2022 was a record year for DADU’s in Seattle. What is in store for DADU’s 2023?

This Greenlake DADU sold for $945,000 in September 2022

Despite supply chain disruptions, a protracted concrete strike, labor shortages and high construction costs, a record 495 DADU’s were built in Seattle last year. This DADU located in the Green Lake neighborhood sold as a condo in September for $945,000. It is representative of the increasing number of DADUs being build by larger homebuilders for sale. A trend that is likely to continue even as rising interest rates and cooling housing prices slow construction of larger new homes and multi-family projects.

A cooling of the broader real estate market will likely benefit those building DADU’s

Historically construction costs have closely tracked the sales price of new construction. A downturn in commercial and multi-family housing starts will free up labor and material and 2023 will likely see construction costs moderating in tandem with the overall real estate market. While large numbers of DADUs will also be built in 2023 what is most likely to change is who is building DADU’s. The number of home owners looking to downsize, accommodate a family member, or create rental income are poised to increase even as the number of DADU’s built for sale is likely to decline.

DADU’s will continue to increase in size and complexity

High land and construction costs mean that building a DADU that efficiently achieves your goals is more important than ever. For any given DADU that efficiency depends on the designing with the specifics of the site and those goals in mind. With recent code changes in Seattle DADU’s are allowed to be larger with more design flexibility, and faster to permit. Larger DADUs can more readily serve the needs of families and designs with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a garage and increased storage will become more common 2023.