Seattle Washington Real Estate Has Its Bright Spots

Overall, the country's housing values have dropped 9.7% from July to September of this year. Yes, it's no secret that the housing and economic markets are hurting just about everywhere. Although, there's positive news for Seattle Washington real estate owners: Seattle is among 27 markets with high housing value gains since 2003. The Seattle Times reports that the Bellevue-Everett-Seattle real estate area saw a 54.9% appreciation over the past five years.

In a national survey, 52% of real estate agents said they expected the market to bottom out in 2009. Another 16.5% expected the bottom to fall out in 2010 and 7% thought it has already leveled off in their areas. "If we had to pick three states in the country that are large states and where property prices really haven't declined very much and employment has held up, the three states that would fit that criteria would be Texas, North Carolina and Washington State," explained survey designer Thomas Popik at Campbell Communications.

There are other grounds for optimism these days, the Institute for Real Estate Management confirmed this month. Mortgage interest rates, gas prices and construction costs are all finally dropping in the Seattle Washington real estate region. For buyers, the location is desirable: Seattle real estate is hip, accessible and thriving. "Everyone wants to be in Seattle right now," Matthew Gardner, Seattle land-use economist, said. For renters, the vacancy rate remains a low 5% and the newly appropriated taxes will bolster the city's light-rail transit, reviving the suburbs. Boeing, Costco and Microsoft – the area's largest employers – are all remaining stable and retail has only downturned 2% since last year, which is what the national retail sales have dropped each month.

While appreciation is remaining stable and slightly increasing, prices on Seattle real estate are still dropping. For instance, the average price for King County home listings dropped 9% to $395,000 in November. Builder desperation has led to some tremendous deals on Seattle Washington real estate, however. At a recent Real Estate Disposition auction, a brand new four-bedroom house in Everett sold for $295,000, a 1,865-square-foot house in a new Mill Creek development sold for less than $300,000 (down from $365,995) and sixty-two other homes sold for similar deals at an average sales price of $248,387. Typically, anything in these ritzy neighborhoods under $300,000 was considered "junk," but given the buyer's market, great deals can be discovered.

Prospective home owners in the Seattle Washington real estate region can expect a very competitive pool of agents, who are ready to educate, accommodate and facilitate. "The real estate agent of ten years ago is not the real estate agent of today," explains Patrick O'Rourke, VP for Coldwell Banker. "We've become more of a resource for our sellers, rather than you just hire us to sell. The agents today know they have to come to the table prepared and if they don't, it's a challenge."