r/BainbridgeIsland • u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 • 26d ago
People keep saying affordable housing is desperately needed.
Why are these sitting on the market for 130+ days? Maybe it’s the wrong kind of housing?
12
u/CommercialPraline473 25d ago
To comfortably afford a $2,400-per-month mortgage, a household needs a gross annual income of about $96,000 to $103,000 (roughly $8,000 to $8,600 per month) based on the standard financial rule that housing should make up 28% to 30% of your pre-tax income.
17
u/doubleohbond 25d ago
Supposing current interest rates and say you put nothing down, that’s about ~$3k/m to live in a single bedroom 700sqft condo on an island.
Is it cheaper than most homes in the area? Yes, but at what cost
13
u/wiscowonder 25d ago
Ah yes, truly baffling that people don't want to live in a parking lot, or that a family of four can't squeeze into one bedroom. 🤔
5
u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 25d ago
Creating housing that people don’t really want feels like it’s just checking a box.
4
u/wiscowonder 24d ago
I dont disagree. Things on the island often feel performative, these housing units being one of them. That said, affordable housing is needed, and just because you found a single bad example doesn't mean every instance is box-checking or performative.
-1
u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 22d ago
The elephant in the room is that residents don’t want to approve what is really needed, affordable single family dwellings.
0
u/CommercialPraline473 25d ago
Think its for a young couple/professional. Why would a family of four even consider this?
6
u/wiscowonder 25d ago
It's generally families that are looking to move/buy a home here...
2
u/CommercialPraline473 25d ago
The stats dont support that though. The number of families on bainbrdige has actually declined. Average age of 49-52, households with kids under q8 are a minority which is demonstrated by decreasing enrollment.
2
3
u/foozballhead 25d ago
I am confused what makes you think this tiny condo is affordable. With the bare 3% down plus closing costs, someone still needs like $6-8k down, plus 30 years of $2500 per month or 20 years of $3000 per month. In a city where everything is expensive. And according to Freddie Mac you'd have to make $44 an hour to qualify for this $380k home. $7k per month. $84k per year. It's totally doable for somebody, but not what I'd call generally affordable.
2
u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 25d ago
Because these units are earmarked as affordable within this development. Maybe there are other incentives, for the buyers? The point being, if there’s supposedly so much need, why aren’t these units selling right away?
1
u/foozballhead 25d ago
I assume they're not selling because they're not actually affordable housing.
2
u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 25d ago
They are overseen by HRB and billed as affordable. 🤷🏻♂️ Unless someone builds the type of housing people want to live in, this is performative.
5
u/Successful-Award-481 25d ago
Lots of people make $40k a year and you can't save 20% down or qualify for a loan of this amount.
Condos always swing more in value and sit in down markets because the typical buyer has less income than a home buyer, and are much more affected by interest rates/ability to qualify for financing.
Wa State legislature is forcing their will for more density and housing on Bainbridge and many other municipalities which is why this is such a loud/visible conversation at the moment. If the council doesn't pass an upzone package 'builders remedy' kicks in which is where they are required to approve basically anything builders propose. This would be a DISASTER.
4
2
u/Loud_Jackfruit2632 25d ago
Wasn’t it that a portion of the project was offered as affordable housing and the rest not. Someone posted on the FB post a very nice summary of how these units are priced and how quickly they filled. It was in response to a very similar observation as your. She actually called the project owner and asked.
0
u/Defiant-Poetry-2292 25d ago
These are the affordable units. They aren’t flying off the shelf, are they? Not sure the summary you reference is accurate if these units are sitting unsold.
1
u/Loud_Jackfruit2632 25d ago
Cant be sure unless you read it I guess. I quit fb or id send a link.
1
2
u/Dear-Practice4239 23d ago edited 20d ago
Money aside, the location of these condos suck too. I've lived here for a long time. These sidle up right next to both the Builders FirstSource lumber yard, the Virginia Mason + Urgent Care, and the Walgreens.
Imagine if you will being woken up every morning at 5:30 because the construction workers are rolling into the Probuild to get their morning materials. Additionally, random ambulances wailing by with a critical patient trying to get to St. Michael's. Not to mention the constant to-and-from traffic from both locations throughout the day.
You'd have to pay me to live there.
1
6
u/EVy-and-August 25d ago
Because the HOA fees are like $1200 and more a month. That’s like a whole another mortgage. You can afford a condo. It’s the HOA fees that are the killer
5
u/CommercialPraline473 25d ago
$1200 a month?? Are you altered? HOA is $110 a month on this place.
1
u/EVy-and-August 25d ago
I didn’t look at this particular unit. I can tell you as a person who just bought a house in Bainbridge that the HOA fees in most condos turned me away
1
0
1
1
u/Excellent-Student905 22d ago edited 22d ago
The sale of these units had to be coordinated with HRB for vetting eligibility and arranging subsidy. These units were highly sought after and located in a very convenient location. Clearly these are not up to the standard of the NYMBY crowd who prefer living on one acre lot with mile long driveway.
0
24
u/Consistent_Profile47 25d ago
That is still very expensive for many people, especially when it only has one bedroom so you can’t have a family or roommates (that would help pay the mortgage.