Seattle WA housing affordability gradually improving

This is the first in a series of educational articles being provided in an effort to help you understand what is really happening in the Seattle WA real estate market. This understanding may help you make sound home buying and selling decisions. The focus will be on Seattle WA housing affordability (including Bellevue WA, Renton WA, Kent WA, Burien WA, Tukwila WA and Seattle neighborhoods like Mount Baker Seattle, Beacon Hill Seattle, Seward Park Seattle and Rainier Valley Seattle just to name a few).

The starting place I have chosen has to do with housing affordability in Seattle WA. Sources will be cited, quoted, linked to and explained. It is my hope that you will go away from these articles with an understanding of how you might want to perceive your Mount Baker WA or Seward Park WA home buying potential. A lot of the time we just look at the “Honey, I think it is time to buy a home!” syndrome. And, by the way, you might be right. So this should just flesh in the bones for you.  You should find this CNN article of interest: Housing affordability back to pre-bubble levels

So, what is this housing affordability issue all about? How does it affect my existence? Simply put, housing affordability tells us a lot about the state of our home construction and home selling economics. Its about, does the cop who protects us, or the teacher of our children have what it takes to buy a home in the neighborhoods where they work? Do you? Below is a list of items which help us interpret Seattle WA community statistics.

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UpFront mortgage brokerage represents Seattle home buyers better

I am an UpFront mortgage broker.  Always have been.  Always will be.  I have been practicing a personal philosophy for over 20 years,one which represents my clients best interest in their Seattle home buying and mortgage decisions.  As it relates to my clients mortgage there has always been the requirement to educate the client as much as they wanted, to act as if they were educated consumers and to provide the best financial advise for each individuals situation and requirements.  To do no harm.  Always represent the best interest of the client.  Wouldn’t you?

By the way, recent changes in Washington State laws have required that mortgage loan originators become licensed in order to provide their mortgage services.  At the end of 2007 there were something like 15,000 full and “part time” (read opportunists with little or no mortgage, client knowledge) and only about 6,500 people bothered to get licensed to originate Washington state mortgages.

I and my mortgage associates, provide mortgages statewide in Washington State

How fortunate I am to do business with my son, Tyler Todhunter 206-575-7495 ext. 302  and a good friend in Fernando Rodriguez 206-575-7495 Se Habla Expanol.  Both of these mortgage loan originators meet my requirements and expectations in looking out for the best interest of their Washington state mortgage clients needs.  They have a vast mortgage product knowledge and you will enjoy their style.  Of course you can always call me, Dick Todhunter, at 206-898-3776 any time.

Or Contact Us

Representing the best interest of others has always felt good.

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Columbia City Seattle leads the revitalization charge

Columbia City Seattle is nestled in the Rainier Valley Seattle neighborhood of Seattle WA.  Rainier Valley is located in the SE Seattle quadrant of Seattle WA and is bounded by I-90 to the North, Beacon Hill to the West, Rainier Beach to the South and a long hill of communities to the East, which includes Mount Baker Seattle, Lakewood Seattle, Seward Park Seattle, Pritchard Beach.

Tired of commuting to your job in Seattle WA?  Check out the Columbia City neighborhood.  It is located just minutes from downtown Seattle Wa and the I-90 bridge leading to the East side of Lake Washington city of Bellevue WA.  With gas prices and traffic congestion affecting peoples quality of life there is an increasing demand for inner city housing.  Columbia City provides the solution, as does much of Rainier Valley WA.

There are 1,075 single family homes in Columbia City Seattle and an increasing number of condo’s and town homes.  The average home in Columbia City was built in 1935.

Take a drive down Rainier Avenue South through Rainier Valley and Columbia City Seattle and you will see that Columbia City is the premier neighborhood for a community with character.  Many of the buildings date back to the turn of the century and have been revitalized over the past 25 years.  This revitalization follows the lows of the 1970’s and has brought back a community pride which is easy to see.  You can get a great idea of history by looking at Columbia City’s Story.

Factors which affected Columbia City Seattle WA

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Seattle WA real estate market again beats the national picture

The latest report, U.S. April S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city NATIONAL home price index down record 15.3% UPDATE, just came out and it is not a rosy scenario. NATIONALLY home prices are plunging! NATIONALLY Home prices are falling the fastest in more than two decades.  This is the sixteenth straight month of yearly declines!  Get it… NATIONALLY. 

Check out the Comparison Chart below for an insight into how National Prices vs. Seattle real estate prices changed over time.

And that is how it is NATIONALLY.  But you don’t live NATIONALLY.  Seattle didn’t experience the irrational exuberance of places like San Diego, Denver and many other large cities.  I don’t know, I guess that we were just slow.  What luck.  You don’t go up so far, so fast.  So I would suspect that you don’t go down so far, so fast.

Last I heard Seattle WA, well, King County WA anyhow, had a price decline, year over year, of 5.3%!  That sounds like a lot to me.  But it also sounds like too much also.  Of course as soon as I write this article another source comes out with 4.8% drop in King County WA.  Numbers are simply coming too fast to keep up.  It seems like an onslaught, doesn’t it? 

So I ran the numbers straight from the MLS

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The Rainier Beach area of Seattle WA has been a sleeper for a long time.  It is an area of older, turn of the century homes and everything in between.  Many of the homes in Rainier Beach have sweeping views of Lake Washington from Mount Baker to the North to Mt. Rainier to the South.  Other homes have a vision of downtown Seattle and Puget Sound as well as the Olympic Peninsula mountains.  There are a lot of affordable homes in the area. 

Residents have access to Seattle via a beautiful drive down Lake Washington, very soothing for the soul.  Keep an eye out for bald eagles chasing ducks, Canadian Geese, beaver, muskrat and other wildlife.  It is a veritable zoo of a therapeutic drive.  The Sound Transit light rail provides quick and easy access to Seatac airport and downtown Seattle. 

Renton WA, which is undergoing a rebirth, is just minutes away.

Kubota Gardens is a Seattle owned garden of unsurpassed beauty. During the summer it is the setting for numerous outdoor weddings.  Visit their website and click on the large picture to view some of the flowers and trees.  You will absolutely enjoy walking through the park.

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