How is Your Cost of Rent Determined?

There are several factors that come into play when owners, landlords, and housing boards decide how much to rent a particular space for. In Seattle it can be assumed that since inventory is low, the cost of rent is rising and will continue to do so for the next few years. The Seattle Transit Blog has an interesting take on how your rental price is determined, and why that price was decided maybe even before your apartment was built!
According to Seattle Transit, construction costs, and debt accumulated are taken into consideration, as well as what the market will hold when determining the set rent. They suggest that the cost of rent is decided before the unit is finished being built. There is a supply and demand factor in the housing price decision. If inventory is low, rent is high, but if there is a surge in construction maybe the quality of housing will decrease and renters will wind up eating extra costs. Seattle Transit suggests that if all goes well in the construction process, and attracts prospective tenants, we should be seeing an increase in supply and lower costs in housing production. Read the full story to gain a better understand of all the bells and whistles that come into play when deciding that final rental rate. Understanding that there are many factors at hand and wrapping your head around what those factors are should open the flood gates for new ideas to cut costs for renters and builders alike.

Seattle Designer Offers Personal Incite on Remodeling

When Seattle Designer Judy Tall finalized her divorce, she packed up her belongings in Mercer Island and began the move to her newly purchased Tudor in Denny Blaine. According to the Seattle Times, she fell in love with the neighborhood and her master bedroom with an abundance of natural light, but wasn’t 100% sold on the rest of the place. She waited a year before remodeling, and says that “you have to know how you live in a house, and what works and what doesn’t.”

Photo Courtesy of Seattle Times, Tall’s expansive master bedroom

Before Tall became an interior designer she was an acupuncturist, and tries to brings elements of healing into play with her design concepts. She told the Times that whether you’re moving into a new space, or someone recently moved out or in, there are several emotions that come into play when redesigning or remodeling your home. Tall said that a large portion of her clientele chooses to remodel because they’re going through a life transition, and that’s just what she was going through when she decided to redo her home in Denny Blaine. From her choice in tranquil paint colors, to the picture rail below the coved ceiling, Tall tried to make each and every room in the place more cozy and comfortable for her to live in. She believes that every change serves a purpose, and should bring great joy to a living space. For more information about her Tudor design, visit the Seattle Times.

How Much Has Your Rent Increased? Rental Prices: Past and Present

Do you find yourself wondering what your rental cost would have been, had you moved into your basic one bedroom apartment 3 years ago? Me too! The cost of rent in the Greater Seattle area has steadily risen over the past few years without inventory changes, although builders are starting to pick up where they left off, and apartment building construction is now on the rise all over the city. If you were to take a look at the cost of living in your neighborhood, say in 2007, how much do you think your overall cost of living would change? Well we’ve got the results! Seattle Metropolitan has compiled a list of the stats and the changes might make you resent your non waterfront view home. For instance, the average cost of rent in the Ballard neighborhood back in 2007 was $755, and today the same unit costs around $1,188. Ouch! Take a peak at your neighborhood, you might wish you could rent a time machine.

For Rent: Laurelhurst Waterfront Home

This Jim Olson designed waterfront home in the Laurelhurst neighborhood has stunning architectural craftsmanship with strong horizontal lines, steel detailing and huge walls of glass. The home has a stunning entryway, with high ceilings and an open floor plan. The lower level of the house has a wonderful walk out to the Lake Washington waterfront, with your own brand new teak dock out to the jet-ski lifts, and boat dock area. This home is located near Laurelhurst Park, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Union Bay. For more information on this Laurelhurst listing with Western exposure, click here.

Status:	For Rent
Bed/Bath:	4/3.25
List Price:	$16,000

Pioneer Square Board Aproves 25 Story High Rise

The rumors circulating around downtown are true; the city board who has been in charge of keeping the historic presentation of Pioneer Square afloat, cast their votes and approved the modern sleek design of a 25-story apartment high rise just North of the Sodo stadiums. The all glass and steel tower will be sectioned into 2-4 story boxes, that will be positioned at varying angles. The building is part of a larger project named Stadium Place, in what previously was the North Parking Lot of Century Link Field.

Photo Courtesy of the Seattle Times, ZGF Architects

The collaborative developers Daniels Real Estate and R.D. Merril released the design the the public back in December and were met with mixed reviews, some stating that the design was far too modern to fit in with the historical appeal of Pioneer Square. But most members of the Pioneer Square Preservation Board actually had positive reviews of the design, and were all in agreeance with the new construction. The “South Tower” would be just a little shorter than the stadium, at 240 feet tall, and will have 333 units. Other projects are in the planning stages for the first phase of Stadium Place, such as a 20 story condo tower, and an office and hotel tower as well. For more information on these apartments, visit the Seattle Times.

Survey Indicates Renters Are More Optimistic About Buying

Renters in today’s market may have seen the value of their parent’s homes sky rocket, then deplete, or they most likely know someone who’s home is up for foreclosure. According to a survey done by the PulteGroup, The hope of home ownership is still in the air for many who rent and want to buy. Survey results showed that 60% of renters who said they would like to buy a home in the future have increased their intent to buy a home in comparison to a year ago. 61% of those folks also said they planned to purchase a home within the next two years.
When asked if they thought buying a home was a good investment, 44% of those poled said yes. According to Builderonline.com, the PulteGroup’s responded to the overall survey results with “We are seeing a renewed sense of optimism, especially from young professionals and young families visiting our communities nationwide,” Deborah Meyer, PulteGroup senior vice president. Many factors went into this survey and interestingly enough the pole also found that just over 1/4 of those poled believe that renting is cheaper than buying, and a little shy of a quarter are still worried about a stable job. For more information on Rentals and For Sale listings in the area, visit Craigslist.

Zillow Reports Rentals Continue to Outshine Housing Market

According to Zillow’s Real Estate Market Report in February, the median price in rent had risen 2% since February 2011, and home values had continued to fall, dropping 4.5% during the same time period. Zillow’s Rent Index illustrated that the year over year gains for an estimated 68% of metropolitan markets measured by the ZRI, and only 8% of metro areas covered by the Zillow Home Value Indexsaw home values rise.

Seattle Rental in the Leschi Neighborhood

Today’s rental market is continuing to heat up, with an emphasis on areas where home values have consistently been declining. Foreclosures have been at the forefront in keeping home values down, with foreclosure re-sales making up an  estimated 20.3% of all sales in the month of February. Zillow experts have said that we’ve made it through the worst of the housing market recession, but with the enormous inventory of foreclosures and unemployment are all still factors to overcome on the rise to recovery. For more information on rental listings in the Seattle area, visit Ewing & Clark and Craigslist.