I used to be, for a short time and one project, a non-profit housing developer. While I did that job it validated everything I had written about development in general: regulation and limits on density make housing more expensive to build. The difference between my world then and a market rate developer is that a […]
The stage was set: Which Councilmembers would appear to support or oppose Councilmember Tom Rasmussen’s terrible amendments to already not-so-great low-rise legislation? By the time deliberations began on his 8 amendments, 7 Councilmembers were present a the Planning Land Use and Sustainability (PLUS) Committee. As we’ve pointed out, the legislation went from bad, to better, […]
The average apartment rent in Seattle rose 8.3% in the past year. That’s a lot. No doubt about it. It beats inflation. It beats wage growth. So some in the media and special interest groups take to calling this a problem of skyrocketing rents, a crisis, an emergency. Is it really? Let’s take a look. […]