Would you consider sharing your Thurston County home? This program can help
The median price of a Thurston County home rose to $550,000 in June, according to new data released Thursday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
Combine that median price with a current 30-year-mortgage interest rate of nearly 7% and buying a home becomes a very expensive proposition — and not just for the first-time buyer.
Perhaps you’re a longtime homeowner here, someone who has paid off their mortgage, and yet you can’t afford to downsize because of current home costs or average rents in Thurston County that are more than $1,500 per month.
The solution might be to take advantage of Senior Services for South Sound’s Home Share program, which matches home sharers with home seekers, or those willing to rent out a room in their house to someone who needs affordable housing.
Senior Services for South Sound Executive Director Brian Windrope calls it the most cost-effective approach to affordable housing because it doesn’t involve spending millions of dollars in creating new housing, but takes advantage of existing housing stock and the rooms in those homes.
Some seniors, for example, are living in longtime homes with empty rooms because their children are adults or perhaps they have lost a spouse, he said.
Not only does the arrangement help those living on fixed incomes, but it also addresses isolation and loneliness, which has been shown to be bad for our health, Windrope said.
And it’s not just for seniors, he said. Working-age residents also can take advantage of the program, and although the program was created with the single-family homes in mind, it would work in an apartment so long as the landlord agreed to the arrangement, Windrope said.
Home share began as a pilot program in 2019. It was delayed by the pandemic, then began in earnest again in 2022, he said. Rents are negotiated, but average rents for a room are about $600, Windrope said. They have about 20 active placements, or about 40 people total acting as both home sharers and home seekers.
However, the program needs more home sharers because they have about 100 people on a home seeker list.
Gary and Hazel
Senior Services for South Sound has produced testimonials about those in the program and posted them to You Tube, including a video with home sharer Gary and home seeker Hazel.
Last names were not provided to protect their privacy, although both are still in the program, Windrope said.
“It has meant me helping somebody,” said Gary, adding that “she (Hazel) was living in her car.”
“I just like helping a little bit, you know, a little bit along the way, because I hope somebody would step up for me and do that for me,” he said.
Hazel reflected on what it means to have a room.
“I mean, I actually feel at home,” she said. “And I have to say, I am happier now than I have been in a long time. It’s just the security knowing I have a place and I call it home. It’s not just a house, it’s a home.”
It was hard to find a place because rents are so high, she said.
“You can’t find a place to live for less than $2,000 a month,” she said. “I mean, I looked everywhere, and I just can’t do it on that.
“You know, I don’t get, I mean, I get a nice sum, because I get my husband’s state retirement and I get my social security, but still, I just couldn’t do it. It’s just made me more financially stable. I mean, I honestly can feel like I can buy groceries.”
Matchmaking
Windrope made clear that this is more that just renting a room like you would on Craigslist, he said.
They conduct background checks and do extensive interviews so that there is a good match between sharer and seeker, Windrope said. They also provide what he called “light mediation services” when disputes arise.
“Our goal is to build durable housing partnerships,” he said.
Interested in the program? Lean more and find applications on the Senior Services for South Sound website.
Thurston County housing data for June
▪ Single-family home sales were flat, falling less than 1% to 353 units last month from 356 units in June 2024.
▪ Single-family home median price rose 4.8% to $550,000 from $524,945 over the same period.
▪ Single-family home pending sales fell 6% to 385 units from 411 units over the same period.
▪ Condo sales fell to 15 units from 16 units over the same period.
▪ Condo median price rose 7% to $364,000 from $339,750 over the same period.
▪ Condo pending sales rose to 20 units from 10 units over the same period.
Source: Northwest MLS.
