The value of Light in Seattle Real Estate
My buddy Marlow did a great interview about light, day light, in a listing of hers. http://360digest.com/2010/04/26/light-a-commodity/#comments
It started me thinking about how when we buy properties in Seattle we look for South Western exposure. We want to have as much daylight as we can. As I recall we only have about 52 days of cloudless skies here in Seattle.
While I was thinking about this it so happened we cleaned a couple of condominium units, in different buildings, in different parts of the city. Both units had full sun light, sat high up above the street, and were both unobstructed in the views they had. Both were South West exposure.
In another post, or series, I’ll write about what makes some condo units a good value, but for right now I just wanted to make the point about the light.
It’s kind of common for artists to want Northern light because it’s more consistent during the day, and casts softer shadows. You still need to be higher up, like on a hill, for it to be effective. You also need space from the next structure. You need the light to be a strong presence in your home for it to add value. Some architects have built careers on how they use light in a project.
For Seattle we need all the light we can get. It’s a dark place here, with some darker winters.