CLOSED DOORS
The Crisis of Supply of Affordable Homeownership in Washington State
Across Washington State, lower-income households struggle to find affordable housing and opportunities to gain economic mobility through wealth-building homeownership. Policy makers and housing advocates have faced barriers to information about how the crisis of supply of affordable for-sale homes is playing out in their communities, to show the disproportionate impact of this crisis on lower-income households, including those historically excluded from homeownership by discrimination. Homestead Community Land Trust has created the Closed Doors Report and Tableau dashboard to lower barriers to information needed to catalyze system change and address these housing inequities.
Download the Report “Closed Doors: The Crisis of Supply of Affordable Homeownership in Washington State”
More About this Project
As communities continue to grapple with affordable housing needs, housing for those who make 50 to 80% area median income has been largely overlooked. Our recent racial reckoning has resulted in increased interest in raising the homeownership rates of those affected by redlining and other forms of discrimination. Although barriers to homeownership are many, and keeping people safely in their homes is also important, a primary obstacle to ownership is lack of safe, healthy homes that are priced within reach of lower-income households. There simply aren’t enough affordable homes at the right price.
Homestead Community Land Trust’s Closed Doors Project seeks to empower policy makers and housing advocates with access to information about this crisis. Through a written report and interactive Tableau dashboard, we focus on the crisis of supply of income appropriate price homes that affects lower-income community members in our own service area, King County, and across the state.
The report describes the crisis of affordable supply for homeownership, explains how publicly funded homeownership organizations determine income qualifications, and defines the term “affordable.” It summarizes the need in King County specifically, and demonstrates through representative data that this is a statewide issue.
The Tableau dashboard enables users to research homeownership rates and supply for the state, county or local community. It also includes tabs to research income by race on a state, county or community level, and to examine housing supply information during a four-month, representative snapshot of Multiple Listing Service listings.
How to Use the Dashboard
Use the navigation buttons at the top to explore the different data available on the dashboard. The dropdowns can be used to interact with the dashboards to see data for a more specific county or city. Hover over different parts of the dashboard to view a tooltip with additional details. The toolbar at the bottom of the dashboard can be used to share and export the data.
Additional information about the data used in the dashboard can be found in the Closed Doors report.
Thank you to our Team
This report and the Tableau dashboard were created by Homestead Community Land Trust staff, board and committee members: Brian Chu, Kevin Skinner, Joy Garlin Hunt, Rosamund Wu, Roger Song and Kathleen Hosfeld, Executive Director