@chriswurban.bsky.social
Cities are only getting better going forward. Is a slow march from 1850s Industrial Revolution but we are slowly figuring it out
December 18, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Cities are only getting better going forward. Is a slow march from 1850s Industrial Revolution but we are slowly figuring it out
yeah its a good floor plate size, gives you about 1800 sqft if you do 3 stories or 1200 sqft at 2 stories.
December 18, 2025 at 12:25 AM
yeah its a good floor plate size, gives you about 1800 sqft if you do 3 stories or 1200 sqft at 2 stories.
Wow seems kinda brutal even at 6 bed x 700$/mo per bed that’s only 4200$/mo gross rent with a ton of management work
December 16, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Wow seems kinda brutal even at 6 bed x 700$/mo per bed that’s only 4200$/mo gross rent with a ton of management work
If I were to guess this is an IBC to IRC issue. Fee simple townhomes will be cheaper to build than apartments, no pressurized single stair, no elevator, no fire department water hookups and they get an easy exit of just listing these as normal townhomes for sale
And you can use your existing subs
And you can use your existing subs
December 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
If I were to guess this is an IBC to IRC issue. Fee simple townhomes will be cheaper to build than apartments, no pressurized single stair, no elevator, no fire department water hookups and they get an easy exit of just listing these as normal townhomes for sale
And you can use your existing subs
And you can use your existing subs
I’d totally believe that. Sales tax alone is 10.03% of _total_ revenue on construction, then we have 1.8% transfer tax on _total_ revenue from selling the properties.
And that isn’t even accounting for things like permit and inspection fees or impact fees
And that isn’t even accounting for things like permit and inspection fees or impact fees
December 16, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I’d totally believe that. Sales tax alone is 10.03% of _total_ revenue on construction, then we have 1.8% transfer tax on _total_ revenue from selling the properties.
And that isn’t even accounting for things like permit and inspection fees or impact fees
And that isn’t even accounting for things like permit and inspection fees or impact fees
Undoing the slow grind of regulatory capture. For all the talk of billionaires being the problem I think much of the blame lies with the comfortable voting upper middle class.
Rich and comfortable on the current status quo why not spend a little time and money to ensure your comfort is entrenched?
Rich and comfortable on the current status quo why not spend a little time and money to ensure your comfort is entrenched?
December 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Undoing the slow grind of regulatory capture. For all the talk of billionaires being the problem I think much of the blame lies with the comfortable voting upper middle class.
Rich and comfortable on the current status quo why not spend a little time and money to ensure your comfort is entrenched?
Rich and comfortable on the current status quo why not spend a little time and money to ensure your comfort is entrenched?
Let’s all sign up for comment, and let them know we see exactly what they’re doing. It’s pulling the ladder of opportunity up behind them, it’s mansion preservation for rich boomers it’s NIMBYism and self indulgence at the expense of a growing city hiding behind the guise of “historic preservation”
December 16, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Let’s all sign up for comment, and let them know we see exactly what they’re doing. It’s pulling the ladder of opportunity up behind them, it’s mansion preservation for rich boomers it’s NIMBYism and self indulgence at the expense of a growing city hiding behind the guise of “historic preservation”
This is gonna be fun! Come hang out with us and FutureWise at Perihelion Brewery
December 9, 2025 at 10:46 PM
This is gonna be fun! Come hang out with us and FutureWise at Perihelion Brewery
Electrification would be really cool but not sure the carbon saved is gonna be a good ROI likely less expensive options to reduce emissions
December 4, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Electrification would be really cool but not sure the carbon saved is gonna be a good ROI likely less expensive options to reduce emissions
Eddie coming in hot! No better target to start with than SEPA. 👏
December 2, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Eddie coming in hot! No better target to start with than SEPA. 👏
Oh no! I wanted unlimited Type A units! 😅 what’d they cap it at?
November 26, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Oh no! I wanted unlimited Type A units! 😅 what’d they cap it at?
Anything else in the substitute worth noting?
November 26, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Anything else in the substitute worth noting?
