The suburbs are much cheaper than Seattle proper. Granted, there are a few small communities that are very expensive.
Mostly suburbs (the Rentons, Tacomas, and Monroes of Puget Sound) are very inexpensive compared to Seattle proper.
Mostly suburbs (the Rentons, Tacomas, and Monroes of Puget Sound) are very inexpensive compared to Seattle proper.
Apartments are very expensive and most are not sized for families. The city is still zoned for single family homes, driving up the cost of the homes to near San Francisco levels.
Some people are sleeping in parks, which is a cheaper option, granted.
Seattle isn't quite as bad as other cities in pushing this policy, but there isn't any extra push to incentivize construction of 3+ bedroom apartments & condos (eg: additional building height/width allowances).
IIRC our auditor wrote a report that came to the conclusion that we had way too few 3+ bedroom units in the city. If we want affordable housing (not "Affordable" housing, with heavy subsidies), set back & step back requirements need to be loosened for construction that includes valuable 3 & 4 bedroom condos and apartments.
Note: HOAs in Seattle proper are very rare outside of condos. Ditto outside the city limits, though some small single family home enclaves choose to kneecap themselves with a HOA.