Consultant: Post Falls faces rapid growth, housing shortfall and seniors with high rent burdens

A consultant with Comoyne & Associates presented the firm’s housing‑needs analysis to the Post Falls City Council on Oct. 27, summarizing data, public outreach and recommended strategies for the city’s fast‑growing housing market.

The final report is “almost 200 pages long,” the consultant said, and was provided to councilmembers in the meeting packet. The study combined a public survey, listening sessions, a January workshop with the council and planning commission, site visits and roundtable interviews with local officials and professionals.

The study found rapid housing and population growth in Post Falls compared with neighboring geographies, and projected continued demand for both owner and renter units. Key findings presented included: 593 responses to the public survey; owner‑occupied housing representing 66% of units in the city; roughly 70% of homes built within the past 35 years; about 61% of residents and 62% of workers in Post Falls reporting commutes under 10 minutes; an estimate of about 1,500 new jobs from 2023 to 2028; and an estimated five‑year need in the range of “over 2,300” housing units to serve household growth and replace units reaching end of useful life.

Affordability emerged as a central concern. The consultant said home prices are far out of reach for typical Post Falls workers: using median incomes and standard housing‑cost calculations, the report estimated that an affordable home for a median household would be roughly $309,000 below prevailing sale prices. For renters, the firm used 2023 “in‑place” rents to measure affordability and reported a median in‑place rent of $1,300; on that basis median renter households spend about 30% of income on housing — just above the commonly used affordability threshold. The report also said 66% of senior renters in Post Falls were cost‑burdened, defined as spending more than 30% of income on housing.

The consultant described multifamily market dynamics: asking rents and vacancy rates responded to large deliveries of new apartments, producing temporary spikes in vacancy during lease‑up. CoStar data cited in the report projected a decline in vacancy from 8.5% in late 2024 toward 7.7% in early 2025. Building permits for multifamily units fell sharply year‑over‑year, with the consultant noting the private sector reduced permit activity to about 54 multifamily permits in 2024 as developers adjusted to absorption rates.

The report offered a package of strategies organized under three themes: rental‑market responses, homeowner strategies and community enhancements. Rental recommendations included continuing to monitor vacancy and absorption rates to anticipate private‑sector permit activity and to consider incentives or zoning adjustments that allow smaller‑scale multifamily units that fit within neighborhood scale. The consultant recommended that the city prioritize support for a low‑income housing tax credit (LIHTC) project targeted to seniors and suggested that tenant‑selection plans for such projects prioritize Post Falls or Kootenai County residents.

Homeownership recommendations emphasized encouraging smaller, starter homes that builders said can be produced at prices affordable to median households without subsidy, and promoting mixed housing types within subdivisions (a mix of single‑family, duplexes, townhouses and condos) to expand ownership options.

Community‑level strategies included targeted use of CDBG and HUD programs to help owners maintain older housing stock (noting a notable share of houses built in the 1970s), improving the quality and usefulness of required subdivision green space, expanding neighborhood‑scale retail and service centers, and deploying economic development tools to attract businesses that offer higher‑paying, career‑grade jobs.

The consultant noted public feedback that housing growth has outpaced retail/service expansions in some areas and that some residents prefer lower concentrations of large multifamily complexes. “You have ample room to grow,” the consultant said, describing Post Falls’ land availability as attractive to developers, but added that the city should plan for how and where additional housing occurs.

The consultant closed by noting the full report and appendices are in council packets and offered to answer questions. The Council’s planning commission and staff had participated in outreach and workshops earlier in the study period.