Market Chat with Matt

A little market update with our commentary of course. A more what’s up on the local level. We had to only us Seattle hoods that have enough data to make accurate median home prices. So, Not all hoods will be represented but we did include hoods from the NW, N, NE, Central, S, SE and SW. A little spatter in each quadrant. 🙂

Capitol Hill

The deets:

Condos Median Price 2018: $492,000 | up 22.7% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $1,150,000 | up 22.7% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

Well it means everyone still loves Capitol Hill. With easy access, great food and cultural delights It’s no wonder everyone piles on to the Hill. Price here are still on a sharp increase. I’d read this to mean Capitol Hill still has more room for higher prices in the minds of buyers.

Queen Anne

The deets:

Condos Median Price 2018: $505,000 | up 20.2% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $1,002,253 | up 1% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

Condos here have always been pretty cheap compared to other hoods with more night life (Capitol Hill). So condo values are shooting up right now because you get more for the money here.

Houses on the other hand have hardly gone up in price. Why? Well, Queen Anne hasn’t had much in the way of new construction which likely skews the numbers. I also suspect Amazon’s Mercer mess is a culprit. Getting out of Queen Anne and to a freeway has become quite an adventure as of late. It’s terrible trying to get anywhere else in the city from Queen Anne barring SLU. So, I think buyers are turning away from Queen Anne and choosing other more accessible hoods. We also think the Lower Queen Anne up zone is likely worrisome for buyers looking for views or less congestion. We still think it’s a great hood but Queen Anne is facing some head wind. It’s likely that this hood is leveling off. 

Wallingford

The deets:

Condos Median Price 2018: $470,000 | up 21.6% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $900,000 | up 18.4% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

Wallingford was a little bit of a late bloomer. If you look at the graph you can see it was early 2017 that the rise got steep. We noted this on the ground to as we had a few buyers who really wanted to live in Wallingford at that time and the prices just starting shooting to the stars. The thing about Wallingford is it works for both Amazon and Microsoft buyers. We get a lot of couples one with Amazon and one with Microsoft and Wallingford is the perfect hood for those folks. Plus it’s just a good hood. Good access, good shops, and great schools. Wallingford still has a few years of sharp increases before it levels out.

Ballard

The deets:

Condos Median Price 2018: $501,000 | up 25.6% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $785,000 | up 11.3% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Another example of the north hoods caping out as buyers flock to Seattle’s southend. Condo’s are doing very well in Ballard because you get a lot of condo for the money in Ballard. Plus walkability is very high in Ballard so there is a draw for condos. Single family homes are likely going to slow their appreciation until the Southend get’s closer to Ballards median price.

Whats up?

It would seem that housing in Ballard is perhaps tapering off. Ballard has great access for our SLU friends but if you work downtown, Bellevue or anywhere else, Ballard has some commuting struggles. Plus, Ballard is getting quite congested. I believe the Southend will pass Ballard’s median home prices this year (2018). On the other hand Ballards condos are still rising fast. This is because buyers in Seattle generally are beginning to feel priced out of houses and townhouses. This has buyers scurrying toward condo alternatives. You might notice city wide Condos are appreciating faster than single family homes. This is a recent event. We

Central District

Condos Median Price 2018: $439,000 | up 12.6% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $779,500 | up 13.0% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

Central District had a meteoric rise last year. This year there has been very little to sell. Closed sales are down 17.2% this year. I think this will fix it’s self later this year because Central District has a lot of good happening over the next few years. New shopping centers at Jackson and Union. New high end grocery stores, new restaurants you name it. This is classic gentrification. Central District got pretty pricy last year. We see attached townhouses in this hood between $850K to $900K on the regular. Central District still has legs for increase. Especially after the Paul Allen and Union projects are fully realized. (2019-2020)

North Beacon Hill

Condos Median Price 2018: $379,995 | up 22.2% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $700,000 | up 22.8% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

If Central District exploded last year, North Beacon is exploding now. This year in Jan and February we had several buyers targeting this hood and prices have begun to sky rocket. The thing about NBH is people move in and do not move out. So the number of sales can be low. Still North Beacon hill has long legs for appreciation. With 13 new mid-rise towers with first floor retail slated in NBH’s urban village and new shops opening every year this hood’s desirability is constantly improving. Plus you get views, under 10 minute commute downtown and to Capitol Hill and that is to say nothing about the light rail and direct bus access. This is a good hood to live or to invest.

Columbia City

Condos Median Price 2018: $356,000 | up 21.1% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $708,500 | up 23.2% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

Columbia City is just more evidence that buyers purchasing decisions are looking South instead of North as was traditional. You can live so much closer to DT for the money South then you can North. Columbia City is like the South end’s Ballard. It’s about as far from downtown and about as far from I-5 as Ballard. The big difference being LIGHT RAIL and an abundance of surface roads that get you around. Another key difference between the North and South is Traffic. There is a lot less traffic south then there is North due to the cut that separates the north from downtown. Buyers are cashing on to this and this is the reason we see this meteoric rise South of downtown.

West Seattle

Condos Median Price 2018: $401,000 | up 19.7% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

House Median Price 2018: $669,000 | up 15.3% over last year. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Whats up?

West Seattle is one of the most interesting neighborhoods. I mean really West Seattle is it’s own city and you could break this hood up into something like 12 micro-hoods. Still West Seattle is seeing significant increases but faces some headwind for the time being. Many buyers are concerned about how the traffic or their commute might change once the viaduct is torn down. Of course buyers are hyper-vigilante when buying so sometimes they feel the risk is to great. Now, I think the traffic will only be minor in change and once the tunnel opens and the viaduct goes buyers will adjust and the fear of the unknown will pass. Then, I suspect, West Seattle will BLOW UP!!! 🙂 It’s undervalued in my opinion. West Seattle has everything. Met market, PCC, QFC, tons of shops, beaches, great restaurants… EVERYTHING. Keep your eyes on West Seattle.