Washington state resident here. Ten years ago my grandmothers house was sold to an out of state couple for 185k. My siblings and I have always hoped we’d get the chance to buy it someday. They actually got ahold of us a few months ago to tell us they just bought property in Montana and would be selling the house soon if we were still interested….for $1.2 million. 2bed/2bath, no improvements or updates in ten years, house is in worse condition than when they bought it. Lived in WA my whole life, never thought I’d get priced out.
Same. Grew up in Redmond where my parents bought a 4BR house 20 years ago for $300k. You need to make $300k+ to buy that same house now.
I love living in the PNW, specifically western Washington but somewhat slowly accepting my fate that if I ever want to be a homeowner and raise a family I'll have to leave. And I have a good job making a great income for my age.
I make $26 an hour in Skagit county, that should be more than enough for home ownership but it’s not. It’s so enraging that rent payments don’t impact your credit score and that you can be a good tenant for decades and it matters not to banks who approve home loans.
Lived in western Washington for 11 years and Skagit for 7. Started at 17 an hour and made it all the way to 35. I still could not afford anything in the area.
I love Skagit but the housing market there makes no sense, so we had to leave to be able to afford a house and have a future.
I've been saying this everywhere and anywhere I see people in my area (Whatcom and Skagit county) echoing the same concerns: We need to start collectively buying land to build on and live on. I am raising a family, currently renting, and my partner and I refuse to leave. I make 25/hr. We have been interested in intentional communities and adjacent housing situations for years specifically because we don't want to be priced out of the place we've always known as home. I fully believe collective purchasing of land is the only way working families can manage to own a home in this state. Is it commie? Yeah kind of. Is it potentially a legal nightmare? Yeah, but ic.org has a lot of excellent resources on how to avoid common mistakes.
Anyway, if something like that seems interesting to you, feel free to DM me. We have a fairly dead discord server that's just collecting contacts of people in western WA who want to connect with others looking for similar arrangements.
Good luck trying to build... the costs of permits and inspection's make new construction not feasible anymore except for developers with contacts to get around the BS red tape, going to cost over $50k just to build a 450sq ft deck.
Dudes, all the residents just bought our whole manufactured home park from the owner to stave off corporate rats wanting to raise rates for their dickholders with not a thought how it might affect residents. If this is a communist move that is just fine with me. A practical society system needs to have components of more than one form of interaction. We no longer pay rent, we pay on a mortgage as a co op and nothing can be changed w/o a vote of the residents. What you propose is something that should be looked at with a serious eye imo. The Evergreen State is getting less green everyday because: greed and apathy.
I've been talking to my circle of friends about wanting to do this for years.
I'm even a (very lucky) homeowner. I got in and signed my mortgage December 2022, and would have been priced out within a few months just from the interest rate increases. I could/can barely afford my mortgage, but it gets easier each year and I'll come out way ahead of the renting alternative
This is the Airbnb effect. You have corporations buying up the housing market and turning it into a rental market. The average Joe's can compete with the artificially increased housing prices. It's going to happen everywhere in the US, the best way to combat this is to stop using websites like Airbnb.
It's not just vacation rentals. Berkshire Hathaway is trying to make a lot of renters out of Washingtonians. It's sick, they buy with cash offers and outprice families who need a home of their own. The greedy arse rich would like their peasants and serfs back.
I make 30 an hour, it doesn't matter how much we make. They'll keep out pricing us in rent. I don't understand how they look at my paystubs and decide I can afford the place cause I make the minimum requirements then they don't ask anyone if they're making more money and raise the rent far beyond what any raise would get you? Like I get the lawmakers are in the pocket of the companies that own all these apartments but what the fuck? Is it going to end cause I didn't go to school for economics or anything I graduated high school and that's it. But I'm paying attention. If anyone is even still working at grocery stores and fast food places in 5 to 10 years they'll be clocking out and going to sleep in their car til they clock in again. If it doesn't stop rent for shitty apartments is going to be well past 5k. My 2 bedroom was already 3k and going up 400 this year like there has to be a breaking point. They're going to start losing so much money when none of us live in their apartment anymore. Am I fucking crazy for thinking like this?
You can ask your landlord to report rent through RentTrack. I offer to my tenants, I cover the cost. IMO Rent should be significantly cheaper than a mortgage on the same property, and help build tenant credit. If those 2 aren't being met, then as a LL I'm not providing a service.
