A local builder and Moscow city officials Wednesday encouraged University of Idaho students to attend city meetings and advocate for affordable housing.

Nethaniel Ealy of Ealy Construction, Moscow Deputy City Supervisor Cody Riddle and City Councilmember Gina Taruscio spoke to UI economics professor Steven Peterson’s class to update them on the housing issues facing Latah County.

Riddle said prices for homes in Moscow increased 10% from 2020-21 and homes in Latah County increased 18% during that time. Meanwhile, household incomes increased at a much slower rate.

“It’s more and more difficult for everyone to find and afford a home,” Riddle said.

Peterson said one metric shows Idaho has the 10th highest housing prices in the country. Riddle said state restrictions mean Idaho is one of the few states that does not require affordable housing.

Ealy, Riddle and Taruscio said Moscow’s own city code restrictions make it more difficult to build higher-density housing that can make it easier for people to find homes.

Taruscio and Riddle encouraged the students to go to city commission meetings and public hearings to advocate for smart housing growth and affordable higher-density housing.

Taruscio said they have the power to ensure that density is no longer a dirty word.

“You are the change,” she said.

Ealy said the other major obstacles to affordable housing are rising supply costs, delays in getting materials and a lack of skilled tradespeople.

Timelines and estimated costs of completing homes are constantly changing because of these factors.

Ealy said he’s heard anecdotally from local building supply stores that they have seen a major uptick in homeowners returning building supplies. He said this is a result of contractors quitting on the job because they did not accurately calculate how much a project would cost.

“The contractors dropped the supplies and left,” he said.

He also said it is difficult to hire and train skilled builders in part because there is still a stigma surrounding the profession among millennials.

He estimates there are 400 tradespeople in Moscow and Pullman, which is not enough to meet demand.

If the industry doesn’t recruit and train skilled labor, he said, “we won’t turn the ship around.”

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.