Location, Location, Location

[akirlu]

In Seattle, $300,000 will now buy you:

(a) A 450 sq. ft. 1bd condo courtyard bungalow on First Hill
(b) A 840 sq. ft. 2bd Craftsman in the Rainier Valley
(c) A 900(?) sq. ft. 3bd townhouse in Lake City
(d) None of the above


Yah-huh, that would be (d).

No, in Seattle $300,000 appears to buy (maybe) either a fixer next to the freeway or a fixer directly under the flight path of Sea-Tac international. Or possibly a fixer with a view of Boeing field, but that one seemed a lot like the contractors were falling all over each other to see who could put a total of 3 new townhouses on the "oversize" lot.

In Everett, the same $300,000 will buy you 1500 sq. ft. of turn of the century Builder's Cottage in a cool, mostly well-maintained old neighborhood, with a view of the Sound.

So I'm now pondering whether I could endure a 30 mile commute and the death of social life as I know it. It's probably that or going condo, which I would mind less if the condo options looked better.

In other news, we saw a pair of bald eagles on Saturday, the mature bird trailed by a full-grown juvenile. Same day also spotted a nesting flicker, and a nesting osprey. Also a pair of nesting Canada geese harrassing a pedestrian. And the turtles have started coming out on Lake Washington.

Also, I am developing a deep and abiding hatred of vinyl siding.

Comments

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

It's hard to understand what's driving the housing prices, since the economy isn't that hot -- is it? Maybe it's just that people in the outlying areas want to move into the city, I dunno. I guess Boeing is doing good business again, so maybe that's driving it now.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I dunno if the economy is that hot or not, but Seattle has so much natural curb appeal (as it were) that I think people want to try and live here if they possibly can. But as far as I know, all the local major employers are going gangbusters, and MSoft is expanding. Gotta put all them MSofties somewhere. Downtown Belleview has something like 8-10 cranes up right now.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

Well, and then it occurred to me that housing prices kept going up even during the last recession, when unemployment in Seattle was worse than the national average. But I guess that was one reason people thought it might be an investment-driven bubble.