Let’s check in again on the cheapest homes around Seattle proper. For methodology and a brief explanation of the reasoning behind this series, hit the April post.
Please note: These posts should not be construed to be an advertisement or endorsement of any specific home for sale. We are merely taking a brief snapshot of the market at a given time. Also, just because a home makes it onto the “cheapest” list, does not indicate that it is a good value.
Here are this month’s three cheapest single-family homes in the city limits of Seattle (according to Redfin):
| Address | Price | Beds | Baths | SqFt | Lot Size | Neighborhood | $ / SqFt | Notes |
| 8523 Dallas Ave S | $121,000 | 2 | 1 | 900 | 3,480 sqft | South Park | $134 | Bank-Owned |
| 3013 SW Admiral Way | $152,000 | 2 | 1 | 520 | 5,415 sqft | Admiral | $292 | Bank-Owned |
| 10335 51st Ave S | $160,000 | 2 | 1.75 | 820 | 5,760 sqft | Rainier Beach | $195 | Short Sale |
June’s #2 home moved up to #1 this month with $30,000 in price cuts since it was last featured on these pages. I don’t understand why nobody has snatched this place up yet, especially with such an amazing view:
But I digress.
April’s cheapest home apparently sold in June for $140,000. June’s #3 home also sold, for $15,000 off the $155,000 listing price when it was featured here.
Stats snapshot for Seattle Single-Family Homes Under $200,000
Total on market: 44
Average number of beds: 2.1
Average number of baths: 1.2
Average square footage: 999
Average days on market: 78
Here are the three cheapest homes in terms of dollars per square foot:
| Address | $ / SqFt | Price | Beds | Baths | SqFt | Lot Size | Neighborhood | Notes |
| 5926 S Eastwood Dr | $102 | $249,950 | 4 | 2.75 | 2,450 | 6,000 sqft | Rainier View | - |
| 1400 NE Brockman Pl | $104 | $349,000 | 3 | 1.75 | 3,340 | 7,200 sqft | Northgate | - |
| 9456 13th Ave SW | $107 | $320,711 | 6 | 3 | 3,000 | 5,009 sqft | Highland Park | - |
One more bonus for you this month. Here’s the lowest dollars per square foot on a house priced above $500,000: 2307 17th Ave S at just $109 $/sqft. $549,500, 6 beds, 4 baths, 5,020 square feet. I love the Christmas decorations in the listing photos.
00
IMHO you should exclude short sales from this list since there’s no guarantee that the bank will accept the price at which the property is listed.
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A couple of these I recognize and we worked on the place on Brockman.
As much as I appreciate this post it looks like these properties are over priced.
Even if the Real Estate market goes back to normal it would not be the end of the economy. As your construction job contraction post showed it is possible to carve out a section of the economy and have things move forward.
It appears there is still a lot of correction to do in the market.
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If you think those are over-priced, don’t even venture onto Camano Island. What I saw up there was shocking.
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Tim – That is so awesome, That house on Dallas does have “loads of potential”. I am surprised they didn’t add boat storage in the description!.
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I enjoy it whenever listings include choice quotes like:
Earn sweat equity in this fixer-upper, Awaits your vision & creativity.
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RE: demo kid @ 5 – I actually saw one listing that said “Not for the faint hearted.”
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RE: kfhoz @ 6 – 6744 40th Ave S. At $143,700 it would have made the post if I weren’t excluding properties “in obvious states of extreme disrepair (based on listing photos and descriptions).”
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I’ve seen several listings that describe the house as ” oozing with old world charm”.
I don’t know that I’d want to buy a house that oozes anything.
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RE: demo kid @ 5 –
And the family once told that agent that English major was useless!!!
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RE: David Losh @ 2 –
THE $110K HUD HOME WAS JUST COMPLETELY REMODELED ACROSS THE STREET FROM ME
They poured money into the “money pit”. I don’t know what happenned exactly [like was it sold or was it a bank remodel], bottom line: they replaced 1/2 the panels on the exterior, completely repainted it, put new rugs, floors, counter tops, plumbing fixtures, etc, etc…..[this would cost you and I at least approx $100K to swing with a contractor] and I asked the contractor a “key question” about the house:
“It was empty with no electricity for 2 years, is the sheet rock mildewed and needs replacement?”
The contractor went into denial….yet, who ever rebuilt the house isn’t moving in, they’re trying to get rid of it while the summer keeps the mildew stink more tolerable? I’m wondering if it was rat infested too.
If this is a bank job, I imagine it cost more to tear it down than a quick inadequate remodel and they’re trying to reduce their losses. I’m just guessing, but my gut feel is usually right. They put a used refrigerator in it, indicating the materials they used were “dirt cheap”.
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RE: Softwarengineer @ 10 –
Remodels, or price for remodeling, is meant to enhance salability. There can be in some cases a return on that investment.
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RE: David Losh @ 11 –
HI DAVID
Would you buy it, knowing it was empty for years in Seattle’s damp winters with no electricity and the same sheet rock?
