Spokane County Commissioner Al French hosted a discussion with Darren Watkins, governmental affairs director for the Spokane Association of Realtors, and Isaiah Payne, public affairs and strategic officer for the Spokane Home Builders Association, to outline local housing shortages and urge policy changes to increase homeownership.

The guests cited multiple indicators of a stressed market: Payne said the city of Spokane permitted only about 120 single‑family units this year, ‘‘the lowest number since Construction Monitor started tracking this data,’’ and estimated that only about 17% of Spokane households currently can afford to purchase a home. ‘‘There’s about a $120,000 to a $130,000 gap between what median income can afford and what home prices are,’’ Payne said.

Watkins and Payne placed part of the blame on limited developable land under Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and on regulatory costs. Watkins said the region has ‘‘holes in the market’’ because lot availability has fallen sharply; he contrasted roughly 900 lots per month a decade ago with about 80–90 today. ‘‘If it’s about the dirt, we need to grow the circle out,’’ Watkins said, urging targeted expansion of the urban growth boundary to lower land prices and increase new single‑family construction.

The guests also warned of cross‑border leakage. Watkins said Spokane County sends about $951,000,000 a year to neighboring Kootenai County in Idaho as residents choose to live across the state line; he cited traffic increases on I‑90 and Idaho infrastructure investments as reinforcing that trend.

Payne urged adding ‘‘affordability’’ and ‘‘homeownership’’ as explicit priorities in state land‑use policy, arguing that current GMA priorities do not maximize pathways to ownership. He also recommended regulatory changes—smaller lots, smaller homes and streamlined fees—to reach attainable price points. ‘‘We think the average person ought to be able to purchase a home,’’ Payne said.

The speakers raised regulatory cost concerns tied to building codes and energy policy. Payne estimated that fees and regulatory compliance add roughly 30% to the cost of a home and said Washington’s energy code trajectory toward all‑electric homes contributes to higher costs compared with North Idaho.

Both guests and the commissioner pointed to potential policy levers ahead of Spokane County’s 2026 comprehensive plan update. Payne described several scenarios—no expansion, status quo, or strategic expansion—and argued a deliberate expansion could support workforce housing, economic development and a healthier match between area median income and median home price. ‘‘If we don’t get it right in the comp plan process this next year, then the result is, Post Falls is gonna get their wish,’’ he said.

The program closed with French urging public education about housing choices and the comprehensive‑plan process; no formal vote or government action was taken during the broadcast.

Next steps: the county’s comprehensive plan process for 2026 is the near‑term venue to consider changes to urban growth boundaries and development standards.