Family Resource Center Campus 16225 N.E. 87th Street. Suite A-3 • Redmond. Washington 98052 425-861-3677 • FAX: 425-861-4553 • WEB SITE www.archhousing.org A Regional Coalition for Housing September 2009 Dear Friend: In the mid 1990's, communities around East King County came together to address the growing problem of housing affordability. They formed ARCH, A Regional Coalition for Housing, and since then have helped create thousands of units of affordable housing for Eastside families. But our communities are changing and growing... and the housing strategies we use must change as well. In response, ARCH convened a group of elected officials and community leaders from Eastside cities in spring 2007 to discuss our housing challenges and the steps we can take to address them. We decided that a crucial first step was to educate our community officials, commissions, and staffs, to ensure that all of us are responding to housing issues from a common understanding of housing needs, history, and possibility. This workbook, Housing 101: East King County, is the result. It provides an overview of housing need in East King County and our communities' changing income levels and demographics; housing supply, and the goals we've set for providing affordable housing; past successes and strategies with housing, and the providers and funding sources that have implemented these strategies; and suggestions for next steps, as our communities respond both to enormous opportunities and increasing need. We hope that Housing 101 will be a helpful resource for communities throughout the region. We look forward to continuing to work together to make East King County a great place to call home. Sincerely, '/ ~ , Steven Anderson Arthur J. SuJttt;an Deputy City Manager, Bothell Program Manager Chair. ARCH Executive Board ARCH ARCH Menlbers - _ Beaux Arts Village. Bellevue. Bothell. Clyde Hill. Hunts Point. Issaquah. Kenmore. Kirkland. Medina Mercer Island. Newcastle. Redmond. Sammamish. Woodinville. Yarrow Poinl • King County HOUSING 101 – A R C H TABLE OF CONTENTS September, 2009 Table of Contents Tab 1 Housing Need in East King County 1 Housing Affordability Demographic Trends Tab 2 Housing Supply 11 Washington Growth Management Act Countywide Planning Policies Countywide Affordable Housing Policies and Targets ARCH‟s Role Tab 3 Affordable Housing Strategies 23 Affordable Homeownership Affordable Rental Tab 4 Affordable Housing Developers 35 King County Housing Authority Community-based Non-profit Developers Private Developers Tab 5 Affordable Housing Funding Sources 38 Federal Funding State Funding County Funding Local Funding Philanthropic Funding Private Below-market Funding Tab 6 Benefits of Affordable Housing 49 Fitting into the Community Tab 7 Moving Forward / Future 51 ARCH Priority Strategies Key Factors and Trends Tab 8 Appendix A-1 Glossary of Terms A-2 Exhibits A-5 Countywide Planning Policies A-24 HOUSING 101 – A R C H TABLE OF CONTENTS September, 2009 List of Figures Figure 1 2000 Household Income Distribution 2 Figure 2 2009 King County Income and Affordability Guidelines 3 Figure 3 Median vs. “Affordable” Home & Condo Prices in EKC 4 Figure 4 Rental Housing Affordable to Low Income Households 5 Figure 5 Percent Change of Median Income, Home Price and Rents since 1999 6 Figure 6 Percent of Homeless Families by Primary Cause of Homelessness 7 Figure 7 Population by Age, 2000 8 Figure 8 East King County 2001-2022 Household, Employment Targets 13 Figure 9 Permit Activity Compared to Housing Targets 14 Figure 10 Housing Capacity as Percent of Housing Targets 15 Figure 11 Progress Toward Affordable Housing Targets, 1993-2008 18 Figure 12 ARCH Housing Trust Fund Projects, 1993-2008 20 Figure 13 Creation of Affordable Housing, 1993-2007 24 Figure 14 Eastside Non-profit Housing Developers 36 Figure 15 Summary of Affordable Housing Funding Sources 39 Figure 16 2006 Housing Capacity by Type of Housing 57 APPENDIX Exhibit 1 2008 Sample Salaries A-5 Exhibit 2 Average Rents and Vacancies, 1990-2009 A-6 Exhibit 3 Household Types, 1990 and 2000, East King County A-7 Exhibit 4 Eastside Cities‟ Age Distribution A-8 Exhibit 5 Place of Birth of Foreign-born Residents, 2000 A-9 Exhibit 6 Eastside Cities‟ Immigration Levels, 2000 A-9 Exhibit 7 Jobs-Housing Balance, 1970-2000 A-10 Exhibit 8 Jobs-Housing Balance, 2000-2022 A-11 Exhibit 9 Residential Permit Activity, 1992-2007 A-12 Exhibit 10 New Attached Housing by Tenure, 1994 - 2008 A-13 Exhibit 11 Annual Income of DASH Tenants A-14 Exhibit 12 Occupations of DASH Tenants A-14 Exhibit 13 KCHA Programs and Properties A-15 Exhibit 14 ARCH Parity Program A-16 Exhibit 15 Average Home Prices, 1996-2009 A-20 Exhibit 16 Homeownership Rate (1980-2000) A-21 Exhibit 17 Affordability of New Attached Housing (1994-2008) A-22 Exhibit 