City of Harborview

Community Performance Dashboard

Reporting Period Q2-26
Measure · Economic Vitality & Mobility

Rent-Burdened Household Rate %

Share of Harborview renter households spending more than 30% of income on rent and utilities. It reflects housing affordability pressure on residents; lower is better.
Below Plan

Actual vs Target

Quarterly · Q3-24 to Q2-26

Quarterly Analysis

  1. The rate increased from 61.7% to 61.9%, a +0.2 percentage point quarter-over-quarter movement, keeping the measure red but showing the smallest increase in this eight-quarter run.
  2. I would frame that carefully for Council: the direction is still unfavorable, but the rate of deterioration has slowed from +0.5 in 2024-Q4 to +0.2 in 2026-Q2.
  3. Early lease-up at Bayline Commons and faster HarborHelp approvals are likely helping at the margin, while broad market rents near the airport and waterfront continue to overwhelm household incomes.
  4. The City is financially healthy and operationally capable, but this result confirms that attainable housing needs sustained production, preservation, and tenant stabilization at the same time.

Recommendations

  1. Do not declare progress until the measure stops rising; keep the status red and set a Q3 management goal of holding the rate at or below 61.9%.
  2. Extend the fast-track review lane for affordable projects and add a preservation acquisition reserve to capture at-risk buildings before sale.
  3. Bring Council a 12-month attainable-housing action calendar with named projects, expected units, prevention-service targets, and quarterly reporting deadlines.