housing

Housing Featured Images
Caitlyn McKenney
December 18, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

As Region Faces Shortage, Seattle Needs to Preserve its Existing Housing 

Caitlyn McKenney
December 18, 2024
Economics, Homelessness
According to a 2024 report on housing production from Up For Growth, the metro area encompassing Seattle, Tacoma, and Bellevue is facing a shortage of 71,060 homes. That amounts to 4.2% of the region’s total housing stock. While the production of new homes is vital to closing the gap between supply and demand, so is the preservation of existing housing, especially affordable housing. Read More ›
Seattle overregulation-8
Caitlyn McKenney
October 30, 2024
Economics

Affordable Housing Owner Sues City of Seattle: Unpacking the Lawsuit

Caitlyn McKenney
October 30, 2024
Economics
To understand why a privately-owned housing building is in default, facing over $40 million in liabilities, and “hemorrhaging money,” in an affluent west-coast city, we must look at a series of Seattle ordinances that, while well-intended, have heaped negative consequences on housing providers with compounding effects. Read More ›
Seattle overregulation-7
Caitlyn McKenney
October 23, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

Washington Law Unfairly Keeps Prior Evictions Off Tenant Screenings

Caitlyn McKenney
October 23, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

When it comes to tenant’s rights laws, good intentions don’t always lead to good or fair outcomes. One example is a Washington State law that allows tenants to keep their eviction from being disclosed to future housing providers. The state allows an order of limited dissemination (OLD) to be filed for eviction cases to prevent housing providers from denying tenants Read More ›

typical-buildings-in-soho-in-new-york-stockpack-adobe-stock-239267836-stockpack-adobe_stock
Typical buildings in Soho in New York
Marvin Olasky
October 18, 2024
Homelessness

Inequity and Iniquity in Manhattan Housing

Marvin Olasky
October 18, 2024
Homelessness
In 2015, the May 15 cover of New York Magazine ran this headline: “New York Real Estate Is the New Swiss Bank Account: Foreigners are flooding the market to stash, hide, and sometimes launder their money.” That intrigued me, because I had done some research into Manhattan condos selling for $20 million and up. Read More ›
Seattle overregulation (1)
Caitlyn McKenney
October 16, 2024
Economics

Seattle Housing Providers Face Millions in Unpaid Rent

Caitlyn McKenney
October 16, 2024
Economics
Affordable, subsidized housing in Seattle is in crisis. Several months ago, the City of Seattle announced $14 million in one-time funding intended to stabilize affordable housing providers. The Office of Housing received 24 applications requesting roughly $22 million. These 24 housing providers own and manage 10,200 affordable housing units across the city, and a public records request for their applications reveals just how dire the future of affordable housing in Seattle is. Read More ›
Seattle school year ban
Caitlyn McKenney
October 2, 2024
Economics, Homelessness

As Affordable Housing Crumbles, Reconsider School Year Eviction Bans

Caitlyn McKenney
October 2, 2024
Economics, Homelessness
In 2021, the City of Seattle instituted a school year eviction moratorium. Households with a child under age 18 on the lease cannot be evicted for nonpayment of rent from the start of the school year in September through the end in June. The legislation may have been crafted in goodwill — to keep children housed and their lives stable — but the outcomes have been disastrous. Read More ›
Matthew Desmond 2023_National_Book_Festival_(53123258729) Wikimedia Commons
Matthew Desmond discusses his book, "Poverty, By America," with Frederick Wherry at the 2023 Library of Congress National Book Festival, August 12. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.
Image by Shawn Miller at Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2023_National_Book_Festival_(53123258729).jpg
Marvin Olasky
September 6, 2024
Homelessness

Dickensian Non-Fiction: Reviewing Desmond’s “Evicted”

Marvin Olasky
September 6, 2024
Homelessness
The academic who’s gained the biggest rewards for writing about homelessness is Harvard and Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond. Many reviewers loved the way Evicted reads like fiction. The comparisons with fiction raise crucial questions: How much of Evicted is fact and how much, if not exactly fiction, is interpretation? Read More ›