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January 2026 Builders Bulletin: Building Permits Weakened in October

U.S. Census Bureau data released recently show continued decline in building permits for the Seattle metro area in the first 10 months of 2025. The latest Builders Bulletin reports 5,208 single-family permits were issued year to date in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties as of October 2025, down 8% compared to the same period in 2024. Multifamily permits saw an even steeper drop with 7,225 permits issued, representing a 17% decrease compared to 2024. Release of this data by the Census Bureau was delayed due to last year’s federal government shutdown.

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By the Everett Herald

Members of Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, Professional Women in Building Council, and AAA KARTAK on Sept. 30 volunteered to rake, measure, dig, and plant around the future homes of low-income families at Housing Hope’s Main Street project in Monroe.

Reports Highlight Flaws in Mandatory Affordable Housing Fees

by MBAKS Government Affairs

Two new reports from ECOnorthwest shed light on key shortcomings in inclusionary zoning policies and the nexus studies often used to justify mandatory affordable housing requirements on new market-rate development.

MBAKS commissioned ECOnorthwest, an independent third-party public policy research firm, to prepare these reports in support of more informed local dialogue around affordable housing strategies.

The first report, Mandatory Affordable Housing Fees Carry Unintended Consequences, examines the real-world impacts of imposing affordable housing fees without corresponding incentives. It finds that mandatory affordable housing fees, though well-intentioned, disproportionately affect middle housing projects, often tipping them from risky to infeasible and preventing them from being built altogether. 

The second, How Nexus Studies Misunderstand the Affordable Housing Challenge, highlights a core flaw in the logic underpinning many nexus studies: the assumption that new market-rate housing is the primary driver of demand for affordable housing. The report describes several issues with this assumption, arguing that the framework used to justify mandatory inclusionary requirements misrepresents the true dynamics of housing markets. It does so by ignoring the broader supply shortage and the filtering process through which new housing helps ease pressure on lower-cost homes. By attributing the affordability crisis to new development rather than to structural undersupply, nexus studies risk reinforcing policies that further constrain housing production—ultimately exacerbating the very problem they aim to solve.

The ECOnorthwest reports reinforce the need to continue advancing solutions that increase supply at all levels. MBAKS is committed to being a collaborative partner in addressing the region’s housing shortage so our communities can be more affordable and inclusive for all.