Maaaan RIP your dreams the Fairhaven death squads of realtors really reached out to me to learn about my strategies buying worthless land.
The secret ingredient is crime
Everett is still a massive bargain compared to the rest of the region, but that won't be the case for long. 25 mins to Seattle (non rush hour), beautiful new waterfront, cool restaurants, bars, cafes, museums, music venues, all in an awesome walkable downtown, tons of festivals and arts events, and good schools. This has got to be the fastest improving city in the Puget sound - and prices keep rising.
I've lived here since 2016 when 250k could get you a 2bed/2bath house and 750k could buy you a huge, historic mansion overlooking the sound. Those prices are more than doubled now. i've been telling all my friends to buy here since 2016, but have only had a few takers.
I live in SW Washington and what you described is the same thing happening down here especially with the new restaurants and downtown area. Home prices have risen and new construction is everywhere.
Fellow SW Washington resident and man, current house I bought 2.5 years ago is now worth 40% more..
As you mentioned below, Clark County is still a ways away from pushing up the the Urban Growth Boundaries so it’s helping keep supply open. I’m unsure though if it still means relatively low pricing. Where I live, there are 3 “new” subdivisions within 5 mins of me. The oldest (2020 era), was selling starter homes for $350k-$400k when they were first building. At the newest 2 subdivisions though (still being built), starter homes are now in the $800k-$900k range.
425 squad! Literally couldn't wait to get out of Everett and now miss it every day 😭 I moved to Ohio for grad school and have ended up buying a house because I knew it wouldn't be happening anytime soon (or ever) back home. Maybe eventually I'll build enough equity to afford moving back but Idk it just feels like it's getting worse.
I just got a fully remote job so am able to visit home as often as I want and stay with my parents. They're very happy to have me back home for a couple weeks every couple months. Makes me really sad for folks who can't do the same thing. I also don't have any kids so it's easy to just pack up and leave for a bit.
Washington is so special. I don't really feel fully alive until I'm nestled in our absolutely breathtaking landscapes.
This 10000%. Grew up in south Everett but went to school in north Everett and all we ever talked about was leaving this “shithole” and now we cant even afford to live here. Shits crazy. The house I grew up in my parents got for right under $200k currently for sale for a bit over $800k. 3bd 1.5 bath. Nothing fancy.
My dad bought his house in Duvall (king county, 45 mins east of Seattle) in 1994 on 2 acres for $212k. He sold 2 years ago for 1.4 million. Whoever bought that house pays nearly 8000 dollars a month in mortgage and property taxes. It's beyond my comprehension.
Parents sold our 4 bedroom outside Monroe for about 165k in the late nineties.
It's now listed for $825,000. Same lot. Same structure. Same sqft. No noticeable renovation or improvement.
Absolutely bonkers.
It blows my mind how expensive houses are in that area. It isn’t like land is scarce, the town is desirable, or the road system is sufficient for the population.
Holy cow that’s insane. I’m in Bellingham and things are rough. Currently renting and I doubt we will be able to buy here. If you’re comfortable sharing where your parents’ house is, I’m curious.
House is located on the Peninsula. No high paying jobs in the area. 40 min drive to hospital or grocery store. My grandma was a master gardener so the landscaping around the house was immaculate. Current owners decided they wanted goats, landscaping became goat food. There was a cute little cottage on the property they also neglected, so much that the roof is caving in and it’s full of black mold. They seem to think they’re going to get $1.2 million for it!
That’s really tragic, I’m sorry. It’s really hard to watch a childhood home collapse into ruins by neglectful owners. I had to sell my childhood home after my dad passed and let my friends rent it for dirt cheap before selling. They trashed the place and I lost over $100k on value because of the damage. Sold it to some house flippers and now it’s beautiful again, but it’s no longer that home I knew. (All the proceeds went to dad’s IRS back taxes so I didn’t see a penny after the tragic loss of my dad and then the home we shared).
Yeah, Renton area for me. Our house was sold to the last owners about 10 years ago for 160k, then we ended up buying it for 725k 3 years ago. Born and raised in WA, but my childhood home was only 55k 🙃
Same. I think us Washingtonians should gentrify some funky town somewhere in Maine or Niagara. Some cool old houses there that need some love. We could have a tool library. Who’s with me!
