Is this Seattle times article on seattle apartments right? (affordable apartments, rent)

[annonymous0381]

There is an article in the seattle times about seattles apartment building boom.
Seattle

[Hemlock140]

Sure, if you go anywhere around downtown, especially Belltown there are cranes all over. I walk by one at 2nd and Stewart every day and they doing drywall inside now, probably 30 stories tall. It will help the housing shortage a lot, for those that can afford $5,000/month rent. Most of the new construction is luxury high rise.

[Haakon]

10,000 new apartments sounds like a lot, but 90,000 new people move to the area every year so it isn't likely to cause prices to drop.

[noah]

These things go in cycles and generally during the booms we overbuild. As the article states rents are up 43% in 4 years, but wages have gone up 3.5% a year at best, when the rent to income ratio gets too wide history shows us rents will correct unless of course wages go up. I wouldn't bet on rents going up a meaningful amount from here. NYC, SF and others have already seen months of rent decreases. Maybe we will be different for a while but the economy sooner or later will cool as well, Boeing laid off 7k this year and expects more next year...as we know after the past 10 years neither the good times or the bad times last forever.

[Hemlock140]

Here is another article, this time about some really affordable apartments, but you get what you pay for.


For $750, Seattle

[homesinseattle]

Yes, anon, those building statistics are correct, lots of people moving here from all over the world right now. Just go downtown or SLU (South Lake Union) and look at all the cranes.

[NoNansea]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Sure, if you go anywhere around downtown, especially Belltown there are cranes all over. I walk by one at 2nd and Stewart every day and they doing drywall inside now, probably 30 stories tall. It will help the housing shortage a lot, for those that can afford $5,000/month rent. Most of the new construction is luxury high rise.

If ever there was a lucrative business to be in, it would be to own a crane company in Seattle.

[cmswazey]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Here is another article, this time about some really affordable apartments, but you get what you pay for.


For $750, Seattle

These micros are equivalent to the old school rented room- maybe a bit better cuz there's a bathroom.

[OneTimeSEALover]

Not sure about the affordability, but building up instead of out seems very a propos given the state of traffic. I'm glad to say I've not visited any city with worse traffic than Seattle. Note: Not saying there aren't a bunch of cities that are worse (important distinction). But I just haven't visited those cities. The city needs more housing allowing people to WALK (or bike) to destinations. That being said, WHERE do downtown residents shop for food? Is Costco opening some kind of big downtown store? Albertsons? Any chain?

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by OneTimeSEALover

Not sure about the affordability, but building up instead of out seems very a propos given the state of traffic. I'm glad to say I've not visited any city with worse traffic than Seattle. Note: Not saying there aren't a bunch of cities that are worse (important distinction). But I just haven't visited those cities. The city needs more housing allowing people to WALK (or bike) to destinations. That being said, WHERE do downtown residents shop for food? Is Costco opening some kind of big downtown store? Albertsons? Any chain?

Since the downtown Target opened on 2nd many people shop there, and can walk, though they do have a parking garage. There is a QFC, a Safeway and a Metropolitan in lower Queen Anne, Uwajimaya in the International District, a QFC on Capital Hill, and Costco is not too far, on 4th Ave South nor is the Whole Foods at Interbay. There may be others that I'm not aware of.