You can’t ULS a Dadu away from its “primary unit” so looks like condos are gonna be sticking with us a bit longer :)
November 26, 2025 at 6:17 AM
You can’t ULS a Dadu away from its “primary unit” so looks like condos are gonna be sticking with us a bit longer :)
Thanks for putting this out Michael! Will come in handy for MHA discussions with Wilson admin
November 25, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Thanks for putting this out Michael! Will come in handy for MHA discussions with Wilson admin
This unit sat on market at 555k for months and months. No one liked it. The game has changed, maxing density is no longer a ticket to a workable development
November 25, 2025 at 6:43 AM
This unit sat on market at 555k for months and months. No one liked it. The game has changed, maxing density is no longer a ticket to a workable development
Theres a juicy density bonus for cottage courts in the new perm code. 1unit/650sqft
But it’s useless cuz buildings must be less than 3 stories and must have a courtyard at least 20% of lot area.
The only thing that will pencil is Cohousing. And I don’t think that’s what they imagined.
But it’s useless cuz buildings must be less than 3 stories and must have a courtyard at least 20% of lot area.
The only thing that will pencil is Cohousing. And I don’t think that’s what they imagined.
November 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Theres a juicy density bonus for cottage courts in the new perm code. 1unit/650sqft
But it’s useless cuz buildings must be less than 3 stories and must have a courtyard at least 20% of lot area.
The only thing that will pencil is Cohousing. And I don’t think that’s what they imagined.
But it’s useless cuz buildings must be less than 3 stories and must have a courtyard at least 20% of lot area.
The only thing that will pencil is Cohousing. And I don’t think that’s what they imagined.
Pretty magical build. The way it overlooks the neighborhood to the south
November 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Pretty magical build. The way it overlooks the neighborhood to the south
Kinda like the coffee shop or car repair shop or home owner selling their home, everyone is trying to sell their stuff for the best price they can get.
There is very close to zero concentration in SFR ownership.
There is very close to zero concentration in SFR ownership.
November 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Kinda like the coffee shop or car repair shop or home owner selling their home, everyone is trying to sell their stuff for the best price they can get.
There is very close to zero concentration in SFR ownership.
There is very close to zero concentration in SFR ownership.
nice, hopefully everyone just leaves it alone since we got state level stabalization bill last sesh.
November 12, 2025 at 1:37 AM
nice, hopefully everyone just leaves it alone since we got state level stabalization bill last sesh.
Not sure about the specific worries of this person, but a Wilson admin is not without its risks
- rent control,
- New taxes high enough to push ppl east side
- unsweepable encampments that languish for years
- Break down in relationship with SPD
- rent control,
- New taxes high enough to push ppl east side
- unsweepable encampments that languish for years
- Break down in relationship with SPD
November 12, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Not sure about the specific worries of this person, but a Wilson admin is not without its risks
- rent control,
- New taxes high enough to push ppl east side
- unsweepable encampments that languish for years
- Break down in relationship with SPD
- rent control,
- New taxes high enough to push ppl east side
- unsweepable encampments that languish for years
- Break down in relationship with SPD
Not so different than any other time products or services are offered for sale…
Single family rentals can provide lower cost entry to families that otherwise couldn’t afford a school district for example.
Single family rentals can provide lower cost entry to families that otherwise couldn’t afford a school district for example.
November 11, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Not so different than any other time products or services are offered for sale…
Single family rentals can provide lower cost entry to families that otherwise couldn’t afford a school district for example.
Single family rentals can provide lower cost entry to families that otherwise couldn’t afford a school district for example.
HousingUnitsAdded is the column. I didn't see a ton of 4+ proposals in NR tho when I last looked
data.seattle.gov/Built-Enviro...
data.seattle.gov/Built-Enviro...
Building Permits | City of Seattle Open Data portal
data.seattle.gov
November 5, 2025 at 2:31 PM
HousingUnitsAdded is the column. I didn't see a ton of 4+ proposals in NR tho when I last looked
data.seattle.gov/Built-Enviro...
data.seattle.gov/Built-Enviro...
A couple guesses, I think 2009 was when storm water management was passed with the rules around hard surface, also these townhomes have really poor light on inside corners due to the proximity to your neighbor
November 5, 2025 at 4:56 AM
A couple guesses, I think 2009 was when storm water management was passed with the rules around hard surface, also these townhomes have really poor light on inside corners due to the proximity to your neighbor
love this! I was just looking at "NewUnitsAddedNumber" column to see which proposals had 4+ units. Trying to get a sense of what ppl are doing with the new code.
November 3, 2025 at 11:33 PM
love this! I was just looking at "NewUnitsAddedNumber" column to see which proposals had 4+ units. Trying to get a sense of what ppl are doing with the new code.