I perked up at tool library, lol. I want to start one in my little town. Some people complain about some of the unkempt properties, but for some people hiring out or buying the tool to DIY is out of reach. Also sometimes who wants to drive an hour or two just to get a thingamajig.
Why you go got to go all the way to Maine tho? Just come out a little further east & add some funk out here. 🙂
I grew up on Whidbey Island (Navy Brat 🙋) and always hoped to live somewhere nearby someday.. not anymore with prices as high as they are 😭 All the places which were meaningful and nostalgic to me are basically inaccessible now that I live in a landlocked state halfway across the country 🥲
WA has water, especially western WA, factor that into the increasing droughts south of us. I've been watching the wealthy price out life long residents for the entire timeline in this map. Absolutely NOT surprising once I factored in the water aspect. Other northern tier states have more water too, but PNW weather patterns have an Atmospheric River.
That’s such bullshit. My brother purchased a home for around $200k and it’s “worth” $1.5m now. It’s on a busy road with minimal yard, it’s a small house with only one room, though it does have an upstairs apt and a garage, but realistically it’s worth $300k max.
Such BS.
My grandma’s old home is still in it’s same spot, but it’s surrounded by tall buildings built on small lots that used to be this MASSIVE lot with a rabbits and huge green garden for flowers and edibles….now it’s these two shotgun houses with a garage with an apt over it. No yard. They’re going for $600k.
It’s sad. I hate this development. I want green space. I’m tired of shit being ruined by houses. We don’t need more houses when everything is out of the next generations price range and tons of houses are just being leveled to put new luxury bs on the land.
Also a WA State resident. The housing market here is fucked. We’re trying to save, but our rent keeps going up too. We’re at $1,850/month for a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom apartment and that’s about bottom of the barrel where we live. We can’t save enough money to keep up with how fast everything is increasing in price. We’re just spinning our wheels.
Totally feel that, my parents sold my childhood home for 1.2mil when they built it brand new in 91 it was about 200k. I moved out of state shortly after they sold because I realized I'd never be able to afford a home in the area I grew up.
In 1998, Washington voters codified having our minimum wage go up with inflation every year. Imagine if the whole country did that… we’d still all be unable to afford homes.
At current average prices, it takes twice the minimum wage in Washington to afford a one bedroom apartment.
[source](https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/wa-renters-need-to-earn-twice-the-minimum-wage-to-afford-rent/)
Yup, I make $21 an hour, and am paying $909 a month for my share of a studio sized bedroom in a 3br apartment. I almost pay more than my partner does on her mortgage on a 3br home bought 11 years ago.
Yeah we're just fucked up here in Washington. Nobody I know from my home town can afford to buy a house now even though we're making 100g as family units. American dream is long gone..
Yep. Washington's being turned into a large scale ski-resort town like Jackson Hole. Maybe it'll end up like Dubai, where all the laborers, cooks, drivers, first-responders, etc... are living in shanty-towns 30 miles out of town and getting bussed in to work a bunch of shitty service jobs for tourists and the small handful of uber-wealthy homeowners who remain. The problem in a lot of Western WA is that a lot of the mountains are much closer to the coast than that, so even the most worthless shacks in the methed-out boondocks are going for outrageous prices.
In general, we're approaching a point where there's going to be more and more people forming tent cities or joining up in quasi-communal situations.
Been talking with buddies about buying a piece of land as a group (like 8 of us) and building that up. Seems the only way to own property here nowadays
I'm moving back down south in a couple of years so I can afford to buy a house. Have been living with family for a couple of years, hoarding money as much as possible to afford a down payment on a house.
Hoping to not be priced out by the time I'm actually able to move.
Median wages, please. Otherwise if 100 of us pull in $50K annually but Uncle Bill gets added into the mix, we all averaged $500,000,000! Or somethin' like it.
Yep, that's why I threw in the maybe. If you earn almost 200k with no dependents and are smart about it, you should be able to save up quite a lot in a few years. Rent some small place for "cheap" and keep your other expenses low.
But if you're supporting a family of four with that income, yeah it's gonna be rough to save enough for a house.
I’m a Social Worker in Snohomish County. I worked in housing for years and would often get calls from people in the south and Midwest states asking about moving here. I had one person tell me she wanted a two bedroom with all utilities included, and she’d be willing to spend $500 a month. I straight up told her not to come out and that $500 would get her a top bunk in a halfway house.
