Our Housing Forum was well attended! Guests heard from Congressman Denny Heck and Aaron Terrazas, Senior Economist at Zillow Research.
Congressman Heck presented on the preliminary findings of the Congressional Housing Task Force. He discussed that, to meet housing demands, five million more housing units would need to be built. He referred to housing as an “ecosystem” to describe the many factors contributing to the construction shortfall, including zoning and land use regulations that are slowing and restricting building housing, shifts in demand, decreasing availability of construction financing as a result of the last financial crisis, and the lack of increase in the construction labor pool.
In his presentation on the Puget Sound Housing and Market Overview, Terrazas discussed in depth details on the following key trends in the South Sound: home values in Pierce County are 14% above their pre-crisis peak, home value appreciation has accelerated from 3 years ago, Pierce County is seeing some of the strongest rent appreciation in the region, employment growth is up 118% from 2008 in the City of Tacoma, inventory has been on a 3-year slide, inventory has declined more sharply in more affordable areas on average, the number of homes hitting the market is stable, and material prices associated with construction are surging. His full presentation can be viewed here: https://wp.zillowstatic.com/3/PierceCountyMBA_2018_FINAL-4d6556.pdf
Thank you to all who attended our 2018 Housing Forum!