September 2015, Evolution of the Seattle and Eastside Housing Market, What are you seeing? (neighborhood, live)

[perigee]

Originally Posted by Legacy Bear

May I ask where I can find or get info on new construction types.or how it works?

It's best to start with posting your budget and preferred neighborhoods. Also, starting a new thread would probably get you a better response.

[homesinseattle]

Legacy, do you mean architectural style? Homes available?

[Boxkicker]

Originally Posted by Legacy Bear

if you arr selling for gains, where will you folks move to? lol

I wasn't selling for a gain as the main motivation. Got a job offer to transfer to Spokane and took it.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Boxkicker

I wasn't selling for a gain as the main motivation.

Probably because there wasn't much of a gain in Maple Valley....

[Legacy Bear]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Legacy, do you mean architectural style? Homes available?

I meant like now residential constructions and up starts. i googled, and the price difference is A LOT as you move away from.Bellevue and Seattle.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by Legacy Bear

I meant like now residential constructions and up starts. i googled, and the price difference is A LOT as you move away from.Bellevue and Seattle.

That's due to land value. It doesn't make sense to build inexpensive homes on expensive lots.

An easy way to compare is looking at the cost of a brand new 3000 sq ft house on an average size lot (4K-10K sq ft), as those are being built in pretty much all areas and neighborhoods around Seattle. At the high end that is close to $2M, middle of the road a bit over $1M, yet if you get out into the exurbs you can find them for as little as $350K. Some of that price difference is quality of construction and "luxury finishes" but most of it is due to the underlying land costs.

[homesinseattle]

Well sure, supply and demand. More people with more money want to live closer in.

[homesinseattle]

This time of year (Jan, Feb) is historically slow in real estate, this year it isn't (I have 7 homes closing this month). Low inventory, strong hiring, high demand, low interest rates continue to drive the market. Call it a mirage if you want but statistics just don't support that way of thinking. Multiple offers, escalations clauses, pre-inspections are the norm, especially in close-in neighborhoods.

In short, it's a good time to be a seller. In this competitive market, buyers have undeniable challenges to securing a home. You can win but your strategy needs to be well planned and executed.

[frkun]

I would qualify the market as a complete mad house right now. A friend of mine is looking for a house in Ballard(ish) area. One she liked was listed for 650k. She went for it with escalation clause till 740k. Lost! It went down for $780k.

[cmswazey]

Ballard's been nuts for years. There are homes in decent areas that are less than 500 or 600k. But you have to go small without views.