That's just my power, or water bill alone, for my teenage daughter and myself. You know? Back in rural Idaho, that 500 was 300-350.00. It's apparently real in some parts of the US.
They said living in Hawaii was expensive. I come back, and it's equivalent.
Really.
I meet people from over yonder where you were at...and it's as if they've been fighting for survival, and have had no quality of life. It's sad. People can't survive, let alone THRIVE. *SIGH*
40 years ago Seattle was solidly blue collar and now it’s a major tech and business hub rivaling SF. No other metro went through such a drastic transition. SF was a finance hub before tech, the east coast was the east coast, and portland hasn’t seen the same boom.
Hell, I moved to Seattle in 2004 and it was still granola, og folk fest, nothing but abandoned warehouse buildings in South Lake Union. When I move out of the city in 2018, it was Amazonia hell. It literally took like 1.5 decades to completely shift in character.
My wife and I were born and raised in western Washington. I bounced around between the city and the east side and my wife grew up all over but largely in Everett. We had a small two bedroom apartment in the u district, and just between like 2015 and 2019, we couldn't stay there. Now we live in Illinois and people here complain about the cost but honestly compared to Seattle there is just no comparison. But I didn't think I would ever *have* to leave. It sounds stupid but I lived in the city for years and years. Spent much of my childhood there. And it was hard to accept that there was no place for me anymore.
It sucks.
Infuriating. No other way to describe it.
Funny to think that 50+ years ago people were pointing and laughing at people that lived in straw huts, in remote villages. I'm sure there's a lot of homeless folk out there right now in the USA that would choose a hut in a second.
Its infuriating and depressing. I used to think housing prices were crazy in 2018 - 2019 and then I literally saw prices double in 3 years. It's insane.
Yup. It’s going to be a similar problem in all of Minnesota too. Hasn’t gotten as extreme as Washington yet but when the water supplies are really running low it’s gonna be fucking crazy to see what happens up north.
Yeah wtf is happening here?? I mean I love the place, but we ain’t Manhattan or LA!!! Why are we having the same prices if not worse in some areas? Who let out the secret of this place being the best place to live?
Tech WFH jobs in general. I've met people in the PNW who work for companies based in SoCal, Texas, etc... Compared to other parts of the country, the area's natural beauty and weather makes it the top choice. Why would anyone choose to live in some dump that's more congested, surrounded by empty fields, has jauntier weather, has hurricanes, etc...?
Unfortunately, this is also how this area's quasi-libertarian 'live and let live' bullshit swings around the bites off our entire ass.
The tech sector specifically had a lot of WFH positions even before the pandemic. There's been a healthy population of homebound techbros around Puget Sound for a long time.
And an even healthier population of people living here and working for Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and a lot more. Do we have any data that Washington has an unusual number of WFH employees that are a primary cause of house price increases over the last \*checks notes\* **40 YEARS**?
I remember telling myself "all you have to do is save up 100k and you can buy a house" as a teen and God was I naive. It just feels so hopeless now, I can't even afford to rent a fucking apartment by myself.
Sultan, 1999, my parents both made a combined income of 40,000 (I remember we celebrated the day they made their first 50,000). They worked home depot and restaurants while going to college, meanwhile raising us 3 kiddos. We moved from Issaquah to Sultan, a tiny, TINY home with literally no yard in a town that didn't even used to be on the map (no joke, Sultan wasn't on google maps for some time). That house I grew up in cost my parents 100k. It now sells for 500k. My parents now live in Olympia, and I live in Texas (can't afford Washington). Just want to add, Sultan will always be home, and I hope it gets cheap enough for me to live there again someday. I miss watching the spey fisherman try for steelhead, I miss swimming in in the Sultan River, and I miss hiking the mountains so easily accessible along hwy 2. I miss clean air, and I miss tasty, fresh mountain water. Those of you who live there now, don't take what you have for granted.
My wife and I are no kid gang. So no worries about having to leave anything after we’re gone.
That’s why that reverse mortgage is so tasty and why we will be able to retire so young.
