Rents, too, are increasing rapidly as vacancy rates decline. The current run-up in rents parallels the rise in housing prices in the later stages of past business cycles. Potentially exacerbating problems in the rental market is the relatively low level of recent construction activity, a marked contrast to the pattern in the late 1980s. The housing market is increasingly closed to buyers earning less than the median household income. In the last year, fewer than a fifth of the homes in the four-county area were sold at prices that could be afforded by a household earning 95 percent of the region's median household income.
Interest rates have a profound effect on measured affordability.
The current low interest rates mitigate the affect of recent price increases on affordability. Low interest rates, however, are a national phenomenon. Seattle's relative ranking among metropolitan areas suggests the magnitude of the problem. Comprehensive Plan Goals. The four counties in the metropolitan region based their housing targets on population forecasts.