BIAW welcomed Gov. Bob Ferguson’s support for clearing barriers and supporting the construction of more new homes in Washington.

Ferguson not only emphasized the need for more new homes in Washington, but he also followed it up with two new executive orders to help clear the path for residential construction:

• One executive order focuses on housing by directing state agencies to “review all regulations that impact housing, permitting and construction and identify any provision that can be streamlined, deferred or eliminated.”
• Another emphasizes permitting reform by ordering all state agencies “to cut down their permit and license processing times” or refund the application fee if they fail to meet their deadlines.
  

BIAW President Kent Arola said the new governor is off to a promising start.

“BIAW welcomes Gov. Ferguson’s executive orders and we hope they set the tone for the rest of the state,” Arola said. “We look forward to working with him to build more homes people can afford so more Washington families can enjoy the American Dream of home ownership.”

According to the Washington Department of Commerce, Washington needs more than a million new homes by 2044 to meet demand—and more than half of them need to be affordable for the lowest income households.