by Dr. Patrick Jones
The expansion of housing units typically brings with it many benefits for residents or would-be residents. First, an expansion of total opportunities to find suitable shelter, whether a single-family residence or an apartment. Second, an expansion of new housing stock, for those who prize newness in dwellings. Third, a likely expansion of the types of housing offerings, by size and location.
The expansion of housing supply also holds benefits for the local economy. Depending on type of home, new supply brings more “workforce” housing to the market. Then there are direct and indirect economic benefits, such as greater local employment (assuming the builders and staff are local), and retail spending. In addition, local governments see their property tax base expand and reap their share of augmented sales tax revenue.
Of course, this depiction of benefits depends on a supply expansion that doesn’t overreach and lead to the excesses of 2006 and 2007. How has Walla Walla’s building recently fared?
First, a note about last year. The Census reports that 164 units were permitted. In contrast to the immediately preceding years, almost none of the permitted units were in multi-family dwellings. And this is the lowest number since pandemic year 2020, when 154 units were permitted. Permitted housing units hit a recent peak in 2023, at 275, with the number in 2021 not too far behind. (The years with the highest number of permitted units, however, were 2003, 2004 and 2006, as the graph reveals.)
A word about the “intensity” of building permits in the County, that is, the rate per 1,000 people, here excluding the Penitentiary population. Historically, Walla Walla simply hasn’t built residences at the same rate as in the U.S. or Washington state. For four years, the rate of permitted units per 1,000 outpaced the U.S., but residential construction here has never surpassed the population-based rate in the state, as this indicator clearly shows. This is likely a consequence of the relatively high number of students in the county as well as the relatively high presence of older adults here (see this Trends indicator for age distribution). These age groups typically are not in the market for homes.
Why the drop off last year? It has likely to do with recent population growth. Between 2020 and 2025, the non-institutionalized population of Walla Walla County climbed by 1,864. Over the same interval, the number of permitted units rose by 865. If we use the current estimate by Census of the average number of people in a household in the Walla Walla metro area of 2.4 (see this Trends indicator), this implies that the additional units in the county’s housing stock have been able to accommodate 2,076 people.
That capacity expansion represents 200 more people than joined the county population over that period. Builders may know of the supply overhand from official numbers, or more likely, from the time it has recently taken to sell/rent homes/apartments. Consequently, 2025’s permit results are likely to represent a course correction by residential construction firms.
With tepid population so far in 2026, it seems likely that permitted units this year will be the same or slightly lower than last year.