Seattle, Spokane residents support building more apartments, survey finds
Photo of Seattle and Spokane's skylines. (Roman Slavik; SounderBruce / CC BY-SA 4.0)
SEATTLE - Most people living in Washington’s largest metro areas say they are worried about rising housing costs, and support more apartments being built near them, according to a survey from Zillow.
The survey was conducted in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area and the Spokane-Spokane Valley area, the two largest metropolitan areas in Washington. More than 850 people were surveyed in both metros between Jan. and Feb. 2022.
Survey results showed Spokane and Seattle-area residents have similar opinions on the housing market – namely, that it is getting too tight and too expensive.
Zillow says 73% of Seattle-area residents said they ‘are worried about the cost of housing in their neighborhoods,’ along with 74% of Spokane-area residents.
Respondents in both areas generally support densifying areas with more housing units, including:
- Accessory dwelling units; 72% support in Seattle and 81% in Spokane
- Duplexes, triplexes; 66% support in Seattle and 69% in Spokane
- Apartment buildings; 53% support in Seattle and 50% in Spokane
On this particular issue, Zillow notes the opinions are strongly held. Of the 38% who do not approve of new apartment buildings in Seattle, 60% said they ‘strongly disagree’ with them; likewise, of the 53% who support them, 46% said they ‘strongly agree’ with building them.
In suburban areas, responses generally aligned with metropolitan areas, although residents were lukewarm on building apartment buildings or complexes, specifically – 45% support in Seattle, 43% in Spokane. Suburban respondents favored more modest densification measures like accessory dwelling units, duplexes and triplexes.
However, suburbanites showed they would support small- or medium-size apartments – 71% in Seattle, 70% in Spokane.
Half of respondents indicated these new homes would have a positive impact on existing home values, but a majority in both areas (62% Seattle, 54% Spokane) noted they would negatively impact parking and traffic. But, 60% of Seattleites and 61% of Spokanites agreed that more affordable housing in their community is more important than free parking for themselves.
You can dive into the findings on the Zillow website.
RELATED: Seattle site connects renters, landlords to resources as eviction moratorium nears end
READ MORE: Legislature looks at affordable housing as red hot housing market continues to rise
Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android. And sign up for BREAKING NEWS emails delivered straight to your inbox.
Stay connected with FOX 13 News on all platforms:
DOWNLOAD: FOX 13 News and Weather Apps
WATCH: FOX 13 News Live
SUBSCRIBE: FOX 13 on YouTube
DAILY BRIEF: Sign Up For Our Newsletter
FOLLOW: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram