Dive Brief:
- Amazon announced it has helped build or preserve more than 10,000 affordable housing units in the Puget Sound region, following through on a pledge made in 2021 to boost supply.
- The online retail giant, headquartered in Seattle, said it has invested more than $900 million in affordable housing in the region, benefitting 22,000 residents. It has worked with local developers and housing authorities to meet the milestone, issuing grants and below-market loans from its multi-billion-dollar housing fund.
- Amazon said it is committed to keeping the housing affordable for 99 years. A majority of the housing supports households that earn 30% to 80% of the area median income, which in the Puget Sound region is $106,100.
Dive Insight:
Greater Seattle has a housing affordability problem. In 2021, Amazon announced it would open its wallet to help address the issue.
The company brought a flood of high-paying tech positions to the area, pricing many medium- and low-income households out of the market, some experts say. In 2024, the area’s median home price surged to $755,000, the second highest in the nation.
Amazon committed $2 billion in 2021 to help establish more than 20,000 affordable housing options in three areas it most impacted: the Puget Sound region, Arlington, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee. Last year, the company announced it had exceeded that goal two years ahead of schedule.
Amazon is not the only tech juggernaut promising to fund affordable housing. Microsoft, also based in Washington, committed $73 million in affordable housing grants and investments to the Puget Sound region in 2022. Google, Meta and Apple have pledged to bridge the affordability gap in other regions, as well, but a recent Wall Street Journal report revealed mixed results so far.
Joe Thompson, president of Mercy Housing Northwest, which owns and operates affordable housing units in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, said Amazon’s impact on affordable housing development in the Puget Sound region has been “transformative.”
In its 2024 impact report, Amazon said its fund has helped increase affordable housing units in Bellevue, Washington, by 31%.
“Their approach combines critical financial resources with a genuine commitment to long-term community stability through 99-year affordability requirements," Thompson said in a release. “At Connection Angle Lake, this partnership allowed us to create not just housing, but a community where residents can thrive near transit, jobs, and services.”
