HOUSINGNEWS REPORT
THE PROMISE AND PITFALLS OF ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AS AN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PANACEA
STATES WITH MOST ADU BUILDING PERMITS IN 2017
4,352
1,682
SOURCE: BUILDFAX
1,110
944
872
691
552
548
429
409
405
CA
OR WA FL
MD NC PA TX
VA CO AZ
size of the ADU that could be built given that an ADU cannot exceed 30 percent of the existing home’s square footage. “If I have a 1940s home that is 900 square feet, there’s not much you can do,” said Grubb, adding that homeowners with children quickly cooled to the idea of having a stranger living in their backyard, even if that stranger represented a source of rental income. “A lot of people may see it as a rosy upside, but you don’t want to deal with it every day; especially if you have children you don’t want strangers living in the backyard. “People thought they could Airbnb these things, but then they found out that this wasn’t legal to do or if you did it you had to pay hotel tax, and that kind of wilted it a bit,” he added. “It all depends where your home is and who your client is. As far as homeowners building ADUs on their lots, I think it’s more of a nice-to-talk about sort of thing.”
The continued popularity of ADUs in select parts of Portland is evident in the building permit data from Buildfax, which shows ADU building permits in the greater Portland metro area increased 21 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. Portland’s 1,540 ADU building permits in 2017 were the most of any metro area nationwide, ahead of Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco and Seattle. Still Hopeful in Seattle Building permits issued for ADUs increased 20 percent in Seattle in 2017 to 845, according to the ATTOM Data Solutions analysis of Buildfax building permit data. Bryan Copley would like to see at least two zeros added to that ADU building permit number. Copley, CEO and co-founder of CityBldr, a company that identifies underdeveloped properties for
Grubb recounted that he recently acquired two similar properties, one with an ADU and one without. The one without an ADU sold quickly for $775,000; the one with an ADU is still on the market listed at $759,000. “Three years ago people were asking for ADUS. Now three years later I have an ADU and I can’t sell it,” he said. Grubb noted that ADUs continue to be popular in parts Portland that already have more dense development and cater to younger, creative types. “They absolutely do want an ADU. There are two different types of generations. The families, they don’t want it. Those in the gentrifying areas, they want the ADU and they want top rent for the ADU,” he said, recalling a recent property with an ADU that he sold. “The one I did was four stories high, ADU behind the back. Those areas have always been must- have ADUs.”
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MARCH 2018 | ATTOM DATA SOLUTIONS
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