Over the last two days, we saw fifteen homes. If you happen to be, you know, shopping in the eastside of Puget Sound for houses in approximately our price range, here's a list of what we saw.
27033806: Holy crap, they completely remodeled a tiny shack! Be sure to check out the freakin' weird loft your 10-year-old will love until he turns 12. Don't miss: the neighboring home, something like the ugly dude you bring to the bar to make you look better when you pick up chicks.
27021259: Right around the corner from this last place was this one, which is incredibly more attractive with far more space and a two-car carport. The only downside? If you wall in your carport to make a garage, you kill the view from three of your front-facing windows. Beware flood plains and the two adjacent vacant properties (we're in track-home country now). Don't miss: the only downer, the "ugly neighbor" house from the previous listing is still right around the corner from this one.
27038532: Nicely appointed home that the current owners have clearly outgrown. I hope you find someone willing to pay a Kirkland premium for a house that's technically in Bothell. Don't miss: who cares? It's Bothell.27039023: This one was so bad I felt terrible taking pictures. "Close to 405" is something of an understatement: road noise from the stone's-throw-away I-405 was practically deafening both inside and outside the house. Square footage is outrageous for a Rambler in this area: in addition to the four large bedrooms and huge living room, some previous owner converted the two-car garage into an additional room sometime in the early 1980s. Sure, it's big, but it's way way overpriced for what it is. Don't miss: the late-1970s Camaro parked in the driveway.
27011074: Oh man, where to begin with this one. It's a much older split-level with four bedrooms (and an extra non-bedroom-used-as-a-bedroom off the kitchen) and absolutely crammed solid with people. I think we counted seven or eight beds while we toured this place. Note to owners and tenants: I realize it's difficult to sell a house when you've got (a lot of) kids, but there were kids watching at least three different TVs in different rooms while we were there. The upside was that this place is absolutely brimming with space and actually has hardwood in most rooms—albeit in serious need of refinishing. Unfortunately, the neighborhood won't really support a full remodel on this house, so it's not worth the money. Don't miss: the really scary sag in the roof right above the front living room.
27016880: It's clear lots of money went into refinishing and staging this house, but it's a bit too modern for our taste. That said, the workmanship was fantastic and some of the touches add a lot of value to the home (large decks, etc.). The only downside is that it's right on 208th and gets lots of road noise—and this was even when 208th was closed a block further for construction. Don't miss: the totally radical bamboo bathroom.
27029497: Cozy. This place is maybe on the north side of 900 sq. ft., but I can't guarantee it. The upside here is that it's on a 15,000 sq. ft. lot...although most of that lot is completely unusable because it's drops down into a stream at the back. Don't miss: the totally sweet mushroom detail on the kitchen cabinets.
26193515: Lovely home with recently updated interior, nestled amongst the trees, and fifty feet away from a double-wide. Neat 1,000 sq. ft. wraparound deck with only marginally scary rot. One other oddity: the attached garage isn't accessible from the interior. Don't miss: the bathroom wallpaper that somehow escaped any remodeling.
27029679: Yet another cute home outgrown by a family. Location is a downer unless you really like sitting in traffic on E. Lake Sammamish for hours on end. Remember the roof nails from last night? Don't miss: the fantastic rear view directly into the neighbor's living room.
Damn, houses are expensive out there.
And that's not even the half of it. All of these homes were seriously entry level.
All forecasts I've seen show Puget Sound as one of the few areas with major appreciation potential in the next few years. It doesn't seem like the prices here could get much higher, but one just has to look at silicon valley to know how much higher things can go.
How are things outside the immidiate area? Many people here commute from the south side of Indy because they are able to get a lot more home for the money than in Columbus, and it is also getting worse here due to the new Honda plant as well as a new engine which Cummins is developing for Dodge. However, pricey is relative, as my $116k 3 br, 1.5 bath on a 110x100 lot now being something I could sell for $125k is pricey.
Still fairly bad. I refer you to Zillow: areas with a 2-hour commute (Snoqualmie and Snohomish) still boast values in the high $300k range. Decidedly less desirable areas (more crime, more trailer parks, etc.) with the same 2-hour commute get you down into the low $300k range.
Higher property values bring higher appreciation, and it's not uncommon to find people who have made $200k on their entry-level homes in the last three or four years. What was worth $250k in 2003 is now close to $500k.