Help a future Seattleite? (Bellevue, White Center: sale, real estate, lease)

[gnab gib]

Seattle was love at first sight for me and my wife. She loves the trees, I love the water, we both love the mountains. The city itself was beautiful -- reminds me of a combination of San Francisco and Chicago, and I mean that in a good way. The summer temps were wonderful when we were there, and the people were friendly and helpful without fail. I love clouds and rain, so I'm sure I'll be right at home for most of the year.

We'll probably move out there next year. We got some info on the housing market and the cost of living, but now I just want to double-check a few things with the locals, if I might.

-- A very helpful tour guide said that when we're looking for work, we should try to live and work on the same side of Lake Washington. He thought the worst congestion was on the bridges connecting Seattle with the eastern suburbs. Is that a pretty good rule of thumb? I know that 5 and 405 get bad, too, because we got stuck in some rush-hour traffic. Nothing that a few DC residents can't handle, though.

-- We tried to see as much of the city as we could, and my impression that the only areas we might definitely want to avoid are White Center and Rainier Beach. Does that sound about right? I was surprised to see, for the most part, that Seattle didn't seem to have a lot of bad neighborhoods -- more like a few sketchy blocks here and there, but then you're out of the "bad" area again.

-- How is the housing market? Some folks said prices are staying put, and others said home values (and therefore sale prices) are starting to fall. We also got mixed views on how the job market is doing compared with other parts of the country. We'd love to get a modest house for around $400K, but I'm aware of the challenge that might pose, given the current prices out there.

-- Of the parts of town we visited and would consider living in, we liked Fremont, Wallingford, and the University District the best. Ballard wasn't bad, either. Are any of these neighborhoods better or worse than others, and why? I know that's an open-ended question that'll get subjective answers, but I'm thinking in terms of crime, good shopping, which is most economical, that sort of thing. I don't care about the nightlife one way or the other ... I'm old, boring, and married.

We're looking for a safe, quiet neighborhood with shopping nearby (chain stores and groceries, mainly). That's about it.

Thanks for your input.

[Ira500]

I'm not sure about living there, but White Center has some great hole in the wall ethnic eateries, including the Salvadorean Bakery, and Rainier Beach is not all bad either, in fact Upper Rainier Beach has nice houses, nice views, and the Kubota Public Gardens.
Lots of people do the Seattle-Eastside commute, and it can be horrible, but not always...I-90 flows much better than 520, so commuting from those areas not far from I-90 entrances( like Mount Baker, Central District, Beacon Hill, Leschi, Madrona can be okay, especially if you commute at times other thn normal rush hour...For a while my wife was doing the Leschi- Bellevue trip early in the AM and it took 20 minutes.
Of the neighborhoods you mentioned, the University District might have a little more crime..You can get a modest house for 400 thousand, but especially in neighborhoods other than Ballard and Wallingford...There are lots of nice neighborhoods you probably didn't get a chance to see that are less trendy than Ballard or Wallingford but also less expensive...House prices? They have come down and are continuing to drop, but have dropped far less thus far than in other cities, but they didn't start dropping until late last summer, much later than most other cities. Generally, folks connected to the real estate industry will tell you that now is a good time to buy, that you should buy before interest rates rise, and before prices go back up, but that's generally based on their own self interest, and not on fact...
But, in certain Seattle neighborhoods, prices really have held steady, and two of those neighborhoods just happen to be Ballard and Wallingford...I'm not suggesting at all that you not try to look in those neighborhoods, but there are also a bunch of other very nice/cool/hip/artsy/walkable/quiet neighborhoods that just don't command that premium that Ballard and Wallingford currently have.

[Jennibc]

Even if prices do drop a bit, I don't think you will ever be able to find a single family home in Wallingford for 400k, modest or otherwise. You may be able to find a two bedroom, one bath in the ballard area for that. If you go a little further north to Crown Hill you might have more luck. But again, if you are not coming out for another year or so, everything is subject to change - except my prediction on Wallingford - I don't event think you could find anything in the 500 to 600 range there. So many people with $$$$ want to live there.

[allforcats]

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[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by allforcats

YoAdrian, please enable Direct Messages to YoAdrian. I would like to send some info to you. Thank you.

Hi! You can pass along that info to amrush71 at gmail dot com. If you don't mind. And thank you!

[Ira500]

As of today, there are 6 single family homes listed for 400 thousand and under in Ballard, 2 in Wallingford, and 3 in the University District..Not plentiful, not pretty (except for one of them in Ballard which might be a horror show inside)but they do exist.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by Ira500

As of today, there are 6 single family homes listed for 400 thousand and under in Ballard, 2 in Wallingford, and 3 in the University District..Not plentiful, not pretty (except for one of them in Ballard which might be a horror show inside)but they do exist.

I know you have access to the MLS as a realtor and we nonrealtors must rely on realtor.com, but I thought that most everything ends up on realtor.com a few days after going on the market. I cannot find any single family home in the 98103 zip code for under 400. There are a couple of houseboats and townhouses but no stand alones. I would be curious if the 2 that you found are actually tear downs.

[Ira500]

Some of the big real estate agencies here are not members of the Board of Realtors, so their listings don't make it to realtor.com....In other places being a realtor is mandatory, here there are an increasing number of agencies opting to not join the realtor group.You'd be more likely to find those listings looking at nwrealestate.com or redfin or johnlscott,
or DM me with your email address and I'll send you the listings.

[mayfair]

The big question is- do you want to pay 400K for a small, old, fixer house? Many people don't.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by mayfair

The big question is- do you want to pay 400K for a small, old, fixer house? Many people don't.

Not really, no. But we're also not locked in on those communities/neighborhoods, either. A lot will depend on where we get jobs and how much we make. We're not planning on doing anything till our lease is up next April here in metro DC, so we have time to do some more research. I did just apply for a job with Microsoft, though, so who knows ... maybe we'll be moving sooner rather than later.

If anyone wants to DM me, just use my e-mail addy a few posts up. Thanks!