Spokane’s Housing Market is Red Hot
As the Spokane area grows, housing demand and dwindling supply has made it the newest, hot market.
According to The Spokesman Review, it’s widely-known the Spokane area has growing housing demand and dwindling supply, a situation further exacerbated by the pandemic as out-of-area buyers and remote workers fled larger metro areas in search of affordability and a better quality of life.
But now the spotlight on Spokane’s housing crunch is elevated to a national level.
The New York Times published a story Sunday that shines a light on how city leaders are grappling with how to best address growth and prevent Spokane from experiencing housing affordability issues seen in larger cities, such as Los Angeles and Seattle.
“Being an ‘it’ place was something Spokane’s leaders had long hoped for. The city and its metropolitan region have spent decades trying to convince out-of-town professionals and businesses that it would be a great place to move,” the New York Times article reported. “Now their wish has been granted, and the city is grappling with the consequences.”
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward told the reporter even her son and daughter-in-law, newlyweds who moved from Seattle back to Spokane during the pandemic, lived with her and her husband while they searched for a home they could afford.
Woodward said she’s not surprised by the national attention placed on Spokane.
“Spokane has been discovered. I’ve lived here 32 years and I think a lot of people have been very prideful of living in a beautiful area of the country that has been off the radar,” Woodward said. “Spokane has seen a lot of migration during the pandemic and an uptick in people migrating from Seattle and California, which of course makes our housing issue that much more of a challenge.”
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/feb/22/spokanes-housing-crunch-gets-national-spotlight/