Microsoft Corp. said it will spend $500 million to develop affordable housing and help alleviate homelessness in the Seattle area, responding to a growing regional housing crisis that has strained the finances of many lower- and middle-income residents. As housing prices have shot up in the Seattle area, Microsoft has been somewhat insulated from public criticism, because the company’s headquarters are in a suburb.

Cities in Washington state’s Puget Sound region and the San Francisco Bay Area have seen steep rent and home-price increases in recent years as expanding technology firms spurred a population boom. While high-paid employees at companies like Microsoft, Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Facebook Inc. can often afford higher housing costs, people working outside the industry have struggled. Rising rents have also exacerbated homelessness.

Even as the torrid pace of home-price appreciation slows in Seattle and the Bay Area, many residents are still feeling pinched. Under mounting public pressure, local leaders and businesses have been looking for ways to respond.

In some cases, that’s meant including affordable housing in new corporate developments, as Alphabet’s Google is planning to do in San Jose, California. Tech moguls like Salesforce.com Inc.’s Marc Benioff have backed taxes on businesses to help the homeless.