(The Center Square) – A recent study on King County’s affordable housing needs identified a $3.96 billion annual funding gap that would require the average county home owner to contribute an additional $3,856 per year to close.
The King Countywide Housing Needs Assessment 2025 outlined three funding scenarios to generate the $3.96 billion annually, but they are deemed unrealistic. One calls for a regional property tax levy of $4.53 per $1,000 of assessed value, nearly 10 times Seattle’s current housing levy and far exceeding state-imposed lid lift caps, as noted in the report.
The other two proposals are equally unfeasible: a 4.23% sales tax rate and a 11.46% real estate excise tax (REET) rate – more than triple the current maximum state REET rate of 3%. Both would require new authorizing legislation from Olympia. King County Executive Shannon Braddock’s office stated that it will take more than the county to reach its regional housing goals.
“Meeting Puget Sound’s housing demand will require a sustained, coordinated effort between the public and private sectors,” the King County Executive’s Office said in an email to The Center Square.
Residents should not brace for a single mega-levy to fill the $3.96 billion gap. Both candidates in the Nov. 4 King County executive race agree: tax hikes alone won’t solve the crisis outlined in the report.
King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, a candidate for county executive, called the findings “daunting but not surprising to see.”
“It is clear that we will be unable to raise taxes to meet this projected need for subsidy to fill the gap,” Balducci said in an email through her campaign. “As executive, I will make it a top priority to update our region’s affordable housing task force plan and bring a variety of strategies to bear with public and private partners.”
If elected, she aims to deliver 44,000 net new affordable homes within five years – a fraction of the 178,000 the county originally identified as needed by 2044.
Her opponent, fellow Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, said the crisis is too large for local government alone under existing tax rules. Instead, it requires smarter use of funds and better coordination. He is eyeing long-term investments into the region’s housing needs through a “unified front” in Olympia and Washington, D.C.
“If we’re serious about ensuring that every family has a stable place to live, we need the state and federal government to step up with the tools and resources counties need to meet that challenge,” Zahilay told The Center Square. “As executive, I’ll focus on making King County’s existing housing dollars go further through stronger partnerships, faster permitting, and performance-driven reforms.”
Despite voter-approved funding, King County is on track to reach just one-third of its 178,00-unit affordable housing target by 2044. The goal was lowered from 195,000 units in 2019 to 178,000 thanks to voter-approved taxes like Seattle’ JumpStart payroll expense tax levied on a small group of businesses and its voter-approved housing levy that is anticipated to collect $970 million through 2030.
King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn notes that the county is already one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S., driven by far more than just housing
“We recently had the highest gas prices in the nation, and the cost of food, utilities, and new taxes continue to climb. My focus is on reducing costs and making our region more affordable, not increasing costs and new taxes,” Dunn said in an emailed statement.
A committee hearing and discussion on the report could be scheduled for Nov. 3.
