Compared to 2019, it's much harder to build apartments in Seattle region, survey finds

New rules and regulations have made it significantly more complicated to build apartments in the Puget Sound region this year compared to last, according to a survey of the National Apartment Association (NAA).

The four-county metro tumbled from 15th to 53rd on the national ranking of the least challenging places to build multifamily housing. At No. 58, San Jose, California, is the most difficult market.

The age-old problem of limited land remains the largest impediment, but entitlement processes and political complexities have increased the time it takes to get through different jurisdictions' approval processes.

Expect things to get worse with a growing population of young renters ratcheting up demand at the same time as the fallout of Covid-19 will hit city budgets.

"We need probably another 100,000 units over the next decade regionally, and you're asking yourself how do we get there when, literally, it takes me five years to get something entitled and built," said George Petrie, CEO of Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate.

He called the situation "pretty dour" with Gen Z – the nation's largest age cohort – now entering the housing market. (Gen Z are those born between 1996 and 2010.)

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/06/29/seattle-survey-build-apartment-difficult-2020-2019.html?ana=e_me_prem&j=90516819&t=Morning&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWldJME5XUXhZamd5T0RNMSIsInQiOiJFWXZva3lYN2RcLzcrXC9aOGRoc1RnTDBzODh4KzYzY1ZaY3dreW1QSEhQNHRBRFI2RTdFOWh5Vk1qNWZ3XC9xM250WlI2a1FTZE9nNEw5NjBDTTdqM1piRExCOWluTE9tSEhMM2I0V08xMFRISXJlRXJ3YVhSUDRONDd2Z3FYbzV4TCJ9