Washington Housing Market: Go North, Affordable Housing Seekers, Go North
Thanks to rising home prices in King County, first-time buyers have been pushed much farther north in their quest to find affordable property.
They’re driving past Bothell, Mill Creek and even past Everett into Marysville, Arlington and Stanwood - near Snohomish County’s northern border - to find houses in the $300,000 range.
“When buyers come in, a lot of times they want to look in Bothell and Mill Creek, but we end up pushing them north because of what’s available in their price range,” said Jennifer Aiello-Kuhlman, Realtor and office manager in Windermere’s Mill Creek office.
“We had 300 new home starts this year,” added Mickie Barnett, a mortgage broker and owner of Barnett Associates Real Estate LLC in Marysville. “We’re the fastest-growing area. I don’t know if the 300 starts is a record, but I’ve been in the business 17 years and it’s the most construction I’ve ever seen.”
Home buyers can expect to pay $340,000 for a 1,600-square-foot home on a 5,500-square-foot lot, Barnett said. It’s a reasonable amount for those that feared the state was home to only a rich buyer’s market.Of course, houses are much more expensive closer to the King County line.
In Maltby, the median price is $391,086. In the Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace communities, the median price is $352,025, about 5 percent higher than last year, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service figures. This explains the slight slip in mortgage activity around the Washington housing market.
Those hoping to live in Bothell or Mill Creek are finding they have to spend $500,000 to $800,000 for a new home, said Aiello-Kuhlman, adding she’s seen a number of developers snapping up land in that close-in area.
More median home price information: Within King County, the median price of a single-family home increased from $381,000 in September 2005 to $425,000 this past September. Such a hefty jump is a big reason people are heading north and south of the area in search of mortgages.
The median price of a single-family home in Snohomish County, for instance, appreciated 12.2 percent in the first nine months of 2006, to $358,000. That compares with 8.1 percent for King County and 10.6 percent for Pierce County.
Borrowers looking for a few acres of land for around $300,000 will, for the most part, be out of luck in Snohomish County, the real estate agents said.
“If you want an acre or two, you’re probably looking at $500,000,” said Barnett. “It’s hard even to find five acres in Skagit County for under $350,000.”
In Snohomish County, she said, a buyer would have to travel east to Darrington “before you could find five acres under $300,000 that’s not a mobile home.”
Snohomish County is also seeing a boom in condo and townhouse developments. About 17 percent of all the homes sold in the first six months of this year were condos, according to Windermere’s statistics. This compares to 25 percent in King County.
According to Windermere executives, 2006 is set to be a record-breaking year for luxury home sales in Snohomish County.
Sixty-seven homes priced at $1 million or more sold in the first nine months of 2006. That compares with 70 homes sold in all of 2005. Snohomish County’s top priced home was a 7,765-square-foot, five-bedroom, six-bath home on 6.46 acres in Woodway. The price: $3.8 million.
While this will be a record-breaking year in that demographic, Snohomish County offers more modestly priced homes overall for those not wishing to take out exotic or bad credit home loans just to afford their new residence.
“There are definitely some bigger and more expensive homes, and we’ve seen a jump in the last year of houses in the $500,000 to $1 million range, but a house has to have a pretty spectacular view, and be something very special to be in the range,” said Aiello-Kuhlman.