How will gas prices affect homebuying?

With the nearly unbearable increases of gas prices, many people are rethinking their driving habits. And with no long-term relief in sight, drivers are even reconsidering how they can limit their commutes to work. This article from the Seattle Times discusses how some people are now choosing where they live to limit the amount of gas they use to get to work.

I'm interested to know how many of you would choose your next residence based on how much gas commuting from that location. Reply to this post and let me know!

Read the full article here.

Affordable Housing Tax Break

Mayor Greg Nickles and the city council approved the expansion of a tax break for builders and developers that build affordable apartment or condo buildings in the city of Seattle. One potential issue is how the city defines "affordable."

Under the approved proposal, an affordable studio apartment in the city has a price cap of $1,115. They say this is affordable to a single person making $46,705, or 80% of the area's median income. Nick Licata, the lone dissenting vote, argues that many workers that live in the city make even less than the people the new tax break aims to help.

Read the full article here.

End of a Legacy?

Demolition began on the old Denny's building in Ballard. I blogged about this a while back and just wanted to give an update. This building was an example of the rare yet odd architectural style called "Googie." A preservation group made attempts to save the building, but keeping it around was not practical.

Read the full article here.

Seattle housing growth is through the roof!

A recent report reveals that 3 years into Seattle's 20 year plan to increase housing, the city is already halfway to their target! The city has a plan to help stop urban sprawl and accommodate more people within the city limits. The Seattle Times reports,

Between January 2005 and March 2008, Seattle experienced a net gain of more
than 10,600 housing units, with an additional 13,000 or so in progress. That's
50 percent of the city's 2024 target of 47,000 additional units.

Many opponents of rapid growth will point to these numbers and say it will lead to a decreased quality of life in Seattle. They will also use this report as evidence that a recently proposed tax incentive to build multi-unit properties should not be passed.

Read the full article here.

More on FHA...

The new loan limits for FHA (Federal Housing Administration) are starting to help some buyers. In addition, the FHA backed loans are gaining more and more market acceptance.

Read the full article here.

Tax Assessments

This is an interesting piece from the Seattle PI explaining why the tax assessed value of your home might go up even as your property value may have declined.

Read the full article here.

New Listing!

This is a very charming house in Queen Anne with a very large back yard. It's rare to find a house with this type of yard in Queen Anne. The house also has been recently updated and includes a covered side patio; separate shop area and a downstairs apartment.

Check out more information here.