Lyng Chu

09/28/2022

Terrific solution for retaining city employees - excerpt: “Right before they start, they tell us they can't take the job because they can't find housing,” said Lorme, the Colorado Department of Transportation’s director of maintenance and operations. “It's either affordability or availability depending on where you are. And sometimes it's both.” https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/27/cdot-snowplow-hiring-shortage-housing/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=lookout&utm_campaign=lookout20220927

CDOT is planning to spend $6.5 million on housing projects along the vital Interstate 70 corridor and in other housing-starved mountain towns.

08/29/2022

Job jumping statistics.

06/06/2022

“History has shown that rising mortgage rates may take the steam out of rising house prices, but they don’t necessarily trigger a decline,” Fleming said. “In today’s housing market, demand for homes continues to outpace supply, which is keeping the pressure on house prices, so don’t expect house prices to decline.”

With affordability reduced, some buyers are pulling back from the market forcing sellers to adjust their price expectations.

06/04/2022

Lyng Chu
Thu, Jun 2, 12:27 PM (20 hours ago)
to me

Excerpt: Looking ahead, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun expects existing-home sales to slide by 9% in 2022 and home-price appreciation to slow to 5% by the end of the year.

Nevertheless, home prices are expected to continue rising through the end of the year, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

04/08/2022

I remember this implemented at the Redmond Town Center. Glad Bothell is also making downtown more pedestrian friendly. Excerpt: In one sense, it’s a relatively modest step toward prioritizing pedestrians and nonmotorized activities. The zone on Main Street stretches only one block. But local activists who pushed for the change say the decision to keep it intact, despite some business and traffic concerns, demonstrates how new ideas are taking hold in Bothell. Experts say communities across the region should be paying attention, and the mayor is comparing the space to a European central square.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Bothell? COVID restrictions are gone, but this Seattle suburb will keep a downtown block car-free, like a European central square.

03/03/2022

Excerpt: Seattle has led the way in climate initiatives, becoming the first city to adopt a green building goal in 2000. In 2005, the utility company Seattle City Light was the first in the country to become carbon neutral. Most of the city is now powered through hydroelectricity—generated using falling or fast-running water—which is considered a clean energy source.

The cost to heat a home has skyrocketed, but some people pay more than others. Here's where they spend the most—and the least—on energy.

01/30/2022

Hoping plans work out for Phoenix in mitigating heat waves. Excerpt: Engineered shade such as cool pavement – a reflective compound painted over asphalt that reduces the amount of sun absorbed – is being piloted across the city. The results are encouraging, but again Hondula warns against clinging to this as an easy fix.

“I don’t think we can go all-in on cool pavement because that commits us to hard infrastructure in places where there might be better uses,” he said. “Our office needs additional land for tree planting that might be land that is currently streets … but any talk about lane reduction or lane removal is a sensitive conversation.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/27/phoenix-arizona-hottest-city-cooling-technologies?utm_term=61f3efe46e8bdf70894870863e781934&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=GTUS_email

01/24/2022

If in doubt, it's a good idea to have a geological survey. Excerpt: Landslides are one of the most common and devastating natural hazards in the Pacific Northwest — and the damage they cause is almost never covered by insurance, warns the state Department of Natural Resources in its Homeowner’s Guide to Landslides, at st.news/slide. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/when-the-land-slides-a-common-devastating-natural-hazard-in-the-pacific-northwest/?utm_source=marketingcloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TSA_012222203956+The+Pacific+Northwest+is+landslide+country.+What+you+should+know+about+the+risk_1_22_2022&utm_term=Registered%20User

Landslides are one of the Northwest's most common and devastating natural hazards — and the damage they cause is almost never covered by insurance, the state warns. Here's more about slides, warning signs, and what you can do about them.

01/06/2022

Excerpt: In 2021, rents grew dramatically. According to ApartmentList.com, since January 2021:

“. . . the national median rent has increased by a staggering 17.8 percent. To put that in context, rent growth from January to November averaged just 2.6 percent in the pre-pandemic years from 2017-2019.”

That increase in 2021 was far greater than the typical rent increases we’ve seen in recent years. In other words – rents are rising fast. And the 2022 National Housing Forecast from realtor.com projects prices for vacant units will continue to increase this year:

“In 2022, we expect this trend will continue and fuel rent growth. At a national level, we forecast rent growth of 7.1% in the next 12 months, somewhat ahead of home price growth . . .”

That means, if you’re planning to move into a different rental this year, you’ll likely pay far more than you have in years past.