Seattle Office of Housing grows to more than $300M a year affordability effort

Mayor Katie Wilson’s choice to lead the city’s Office of Housing was slated to brief the city council Wednesday morning on the department’s efforts as the Housing, Arts, and Civil Rights Committee was scheduled to cast its vote on the appointment.

CHS reported here on Wilson’s selection of Kelli Larsen following a selection process involving community organizations and housing partners.

In her presentation for the council, Larsen says the Seattle Office of Housing’s 2025 performance report highlights hundreds of millions in dedicated funding aimed at sustaining affordable housing amid severe market and cost pressures.

According to the update, the 2024–2030 Housing Levy is anchoring the city’s strategy, generating $138 million annually with 78% targeted for rental production, alongside a $142 million JumpStart/PET budget.

In total, Seattle’s Office of Housing mobilizes more than $300 million annually in local funds — about six times what it marshaled a decade ago.

Across all investments, 72% of served households earn below 30% Area Median Income (AMI), exceeding the mandatory 60% threshold with $102 million committed.

At those totals, Seattle remains one of the highest per-capita local spenders on affordable housing in the U.S., as it pairs capital construction with massive operational subsidies to keep deeply affordable properties viable

Major allocations highlighted in the report (PDF) include over $133 million for rental housing funding 550 new units across four developments and preserving 782 capital units, and $15 million delivering 105 permanently affordable homeownership units.

As it wrestles a skyrocketing land and construction costs and is buoyed by a massive expansion of local tax revenues to address the regional housing crisis, Seattle is investing more than many peers. While cities like Austin and Denver rely on periodic general obligation bonds or fees that equate to roughly $30 million to  $70 million per year, Seattle maintains a permanent, recurring revenue stream that delivers $350 to $400 in municipal subsidies per resident annually. This funding structure provides Seattle with greater long-term stability and funding scale than almost all mid-to-large American cities outside of San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Mandatory Housing Affordability payments in Seattle nearly doubled from 2024 to $47 million, bringing cumulative MHA-funded homes to 4,649 complete or in pipeline.

To counteract escalating operating costs and federal pullbacks, Larsen says the Office of Housing committed $27 million to Permanent Supportive Housing workforce wages and $26.2 million in Urgent Operating Support, allocating 27% to maintenance and 25% to rent assistance across troubled properties.

These Seattle’s commitments also appear to set the city apart as it is using local revenues including the Housing Levy and JumpStart payroll tax to patch federal shortfalls around rent assistance and helping cover increased wages for the housing workforce.

Larsen brings two decades of sector experience including her time with Plymouth Housing. During her past five years as the office’s Policy and Planning Director, the mayor’s office says Larsen played a key role in reauthorizing the Seattle Housing Levy and launching new funding initiatives via JumpStart for permanent supportive housing.

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