Re:Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World...
by poulsbohemian on Wednesday October 24, 2018 @07:06PM
(#18297242)
>When you put 5 units where there was 1, the value generally doesn't multiply like that
But it does in Seattle. Have you looked at any of those new units they've put in through Phinney ridge and Ballard? That's exactly how it works - tear out one, put up X, and sell at a multiple of what the original would have gained.
Re:Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World...
by losteric on Wednesday October 24, 2018 @10:33PM
(#18298185)
I have seen $K single-family homes get replaced by $K condos in SF, but only because the original home was uninhabitable (ie property value discounted to offset demolition/construction) while the new condos were legitimately luxurious...
When you put 5 units where there was 1, the value generally doesn't multiply like that. The individual units aren't worth the same as the single original, assuming the same time frame, comparable features and condition. And going from 1 to 5 units seems like a pretty incremental change - it's not like a house being converted to a high-rise building.
> But, when you tear down perfectly charming houses
Given that the project fits local zoning laws, I don't see what the relevance of the existing house's "charm" is. Unless the house is of local historical or cultural importance - which planning commissions consider - it's nobody's right to prevent its replacement on the basis of such a perception.
If opinions on the charm are important, one should advocate their planning commission to establish aesthetic guidelines.