Ken Kailing SeattleTimes.com
As an regional and urban planner in my time, I find the escalation of rents in Seattle very troublesome. Certainly, it is a matter of social equity. But more than that it’s a matter of City Pride.
The rent and general housing issues in our city are contentious and dividing our people. Everyone needs an affordable place to live; I consider that a democratic right as much as safe food and clean water.
In a just society, basic human needs should never be subject to the fickleness of markets — that’s why we have governments to insure the health and welfare of our population, to govern as put a governor on excesses and stabilize conditions. It is written thus in our Constitution.
The issue is not that landlords must cover costs; it’s the that fact innocent citizens are being grievously hurt by this rapid artificial inflation of the housing and rental markets.
Rents in the Seattle area are now growing about four times faster than the national average and have topped $2,000.
SEATTLETIMES.COM
You can’t legislate away market forces. They’re going to be there no matter what. Seattle tech companies are attracting thousands of newcomers and paying them well. Seattle doesn’t have housing for them. So they use their income advantage to compete for existing housing stock. Those with less financial resources lose this competition and get pushed out of the way. The solution is to build more housing, lots of it, and whether the additional housing stock is supplied by the private market or with public resources is secondary — not unimportant, but how the housing stock is expanded matters less than whether it is expanded. More housing is the solution to skyrocketing home prices and rents. When supply and demand are in balance, price and rent increases will moderate.
Yes but we need better zoning. Areas of Seattle like Rainer Valley, Auruara, amnd Elliot Ave can be developped easily!