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WENATCHEE — The median price of a home increased 66.3% in Chelan and Douglas counties between 2017 and 2022.
That was one question more than 1,500 people answered in an online, 29-question housing survey during the last two weeks of May.
The Our Valley Our Future Regional Housing Survey was meant to see how residents view housing in the area, what they’re dealing with, possible solutions, and who’s responsible to correct housing issues, according to Steve Maher, OVOF coordinator. He presented some survey results at the June 1 NCW Regional Housing Summit. More than 350 people also shared their housing stories in the poll.
The survey was about perception and not scientific, he said.
“But given the number of people who completed the survey — and what town they live in, their income levels, how long they’ve lived here, and their race and ethnicity — we feel confident those 1,500-plus people are pretty representative of who lives in this region,” Maher wrote in an email.
As an example, he said 67% of respondents lived in Chelan County, 32% in Douglas County and 17% in the upper Wenatchee Valley, he said. About half had a household income either less or greater than $75,000, and about 24.7% said they were Latino.
About 92.4% said yes, the rise in median home price was a problem. About 54.7% said no, the free market wouldn’t “automatically correct problems with housing affordability and availability,” according to OVOF's survey.
In fact, the housing industry was listed as the most responsible “to address the issue of housing affordability and availability.”
The top three-rated challenges to buy a home were overall cost, followed by inadequate supply and poor quality of housing, OVOF reported.
Also, 69.5% said the issue of housing affordability and availability was extremely important, followed by 21.3% listing it as important.
To help address the issue, 47.6% of respondents supported more housing subsidies for low- and moderate-income residents, while 47.1% said more rental housing needed to allow pets.
About 46.7% said they’d support more non-traditional housing, like accessory dwelling units, container homes, or tiny homes. Fourth-ranking on the list was more single-family homes on smaller lots, with 43.4% supporting it.
Additionally, 43.4% said they would financially support affordable infrastructure, but 59.5% of respondents said the money should come from taxing the highest earners in the area.
About 36.3% said money should come from a sales tax increase and 36.1% said a fee on building permits was the solution.
Feel free to reach out to me with story ideas at 509-861-2174, thornton@wenatcheeworld.com or on Twitter @EmilyK_Thornton.
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