New report says Spokane ‘primed for growth’ over next decade

February 19, 2020 7:01 PM

Elenee Dao,

Posted: February 19, 2020 7:01 PM

by Elenee Dao

SPOKANE, Wash. — A report from a real estate brokerage company suggests more people might be coming to Spokane in the next 10 years.

Redfin is saying Spokane is one of the top four places across the nation expected to see huge growth. On the list also is Las Vegas, Nevada, Charlotte, North Carolina and Orlando, Florida.

“The housing market is really hot in Spokane,” said Joel White, the executive officer with the Spokane Home Builders Association.

For a while now, 4 News Now has been reporting about how hot the market really is in the Lilac City. The report from Redfin said it’s going to keep going.

“We have seen significant growth in our home prices, but it hasn’t matched what we’ve seen in some of these other west coast markets,” White said.

For example, Zillow says the median price for a home in Spokane is $260,000. In Seattle, that number averages around $700,000.

The report from Redfin also says the sales of new homes increased by 37 percent in Spokane in a certain time frame from 2018 to 2019.

“I think we have a wonderful community and we need to welcome growth, but we also need to maintain our quality of life,” White said.

Needing to maintain that quality of life all around, especially for the kids.

Spokane Public Schools says it’s prepared.

“We keep an eye on growth all the time. Currently we have a plan that will help create capacity in our elementary schools, that’s what we’re focusing on right now,” said Ally Barrera, with Spokane Public Schools.

The district is building and remodeling several new middle schools.

Once those are complete in 2023, sixth graders will be moving into the middle school buildings.

“The elementary schools is where a lot of them are at or over capacity, so that’s why we’re building these new middle schools and eventually moving the sixth graders up. So, that that will increase capacity for our elementary schools,” Barrera said.

The City of Spokane also said they’re getting ready for growth. Staff continuously works on what the city calls a comprehensive plan looking into at least 20 years into the future.