Frustrated with House Shopping (Seattle, Bellevue: sale, 2014, mortgage)

[tickyul]

Too bad, so sad...........your Hipster Heaven has turned into a Hipster Nightmare.

I can see lower middle class and below folks in Seattle.....living a life similar to the Serfs, who live like 3rd world peasants in place like NYC, in the not so far future.

[Blondebaerde]

Hungry (hungriest?) real estate agents have taken to networking with us homeowners on the eastside, here there and everywhere: through mutual friends, at bookstores, etc. Starting to feel like I'm being pursued ala Amway. Inventory seems to be low again, as others mention, though it seems a volatile cycle past 12 months or so. I find it interesting, though does not do the OP any favors and actually illustrates the point pretty graphically. Much of the sub-$500K stuff is starting to look a bit ramshackle. Reminds me of 2005 or 2006 market.

I can imagine what he does for a living, and the frustration since most of the work is eastside and downtown. I lived in Mill Creek and lived that way quite awhile; biggest and really only downer was the commute. Motorcycling solved that a bit more than half the year, van pooling and (rarely) the bus (until they shut down the line) remainder. SOV on 405 just suh...huuuuuhh...UCKS most of the time, though I-5 is worse.

He may have to go Mill Creek or Bothell, but I challenge that these are "bad" options. Doing it over again, I'd have chosen a townhome...not a condo...in Canyon Park (Bothell) somewhere near Swamp Creek interchange for access to eastside (not bad) and Seattle (a bit painful). Problem being it's a cultural desert up there: didn't bother me, may well bother more get out and do-the-town types. Yes, townhomes aren't as nice as homes, from some points of view. Yes, condo life is even worse.

Hell, going all the way back to first responses, if Columbia City is that appealing, make some compromises in where you can and can't go after dark and move right in. I've lived adjacent to ghettos before, when younger, and never "liked" it but made-do. Life is what you make of it, sometimes, both playing the cards you're dealt AND making eyes-open choices w/ramifications.

[Garfunkle524]

Originally Posted by Ira500

The last couple of years have been pretty bad, inventory wise. When you couple that with the fact that inventory is always lowest in the winter, it is frustrating. It's not that easy being a home buyer in most of the Seattle area these days. Inventory is up a little bit from a year ago, and there will be higher inventory as the weather warms up. At some point it will get easier, but all signs point to another low inventory summer, even if it 'll be a little better than last summer.

The inventory is the biggest problem. Too many people sitting on their homes. I recently read an article saying that Seattle area (eastside too) is hitting 2006/2007 pricing levels. Hopefully that will persuade more homeowners to jump into the market and sell this summer.

I do agree that it's incredibly frustrating though. Everyone's happy that the market is creeping up toward previous highs, but those highs are pricing out a lot of first time buyers. I feel incredibly fortunate that, thanks to my wife's savings and our combined incomes, our budget is much bigger than most for our age. Still, it's going to be pretty difficult trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel on the eastside listings.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Garfunkle524

The inventory is the biggest problem. Too many people sitting on their homes. I recently read an article saying that Seattle area (eastside too) is hitting 2006/2007 pricing levels. Hopefully that will persuade more homeowners to jump into the market and sell this summer.

I do agree that it's incredibly frustrating though. Everyone's happy that the market is creeping up toward previous highs, but those highs are pricing out a lot of first time buyers. I feel incredibly fortunate that, thanks to my wife's savings and our combined incomes, our budget is much bigger than most for our age. Still, it's going to be pretty difficult trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel on the eastside listings.

I think it's a good thing when people can afford to buy houses. I don't think it's a good thing when prices escalate quickly. So I'm not one of those who's happy about the market creeping towards previous highs. I guess it's good for those people who bought at the top of the market and were stuck, unable to sell. But for people trying to buy, the combination of rising prices and low inventory isn't a lot of fun.

[Polymorphist]

Thanks for the responses, and my apologies for the rant. I'm definitely waaaay past due on buying a place, i've just been so comfortable in Factoria. To me, it just doesn't get any better in terms of my commute and work life. Can't do condo, though.

The funny thing is that I have been talking to friends in the past few days who love the New Holly/Holly Park area. One is actively looking there and told me to pounce on that house. I'm thinking that this area will be a good investment in the next 6-10 years, sort of like how the CD came around. At least that's what I hope. I'm going to just chalk this up to a more urban living experience and leave it at that. I may end up loving it, who knows.

But it is absolutely ridiculous how people are being pushed-out farther and farther from work centers. This is a common problem with any major city, however at least build infrastructure and transit to help accommodate and ease the commute. We are way past due. I just read that the U District light rail extension is $100 million under budget and may actually open early, so good on them for that. However, that sucker was supposed to have been built and running years ago. I just hate how long everything is taking here, and then cutting Sound Transit and Metro bus service on top of that?

