MOSCOW, ID – The Washington State Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund has awarded the Palouse Habitat for Humanity $900,000 to offer down payment assistance to six qualifying homeowners over the next three years in rural Whitman County.

The median home price in Whitman County was $350,000 last October, exceeding what median-income earners can afford.
The down payment assistance funds help close that gap by offering homeowners a 0% interest loan that is repaid when the homeowner sells. Palouse Habitat will use those funds to help future Whitman County homeowners.

“We need all the tools in our toolbox if we’re going to help address the shortage of affordable housing on the Palouse,” said Executive Director Jennifer Wallace. “This funding was made possible in large part thanks to effort by our state senator, Mark Schoesler, who has advocated that state funding support affordable homeownership as well as affordable rentals, changing a decades-long culture at the DOC that was focused on funding affordable rentals. Affordable homeownership offers both an affordable home and the chance to build long-term security.”

As 2026 begins, the organization is wrapping up three homes and has maintained its Ramps & Rails/Home Repair program to help neighbors age safely in their homes.

Palouse Habitat was one of 43 projects funded out of over 70 applications statewide. The Hills and Rivers Housing Trust, the City of Pullman, and LC Valley Habitat for Humanity were also funded for affordable homeownership projects in Pullman and Asotin County.