HUD distributes $40 million in housing subsidies to South King County annually

June 19, 2019 2:30 pm
At the breakfast were, from left: King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer; Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus; HUD Region X Administrator Jeff McMorris; Kent Mayor Dana Ralph; and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell. COURTESY PHOTO
At the breakfast were, from left: King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer; Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus; HUD Region X Administrator Jeff McMorris; Kent Mayor Dana Ralph; and Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell. COURTESY PHOTO

Jeff McMorris, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska discussed Region X and the administration’s priorities for South King County with community leaders at King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer’s June Good Eggs breakfast at the Phoenix Rising Café in Auburn on Wednesday.

McMorris, who has served as regional administrator for Region X since November 2017, discussed the variety of ways that HUD supports South King County, including housing vouchers, FHA loans and economic development support. In King County Council District 7, there are 5,800 FHA loans worth $1.6 billion in value. Of these loans, 83 percent are for first-time home owners.

At the conclusion of his presentation, McMorris engaged the leaders in discussion about housing costs, zoning laws, housing vouchers for veterans and HUD formula grants.