Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1050422
BY ALLISON BUTCHER SENIOR POLICY ANALYST MBAKS On October 24, your association gathered more than 220 members, state and local elected officials, planners, and other partners to discuss ideas for improving the climate for housing in King and Snohomish counties. T he sold-out MBAKS Housing Solutions Breakfast, held at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, focused on ways to increase housing supply and address our housing affordability crisis Toward that end, your association unveiled our Action Plan for Housing—ideas we're taking to Olympia to ensure housing opportunities for all CONDOMINIUM LIABILITY REFORM One of our top legislative priorities is condominium liability reform As MBAKS Executive Director Kat Sims explained, "We must create an environment where affordable condos can be built, opening an important homeownership opportunity for both first-time buyers and for retirees looking to downsize " Matthew Gardner, chief economist at Windermere Real Estate, provided an overview of our housing market and described the strong demand for affordable housing options like condominiums He pointed to the fact that we are running out of buildable land, which is forcing land prices up Add to this construction labor shortages, material price increases, and regulatory costs associated with new home construction, and it's clear that we need to start embracing more density if we want to keep housing affordable To best utilize our limited land supply, Gardner continued, we must have appropriate zoning within our urban growth areas and find ways to add more affordable mid-rise condos, fee-simple townhomes, and other housing options that will help meet market demand Event Recap MBAKS Housing Solutions Breakfast Builds Momentum for 2019 "We must create an environment where affordable condos can be built, opening an important homeownership opportunity for both first-time buyers and for retirees looking to downsize." — MBAKS Executive Director Kat Sims 46 master builder master builder WINTER 2018 housing advocacy