We are excited to present a look at the housing market trends for the first half of 2017 in key markets from around the Puget Sound, from the shores of Bainbridge Island’s waterfront homes, to Seattle and beyond.
Bainbridge Island
Bainbridge Island is quintessentially “Pacific Northwest,” whether at the water’s edge or further inland. With avid gardeners and farms, residents embrace its “farm to table” lifestyle at locally sourced eateries. The island saw 248 sales in the first half of 2017, 23.4 percent more than during the same period in 2016. The median selling price was $707,500, 6.8 percent higher than last year; and a median market time of 12 cumulative days on market (CDOM). In 2017-Q2, the median selling price rose to $738,000, with a reduction to 9 CDOM. The Island draws those who want to escape from city life yet remain only 30 minutes by ferry to the downtown core.
Seattle
Among the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., downtown Seattle and Belltown are home to an abundance of urban campuses and the majority of Seattle’s job growth, drawing in residents who want the convenience of a “live, work, play” lifestyle. Many locals within the tech industry are drawn to the long-urbanized downtown areas where high-rises and mid-rise developments are found.
Relative to their high demand, the acute shortage of condominiums in Belltown and downtown Seattle have forced buyers in this area to search for substitutes in Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, and other neighborhoods nearby until the supply deficit can be relieved by new projects such as NEXUS. In downtown Seattle, the number of sales fell by 30.1 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2017. The state of the in-city housing market is evidenced by the strong consumer response to new construction projects including INSIGNIA, LUMA, Gridiron, and NEXUS.