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Kary, I live on south Whidbey. I posted this on redfin the other day, just because I was curious:
Houses sold, south Whidbey, on an acre or more, in the last three months. (Totals are cumulative, for example, >$300K includes all houses above that number.)
* 46 (100%) all price ranges
* 19 (41%) > $300K
* 9 (20%) > $400K
* 5 (10%) > $500K
* 1 (2%) > $600K
* Nothing over $700K
Current listings, same criteria.
* 107 (100%) all price ranges
* 95 (88%) > $300K
* 76 (71%) > $400K
* 60 (56%) > $500K
* 45 (42%) > $600K
* 40 (37%) > $700K
* 26 (24%) > $800K
* 25 (23%) > $900K
* 23 (21%) > $1M
* 18 (17%) > $1.25M
* 11 (10%) > $1.5M
* 8 (7%) > $1.75M
* 5 (5%) > $2M
Something seems just a bit out of whack, there…
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If you look at the google map for listing #1, 8523 Dallas Ave S., I think you can see another part of the problem.
It’s only 2000 feet from the King County international airport. That can’t be enjoyable
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A few months ago, I walked by that South Park home, at night, with my 2 year old.
If DHS found out, I think I would risk losing him. Of course, we were probably safer there than where we had come from…
I actually really liked the 2 houses a couple doors south and the one around the corner even more. Big old house. Huge yards. River views. If I was 6’10 300 lbs, single, and heavily armed, I’d consider them.
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RE: Softwarengineer @ 12 –
No. I have done two project like that.
Never again because it never ends.
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RE: Roger @ 13 – That’s similar to the area I was looking at.
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Interesting article in The Economist this week, on where property prices might be headed, both in the US and in the UK:
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14034857
Seems relevant to this discussion of Seattle’s lowest-price houses.
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RE: dydx @ 18 –
This is extremely relevant.
The premise is that Real Estate prices are way higher than value. There is no equity in properties.
Let’s say you buy a property today at 2004 prices. Will the value come back up to 2007 prices any time soon? I would say no. I think those people who are buying today will lose equity in the next year if they had any equity going into the purchase.
If you put 20% down today will you have a 20% equity next year, or the year after?
I don’t think so. Even at my best calculation of value, Real Estate prices should be at 2001 or 2002 pricing. 2004 and 2005 are when things began to go side ways.
So this post is if these are cheap houses. No way.
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RE: dydx @ 18 –
Thank you again for the article. I did a little research and this seems to be the most compelling explanation for the woes of housing.
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#15 – how very terrifying for you. Be brave and walk with child in So. Park…nerves of steel.
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smartass sarcasm: regret any offense to forum.
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#18 dydx – Your posted link was indeed an interesting article. It’s the first I’ve read proposing inflation could actually lead to LOWER real estate values.
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RE: TJ_98370 @ 23 –
HI TJ
Dr. Roubini predicts the same “W” recession with any applied federal debt increasing mortgage rates and decreasing home values [IMO, with concurrent wage deterioration due to uncontrolled growth and permanent job base losses]. He states in part:
“…“I have also consistently argued that there is a risk of a double-dip W-shaped recession toward the end of 2010, as a tough policy dilemma will emerge next year. On one side, early exit from monetary and fiscal easing would tip the economy into a new recession as the recovery is anemic and deflationary pressures are dominant. On the other side, maintaining large budget deficits and continued monetization of such deficits would eventually increase long-term interest rates (because of concerns about medium-term fiscal sustainability and because of an increase in expected inflation), thus leading to a crowding out of private demand…”
The rest of the Roubini URL:
http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor
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Is Seattle picking up like other area around the Country are? My thought were Seattle did not decline the same as the speculative areas. It seems the areas that didn’t have the heavy toxic boom have not come down as much, nor is it picking up as much. Do you find this of Seattle?
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I saw the house on Dallas Ave when it was for sale a few years ago. A funky little house on almost no land. It is across from the marina which is nice to look at but the toxic waste in the soil in the area is a big red flag. See article:
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/380975_dioxin29.html
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The link to 10335 51st Avenue is wrong–the right one is here:
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Tukwila/10335-51st-Ave-S-98178/home/175432
Turns out there are actually two dwellings on that property, a 1Bd/1Ba and a studio as well. Such a deal!
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RE: Angie @ 27 –
All I know is that just a few doors down from that home is one of Seattle’s scuzziest mini marts, complete with crackheads hangin out in front of the store…But it’s also within walking distance of Kubota Gardens, a mostly undiscovered jewel.
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There’s a listing in Queen Anne at $199k that should make this list – it’s QUEEN ANNE! Obviously there are some issues with it, but it’s a great home listing to take a look at.
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By Ira Sacharoff @ 28:
They should put “easy access to narcotics”
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Kubota gardens is phenomenal.
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RE: Angie @ 27 – Whoops! Thanks for catching that. Guess the wrong listing got into the copy/paste buffer. I fixed it now.
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