Washington is a place of extraordinary beauty, opportunity and diversity. From thriving communities to breathtaking landscapes, it’s no wonder people are moving here in droves.
Clark County in particular has become a magnet for new residents, growing faster than any other county in the state from 2020 to 2023. But with this growth comes a stark reality: Housing affordability is at an all-time low, and too many families are struggling to find an attainable place to call home.
Housing is a basic need. A home is where families build their lives, where dreams take root and where communities grow stronger.
Yet as Clark County welcomes new residents — 7,750 in 2023 alone — our housing supply is falling dangerously short for yet another year. Without bold action, rising rents and home prices will push more people out of reach of the American dream and will slow Clark County’s growth and progress.
We need policies that foster smart growth, not restrict it. Unfortunately, two major factors are threatening to deepen the crisis: rent control and the Growth Management Act.
Rent control may seem like a quick fix, but research tells a different story, with a history of unintended consequences. Rent-control measures reduce housing supply, drive up rents outside of controlled areas and stifle investment in rental housing.
A Stanford University study found that rent control in San Francisco led to a 6 percent decline in rental supply. In Washington, rent control could result in 26,000 fewer housing units over the next decade, cutting $3.5 billion in investment and stripping more than $500 million from state and local tax revenues. These policies harm the very people they aim to protect, leaving fewer options and higher costs. We need more housing, not less.
We encourage local leaders to support policies that create more homes and rental opportunities by easing zoning restrictions, streamlining permits and encouraging new construction rather than relying on rent control to control costs.
Rent control will push out smaller housing providers and dissuade future residents from investing in real estate, stifling opportunities for generational wealth building, while shrinking the supply and diversity of rental housing. Moreover, existing rental property upkeep and improvement may stagnate or cease. Rent control does not solve the problem of there being more demand for than supply of housing, which is the primary driver of housing costs in Clark County.
We need more housing of all types: townhomes, cottages, single-family homes and everything in between. However, the Growth Management Act limits the land available for development, forcing jurisdictions to focus on dense and vertical housing that doesn’t meet most families’ needs and limits buyer choice.
If we don’t expand urban growth boundaries in Clark County, land prices will soar, congestion will worsen and affordability will remain out of reach, as is becoming the reality in other counties in Washington.
Policymakers should support expanding buildable land to allow for sustainable development in more areas, encourage medium-density housing through zoning reforms, focus on efficient and cost-effective building codes, protect homeownership opportunities, and void legislation such as rent control, which in the end will limit housing production.
Housing is about more than shelter — it’s about stability, opportunity and community. As policymakers, advocates and neighbors, we must work together to build a future where everyone has a place to call home.
Washington deserves nothing less.
Justin Wood is government affairs director for the Clark County Association of Realtors.