Over 1 million homes needed in the next 20 years

OLYMPIA — The Washington state Department of Commerce released its final housing needs projections March 2. They show the state needs to add 1.1 million homes over the next 20 years, and more than half of them need to be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels. Based on census data and the Office of Financial Management’s population projections, these final housing projections illustrate that Washington needs more than 50,000 new units annually to keep pace with expected population growth.

In 2021, the Growth Management Act framework that required the fastest growing counties and...