At the annual Christmas Bureau, where families in need receive food vouchers and toys, you can track trends in low-income housing by listening to the stories people tell of their dwellings. For instance, some families park individual trailers on shared rural acres. And new immigrants often share small apartments with several different families.

Housing, always a challenge for the poor, gets even more difficult in housing boom times. And boom it did in 2006. The value of homes in Spokane County grew by an average of almost 20 percent, and in Kootenai County, values increased by 40 percent on average.

The increased values, and a hot real estate market, meant less housing affordability for low- and middle-income earners.

“It’s much harder for first-time homebuyers to find a place,” said Chris Venne of Community Frameworks, a Washington state organization that plans, finances and builds affordable housing.

According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, the ability of renters to afford a starter home declined by 17 percent in Spokane County this year.

And rents in both Coeur d’Alene and Spokane County have been steadily climbing for the past seven years, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, as has the percentage of renters paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing. A unit is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent of a renter’s income.

Fortunately, Inland Northwest government officials and affordable housing experts are on alert. They want to avoid big-city housing problems that arrive with housing booms, such as the inability for service workers to live in the towns where they work.

In Coeur d’Alene a collaborative study has been completed on affordable housing. Mayor Sandi Bloem says the plan will “provide a road map to assure there are housing alternatives so every citizen can own a home.”

Among the steps Coeur d’Alene is taking or plans to take are changing the comprehensive plan and city ordinances to encourage developers to build affordable housing for lower- and middle-income residents.

In Spokane County, the Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium holds regular meetings and sponsors workshops that anticipate future housing issues and brainstorm creative solutions.

The Inland Northwest men and women who care about affordable housing are researching what bigger cities did right when they faced these housing problems years ago.

For instance, affordable housing for low-income seniors will be one of the biggest challenges in coming years, said Venne of Community Frameworks.

Sandy Wood, of the same agency, started a Homesharing for Seniors program in the King County area nearly 30 years ago. The program matches up older people who lose their apartments due to rent increases or condo conversions with older people who own but can’t afford the upkeep on their large family homes.

Housing prices in Spokane County showed a slight decline in November, but the region’s housing boom is expected to continue into 2007. This mandate must continue, too: The Inland Northwest’s quality of life depends on adequate shelter for all.