Seattle WA Real Estate

Before 1870, Seattle, WA real estate effectively did not exist. At the time, Seattle was a tiny, far-flung frontier outpost that was attractive only to a select few hardy travelers, gold-seekers, and entrepreneurs. Today, the cityscape of Seattle is quite different. Seattle, WA real estate is home to approximately 600,000 citizens from all walks of life – and the city continues to grow at a moderate but steady level. As city planners look into the future, then, they are focusing on the likelihood of measurable growth that will continue to rise. Over the next two decades, for example, planners expect the population of the city to grow by anywhere from 200,000 to 350,000 people. Population gains in this range would provide the city with a rate of growth much faster than recent years.

The challenge for city planners, then, is to ensure that Seattle, WA real estate continues to offer great options to an ever-increasing population – but without sacrificing the city’s innate charm and character. The actions of Seattle city planners, then, center around the city’s zoning laws. For decades, one of the defining factors of Seattle’s growth has been that the city’s zoning laws favor single-family homes over multi-family developments. Planners hope to preserve these laws and thereby keep the overall character of the city intact. This is being down by loosening restrictions in the city center, allowing for taller buildings and denser residential areas at the heart of Seattle, WA real estate. Over time, then, growth is likely to be centered in the downtown area.

Ask Your Seattle Real Estate Agents About Historic Housing

The Carpenter Gothic houses from 812-828 Twenty-third Avenue date back to 1892, when the Seattle Washington real estate was slated as low-income Victorian housing. Today the four row houses – designated as Official City of Seattle Landmarks in December 1979 — are owned by private citizens.

Ask your Seattle real estate agents to take you for a stroll along Federal Avenue East, just east of Tenth Avenue East, where you will see some of the most stylish turn-of-the-century architecture the city has to offer. The street is packed with everything from Spanish and Dutch Colonials to English Tudors, Normans, French Provincial manors, English Country Cottages and Mediterranean Villas. Large Craftsman style homes and Classic Box architecture sprouted up in stark contrast to its more ornate neighbors. Federal Avenue East surely has one of the most diverse housing stocks in the nation, Seattle real estate agents say.

Following WWII, industry began leaving the area, which led many buildings to languish in a state of disrepair. Pioneer Square was rescued by the Historic Seattle organization and wealthy philanthropists in the 1960s. Pike Place Market was saved from demolition in the 1970s. The City Landmarks program began in the 1970s to protect valuable Seattle Washington real estate like Pike Place, the International District, Ballard Avenue, Columbia City, the Harvard-Belmont and Fort Lawton.

One Architect Dares to Dream Up New Seattle Real Estate

Tom Kundig of Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects may very well be the future of Seattle real estate. This 53-year-old University of Washington graduate will be traveling to Washington DC this summer to be honored with an architecture design award for the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

He compares his work to mountain climbing: “It’s not just about getting to the top,” he says, “it’s about the elegance in how you get there.” Likewise, Seattle WA real estate isn’t just about windows, but rather, “a window that opens in such a way that it gives you a little thrill.”

One of Kundig’s Seattle real estate hallmarks is his use of “gizmos.” For example, he once made a 6-ton behemoth window out of steel and glass – and yet, his six-year-old daughter could open it easily. “The idea is that every day we touch these things… Why can’t we re-imagine them?”

He also tries to create an emotional balance in his designs. For example, his personal piece of Seattle WA real estate on Queen Anne offers a formidable view of the Olympic Mountains through floor-to-ceiling windows, yet plush cave-like interiors. “It’s the yin and yang of our experience,” he explains.

Though 40% of his Seattle real estate work is commercial, he admits his real passion lies in residential. Right now his pride and joy will be a 37-story hotel-condo tower.

Daniel Friedman, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, said Kundig’s structures “are like wunderkammer – a cabinet of wonders.”

“We’ve lost sight of that in our culture,” Friedman continues. “Tom’s work recovers wonder on a very intimate scale. He enriches the ordinary experience. And no one does it better.”

Seattle’s Growing Strong, Despite US Recession

Seattle WA real estate is thriving. In fact, the city’s growing at such a rapid rate, it’s halfway to reaching its targeted housing growth for 20 years (in just over 3 years’ time!) Some of the neighborhoods – including Ballard, Eastlake, Greenlake, the Central Area, Lower Queen Anne and downtown – have already surpassed their 20-year targets. Ballard has had the fastest growth, adding 287 completed housing units, with 1,452 more under construction.

Councilmember Nick Licata says that the growth has been responsible, but there could be some improvements. “Now’s the time for us to step back and ask ourselves if we are accompanying that growth with improvements to our public services, cultural amenities and open spaces.”

In Eastlake, the second fastest growing neighborhood in Seattle real estate, they’re at 158% of its residential growth target. “While some Eastlake residents might mourn the change of their neighborhood, others appreciate the urban vitality they see growing up around them,” explains Eastlake Community Councilman Matthew Stubbs. “I would not day there is a universal cry to halt development but there are some common desires for our neighborhood that I hear repeatedly.”

He went on to say the people living in fast-growing Seattle WA real estate desire infrastructure to keep pace, reliable mass transit, access to neighborhood schools, well maintained green space and community gathering places.

Seattle Real Estate Housing Values Drop

Prices are dropping for Seattle real estate but how low will they go? Economist Andrew Gledhill predicts that Seattle housing values will drop 11% from July 2007 to the first or second quarter of 2009 before rebounding.”We’re a little over the halfway point,” he estimates. Since June 2006, values have declined 6.5%, he adds.

Matthew Gardner, a Seattle land-use economist, scoffed at the numbers. “I just find it absolutely ridiculous when you hear these kinds of numbers and everybody’s supposed to get excited about it. Do I expect to see double-digit declines? I don’t.” Compared to other markets, which may drop 23% from their peak, Seattle WA real estate isn’t faring so bad, he adds.

Some areas of Seattle real estate aren’t really affected at all, in fact. For example, luxury homes in King County are still selling at a median price of $454,950 and sales were only down 1.1% since last year. Similarly, houses in Seattle and Bellevue are still selling due to high demand, owing in part to the high number of jobs in the area.
With the summer coming up and interest rates low, some predict the Seattle WA real estate market will bounce back quicker than expected. J. Lennox Scott, real estate CEO, explains, “There are such great opportunities for buyers right now to position themselves for the future. Interest rates are historically low, there’s a healthy inventory of homes to choose from, and the new, higher conforming loan limits have increased housing affordability. If you’re a buyer, this is the time to take advantage of these unique market conditions.”