Spokane Homeownership Is Declining Worrisome Trend Has Local Officials Searching For The Causes

Homeownership declined 9 percent in the city of Spokane and 4 percent in the county’s unincorporated area from 1970 to 1990.

That has to stop, says a group of real estate, home building, mortgage lending and government officials who have come together to tackle the problem.

“Something positive is going to come out of this, but first we have to recognize that there is a problem,” said Dale Strom, of the city’s community development department.

The group - Spokane Homeownership Partners - was officially recognized this week as part of a national effort to raise homeownership to record levels by the year 2000. President Clinton declared that effort a goal of his administration in June 1995. Since then, two and a half million new homeowners have been added to the ranks. Five and a half million more people will have to purchase homes within the next three years to reach the goal.

Spokane County is the 150th U.S. community to become a partner in the effort.

“At least we feel (people) need to be concerned about this and be talking about this,” Strom said.

Homeownership is important because it brings stability to a community, Strom said. People are more personally vested in the community when they own their home. They’re concerned about property values. They take on a different attitude and become more involved, he said.

Assistant Secretary of Housing Nicolas Retsinas, who is leading the national push to increase homeownership, officially recognized Spokane’s partnership during a luncheon Thursday at the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute.

“My sense is this is a timely initiative given an evolving economy,” Retsinas said of Spokane. “It’ll complement the focus on economic development.”

Spokane’s homeownership rates actually are not too bad, Retsinas said, but people should be concerned that they’re declining.

Nationwide, in cities of more than 100,000 people, Retsinas said, the homeownership rate is about 48 percent. The national goal for such cities is raising that to 50 percent, he added.

The 1990 census showed that figure to be about 57 percent in Spokane. More recent numbers are not available.

Before Spokane’s group can find solutions, the major problems have to be identified. To that end, the partnership is raising money for a demographic study to be done by the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. The study, to be finished in the fall, will identify causes for the decline in homeownership.

Partnership members are hesitant to guess at causes of the problem before the study is finished. However, many point to low wages as a major obstacle. Spokane County’s average wage in 1995 was $23,584, about 15 percent below the state average of $27,448 and the national average of $27,845, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Homeownership is falling