Apartment to Condo conversions made the front page of today’s Seattle P-I in a story titled City’s renters lose out as condo switch soars.
Thousands of Seattle renters have been displaced as developers turn to apartment buildings to meet strong appetite for in-city homes. Apartment-to-condominium conversions in Seattle have skyrocketed, from 345 in 2004 to 1,551 last year.
Yet, compared with some other areas with hot housing markets, Washington state law gives tenants far less time to vacate their apartments. Relocation assistance for low-income residents displaced by condo conversions is set at $500.
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For the first time last year, the region also lost more apartments than were built, according to Dupre + Scott Apartment Advisors. Though that trend should change as the market adjusts, it’s stoking concerns about Seattle’s supply of moderately priced housing.
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Condo conversions can offer relatively affordable options for those looking to buy, with most units in her building expected to sell for between $240,000 and $370,000. That’s cheaper than many of the neighborhood’s single-family homes or new downtown condos."There’s a true, true problem with affordable housing in this city," said Robert Hardy, a developer who’s undertaken six condo conversions, including the Arboretum View Apartments where Orso lives. "I’m one of the only guys around that’s creating any supply of affordable new condos, and that’s pretty scary."
But the wave is also displacing thousands of renters who can’t afford those prices, with some longtime tenants facing distressingly abrupt evictions.
What’s scary to me is that $240,000 is considered an "affordable" condo. Attention: Common Sense has left the building.
(Jennifer Langston, Seattle P-I, 03.20.2006)