Bellevue, Wash—October 4, 2017—The Puget Sound area's housing market is in crisis. The demand for housing in our region continues to significantly outpace residential housing supply, making it difficult to purchase reasonably priced homes near job centers. In response, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) has identified a 10-point action plan to help provide attainable housing for our growing population.

Looking at the three-county Seattle Metro Area, Pierce is the only county to see permit activity rise through July 31 of this year, compared to the same period last year. The latest permit data from the U.S. Census Bureau show single family permits rose 13 percent and multifamily permits doubled in Pierce County.

Over the past 18 months, five King County cities have adopted a building moratorium, temporarily putting the brakes on new home construction. While a moratorium is legal, it does not mean it is good policy. At a time when demand for housing is far outpacing housing supply, which drives up both home prices and rents and makes housing less attainable, building moratoria certainly are not good for housing.

The size of new houses on Mercer Island will be limited more than anywhere else in the region starting Nov. 1, when new restrictions that the city council approved on Tuesday take effect. The council voted 5-1 to update the city's residential design standards and approved a new rule to protect mature trees.

Two Seattle mayoral candidates and one city council candidate shared their perspectives this week on hot housing topics in the expanding city, including affordable housing, clean energy and density issues.