Seattle Home Values

More Affordable Seattle Homes

For those that commute from as far away as Everett, Tacoma or the Eastside, life could get a little easier with the Seattle housing market now more affordable than ever. With the burst in the regional housing bubble this means more homes and neighborhoods are within buyers financial reach.

"King County's median household income in 2008 was $68,832, according to estimates by the state's Office of Financial Management. At that income level, buyers had easy accessibility to six geographic areas whose median home prices were between $248,450 and $290,500, a Seattle Times home-price analysis showed. Median means half are more, and half are less. But in 2007, when the market was sizzling, only one area — Auburn, where the median price was $266,750 that year — was considered affordable. And in 2005, median wage earners could afford to buy in 14 neighborhoods, including Seattle's Georgetown/Delridge area." - The Seattle Times Company

During the boom it was just unreasonable for many to afford their own home closer to the city. Now that there are more homes on the market that are not selling, the prices are considerably lower. It sways back and forth and it possibly could swing to the side of increasingly affordable in the next year or so.

The whole reason for the lower prices is of course the struggling economy and lenders have made it more difficult for buyers to purchase a home with a loan but this also means that most home buyers will be able to keep their home.

If a buyer is able to obtain credit then buying can be easy. The USDA loans also provide adequate housing at zero percent down. Areas such as South King county have been inundated with foreclosures and short sales which also drive the costs down and leaves buyers with more work then most are willing to deal with.

Sellers are struggling because of this amount of bank owned homes and buyers that want sweat equity are choosing these homes over the seller listed options. Buyers can get great deals right now even if they are not getting a bank owned home. The convenience of going with a seller rather than a bank can far outweigh the lower costs. Banks typically take longer to respond and longer to close as there are more parties involved. Banks are usually more selective on who the choose to sell the home through as they don't want to get stuck with it yet again.

For more information on real estate in Seattle and to find a home in your area please feel free to contact us. We are experts in helping buyers through the process. We constantly have first time home buyer seminars going on around the Puget Sound area and would love to assist you in any way we can.

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