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BOISE — Even as it struggles to shelter its rapidly growing population, Idaho built new housing units at a faster pace than all but one other state, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
Between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, Idaho was the second fastest-growing state in the nation in terms of housing construction, with an increase of 1.7 percent in the number of single family houses, condominiums, apartments and other units.
Only neighboring Utah — where the number of housing units increased by 2.1 percent in the same period — grew faster. And in the seven years since the last census, Idaho was No. 4 in terms of housing unit growth, as the nation built itself out of the Great Recession. The state’s housing stock grew by 8.1 percent between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2017, according to the new federal data, lagging behind only North Dakota, Utah and Texas.
Such a rapid rate of home construction might come as a surprise to some residents of the Treasure Valley, the Gem State’s most populous region.
This is where a lack of supply pushed the median price of a single family home to record heights this spring before cooling slightly in April. Where a house that sells for less than $200,000 is increasingly a pipe dream. Where rents are high and vacancy rates low. Where it’s hard to have a conversation that doesn’t turn — quickly — to real estate and the relative merits of sprawl versus density.
Where just two days before the Census Bureau released its numbers, Mayor Dave Bieter and the Boise City Council convened a special strategy session to discuss affordable housing and the scant tools that exist in Idaho to help cities spur an increase in this most necessary of commodities. It was the second in a series of council strategy sessions that focus on how to address the need for housing. More housing. Lots more housing.
Underscoring Boise's clashing needs, city government also is planning a series of workshops to focus on the contentious issue of growth in the City of Trees. In announcing that effort earlier this spring, Bieter said “we hope to create a constructive dialogue around dense, compact development and the effects of sprawl.”
Idaho is the fastest growing state in the nation, and in recent months a loud chorus has emerged, lamenting the loss of local landmarks and fighting proposed subdivisions that they say imperil agricultural land and the precious open space that makes this region special.
At an April town hall meeting convened by Bieter and the City Council to allow residents to talk about whatever was on their minds, only three of the 21 who addressed the officials brought up issues unrelated to growth. More than half were troubled by the pace of growth in the city. Two were unabashedly pro-growth. One wanted more open space, another, more affordable housing.
For those, including Bieter, who are proponents of the region’s growth, the census numbers offered a cautious sliver of hope.
Between 2011 and 2015, developers built more new houses, condos and apartments than were needed to shelter the people pouring into the state. The Census Bureau pegs the average household size in Idaho at 2.69 people. (Insert fractional person joke here). Between 2011 and 2012, for example, the state added 11,493 more people. It needed 4,272 houses to shelter them. Developers built 5,948.
However, during the recession, home construction slowed dramatically, even as the population continued to grow. Which means that there is pent-up need that must be met. And in the most recent two years for which statistics are available, population growth outstripped housing growth.
To read the full story, visit the Idaho Statesman.
