Microsoft Learns Money Alone Can’t Fix Seattle’s Housing Mess

The company has taken a lead among big tech companies in helping to keep Seattle residents in their homes, but the scale of the problem is much bigger than its commitments.

EXCERPTS:

•  “Microsoft Corp. unveiled a $500 million pledge last January to tackle the housing crisis in the Seattle area.
• “If Microsoft’s experience over the past year is any gauge, the companies are approaching the task thoughtfully. But good intentions and careful investments won’t be enough to address a complex, urgent dilemma decades in the making. “We can’t expect that a couple of corporate gifts are somehow going to solve the problem,” says Jenny Schuetz, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies housing policy. “The scale of need is just so much bigger.”
• “On Jan. 15, Microsoft—now valued at more than $1.2 trillion—announced an additional $250 million line of credit to the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, along with several new projects and grants. The company’s efforts so far are expected to preserve or create more than 6,700 affordable homes, with about half the $750 million total yet to be committed.