In a new study, Seattle-based real estate service Redfin really gets to the heart of the matter of the summer’s Capitol Hill occupied protest zone — condo prices:
“Seattle’s condo market has really struggled in general during the pandemic, but the units that are closest to the CHOP have typically been selling even more slowly than other condos in Capitol Hill,” said local Redfin real estate agent Forrest Moody.
“I had one listing that was a block away from the CHOP and across the street from a Ferrari dealership that had its windows smashed,” Moody goes on to say. “The condo actually sold within five days, but that’s likely because we listed it for $25,000 less than we had planned to back in February.”
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Those insights are part of the findings the company broadcasted this week in a press release on Redfin’s view into the impact of nationwide protests on the country’s real estate markets –. “Survey: 30% of Americans Want to Live Somewhere Else Due to Protests”
“Just under a third (30%) of Americans said that protests in major cities have made them want to move away from where they currently live, or have changed where they want to move to, according to an October Redfin survey of more than 3,000 U.S. residents,” Redfin reports.
Real estate values aside, through the weeks of reporting on CHOP and its aftermath, CHS reported on the challenges faced by small businesses and residents within the protest zone. Many of those challenges like tear gas entering buildings and damaging residences and businesses were due to police actions, a factor not mentioned in the Redfin write-up on its research. And, of course, many of those challenges were due to police inaction as SPD pulled back from the East Precinct and refused to answer 911 calls in the area.
Are people really making living decisions based on protests? It will be hard to sort out as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to also play a major role. New developments including hundreds of new apartments in the hugely important Capitol Hill Station mixed-use projects are entering this uncertain market.
There is one element of the Redfin survey to be hopeful about: The company’s press release reports that a certain kind of person has an even greater propensity for protest worries.
“Of the survey participants who indicated that they planned to vote for Trump, 39% said that protests in major cities have made them want to move away from where they currently live, or have changed where they want to move to,” Redfin reports. “That compares with about a quarter (23%) of participants who indicated that they planned to vote for Biden.”
Of those Trump voting neighbors living near Cal Anderson, the other nine will be sorry to see all four of you go.
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Why would you EVER buy a condo as an investment? the HOA offsets any appreciation always.
Not sure what your point is. Are you saying people should never buy condos, or that the market value is irrelevant?
HOA dues cover maintenance and utilities that you’d pay on your own otherwise so it’s not significant.
Welp. My units almost tripled in value in the years I’ve owned it. The HOA is like our own little city tax. We run a tight ship here.
Makes me wonder if James even owns a house. Just flat-out wrong. I bought my little house and rented out my condo for 8 yrs, just covering costs, no “profit” as a landlord. (Wish I’d charged the last tenants market rate, because they totally took advantage of me. No good deed goes unpunished.). Sold the condo for more than twice what I paid for it, and paid off my house. Totally depends on the condo itself and how engaged and informed the residents are in self-governing.
Lol! Sure. I bought my condo for $209k sold it for $630k 8 years later.
Besides, can you maintain the sfr for free?
That’s true for me. Not the normal, daytime protests, which I support 100%, but the late night, endless marauding through the neighborhood that happened all summer long, the destructive vandalism that went with it, and the horrific bombs set off by the police has finally worn me down after 25 years as a Capitol Hill resident. I can’t mentally handle another summer like the last one. It’s caused me to have panic attacks and recurring nightmares, and it honestly freaked me the hell out. We’re planning to move, which is sad because I’ve always loved this neighborhood, despite all the changes.
Damn, I wonder how you feel about black lives who’ve dealt with much, much worse.
Hey now! He probably has sin3ce serious hand chafing from clutching his pearls.
New and “improved”! Now with 30% more Karens!
Guess it’s racist to want to be happy now.
Cool – Chris’ mental health state is dismissed by you because it isn’t painful enough, how is that progressive.
That’s the very definition of progressive
Playing oppression Olympics isn’t the answer, intersectionality still applies and black lives are not a monolith. Try harder, as in, talk to the Black people who live on 12th who are tired of being called “race traitors” by white demonstrators night after night for telling ENDD that they don’t actually stand for every black voice.
At what point do believe in empathy for all beings that suffer?
Sounds like a good plan I am moving out of Seattle too..the first time it was wto, mardi gras riots , dot com crash ..came back for a few years now it’s riots, a hallowed out downtown , defund the police, homeless and Boeings crash …Enjoy clueless amazon and tech bros. I will enjoy raising outrageous seattle rents on you !!
BREAKING NEWS: Local real estate agent is sad that a condo sold for $775,000 in 5 days instead of $800,000
If your name was Forrest Moody, you’d be sad too.
I lived in my condo on 16th between olive and Howell for more than 20 years and moved to n Seattle due to special assessments and rising HOD and a 1.5% pay raise over 10 years. What I know is that, aside from that, I wouldn’t come back to the hill. It was becoming more dangerous 2 years ago when I moved. And I was a nodding acquaintance of the woman knifed to death a few NYEs ago. To paint this as condo owners in that asshole trump’s camp is just wrong. We were not overwhelmingly for sawant either. For those I know there still they feel unsafe and unheard.
Sounds like a realtor is trying to soften the market for buyers by promoting an irrelevant national survey.
