Housing
RSSHousing in Alaska is the supply, cost and development of homes across the state's communities. It covers affordability, zoning and density rules, senior and supportive housing, and rural and Native housing programs, along with shelters, tax exemptions and land use decisions tied to housing.
Inside Housing
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July 2026
Anchorage weighs selling a fire-damaged lot below market to a housing nonprofit
Anchorage votes July 7 on a below-market sale of a fire-damaged lot to a housing nonprofit: a blight fix to some, a fairness question to others after the bid failed.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage planners count 21 stalled projects as Assembly weighs housing overlay
Anchorage votes July 7 on a zoning change to let "missing middle" housing — duplexes, townhomes, smaller-lot homes — rise along its transit corridors.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
June 2026
Sitka confronts a child care shortage it can't fully fix alone
Sitka doesn't have enough child care — a problem hitting all of Alaska, driven partly by the real cost of the safety rules that make care expensive to provide.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly approves True North deflection contract with APD
Anchorage Assembly approved a contract with True North Recovery to connect people arrested for low-level offenses to treatment instead of jail, funded by opioid settlement money.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage mayor introduces two property tax incentive proposals to spur housing
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance introduced two property tax breaks Tuesday to spur housing development in the city.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A housing bill aimed straight at rural Alaska just cleared the U.S. Senate
In rural Alaska the housing problem isn't the price — it's that the houses barely exist. A bipartisan bill aimed at exactly that just cleared the Senate 85-5.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage housing resource fair Friday at Mountain View Library
Anchorage brings housing agencies, the DMV, and homeless services to Mountain View Library on Friday, June 26, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., walk-in and free.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to award $1.35M in homeless housing grants to five nonprofits
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on $1.35 million in housing grants to five nonprofits serving homeless people and domestic violence survivors.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
More from Housing
Interior Alaska Native groups set aside a day to repair elders' homes — and couldn't meet the demand
Bit off more than we could chew, how about you?
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly to vote on $1.35M in supportive housing grants
Five Anchorage nonprofits would split $1.35M for supportive housing on June 23. The pandemic-era funding clock is still ticking.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage homeless residents tell Assembly: shelters worse than jail
Two sets of lived experience meet at Anchorage's homelessness debate: those in shelters and those who watched encampments grow.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
True North dropped crisis services from Fairview plan after months of pushback
Fairview pushed back. True North revised. No more crisis services in the Fairview building — outpatient and a mobile van instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Two Anchorage housing votes on June 23: a tax break and new fees on the same new homes
Anchorage's June 23: a tax break for starter-home buyers, plus new utility fees on the same construction. The math depends on builders.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Anchorage Assembly to vote June 23 on $2.57M in HUD housing grants
Anchorage Assembly votes June 23 on a $2.57 million federal housing grant plan, but more than $1.2 million has no specific projects assigned yet and will be decided later.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
AHFC board to vote June 24 on affordable housing award criteria
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation board votes June 24 on criteria for distributing tax credits and financing for affordable housing across the state.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago1 min read
A Pacific Islander nonprofit told an Anchorage homelessness commission its housing assistance program is over-subscribed — and asked for city funding to expand it
Polynesian Association seeks Anchorage funding for housing assistance
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Anchorage Assembly Special Meeting – Missing Middle Housing Overlay Proposal Debate
Loussac Library Assembly Chambers
Meeting
Assembly Ordinance Introduction - View Drive Buyout
Meeting
Planning & Zoning Commission Hearing on Carl F. Ahlstrom Park Public Purpose Designation
Hearing
Kenai City Council Enactment Vote on Carl F. Ahlstrom Park Public Purpose Designation
Meeting
2026 ALICE in Alaska Webinar
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About Housing
Housing in Alaska takes in the supply, cost and development of homes across the state's communities, from apartments and senior housing to shelters for people experiencing homelessness. Affordability is a persistent question, as rents and basic costs strain households in both cities and rural areas.
