Washington can’t solve the housing crisis by missing the bigger picture

Washington is facing a housing emergency. On that point, leaders from across the political spectrum can agree. 

During my time as a state lawmaker, I was proud to co-sponsor legislation to raise the minimum wage, bringing Washington wages closer to a true living wage. But even the highest minimum wage possible isn’t enough to keep up with today’s runaway housing costs. 

Today, a household with two full-time workers each earning the minimum of $16.66 an hour would be unable to comfortably afford a typical modest one-bedroom rental, an analysis by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found. The cost of shelter has outpaced wages for years, forcing families to make impossible choices.

According to a 2024 Washington State Housing Finance Commission and Washington State Department of Commerce report, nearly half of Washington renters are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. 

There’s no question that Washington needs bold action. But to solve this crisis, we have to address the real causes and resist the urge to focus on convenient scapegoats. 

At the heart of the problem is a long-term shortage of housing. That is why, just weeks ago, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a slew of new bills to make it easier to build in this state — because more housing supply is what ultimately reduces housing costs. Still, much more needs to be done. 

For decades, zoning laws and permitting delays have made it difficult to build enough homes to keep pace with our population. Washington has made some important strides recently, including new legislation to allow more multi-unit housing in single-family zones. That law was a meaningful step toward reversing exclusionary zoning and opening the door for “missing middle” housing options like duplexes and fourplexes. 

But zoning reform is just the beginning. We also need to speed up permitting timelines and reduce unnecessary red tape, especially for affordable and workforce housing. When it takes years to get a project approved, costs go up and fewer homes get built. Nonprofit developers and public-private partnerships in particular need faster paths to bring affordable housing online. 

Washington also needs to invest more consistently in long-term affordability. Our state Housing Trust Fund is a powerful tool, but it can’t meet current demand without increased funding and better coordination across regions. We should also provide support to community land trusts, nonprofit housing providers, and cooperative housing. This will keep homes permanently affordable and these types of organizations are rooted in the communities they serve. 

Unfortunately, some recent policy proposals risk distracting from these urgent priorities. For example, there has been a growing push in the Legislature to restrict or even ban rent-pricing software, a type of technological tool that landlords sometimes use to analyze local market conditions and estimate their rental rates.

But as Colorado’s Democratic Governor Jared Polis made clear when he vetoed similar legislation in May, these systems don’t create the state’s housing shortages or the nation’s economic inflation; they only report on how those issues are affecting the marketplace. When there’s more housing demand than supply, prices go up with or without software.

Blaming a software algorithm for housing unaffordability is like blaming a thermometer for a heatwave. In fact, these tools can sometimes help landlords respond more quickly to changing market conditions, lowering rents when demand softens and giving developers more confidence to build where homes are needed most. Banning the use of these digital tools won’t make rent cheaper — it will just make the housing market less efficient and less predictable.

Solving Washington’s housing crisis will require all of us — local officials, state lawmakers, developers, advocates, and neighbors — to focus on what works. That means building more homes, protecting renters, modernizing outdated policies, and using data and innovation to guide smart growth. The stakes are too high for distraction or delay. Let’s keep our eyes on the real problem — and the real solutions Washington families need.