Local leaders gathered at the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber’s housing forum in November 2024 to confront the county’s deepening affordable housing crisis. More than 100 attendees heard from builders, city officials, and housing advocates about the scope of the problem and potential solutions.
With the median single-family home price at $526,000, many local families remained priced out of the market. Post Falls City Councilman Joe Malloy noted that public hearings on high-density housing projects consistently drew opposition from existing residents — including many newcomers who said they had moved to the area to escape exactly this kind of growth.
The Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance reported that local rental prices had risen so sharply that many low-income families were paying more than 50 percent of their income for housing. Construction costs and land prices continued to climb, making affordable development increasingly difficult.