Once in a while I like to have a look around and see what’s on the market in a totally off-the-wall market segment that I have absolutely no personal interest in ever owning. Today that segment is townhomes in the city of Seattle.
As I browse around at what’s for sale in Seattle’s townhome market, a few questions come to mind: Why would someone have built these monstrocities, and why would anyone buy one of these eyesores?
Seriously, look at some of the absolutely architecturally bleak townhouse inventory around Seattle:
Why? Why do these exist? How can there possibly be demand for such souless shells?
As I scanned through the listings trying to find some examples of townhouses with even a modicum of curb appeal, I was able to find a few:
That’s four listings. Out of about three hundred and fifty. Pitiful!
I realize that “Seattle’s townhomes are butt-ugly” is a tired topic, so let’s take this in a different direction. Let’s talk about longevity.
In some of Seattle’s older neighborhoods there are homes still standing that were built 90+ years ago. Somehow I have a hard time imagining most of these things lasting that long, both due to the low quality of construction and the complete lack of visual appeal and usability (making 10-point turns to get into your garage and trudging up a flight of stairs just to get to your living room gets old fast).
What about you? How long do you think most of these cheap, opportunistic bubble boxes will last?