Irrelevant? If you ask only people wanting to move to/from Seattle, especially in-city Seattle, the % would probably be even higher. Seattle has had *more* such problems than the average city, so it’s reasonable to assume it would be a bigger issue.
Then do it. Start a reasonably scientific surveyof Seattleites and tell us what we really think. Until then, your opinion is worth nomore than anyone else’s.
Came here to see all the white people who gentrified the entire area that people of color were murdered on countless times by the police complain about civil rights protests. Also, to sip their tears when they complain about temporary inconveniences in their million to 500k condos and 2100+ rents…. Yet people of color deal with your bs on the daily. No matter where you white flight to racism still going to exist there and the same protest will find you there. Wake up
@Lanky
So how long have you actually lived in Seattle? You do know that Capitol Hill is north of Madison. I’ve only known Capitol Hill for about 30 years (back when the CD was mostly black) and apart from a few blocks here and there all the traditionally black areas have always been south of Madison. So not in Capitol Hill. That’s the way it been for at least the last 70 years or so. So pretty much the only people gentrified out of Capitol Hill the last few decades have been blue collar whites.
Let me guess, you are some spotty little kid who actually grew up in some suburb over in the Eastside. In my experience those are the only people who spout empty political cliches like the ones you post. People I’ve known who grew up in the projects dont talk like that. Ever. They actually have a clue.
Not to mention Capitol Hill isn’t exactly a hotbed of police shootings…. in the last 20 years (note – I set the filter for 50 years, but I think the stats only go back 20) I can find exactly 3 documented fatal police shootings within it’s boundaries- all 3 people killed were white men who pointed fire arms (2 had handguns and one a rifle) at officers. The officers – two were white, one was black.
This.
You can’t gentrify Millionaire Row.
Lol. Little ridiculous, reductive take. Absurd.
We actually did move. We lived in First Hill. The protests, the lack of law and order, non stop sirens, and filthy streets-garbage, graffiti, needles, pee/poop everywhere was just not worth paying the price to live there. The news was non stop protest/riot BS, we didn’t feel safe walking our neighborhood to support local businesses, and we were caught in many traffic jams caused by the rioters. We moved back to CA to get away from the mess. Fully support protests, if during normal business hours and not infringing every one elses personal space. Less anxiety and a much better lifestyle where we are at. And, the police are able to do their job. Glad to have moved.
Smart move.
I can personally attest to it impacting rents but I would suggest covid and working remote has forced people to move home (as.predicted) or to less.expensive city still with culture. My rent dropped from 1600 to 1100 and now I can have a pet too. Huge cuts to what studios were renting for. Note this is on olive and 12th
I hate been happening on the hill since June is a complicated story which shows failures on every side of the conversation to lead and build community. There is no leadership anywhere and dogmatic principles whipping up populist “my way or the highway” divisions on every side.
There is a path forward, but that required every participant to be prepared to receive criticism for their failures. All of us, everyone who has been a participant of this.
No one aspect of this story is going to come out clean, we are all the assholes, we all need to lay down the rhetoric and be willing to own our shit and come together.
hopefully for the city of Seattle that can happen. I lived in the heart of CHOP, I don’t live in Seattle anymore due to to the aftermath. I wish everyone near Cal Anderson the best.
Well said – thank you.
Thank you for this.
Cal Anderson, CHOP, those are the busiest and noisest areas of the hill long before the protests. I never would have expected anything close to quiet in the first place. The hill is pretty big, most streets are much quieter to live on. If you don’t like Seattle, you sure wouldn’t like NYC and SF or any big city with anti-brutality protests.
We are all assholes? Right wingers who aren’t too racist like the ones on the far right like to talk that way. Both sides are bad…yeah right. The evil “commies” want cops to cut out the brutality when they got 4 guys vs. 1 and healthcare to be affordable for everyone, far right wants to go back a few centuries.
There are a lot more than “two sides” here. There’s like, ten. And no, I’m not talking about racists and right wingers as a part of those ten sides. Also I’ve lived in NYC and SF, noise does not bother me.
Some folks on “the left” are just as entrenched and believe themselves to be God’s gift to humanity as do their counterparts on “the right.”
You can tell who they are, because, when a reasonable person suggests we show some humility and try to realize that nearly everyone is motivated to do good, they immediately whine, “THOSE GUYS need to change, not us!”
There’s black leaders like Jaidyn Grayson and Omari Garrett putting in real work on this movement. White people just aren’t listening.
You are absolutely correct.
Why aren’t you listening?
Omari Garrett? The anti-semitic all-caps-loving wingnut who squalls about not getting free rent for all time? If you’d said Omari Salisbury, I would have agreed with you.
I think these statistics would be very different if the protests had remained peaceful, and not hijacked by the far-left, property-destructing criminals.
Good, Redfin redlines. I don’t particularly respect them or the people who buy from them, on average.
If I wanted to live in a spot that was all nice, neat, and prim then I’d leave to the suburbs etc. too. I want Seattle to be a little dirty, a little chaotic, and def. more arts. Change is messy and hard. Change has to happen. If people don’t want to go through the shit to get to the greener pastures, then cool. The housing market is insanity here. It should go down and yes I own my own place, but don’t care that I don’t make 300% profit or whatever stupid thing it is these days after living in the same spot for 15 years.
Heh, nobody wants to buy! We sold it in 5 days! Trying to justify to the seller why I had to drop the price!
Exactly.
👋🏻