The Real Estate Deal

Editor Cindy Zetts dishes on real-estate and development around Puget Sound: She lived in apartments, townhomes and houses -- a dozen of them in four states -- before settling in the Seattle area in 1997. After taking a bath on the sale of her first home, in South Florida, she vowed to wise up about real estate. She bought a house in Covington 10 years ago because, well, she could afford one there.

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July 1, 2008 11:59 AM

Real-estate development: affordable housing

Posted by Cindy Zetts

Last night, Seattle City Council passed an ordinance giving tax breaks to developers who build housing the city considers affordable. It sparked much debate about the definition of "affordable," which the city says means should cost no more than 30 percent of residents' incomes.

The city expanded tax breaks for developers of housing priced for people who make 60 to 70 percent of the area's median income. It added a tax break is for those developers targeting residents who make 80 to 120 percent of the median. (See the story here.) To make up the difference, property owners in Seattle will pay more so the city doesn't lose any tax income.

Last week, I went to a community open house about economic development in my fair city of Covington. And there, too, officials and residents were talking about bringing in affordable housing.

OK, I have to confess that my first thought was this: If Covington doesn't have affordable housing, what does it have?

Granted, there are some very nice houses in and around the city, but they are certainly less expensive than many other places in King County. That, though, does not mean the city is affordable.

All of this brings me to my question(s): What do you consider "affordable housing"? Is it different than subsidized housing (such as the federal government's Section 8 program for people who earn 50 percent of the median income)? To whom should affordable housing be targeted?

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