Seattle Housing Permits Skyrocket as City Cuts Red Tape
Current Market Dynamics Behind Seattle's Housing Permit Changes While Seattle's housing market faces unprecedented volatility, there's a notable shift in permit issuance patterns. This signals potential disruptions for the region's rental environment. In March 2025, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area saw 904 newly authorized private housing permits. This is a decline from February's 1,143 permits. These fluctuations in permits highlight deeper structural shifts, threatening regional housing stability. Multifamily permits drastically decreased to about 839 units in March 2025. ADUs are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners looking to leverage their properties for wealth-building through rental income, especially when multifamily housing options are limited. This is a significant drop from nearly 1,800 units in March 2024. The annual rate for multifamily permitting fell from 42.6 units per 10,000 residents during 2020-2023. It's now just 21.2 units p...