House prices, am I missing something? (Seattle, Bellevue: apartments, leases, neighborhoods)

[swerver]

Originally Posted by Garfunkle524

Is that really what they're paying? 120k 2 years out of school?

Some may get that but it's definitely not the norm. Most people will have to work 10 or 15 years before they get there. If you wanna use glass door, sde I is averaging 90k and sde II averages 102k.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by swerver

Some may get that but it's definitely not the norm. Most people will have to work 10 or 15 years before they get there. If you wanna use glass door, sde I is averaging 90k and sde II averages 102k.

Agreed. More normal for 10+ years into their career.

[Ira500]

I don't think the natural beauty of an area has much to do with it's housing costs. How good the schools are perceived to be? Sure. Proximity to work is something of a factor. Vermont is really gorgeous, and lots of Arkansas is too. But houses are far cheaper there. I think a lot of LA is really ugly. Yet house prices there make Seattle's look cheap. And even in the Seattle area, parts of Burien are just gorgeous, with views of Puget Sound, Vashon Island, the Olympic mountains, etc. Yet houses cost about half of what they do in Wallingford. I'm glad everyday that I live in a place with as much natural beauty as we have here. But I don't think it affects home prices much.

Originally Posted by mrman78

I think the beauty of the area has a lot to do with it too and the geography in general. People are drawn to scenic regions and with Seattle being surrounded by water and mountains, it's just going to happen. When you combine that with so many highly educated people and high paying jobs, it jacks up the prices for some reason. I think the weather is the only thing that has stopped it from becoming really insane. If the weather was amazing year round, I bet Seattle would be one of the top 5 biggest cities in the US, ha. Also, many of these houses can have decent views too I guess. I mean the whole west coast is expensive in terms of housing because a lot of people want to live out here. I can't say I blame them, I mean I chose Seattle based on the location and access to so many things I like to do in addition to there being a decent amount of jobs in my field. The scenery is just a fantastic bonus.

[RustinginSeattle]

The lay of the land affects a lot of it. We have lots of water and mountains, so we can't build extra freeways and our sprawl is very limited. I work downtown and live in Ballard. I cannot get home without going over a bridge, even though it's a 15 minute drive. Chicago is cheaper, because they can sprawl and have lots of freeways. Also, businesses are spread out into the burbs more there. Businesses tend to stay fairly centrally located here, so everyone needs to get to the same place everyday. So people pay good money for houses to avoid a seriously hideous commute.

Add to that big growth in high paying jobs and growth of our population and you have a lot more heavy hitters in the house hunt. Finally, don't forget that a lot of these people may have already owned a home somewhere else (or here) and have equity to use for their down payments. It's much different for a first time home buyer.

[Garfunkle524]

Originally Posted by RustinginSeattle

It's much different for a first time home buyer.

So for a first time buyer is it nearly impossible to get anything decent?

[jjinla]

Ever been to Vermont from October through April? Yep, that's why it's cheap.

As for LA, prices there really aren't any different than prime parts of Seattle. You get a newer, bigger house with a basement in WA, but still. In Manhattan Beach for example, I can get a 4br for about a million and be 30 minutes from most jobs. And although homes are smaller there, it's because you are rarely indoors so our 1600 sq ft house seemed much less cramped than our bigger one in NY because you are stuck in it half the year.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Garfunkle524

So for a first time buyer is it nearly impossible to get anything decent?

You have to figure out what you're willing to compromise on. Unless you can spend $750K, (and even then...) you need to set priorities. Something is not going to make the cut, maybe several things.

[Ultrarunner]

It is a desirable area with a continual influx of people coming to the area...

Everything is relative.

[metoque]

Originally Posted by jjinla

Ever been to Vermont from October through April? Yep, that's why it's cheap.

As for LA, prices there really aren't any different than prime parts of Seattle. You get a newer, bigger house with a basement in WA, but still. In Manhattan Beach for example, I can get a 4br for about a million and be 30 minutes from most jobs. And although homes are smaller there, it's because you are rarely indoors so our 1600 sq ft house seemed much less cramped than our bigger one in NY because you are stuck in it half the year.

Ever been to Seattle September through June? Just kidding

I totally agree that Seattle is practically as expensive as Southern California. I know it's what the market is demanding, but Seattle is way overpriced in my opinion for what you get.

[st3mpy]

I'm excited about moving to Seattle, but this post worries me. Eating cooked meals at home is considered "poor" here? Driving an older, perfectly functional car is considered "poor" here? Man, apparently the Californians really have taken over.