Originally Posted by tobester

Just my two cents ... I live near the area you speak of and know several people who live in New Holly. Yeah, there's lots going on on parts of Rainier late at night. My solution - don't go out on those parts of Rainier late and night and interact with the crack dealers. I've lived in this area for 28 years and love it.

Wow, thanks for your response, this actually helped me to weigh my decision. Just a question - if you go to the store at night, which store do you go to? I'm thinking the Safeway closer to I-90 or maybe the QFC would be best? Seems like the stores south of Othello all have the security guards

[mkarch]

Here's the thing about Holly Park/ New Holly - that development was built on the site of a large public housing complex that was torn down a little over a decade ago. While the public housing is gone, the neighborhood that grew up (er... deteriorated) around it is still there to some degree.

It sounds like you're looking for a newer house. The down side to that is they're either expensive or they're in an area where the land is inexpensive. There have been a decent # of sales in your preferred price range in less dicey areas of Seattle. Unfortunately they're not homes built in the last 10 years unless they're attached and/or on a very small lot (under 2000 sq ft of land).

2 years ago when i was shopping, I hoped to find a decent place in the price range of the New Holly house. After looking for 6+ months I came to the conclusion that what we (both) were going to be happy living in for a while was going to cost quite a bit more. We had the advantage of buying right as prices were starting to rise again, and inventory was not as tight. At the time there was about 6 weeks of inventory in our target area/price, since then it's been no more than 3 weeks of inventory, usually far less. I don't see the inventory situation improving much over the next year or two. Things are so tight it's going to take some major changes, either much higher interest rates, higher prices or another recession to put more homes on the market. Listings are going to rise a bit for sure, but probably not enough to signal a 'buyers market'.

At least you have the advantage of shopping only for yourself, but I can see how it would be frustrating to compete with 2 income households that are willing to pay a lot more.

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Polymorphist

Thanks for the responses, and my apologies for the rant. I'm definitely waaaay past due on buying a place, i've just been so comfortable in Factoria. To me, it just doesn't get any better in terms of my commute and work life. Can't do condo, though.

The funny thing is that I have been talking to friends in the past few days who love the New Holly/Holly Park area. One is actively looking there and told me to pounce on that house. I'm thinking that this area will be a good investment in the next 6-10 years, sort of like how the CD came around. At least that's what I hope. I'm going to just chalk this up to a more urban living experience and leave it at that. I may end up loving it, who knows.

But it is absolutely ridiculous how people are being pushed-out farther and farther from work centers. This is a common problem with any major city, however at least build infrastructure and transit to help accommodate and ease the commute. We are way past due. I just read that the U District light rail extension is $100 million under budget and may actually open early, so good on them for that. However, that sucker was supposed to have been built and running years ago. I just hate how long everything is taking here, and then cutting Sound Transit and Metro bus service on top of that?



Wow, thanks for your response, this actually helped me to weigh my decision. Just a question - if you go to the store at night, which store do you go to? I'm thinking the Safeway closer to I-90 or maybe the QFC would be best? Seems like the stores south of Othello all have the security guards

They did a nice remodel to the Safeway on Othello, it's a lot nicer than it used to be. And it's not really any worse than the Safeway up the road nearer I-90. I also stop at the Saar's in Rainier Beach sometimes. They were the supermarket trying to rid ne'er do wells from their parking lot. So they started blaring classical music into the parking lot. It worked like a charm. Viet Wah has a big supermarket at Martin Luther King and Graham Sts, and the PCC food co-op is near Seward Park at 50th and Wilson. Depending on how far south we're talking, there's also a very nice new Grocery Outlet in Skyway. They do have security guards, but they're the ones keeping the store nice.
For a more suburban feel, it's about ten minutes to the Renton or Burien Fred Meyer stores.

[tobester]

Originally Posted by Polymorphist

Wow, thanks for your response, this actually helped me to weigh my decision. Just a question - if you go to the store at night, which store do you go to? I'm thinking the Safeway closer to I-90 or maybe the QFC would be best? Seems like the stores south of Othello all have the security guards

We shop primarily at the Safeway north of Columbia City or Rainier Beach - it's perfectly fine. Yeah, they have security guards and cops, but gives me a feeling of extra safety. Plus the staff doesn't give you funny looks when you ask for collard greens - once asked at a QFC in Bellevue and got a very puzzled look?

Ira mentioned Saar's in Rainier Beach - good inexpensive produce, an amazing selection of Asian and Mexican foods and a taco truck - why would you want more?

One other place to look for housing (similar to New Holly) is the development near the corner of Alaska and MLK (used to be public housing). It seems to be a great new developing area and has one of the best vegetarian restaurants (St. Dame's) nearby and is walking distance to Columbia City.

[BellevueNative]

Have you looked in West Seattle? A lot of good deals can be had there, it's walkable to a lot of places, and an easier drive to downtown or the Eastside than many places.

[BATCAT]

Spicy cultural cooking odors!!!
Spicy cultural cooking odors!!!
Spicy cultural cooking odors!!!