January 2020 Update

A handful of news articles over the past month show the trending growth of interest in ADU development as an affordable small housing alternative. 2020 just may be the breakthrough year for game-changing events happening near you. News items ranging from the most recent:

January 14: Builder newsletter notes that, because three of four adults believe they can afford fewer than half the homes available for sale these days, and because many aged 55+ individuals have so far fallen short in their retirement planning, the traditional builder market is coming round to considering affordable housing to be an attractive product. Needing coding and financing changes are well on the way in some areas.

January 14: Costs of housing continue to increase at an “alarming” rate, according to this Builder report, but ADUs “have emerged as a source of hope and speculation that this form of increased density may help affordability’s cause.” With predictions that hundreds of thousands of ADU-type structures will be pushed for during the next 15 years, two entrepreneurs and their new company Abodu plan to start regular production of 500 square foot prefabricated structures—some 25 to 30 a year—priced from $130,000 to $140,000.

January 1: A newly revised housing code for Seattle, Washington is opening up back yard to detached ADUs, or DADUs, adding still more versatility to the small house alternative. Seniors can be prime beneficiaries, but other age groups and family members can as well. DADUs can be used by multiple family members, allowing them to rent out the primary structure and/or find tenants for an existing ADU on the property.

December 25, 2019: ADU-pioneering city Minneapolis, Minnesota expanded the ADU definition by allowing construction of a two-story, 1500 square foot ADU, consisting of a downstairs garage and an upstairs two-bedroom apartment with kitchen and bathroom.

As a parting and personal note, newly elected councilman Jason Schachner in my hometown Lakewood, Ohio included ADU development in the city as a plank in his campaign platform. He has expressed interest in working with yours truly on developing future proposals, and I very much look forward to it. This will no doubt enhance the usefulness and practicality of this blog.