A regional housing analysis determined that Kootenai County needs approximately 27,500 additional housing units by 2030 to meet projected demand. The Housing Solutions Partnership reported that the county needed to build roughly 4,000 homes annually — a pace that current development was not meeting.
The affordability gap between what local workers could afford and the median home price had grown to $182,000. With the median single-family home priced at $552,500 and the area’s median household income supporting a purchase of roughly $370,000, the math remained deeply unfavorable for first-time buyers.
The partnership continued to develop solutions including the Miracle on Britton deed-restricted housing project, free accessory dwelling unit plans for homeowners, and a mortgage assistance program being vetted with regional realtors and financial institutions.