Please vote in this poll using the sidebar.
What do you consider a good value in terms of $/sqft for a Seattle-area SFH?
- less than 150 $/sqft (44%, 97 Votes)
- 150-199 $/sqft (36%, 81 Votes)
- 200-249 $/sqft (15%, 33 Votes)
- 250-299 $/sqft (3%, 6 Votes)
- more than 300 $/sqft (2%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters: 222
This poll will be active and displayed on the sidebar through 11.01.2008.
Ray Pepper » Oct 26, 2008 at 8:42 am
250-300 per sq foot? Good Lord! I know were talking Seattle but come on. In Buying Oct 2008 and in the near future focus on:
1. What was the cost in 2001 before the Greenspan run.
2. Current avg mkt time for the unit, short sale? Foreclosure? any offers rejected already?
3. Last comparable comp so you can make an offer based on facts of CURRENT mkt conditions. If there is no comp in the last 90 days then you are a PIONEER and YOU will set the bar lower due to deteriorated mkt conditions that have adversely impacted the value above and beyond the last comp.
If the property is newer then 2001 what do you do? Skip #1.
When Agents/Sellers/ tell you I’m selling it below tax assessed value you need to promptly reply….”tax assessed value has no basis in actual fact of what your property is worth. your tax assessment will be coming down in due time to reflect a more current value of your home…I’m sorry to inform you this and its unfortunate your Agent hasn’t.”
Gems galore people. There will always be another for years to come. Find one…Or two!
**btw one more tid bit Buyers. Don’t enter any Agreements with Agent/Banks that allow for a 90 day response time. 30 day max. The game needs to be played with all the factors in YOUR favor. To be bumped at the last minute for a higher offer gives the banks the deck to hold. You always want to be the dealer…..Tell the Agent to call you in 90 days if it hasn’t sold……..
TeaKake » Oct 26, 2008 at 12:50 pm
This seems like an overly broad question. “Seattle-area” covers a lot of ground. Buying a house in Columbia City for $350/sf is probably way overpaying. Find a house on the south slope of Queen Anne for $350/sf and you’ve got a really good deal. I’ve recently seen townhouses (brand-new construction) priced at about $390/sf sell within weeks (at full price). I’m not familiar with the suburban markets but I would imagine the same could be said for comparing Kent to Bellevue.
I think a better question might be, what should the median price of a home in Seattle be in terms of $/sf. This makes it clear that we’re talking about a regional average whereas the notion of “good value” suggests what one would be willing to pay or would like to pay for a home.
The fact the lowest price ($150/sf) received the most votes indicates that we’re not talking about real value but only fantasy projections. Again, I don’t know what the prices in the suburbs are like but I can’t imagine a house in Seattle for less than $150/sf unless it required major renovations or was a tear down. Turn the question around and ask people what would be a good value in terms of their selling a home and I’m willing to bet the popular vote will be a lot more than $150/sf.
Alan » Oct 26, 2008 at 3:35 pm
What ever ‘good’ means. I regularly see places going for $150-199/sqft in Renton and Bothell. Occasionally, I’ll see one for $130/sqft. Those are the ones that I considere ‘good’ deals. But it is hard to tell if it is actually a good deal just from the pictures. There might be something seriously wrong with it. Location is also important. $250/sqft in central Bellevue isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t even consider it in South Renton.
My first house in NC sold for around $75/sqft (about 7 years ago). My condo in Austin sold for $110/sqft (about 2 years ago).
Alan » Oct 26, 2008 at 3:50 pm
$102/sqft in Renton: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Renton/3905-NE-6-St-98056/home/241442
(This looks like a good deal, but it also seems like a “bait and switch” short sale since it most likely requires bank approval. The location doesn’t interest me.)
$260/sqft in Bellevue: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/872-164th-Pl-NE-98008/home/500424\
(I think that is not a very good deal but it is one of the best available.)
$272/sqft in Bellevue: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/1749-162nd-Ave-NE-98008/home/432382
(price recently dropped $100k. I like this house more than the one above it but being next to a busy road like Northup way kills it for me. For $190/sqft I might jump).
Recently sold for $130/sqft: http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bothell/10629-NE-145th-Pl-98011/home/457272
(that was probably a good deal and it sold quickly)
Interloper » Oct 26, 2008 at 5:13 pm
The North Seattle neighborhoods I’ve been looking at seem to be priced at 300 / SF. I would pay something closer to 200, and probably 250 / SF. I would consider it a “good” price mainly in comparison to what we’ve seen recently.
Brian » Oct 26, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Thanks Tim. I’ve been wondering this for awhile. I know this is “Seattle” bubble, but does anyone have thoughts about what an appropriate price is in Snohomish County?
mikal » Oct 26, 2008 at 5:42 pm
$0.
deejayoh » Oct 26, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I have done enough market research to learn than in any questionnaire involving price, the lowest option will always be the most popular
Brian » Oct 26, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Mikal,
Good idiot. No, really. what’s a decent sq.ft. price in Snohomish County?
EconE » Oct 26, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Impossible to answer.
Location? View? Quality of home? Style of home? Remodeled? Fixer? Not to mention…personal preference for all of the aforementioned.
I like Mikal’s vote for $0 however.
mikal » Oct 26, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Is there a deal where I would be paid to live there? You couldn’t pay me enough to live in that rat trap. And I’m the idiot.
Ira Sacharoff » Oct 26, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I’ve always thought of the price per sq ft figure as kind of meaningless, as very often the listings and the county records don’t match, and they’re adding unfinished and unusable space….Also, very large homes tend to be less per square foot than very small ones, but how many people really need, or can afford to heat a 3000+ sq ft home….
