ve added a search bar to help you find what you need!

New research library

We’ve also added a new research library to share interesting housing research from other sources along with our policy briefs.

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