18 Housing Costs as a Percentage of Income A-23 HOUSING 101 – A R C H LIST OF FIGURES September, 2009 Housing Need in East King County To address local housing needs, we must first understand the needs of our communities’ residents. This section examines two aspects of housing need: The affordability of housing relative to household income The types of housing needed based on local demographics HOUSING AFFORDABILITY Housing is defined as affordable* if its occupants pay no more than 30% of their income for rent and utilities or for mortgage, taxes, and insurance. According to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), households who pay more than 30% of their income for housing are considered cost-burdened. Households who pay more than 50% of their income for housing are considered severely cost-burdened,1 and may have trouble affording basic necessities such as food, clothing, transportation, and medical care. Based on a recent study, in East King County, nearly 24,000 households (17% of all households) are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income for housing. Nearly 12,000 of these households pay more than half their income for housing, making them severely cost-burdened.2 Most cost-burdened households fall into three categories: Moderate income households, who earn 50 to 80% of median income, and who are typically able to rent without cost burden, but have difficulty buying a home or condominium. * Underlined words are defined in the Glossary, which is located in the Appendix on page A-2. HOUSING 101 – A R C H (Sept. 2009) 1 HOUSING NEED Low income households, who earn up to 50% of median income, and who often have difficulty finding an apartment they can afford. Very low income households, who earn 30% of median income or less, may be severely cost-burdened, and may be homeless or at risk of homelessness due to the gap between their income and housing costs.† Information about these households, their income levels, and the amount they can afford to pay for housing is summarized in Figure 2 on the next page. Exhibit 1 in the Appendix illustrates the salaries of different jobs relative to the median income and shows that people in many jobs, including bank tellers, nurses, medical assistants, retail clerks, teachers, office administrators, and police officers receive low and moderate income wages. Eastside household Figure 1 incomes. In general, 2000 Household Income Distribution household median 60.0% incomes are higher in 50.0% East King County than in the county as a 40.0% Eastside whole. Still, as Figure 1 30.0% shows, over 20% of Countywide 20.0% Eastside households have low or moderate 10.0% incomes. 0.0% Very Low Low Income Moderate Middle Income Over 120% of Income (0-50%) Income (80-120%) median Job growth is high (0-30%) (50-80%) in lower-wage jobs. The Workforce Percent of total households as a percent of median income Development Council of Source: 2000 Census Seattle-King County reports that industries representing the three highest number of job vacancies include retail, healthcare and professional/ technical. The report also notes that while some of the jobs on the Top 25 Jobs list provide good wages, more than 50% of vacancies pay a median wage of $15 per hour or less.3 † These are the income definitions used by local cities as they plan under the Growth Management Act. HOUSING 101 – A R C H (Sept. 2009) 2 HOUSING NEED Figure 2 – 2009 King County Income and Affordability Guidelines STUDIO 1-Bedroom 2-Bedroom 3-Bedroom ( 1 Person) (2 Person) (3 Person) (4 Person) POVERTY Average poverty thresholds for 2009 by size of family* Household Income $10,830 $14,570 $18,310 $22,050 % of EKC Median Income 18% 22% 24% 26% VERY LOW INCOME 30% of Median Income Household Income $17,703 $ 20,232 $22,761 $25,290 Rental** $406 $450 $495 $539 LOW INCOME 50% of Median Income Household Income $29,505 $33,720 $37,935 $42,150 Rental $701 $787 $874 $961 Owner *** $91,450 $103,950 $116,450 $128,950 MODERATE INCOME 80% Of Median Income Household Income $47,208 $53,952 $60,696 $ 67,440 Rental $1,143 $1,293 $1,443 $1,593 Owner $162,500 $185,200 $207,800 $230,500 MEDIAN INCOME 100% Of Median Income Household Income $59,010 $67,440 $75,870 $84,300 Rental $1,438 $1,630 $1,823 $2,015 Owner $209,000 $238,000 $267,600 $296,600 * Source: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/09poverty.shtml ** Rents are net of deducting for a utility allowance *** Price estimate assuming: 10% Downpayment, 30 yr fixed mortgage at 5.5%, Property taxes at 1% mortgage insurance, homeowner dues/insurance $150 - $225. HOUSING 101 – A R C H (Sept. 2009) 3 HOUSING NEED Moderate and Median Income Households Figure 3 As Figure 2 on the previous page shows, a median income family of four can afford to pay approximately $296,000 for a home.