Local governments shape housing through zoning, minimum lot sizes, rules for accessory dwellings and small multifamily buildings, and sales or trades of public land for development. Anchorage, Sitka, Seward, Kodiak and Juneau weigh such changes before their assemblies and planning commissions.
The state housing agency, tribal organizations and federal programs such as HUD Section 184 loans for Native borrowers finance construction and lending. Employers such as the Coast Guard also look for housing for their workers in Alaska towns.
More from Housing
Kodiak Lands Committee directs staff to study housing development at youth baseball field
Kodiak Island Borough Lands Committee directed staff to study converting the 16-acre Killarney Hills youth baseball field into at least 30 residential lots to address housing shortages.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
May 2026
Kodiak Lands Committee directs staff to study housing development on youth baseball field
Kodiak Island Borough Lands Committee directed staff to study converting the 16-acre Killarney Hills youth baseball field into at least 30 residential lots to address housing needs.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Wasilla advances 63-unit affordable housing project as Mat-Su growth continues
Wasilla set a June 9 public hearing for a 63-unit affordable housing project in North Star Estates as the Mat-Su Borough continues rapid growth and housing costs strain residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Cold-injury hospitalizations rose among Alaska's unhoused over the past decade, state finds
Nearly one in four Alaskans hospitalized for cold injuries between 2012 and 2021 were unhoused, a rate that climbed steadily over the decade while housed residents stayed flat.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Anchorage sees 28% drop in unsheltered homelessness as shelters reach capacity
Anchorage officials say there are fewer people sleeping unsheltered in Anchorage, but it was pretty cold all winter.
by Cale Green5mo ago3 min read
Planning commission approves variance for multifamily housing on corner lot
Kenai Planning Commission unanimously approved a variance allowing two multifamily buildings 10 feet from Cacnew Way instead of the standard 20 feet on a corner lot, citing safety improvements and housing demand.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Homer posts conflicting times for Tuesday's council work session
Homer posted conflicting start times for Tuesday's City Council work session, listing 4:00 p.m. on one page and 5:30 p.m. on another, leaving residents unsure when to tune in.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min readAnchorage treatment facility debate exposes gaps in public process
Anchorage fast-tracked approval for a Fairview treatment center without notifying neighbors first, exposing gaps between federal procurement rules and community engagement.
by Alaska News6mo ago4 min read
Anchorage faces mobile home park crisis as South Park Estates closes
South Park Estates mobile home park is closing due to unfixable water damage, leaving over 30 households with few options in Anchorage's tight affordable housing market.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago4 min read
Housing agency buys 600+ acres statewide to spur development
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation bought 600+ acres statewide with $12.5 million to spur single-family housing development, with developer proposals due in June and construction expected summer 2027.
by Alaska News6mo ago3 min read
April 2026
Anchorage to transfer Nordstrom building to development authority
Anchorage is transferring the vacant Nordstrom building to a development authority to redevelop it as mixed-use housing and commercial space downtown, with a public hearing set for March 24.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough Lands Committee develops framework to streamline land disposal
Kodiak Borough mayor proposed a three-tier framework to speed land sales and prioritize workforce housing on parcels near town requiring minimal infrastructure work.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago4 min read
Juneau committee weighs limiting short-term rentals to one per owner
Juneau's housing committee is reviewing a draft rule to cap short-term rentals at one per owner starting January 2027, but members disagree on whether rentals actually worsen housing shortages.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago2 min read
Assembly postpones developer's land deadline amid mobile home park dispute
Assembly delayed a developer's land deadline extension until May 12 after mobile home park residents testified they are losing $70,000 investments for $6,000 buyouts.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago3 min read
House Panel Hears Bill to Waive ID Fees for Homeless Young Adults
House panel heard a bill to waive state ID and birth certificate fees for homeless people aged 18-25, removing a barrier to employment and housing.
by Alaska Newsadded 7mo ago2 min read