True story.
A friend of mine was renting a decent apartment in the Fremont / Greenlake area in early 1994 for $850 per month.
In late 1994 he bought a decent, mid-range house in the same area for $150,000. Over the next 12 years, he didn’t do any major remodels, just regular maintenance and a few minor projects here and there.
He just sold the house… for over $500,000. That’s 240%+ appreciation in 12 years, an average of about 10.75% per year.
Now he’s back to renting a similar quality apartment to what he had in 1994, in the same general area. His monthly rent is $1,150—35% higher than in 1994.
I think that about sums up why I think there is something seriously out of whack with home prices in Seattle.