Seattle sales trend upwards

It's nice to see the red 'pending sales' line continue it's upward trajectory. The continued increase is due in large part to the home buyer tax credit which was just extended. Let's see if the extension causes sales to continue during the typically slower winter months.

Backyard Cottages in Seattle?

Here's an interesting article from the Seattle Times regarding a current proposal from the Seattle City Council. If the council approves the proposal, homeowners throughout Seattle will be allowed to build backyard cottages up to 800 square feet. While attached mother-in-law style units have been allowed since 1994, the city more recently explored the idea of allowing property owners to develop what they're calling 'backyard cottages'. The technical term for such a structure is called a 'detached accessory dwelling unit'.

In 2006, the city decided to experiment with the idea by allowing only residents in Southeast Seattle to build these cottages. To this point, only 17 have been built. While the idea is meeting significant Resistance, a city survey reveals that neighbors either like the units or don't notice them.

In general, the city views this as an affordable and creative means for residents to downsize or allow family to live nearby. It also adds density without major development. Opponents of the plan suggest that the proposal in-effect rezones the entire city to multi-family zoning.

Read the full article here.

Residential Architecture Snapshot: The Tudor

With so many differing styles of residential architecture out there, I will periodically feature styles commonly seen in Seattle. Most styles are not native to this area. As people moved west, they brought their building knowledge and appetite for home styles from their hometowns.

The Tudor:

This architecture style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and continues to be a mainstay in suburbs across the United States. The defining characteristics are half-timbering on bay windows and upper floors, and facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Patterned brick or stone walls are common, as are rounded doorways, multi-paned casement windows, small porches. Tudors are highly desired in the Seattle area, however their floor plans often prove to be impractical. The steep pitched rooves and relatively small footprint (in Seattle neighborhoods) don't allow for much room inside. But people fall in love with their curb appeal and usually fork out the money to live in them. Seattle tudors are often all brick and have a little bend near the bottom of the roofline.

Google releases Street View for Seattle!

This is a super cool feature new to Google Maps in the Seattle area. Google offered Street View for other cities and just added Seattle, D.C. and Baltimore to the list. As you look at a map, viewers have always been able to select from a street map, terrain map, satellite image or some combination of those. Now, when a map viewer clicks on "street view," an image box pops up that shows what it looks like to stand on the street in that particular location.

This is a very useful feature for home shoppers as they can see how certain properties look in a more realistic fashion than before. From what I've heard, Google sent vehicles around town with cameras attached and filming all the way. I haven't yet found a location that they didn't capture, which continues to amaze me. Have fun playing around with it.

Check it out!

New town home guidelines

Seattle mayor Greg Nickles called for mandatory design review for all new townhomes built in the city. This new process would provide more checks and balances in regards to the design of townhomes and other small multi-family developments. According to the Seattle Times,

The changes also would offer builders more flexibility in building
configuration, parking and open space. In some areas, structures could be
closer to the street. But some neighborhood groups believe the proposed changes could yield disastrous results: bigger, bulkier buildings, smaller yards and less open
space on the ground level.

It sounds like the proposal has good intentions as many townhomes built in Seattle are unattractive and do not fit in with their surrounding neighborhoods. Seattle is continuing to change their laws and zoning regulations as it attempts to accommodate the foreseen lack of housing in the city's future.

Read the full article here.