Is housing the primary reason for Seattle’s homeless problem?

Add condos to the list of housing options that are in a shortage in Seattle.

RELATED: Can politics solve Seattle’s housing problem?

The Seattle Times reports there are approximately 350 on the market in King County. On average, there have been more than 2,000 available in the month of November for years, the Times reports.

Meanwhile, the homeless population continues to increase and many believe that a lack of affordable housing is at least partially to blame.

KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don asked Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission President Jeff Lilley if there truly is a correlation between the rise in homelessness and cost of housing.

Lilley says there is “some” correlation, but it may not be the major driver in homelessness. Houston and Tampa, for example, saw housing prices increase recently. But the homeless populations for both areas declined, Lilley points out.

But how do you explain the fact that Seattle, the eighteenth largest city in the US, has one of the highest homeless populations?

“That’s the number one question,” Lilley responded. He says he and former Mayor Ed Murray used to have that conversation “all the time.”

“What are we doing that’s creating that? That’s the million-dollar question, or $34 million-dollar question.”

Housing availability and affordability, however, isn’t the sole factor in homelessness, Lilley said. Things such as criminal history and drug abuse are large contributing factors as well.

A survey done earlier this year found that only 20 percent of people blamed housing affordability as the primary reason they were living on the streets.

The question becomes: Can Mayor Jenny Durkan and her administration at least slow the increase in the homeless population, if not reduce it?

Listen to the entire interview here.