Vacant Land for Sale

Attention, Builders, Developers and Investors!

If you are looking for vacant land to develop, or to build a custom home, you have less competition from buyers on the NWMLS than those looking for an improved property to purchase (ie. one that has a house on it already).

There are 117 current listings on the NWMLS for vacant land in the city of Seattle. They range in price from $29,925 to $4,650,000. 91 of these properties are priced under $500,000.

Those priced under $500,000, have been on the market anywhere from 7 to 411 days. Vacant land parcels that sold in the last six months sold on average within 53 days on market for a median price of $101,500.

There are 19 land parcels currently priced under this amount on the NWMLS right now. Of these, only one has been on the market for less than 53 days and it is currently inaccessible and challenging to develop.

I would love to tell you more about these land parcels, but most of the listing agents prohibit blogging, which limits my ability to sell you on these properties. Silly listing agents!

However, I can send you lists of any land parcels in which you may be interested. Just message me privately at HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com and I can send you detailed listings with photos.

Happy Investing!

Seattle Lot Restrictions

A popular tool for Seattle real estate investors has been to subdivide larger City lots in order to build a second house.

In 2012, the City started hearing some strong reactions from residents upon learning that tall houses were being developed in their neighborhoods on what had been considered back or side lots, but not anticipated to be a developable lot.

In September 2012, City Council adopted Ordinance 123978, interim regulations for small lot development in Single Family zones. The ordinance addressed public concerns that some developments on single-family zoned lots, which were approved through existing lot area exceptions, were incompatible with surrounding neighborhoods. This interim ordinance:

1. Eliminated one lot-area exemption that allowed lots to be established through historic County property tax records;

2. Established a minimum lot size of at least 50% of the minimum requirement of the zone; and

3. Imposed new height restrictions on new houses proposed for lots of less that 3,750 square feet.

The ordinance was adopted on an emergency basis. The progress to modify standards for small lots in Single Family zones has been delayed slightly by changes at City Hall - new Mayor and new head of the City Council Committee that handles land use matters - but are expected to get back on track soon. The new standards will likely be adopted in the next few months. Typically code amendments take effect 30 days after they are adopted by City Council and signed by the Mayor, so we may be looking at May or so before new standards are in effect.

Happy Investing!