Gem State Housing Alliance

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Post Falls, ID
Gem State Housing Alliance

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Idaho’s nonpartisan pro-housing advocacy group. 🏠
We help cities and communities build more homes for Idahoans. Join our movement! 🤎

10/14/2026

Ever wanted to speak up about housing in your community but weren't sure where to start?

Join Gem State Advocacy Director Hollie Conde for our November Lunch + Learn: How to Be an Advocate. Hollie will walk through how to find out when housing decisions are coming up, what makes public testimony effective, and how to talk with neighbors about more home choices.

Whether you've spoken at a hundred council meetings or never been to one, you'll leave with tools you can use right away.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DtpTLB0oS0-Y4zKWztbWMQ

10/13/2026

Boise rents are climbing fast again.

Among the nation’s 100 largest cities, apartment rent in Boise grew faster than anywhere except San Francisco and Oakland last month.

Boise has added new apartments in recent years, but not enough to keep up. The vacancy rate is now the lowest it’s been in years, which means families are competing for the few homes available. That competition is pricing out the teachers, nurses, and young families who want to live in the communities where they work.

Boise already took a big step forward with its Modern Zoning Code, thanks in part to Neighbors for Boise, the local pro-housing group that showed up to support it.

Learn more about Boise’s near-record rent levels from BoiseDev: https://boisedev.com/news/2026/09/15/boise-apartment-rents-are-near-record-levels-again-only-two-cities-grew-faster-last-month/

10/12/2026

Anyone who’s tried to buy or rent in Idaho recently understands the cost of housing is too high. For Idahoans to have the home choices they need, it takes us all working together to ensure homes of different types and sizes are built so everyone has a chance to thrive in their communities. That’s why the Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp. joined The Alliance.

“We need a statewide housing advocate that understands housing needs to exist in every community throughout the Gem State,”says John V. “Gem State appreciates every community is unique and requires its own solutions, while acknowledging the impact of these solutions across Idaho.”

Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp's vision for Idaho? Building the home choices Idahoans need. Different solutions for different towns, drawing on the same common threads. More Idahoans thriving where they live.

As a member of The Alliance, Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp. is standing alongside cities, developers, and neighbors working toward the same goal: expanded housing choices in every community, ensuring everyone has a place to call home.

Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp is one of our first Founding 100 Alliance Members. Want your organization's name next to the groups shaping how Idaho builds? Join our Alliance: https://www.gemstatehousing.org/?give=PYEVM6DX

10/10/2026

Thank you to the Idaho Manufactured Housing Association for inviting our Advocacy Director, Hollie Conde, to join the Development in Idaho panel at your Inaugural Annual Conference!

Hollie joined Jerry Miller (Idaho Commerce), Peter Smith (Fennemore Law), Jason Tolman (Clayton Homes of Idaho Falls), and Mark Spurbeck (On Q Home Loans) to discuss Idaho’s broader housing landscape, including the barriers manufactured homes face and the opportunities for them to be part of the solution to Idaho’s housing shortage.

We’re grateful to be part of the conversation, and proud to have IMHA as a Founding Member of The Alliance.

10/09/2026

Only about 1% of new homes built in Idaho over the past decade were starter homes.

New research from the AEI Housing Center shows what could change if rules allowed smaller homes on smaller lots: up to 17,000 more starter homes for young families, teachers, and first-time buyers, with more of Idaho's farmland and open space preserved.

Swipe through the findings, then look up your own county on AEI's dashboard: https://heat.aeihousingcenter.org/toolkit/starter_home_policy_explorer

10/07/2026

We did it!

A little over a year ago, Gem State started with a handful of people who kept ending up on the same calls, working on Idaho's housing shortage separately. They decided it made more sense to work on it together.

Last month, we set out to welcome 100 Founding Members to The Alliance. Today, in our first year, we're 100 members strong. More than 70 neighbors, housing practitioners, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and local businesses joined in September alone, each one making the same choice our founders did.

Thank you to the individual members building Idaho's housing future:
Aaron D., Alan P., Alexandra M., Ali R., Anita J., Ann S., Ashley F.S., Bill R., Calvin G., Cheryl M., Chris D., Cory P., Dana B., Daniel M., Denise C., Donald R., Emma & Max S., Erin A., Evan S., Frank L., Gabrielle B., Garrett & Amethyst F.K., Gary H., Gaye & Donald S., Gennie F., Hailee L.W., Hollie C., Jamie S., Jeremy M., Jerry M., Jessica P., Jessica R., Joe & Jessica J., John H., Jon H., Julia P., Kathy C., Katie C., Kelli B., Kenton L., Kevin M., Linda & Gordon B., Luke M., Matt & Susanne J., Michelle D., Mindi A., Molly S., Patrice Y., Patricia N., Peggy R., Quentin K., Rich R., Richard R., Robert S., Rourke O., Scott & Marney, B., Stefanie B., Tammy S., Tyler N., and Wayne & Wendy R.