But what I’m seeing is …Ballard 300+ per sq ft, nice parts of W Seattle 250-275, Skyway/Renton 200-225, and a huge home in Issaquah about 160 per sq ft.
mikal » Oct 26, 2008 at 7:59 pm
$5 per square foot?
offline » Oct 26, 2008 at 8:19 pm
depends on employment. If microsoft, boeing, amazon or big players starts “re-evaluating” there hiring process or starts layoff then I am doubt if it will not drop as the current stock market. Its all supply and demand. I dont see much demand looking at current economic condition and profit forcast of all these big players. I would say below 150 is not bad guess..
johnnybigspenda » Oct 26, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I actually have a question about what constitutes “square footage”. I’ve seen listings where the MLS listing shows (for example) 2250 sqft. I checked on King County Records (because I wanted to see what the people owed on their place ect) and saw that King County has the house shown at 1720sqft.
Are there hard and fast rules about what can and can’t be counted? ie. can the garage, basement, or alike be counted as square-footage?
500 square feet here or there makes a big difference if you are looking for ‘comps’ on a $/sqft basis in your neighborhood.
LeftOverpricedSeattle » Oct 27, 2008 at 5:24 am
This is what I HATE about RE agents in PDX. Every one of them seems to want to include basement sq. footage in the total for a home. It’s misleading and it’s not correct.
I don’t care whether it’s finished or not, if it’s a basement that’s not a split level, then it’s still a basement and should NOT be counted in the total.
But then, so many former attics in PDX have been destroyed by flippers trying to make 5 foot tall “master suites” that a lot of PDX housing stock is a joke now anyhow.
Sorry, I know this is Seattle Bubble, but PDX is where I think $100 a square foot will DEFINITELY occur in the next few years.
cheapseats » Oct 27, 2008 at 8:42 am
I was looking at a house a couple weeks ago and the unfinished basement was included in the SF. I asked the listing agent at the open house about it and she said that it was supposed to be…
I guess its not that big of a deal to me as long as I know. But listing non-livable space is a bit sleazy to me…
Bella » Oct 27, 2008 at 8:45 am
It kind of depends on how you look at it.
Even though my house was what most people would consider a bargain, it was still kind of expensive to me, as I have lived here so long, I could have bought it for maybe half as much at one point.
But then when I look at the house one block away that is being sold as a tear down for twice as much per square foot, it sure does look like a good deal.
My house was around $212/SF, the tear down comes out to $429/sf.
This is in Seattle.
However, I don’t think there is any way they are getting that much money for the house up the street. I think the owner is delusional, having just purchased the house less than a year ago for $80k less than what it’s listed for now. I’m sure he thought he would develop it and make a truckload of money, but he was a little late on this one.
patient » Oct 27, 2008 at 9:12 am
The problem is that land is severly over valued in Seattle. I would say a home (condo or sfh) that is priced at the lowest price you can find a similar home ( style size, view etc ) in the US + max 50% for the Seattle location would be an acceptable deal.
David McManus » Oct 27, 2008 at 9:48 am
315000/1780 ~ $177 sq. ft. not the $130 you quote.
Ira Sacharoff » Oct 27, 2008 at 10:09 am
“I asked the listing agent at the open house about it and she said that it was supposed to be…”
Not. It’s done, but it’s not supposed to be, counting unfinished basement square footage…It should be finished, heated by a built in heating fixture ( not a portable space heater) and be accessible from another living space within the house( not solely an outside entrance), have a minimum ceiling height, etc.
..And that’s another thing . Not only do some agents and sellers count all sorts of things into sq footage they’re not supposed to ( no garages either) but the county is full of incompetents so the official records are also often wrong.
I’ve been in homes that were listed as 1000 square feet that had more actual living space than homes that were listed at 1800 square feet.
Joel » Oct 27, 2008 at 11:05 am
I also wonder about the disconnect between “realtor” square-footage and county-recorded square footage. Usually the difference between the two is exactly the amount listed on the county records as “basement garage” square footage.
Mark » Oct 27, 2008 at 11:55 am
I wish it would be broken out as $/sq ft for building, not as $/sq ft for (building + land). If the property has a decent amount of land with it, and the land is scarce in a certain neighborhood, but the building is small, that can easily drive up the $/sq ft value and make it an invalid comparison metric
Alan » Oct 27, 2008 at 12:00 pm
David,
My apologies. I copied the wrong link.
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bothell/8530-NE-143rd-St-98011/home/278419
Thank you for the correction.
Regarding basement square footage: You can always go to the King County Parcel Viewer to see a breakout of the square footage.
For example, the house I linked in this post has:
Total living sq. ft. 2,510
1st floor sq. ft. 1,290
Total basement sq. ft. 1,220
Finished basement sq. ft. 1,220
Attached garage sq. ft. 420
Euro » Oct 27, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Allen, those houses look as cheap as they are :-)
Buceri » Oct 28, 2008 at 4:41 am
How’s $91/sq.ft. sound?
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Everett/3518-Rockefeller-98201/home/2686934?utm_source=myredfin&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=listings_update&utm_nooverride=1
Euro » Oct 28, 2008 at 2:02 pm
“How’s $91/sq.ft. sound?”
Which judging from the pictures include the basement and an unfinished attic.
Alan » Oct 28, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Euro,
That is pretty much what all of the houses in my price range look like. I’m renting until prices come down or my income goes up enough to afford something I would be happy in.
Euro » Oct 29, 2008 at 10:27 am
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Bellevue/1749-162nd-Ave-NE-98008/home/432382 doesn’t look half bad. Though for the same price (also per square ft) you can get a town house closer to the city that is as big and has a nice kitchen – I like cooking with gas for instance -, spacious bathrooms and is new – for instance see http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1207-N-88th-St-98103/home/17074980)
Of course, the cookie-cut nature of townhouses isn’t for everyone, and they don’t have the nice big lot the house you like has.