Realtors from across Washington state gathered in Olympia Thursday to meet with lawmakers during the annual Legislative Hill Day.
Spokane realtor Ken Sax is one of the 500 realtors who met with Spokane area lawmakers. He said there are several issues which are contributing to a housing shortage in eastern Washington and there is hope lawmakers can provide some relief.
"With an inventory shortage, of course, we see prices rise, and we don’t want to deter one’s ability to build and add to our inventory. And further we have a vacancy rate of 1.3%, which mean rents continue to rise and rise and rise,” Sax said.
Several bills are before lawmakers this session that Sax believes can help to increase available housing in Spokane. One deals with streamlining condominium building requirements. He says many condo developers have stopped building because of fear of lawsuits over what he calls unreasonable requirements. He says has not yet heard anyone who believes changing the rules could lead to shoddy building practices, but thinks changing the requirements could spawn more condo construction here in Spokane.
“Kendall Yards is an example where Greenstone had to develop some rentals, some apartments that could not be condos, because of this. That does impact Spokane. That puts pressure on the escalating rents,” he said.
Sax says he met with Sen. Shelly Short (R-Addy) and Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D-Spokane) Thursday and both were receptive to his concerns.
