Seattle Listed as Top Ten City for High Rent, and More News

[addtoany]

In response to Seattle’s growing homeless population, a new tiny house village in the Central District has been constructed and is nearing completion. According to the Capitol Hill Times, the village came about via a partnership between homeless encampment Nickelsville, property owner the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd and the Low Income Housing Institute. It’s comprised of 15 tiny homes built for those living in the Nickelsville tent encampment. Several organizations came together to construct the village including Tulalip Tribe TERO Training Program, Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Employment for Women (ANEW), Renton Technical College, Walsh Construction and Environmental Works. It is slated to open by the end of the month.

According to a study by Seattle-based real estate company Zillow, Seattle has swooped in and taken over the no. 10 spot from Philadelphia on its list of the Top 10 U.S. cities that paid the most rent in 2015. Mynorthwest.com reports that Seattleites paid a total of $10.2 billion in rent last year, nearly $2 billion more than 2014. The raging tech boom and the millennial generation’s changing cultural attitude on home ownership (they lean toward renting rather than buying), has fueled our city’s skyrocketing rent. Is there an end in sight to the high-rent madness? Gino Zahnd, CEO and co-founder of Cozy, a Portland-based property management software company, told Mynorthwest.com that “It’s unlikely we’ll see any real rent relief in Seattle any time soon. While there’s plenty of new construction, these projects tend to focus on luxury units. Nationwide, we aren’t seeing many new units targeted at middle-income earners.”

According to Geekwire, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is challenging the legislation passed by Seattle City Councilmembers in December allowing “for hire” drivers (Lyft and Uber) to unionize. According to a statement released on Tuesday afternoon by the Chamber of Commerce, the ruling “violates federal law in at least two ways” and threatens to “burden innovation, increase prices, and reduce quality and services for consumers.” Despite the threat of a lawsuit, councilmember Mike O’Brien told Geekwire Tuesday evening that “what we’re trying to do is not anti-innovation, anti-technology, but rather how do we support workers, consumers and businesses moving forward in this new economy,” and that they “did pass legislation that is trying a new approach, and we know in Seattle that when we try new approaches, that means oftentimes we get to work through the courts.”

Amazon released on Tuesday its year-end growth for 2015 and the numbers are impressive. An astonishing 23 million items were ordered worldwide from sellers on Cyber Monday alone, which accounts for a 40 percent sales growth. Peter Faricy, VP for Amazon Marketplace, explained in a press release that “2015 was a big year for sellers on Amazon. In fact, sellers added more new selection and shipped more items than in any previous year. We’re excited to build on that momentum as we continue to innovate on behalf of sellers and customers.”