Seattle and the State of Washington are broadly pursuing new housing supply. One recent move was Seattle's liberalization of accessory dwelling rules in single-family neighborhoods in 2019.
While single-family zoning is on the way out in Washington (this month?), it's currently 60% of the land in Seattle vs. 20% where real density is allowed. The 60% hasn't helped with our supply or price problems.
The City acted in 2019. The goal was more units, affordability, and equity across neighborhoods. Most SFR lots now allow two ADUs, including one detached. The ADUs have to be small, and the main house can't be very large either. They don't need parking. Owners don't need to live onsite. (At the same time they cut McMansion sizes.)
The numbers have been impressive -- 988 ADUs permitted in 2022. That's up from 60 in 2005 and 280 in 2019.
It's not all roses. They tend to be expensive and 11% of the current inventory is Airbnbs (not that those aren't useful). But they're substantially cheaper than most houses, and they'll move slowly downmarket over time. Mostly, we need large amounts of new housing.
The details seem to matter, a lot. Not requiring parking, for example, seems to open things way up. What are other cities doing on the policy and/or production fronts?
The Seattle Times wrote a pretty good report today.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...single-houses/
Also the City keeps a useful portal.
https://aduniverse-seattlecitygis.hu...com/pages/data