Scroll through enough local social media or think back to the commentary around this spring’s growth policy updates in Whitefish, and you’ll find a version of the same argument: rental housing is solved, so what Whitefish should really focus on now is building homes people can buy. With roughly 450 new apartments recently opened or under construction, is the rental side of the equation really settled?
Recent research looking at the effects of increased supply in housing markets provides valuable insight into how the next few years may look in Whitefish. The 2025 article “Supply Skepticism Revisited” in the journal Housing Policy Debate outlines how rental markets in cities as a whole and in neighborhoods specifically respond to new housing development.
Drawing on studies from cities across the U.S. and Europe, the authors identify three key conclusions. First, increasing housing supply in a region slows rent growth and lowers rental prices relative to trends. In other words, rent increases slowed down and some rents actually fell.
Second, new supply has been found to increase gentrification in neighborhoods and cities, but the studies show this has not led to a meaningful increase in displacement for low-income households.
The last key finding showed that new supply kicked off “chains of moves” across cities. When new units become available, the research shows that higher-income households who have been living in older homes will often pay a little bit more for a new unit. When these higher-income households move, the lower-rent apartments or homes they were occupying are freed up. Further, the new housing can alleviate demand on the lower-cost rentals by providing more options for households who would otherwise be living in older homes.
What is interesting is that we’re already seeing some of this play out in Whitefish. Data Housing Whitefish collects through the Workforce Rental Assistance Program (WRAP) suggests that 1- and 2-bedroom apartments are currently affordable for households earning around 70% of the area median income. Because WRAP applicants live in nearly all the larger apartment complexes around town, this data offers a reasonable window into the broader rental market, not just our applicant pool. As the new supply of studios, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom units comes online, we’d expect pricing to grow more competitive for renters across that segment of the market.
For Whitefish, these findings are promising but not a panacea for all our housing woes. With the new supply of apartments, we should anticipate slower rent growth, and maybe, just maybe, some actual decreases in rents.
For low- to moderate-income households that need more than two bedrooms, renters with pets, low-income seniors, and entry-level employees trying to get a foothold in this community, rent will continue eating up a considerable share of their income.
Homeownership matters too, and organizations like Habitat for Humanity are doing important work expanding it. Housing Whitefish itself hopes to add townhomes to the mix in the years ahead. But in order to have successful homeowners, we need successful renters first.
Daniel Sidder is the Executive Director of Housing Whitefish.