Bellevue is a metropolitan center and the largest employment center on the Eastside. Bellevue is seeing unprecedented growth that is likely to continue as the nationwide trend toward urban living continues. This has resulted in a substantive increase in median home values and rentals here.
To address community concerns about the issue, invite feedback and report on the progress of its affordable housing strategy, the city hosted a virtual neighborhood forum concerning affordable housing on Sept. 23, 2021 (presentation slides, video).
To sustain Bellevue's livability and economic vitality, the city is working on multiple fronts to maintain and improve housing affordability here. Through its plans and policies, the city pursues opportunities to:
- Preserve neighborhood quality
- Expand the overall housing supply
- Maintain and increase affordable housing
- Attend to the special housing needs of individuals
- Prevent discrimination in housing
- Promote walkable, sustainable neighborhoods.
Bellevue's Comprehensive Plan sets the vision for how the city develops and grows over the next 20 to 30 years. As the city's supply of developable land diminishes, the city must explore creative methods to increase housing opportunities while protecting existing neighborhoods and the environment. The plan's Housing Element supports innovative methods to achieve housing goals, while maintaining flexibility to fulfill different priorities in different neighborhoods.
Definitions
Housing Affordability: A healthy city includes housing at a variety of affordability levels to appeal to residents at a range of income levels, ideally matching the salary ranges and household types of those who work in the area as well as retirees, students and others with connections to the area. The balance between the supply of housing (how many housing units there are in each type of housing that may be desirable) and demand (how many households want to live in that type of housing) is the biggest factor in defining the affordability of a city's housing market. Other factors, such as programs for affordable housing, generally impact the available supply of housing to try to better match the demand.
Affordable Housing: When housing is referred to as "affordable," it is accessible to households at income levels lower than average. While this could be due to natural market pressures, the term more often references housing that is regulated or "subsidized." Regulated or income-restricted affordable housing is defined in contractual agreements requiring the units to be rented or sold only to households of certain income thresholds. This could be provided by a nonprofit affordable housing developer or a market-rate developer as part of an incentive program.
In Bellevue, housing available at 80% of the area median income or lower tends to be classified as affordable. Deeper affordability thresholds, such as 50% AMI and 30% AMI, are used to set housing aside for even lower income households.
Regulated affordable housing in the United States is generally reserved for households at or below a specific area median income (AMI) level. Depending on the size of your household and your households combined income, you may qualify for regulated affordable housing. Below you will find a chart that identifies the maximum income by household size that allows that household to qualify for various AMI levels.
HUD FY 2024 Income Limits, Seattle-Bellevue Metro Area
Housing Affordability Glossary: The Housing Affordability Glossary provides access to a list of definitions that may be referenced throughout this series of pages.