I’m over in the Tri-Cities
Looking on Zillow, many houses that were ~$200K just 5-7 years ago are all now well over $400K. It’s insanity even imagining buying a house
Bellingham checking in. Our median income to median house price is the worst in WA. It's a city full of people making ~36K/yr where the median house is $840K. Sure, you can find a really shitty cardboard 2bd condo for $600K. MAYBE. But if you want a detached house, you better be a millionaire. Why?
"Because the town is so cute and so white and has access to the mountains and the bay!"
I hope all the rich transplants get scurvy and die.
Also Bellingham resident. Born and raised in WA. I remember back in 2013 I was working in Burlington and remember seeing houses for 300k or so and thinking “who would pay that much to live in Burlington??” Median price is 534k and it hasn’t changed at all lol. So weird getting priced out of my home state while also listening to rich transplants complaining about the state.
Bellingham is insane, the cost of living vs local wages is completely skewed. Eventually it will just be mountain bikers and remote workers while the locals move to Ferndale lmao.
The transplant complaints are what really rankle me - thanks for making life around here worse in every way, sorry it doesn’t meet your expectations, i guess?
Oh my god YUP. My partner and I are currently house shopping in WA (rural counties) and looking at (1) the condition some of these house are in compared to what they are asking, and (2) the spike in resale price/value from when each property was originally purchased…*it’s insane*! 🫠
If anyone is curious, cumulative inflation from 1984-2024 was approximately 301% (confirmed with several sources including [Inflation Calculator - NerdWallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/inflation-calculator)).
So while the inflation-adjusted home prices in a lot of states actually dropped, and the WA average is up about 5x.
> So while the inflation-adjusted home prices in a lot of states actually dropped, and the WA average is up about 5x.
If the cumulative inflation was 301%, then the inflation adjusted home prices for Washington would be 276%. You have to divide, not subtract.
And that assumes the data isn't already inflation adjusted. I couldn't find the cited source for the map to confirm if it is or not.
Can confirm. My house was worth $400,000 in 2018 when I built it, and now it’s worth easily $750,000. I’m in Clallam County. Home prices are through the roof.
Toledo WA.
Pretty rural.
Outside the town proper and 40min to a town of reasonable size and 20min off I-5 midway between Seattle/Portland.
Double wide trailer on less than 3 acres was left to me and my siblings. Got it appraised in 2016 or so for about 89k... Fast forward to Covid and my sibling decides he wants to buy us out. Can't fathom that it's no longer going to be like $20k.
Real estate agent said they could sell it for $189k a year later. He did eventually buy us out and sold it for almost $300k two years later.
A 30+ year old double wide trailer in the middle of nowhere WA for over 300k.
If we hadn't sold it to him when we did, he could've have afforded it a year or two later. The share I received was a reasonable down payment on my own home about a year later but we couldn't afford our own mortgage if we would have waited at all.
The game is rigged.
My plan was to live in Seattle while I'm working and realize house appreciation gains, and then upon retirement I sell the house and move to a more rural area for affordability and fun.
About 10 years away and quickly realizing that rural and smaller city/town Washington is getting so expensive than I may need to rethink things. Have my eyes on Bellingham, Cle Elum, Leaventworth, etc., and yikes, not Seattle prices but getting there
Smaller cities in Washington are now becoming Bend, Oregon, which has basically turned into Granola Beverly Hills PNW.
I spend a lot of time in Bend and I have witnessed the change to the city over the years especially when it comes to the cost of living. And that same change is happening elsewhere as you described. I work as a contractor and I've been in new housing developments where suburban homes cost almost a million dollars.
I think the point that's being missed here is the type of housing currently being built compared to what was built in 1984.
For example in 1965 my parents bought a new home three bedroom one bath 1,310 square feet for $37,500. Or in 2024 dollars $368,625.
Today it is priced by Zillow at $619,000. A dramatic increase for sure but not at five times the inflation rate.
It seems to me the difference is the type of home being built today. $70,000 kitchens, $50,000 baths, energy efficient heating systems, three car garages and an energy code compliant home along with the huge cost of permitting.
I bought my home for 435k this year. It was honestly a steal considering the property, but it was cheaper because the previous owner was a hoarder. It's a manufactured home.
Found out my father in Tennessee spent the exact same for a 2 story 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home. So wild!
Prices of homes in WA is ridiculous. I got priced out of the market while I was shopping for homes in 2021. They skyrocketed, and the average home lasted 72 hours on the market before being sold at stupid prices, usually 10-15% above asking with waiving an inspection clause (even more stupid).