And thank you to the organizations standing alongside them:
AllThingsCode LLC, AnalogWorks, Anderson Construction, Babcock Design, Boise Housing Corporation, Brighton Homes, Byron Folwell, Architect LLC, Capital City Development Corp, City of Ketchum, City of Lewiston, Franklin Building Supply, Habitat for Humanity, Hayden Homes, Hills & Rivers Housing Trust, Idaho Manufactured Housing Association, LEAP Housing, Mode Homes, Mountain West Bank, NeighborWorks Boise, New West Community Capital, Northwest Real Estate Capital Corp, Oppenheimer Companies, Palouio Corp, Panhandle Affordable Housing Alliance, Regenerative Building Solutions, Roundhouse, Salvation Army, SD Land Consulting, SMR Development, St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho, St. Vincent de Paul Southwest Idaho, The Housing Company, The Pacific Companies, Tomlinson & Associates, and West Bench Capital.

Thank you for showing just how much momentum is behind Idaho's pro-housing movement. Together, we're making it easier to build the homes Idahoans need.

Want to learn more about The Alliance? Learn more and join Idaho’s pro-housing movement: https://www.gemstatehousing.org/waystogive

10/06/2026

Gem State is connecting local communities looking for more home choices with the University of Idaho's Architecture Program. Students in Emiliano Espasandin's Design Studio are creating the first renderings and designs for the project.

To get started, Gem State recently funded the students' site visit, so they could see the land and the community firsthand before putting pencil to paper.

This is what it looks like when Idaho communities and the next generation of architects build something together.

10/05/2026

Looking for ways to engage in Idaho’s pro-housing movement this month? Connect with us in person or online this October:

Oct. 6: Housing Panel & Community Conversation - Moscow. Join local elected officials, housing experts, and community members for a panel and discussion about Moscow’s housing and growth.

Oct. 15: Housing Network Call. Designed to connect pro-housing Idahoans from every corner of the state to move Idaho’s housing future forward, together.

Oct. 15: “The Future We Can Afford” - Twin Falls Community Conversation on Housing. Join us for an open community conversation about housing solutions in Twin Falls.

Oct. 19: Housing Panel & Community Conversation - Idaho Falls. Join local decision makers and practitioners for a panel and open community conversation about housing solutions in eastern Idaho.

Oct. 20: ULI Idaho Urban Brain Bites: Tiny Homes on Wheels and Pre-Approved ADUs. A conversation and interactive workshop on implementing the City of Boise’s housing innovations.

Oct. 22: Housing Panel & Community Conversation - Canyon County. Join us for a free lunch and panel with elected officials and housing experts followed by an open community conversation.

Registration and info at gemstatehousing.org/events

10/02/2026

Karlee May leads ULI Idaho, the state's chapter of the largest real estate organization in the world, bringing together developers, planners, architects, and city leaders to learn from each other instead of working in silos.

On our latest podcast episode, Karlee shares something that's stuck with us: "What is unknown can be scary. That's where education comes in."

Most pushback on new housing isn't really about the housing itself, it's about not knowing what the options even are. Karlee talks about closing that gap.

Listen to the full episode now: https://youtu.be/zDOPS1ORsRU

09/29/2026

Gem State exists because people like you decided Idaho's response to the housing shortage takes all of us: developers, city planners, parents, and neighbors, standing together instead of working alone.

This month, 68 of you showed up to be part of that. Thank you. You're the people growing Idaho's pro-housing movement.

Our September push for the Founding 100 wraps up tomorrow, and we're grateful for every person who's said yes.

Our Founding Members are shaping Idaho's housing future alongside us, and 32 of those spots are still open. If you've been meaning to join, today's a great day to do it.

Together, we're making it easier to build the homes Idahoans need.

Link to join The Alliance in comments.

Address

S Clearwater Loop
Post Falls, ID
83854

Telephone

+12089960090

Website

http://www.gemstatehousing.org/, https://www.gemstatehousing.org/socialmediapolicy

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