Below is a map showing the median price increases within the Seattle and Eastside markets. What we typically see is the closer you are to Downtown Seattle the higher the median price increase. Last year was a bit different in that Downtown Bellevue clearly led the pack. I can tell you that the inflow of money from China was a huge difference for this area and that helped drive up prices.
What is also interesting to me is that Queen Anne and Capitol Hill are usually the areas that have the highest increases. As you can see, last year that wasn’t the case the neighborhoods a bit further out from the city, yet still in Seattle proper, faired much better. As prices continue to climb for the in-city properties, buyers are forced to go further out to get a property they can afford. We are seeing the Millennials still wanting to be as close to downtown but purchasing in areas like Shoreline (North of downtown) or Beacon Hill (just south of downtown).
With quality of life becoming more of a factor, and traffic being a major consideration, it is not a surprise that areas like Redmond/Carnation and Juanita/Woodinville did not fare as well as others. The price of gas has certainly helped those areas but traffic continues to get worse. If only light rail would get here sooner…….
