The future of a thriving Bellingham relies on a willingness to say ‘yes’ to more pro-housing solutions
Like the rest of Washington state, Bellingham and Whatcom County are continuing to recover from the human and economic tolls of COVID-19. Today, the county is outpacing the state in terms of the total population vaccinated, with 66% of the county fully vaccinated. That’s good news for families, schools and businesses looking to get back on track after nearly two years of pandemic disruptions. More good news is that employment is on the rise across all of Whatcom’s major industries. In fact, unemployment is at an all-time low and taxable retail sales are at a record high, both of which indicate a growth trajectory for Whatcom County.
One way to track Whatcom’s ongoing recovery is by using the Recovery Vitals, a set of 30 key economic indicators created by the Association of Washington Business Institute (AWBI). These easy-to-access stats show how Washington state and its individual counties are faring when it comes to business, housing, school and infrastructure. The Recovery Vitals are regularly updated by AWBI’s partners at the Eastern Washington University Institute for Public Policy & Economic Analysis. They’re one part of Washington in the Making, a framework for the state’s recovery that envisions lasting prosperity for every community in Washington.
While Whatcom’s sales tax and unemployment rate are positive signs for the county, one continued source of concern is the availability and affordability of housing in Bellingham and beyond. Simply put, maintaining our community’s workforce relies, first, on people being able to find housing, and second, on them being able to afford the housing options available.
For the first time since the information has been tracked, Residual Net Migration (RNM)—a measure of population gain or loss—is in the red in Whatcom. The decline from an RNM of +1.97 percent between 2018-2019 to -.34 percent between 2020-2021 could be a sign that, while Whatcom is still a place many people want to live, housing availability and affordability are stumbling blocks for people being able to call it home.
On one hand, the dramatic increase in Whatcom’s median home value, which has climbed some 27 percent in the last year, is excellent news for existing homeowners. And Whatcom’s housing crunch and the resulting cost increases are by no means unique to the county, or even to Washington state. Communities across the United States are experiencing similar market pressures. Nevertheless, the ability for first-time homebuyers and renters across a range of incomes to find housing in Whatcom has a direct effect on the county’s ability to grow economically and sustain a thriving workforce.
Solutions exist, but driving them forward means saying ‘yes’ more often. Already, Whatcom County has a healthy upward trend in residential building permits, with 1.48 per every 1,000 residents. While community members’ concerns about the effects of urban sprawl and new construction on the environment and the traditional look and feel of Bellingham are valid, the city is hard at work enacting solutions that consider those concerns like infill housing developments and mixed-use urban villages. There is more to do, and other cities have implemented solutions that could serve as models here, including setting density minimums, designating a percentage of all new units as affordable, and establishing nonprofit associations to help low-income tenants achieve homeownership.
As Whatcom looks to the future and continues to rebound from COVID-19, the pro-business stance necessary for economic recovery and growth is inherently pro-housing, and adopting initiatives to make Bellingham a place where more families can afford to live, work and play enriches us all. Learn more about Bellingham’s housing statistics and the housing solutions on the table.
-Guy Occhiogrosso, President/CEO
Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce
Written with data gathered towards the end of 2021. Posted in February 2022.
Photo by Daniel Abadia on Unsplash