Seattle Real Estate News

The housing market in Seattle has depreciated only about 14%, compared to the national average of 21% but home sales were reduced in number by 40% from last year. The average time to sell a home is still over 100 days in Seattle. Home prices in Seattle are now close to theirs lows in 2004. The median price of a home in Seattle is $299,000. Though prices were down 11% in January 2009, this ranks Washington 45^th compared to the other 50 state’s home devaluations. Home sales in Seattle increased by 5% in February 2009, and this may be a good indicator of a return to a healthy real estate market.

 In stable neighborhoods like Queen Anne, homes turnover, on average, every 17 years. In other close-in neighborhoods, such as Ballard, Capital Hill, and Wallingford, the average turnover is less. However, recent zoning laws have raised height requirements in many neighborhoods, which have fueled condo development in past years.

Once zoned for three to four stories, the desire to increase density and reduce sprawl convinced city planners to raise height limitations in these neighborhoods, sometimes to 20 stories. In Seattle neighborhoods where zoning laws have recently been changed, such as Ballard and Capital Hill, construction has stalled. Cranes occupy construction ditches in South Lake Union and Belltown.