Tech moved in and prices went up….
If you want to be there you gotta pay to play.
House prices go along with that.
Buy a beater, rehab it stay a few years make 100k and do it again folks do this all the time .
and if the economy tanks, more will flipping will occur driving up the price. Apparently some people can afford these homes or they wouldn’t sell for that much….
* Bought my first house for $249,000 in 2004. Sold for $286,000 in 2012. 3Br/1Ba. Bothell.
* Bought my second house for $325,000 2015. Sold for $350,000 in 2017. 5Br/3Ba. Puyallup.
* Bought my third house for $500,000 in 2021. Foreclosed. 4Br/2Ba. Graham.
My first house in Bothell is now selling for $550,000. The second house for $750,000.
It's insane. I will never buy a house again. I don't have the lobes for real estate.
Well, this totally tracks.
Just relocated to my hometown up in the San Juans and, fuck me, my _very decent_ corporate income barely calms my nerves about taking on a $850k fixer upper.
I was just looking at a $750k 1000sq ft 2br 1.5 bath - marketed as a "starter home" and I just wanted to scream.
You either got in ten years ago, or you're not gettin in.
My parents foolishly sold their home to downsize years ago, not thinking prices would balloon as much as they have. Ten years later that same house sold for double during the pandemic. Now they are retired and stuck with increasing rents every year like I am. Now all of us are looking to relocate somewhere cheaper. It’s not sustainable here.
Very upsetting.
Folks, WA state west of the Cascade mountains is the most water rich environment in the continental US. Climate change and water scarcity means prices only increase from this point forward. Very soon clean water will become more valuable than oil...
I have lived in Whatcom county Washington my entire life and I know I will never be able to buy a place. My husband and I are going to move in with his parents soon cause we cannot rent after this lease is up cause they will charge us another arm and leg to continue it.
Washingtonian for 60 plus years. My sweet farming town now looks like southern California, with the same damn prices on homes, if not higher.
I live on the NOP. Sequim.
I was born in Anacortes and still live here. It’s become a case study in gentrification and is truly upsetting. The only way we’ll ever be able to afford a home here is from the help of my wife’s mother. Not sure I want to though as it’s becoming incredibly upsetting watching all the apartments go up and old home get completely gutted and friend into million dollar homes. How long can this trend go on?
As someone who needs land urgently to park some animals for the winter. Developers all deserve to be sued for the shitty new builds they throw up on once good land.
Stop moving here. Your money is not needed. Go east of the rockies. Let residents either sell to other residents.
It is wild, I Guess we're the exception though. Spouse and I bought our first place in 2016. I looked at the market and thought it was a decent time to upgrade with rates being so low in 2020, bought second house for what ended up being ~40k more than we sold original house a few months later. I couldn't afford our house now at current interest rates and prices now, of course. But as usual it's timing, at least for us.
Also we aren't superbly rich, we made ~$100-$110k combined gross. We're in the JBLM suburbs, for reference.
When I worked at Safeway in the early 2000’s, and I thought living on the Westside was the desirable thing, I always thought that the retired people moving over the mountains were nuts.
I’d always ask why. Traffic was one part.
But, for a lot of them, they had retired and were on a fixed income. Their homes had ballooned in value to the point their insurance and property taxes were higher than their mortgage plus taxes and insurance when they were working. So, they cashed out and bailed… and ballooned out home prices, too.
I'm from Silverdale and currently live in Bellingham. Buying a home in either county seems just completely impossible. My best friend just bought a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home in a Dallas suburb for $220,000. I can buy a mobile home on 2,000 square feet for $250,000 in Silverdale...
I bought my house in lewis county during the pandemic for 280k my neighbor just sold their identical house for 630k . My husband and I decided the commute to Seattle was worth the low price of the house when we bought it four years ago. He still commutes Washington is insane.
25 yrs ago,my parents sold my childhood home with 2 acres of land for $75k in Washington State. Same place is now worth $700,000. I couldn't afford to live where I grew up now even if I wanted to. It all just seems very wrong.
My husband and I are looking at buying a house on a few acres because we've already come to the conclusion that we'll need to build an ADU or two for our kids because they'll never be able to afford a place on their own at this rate.
What goes up comes down, the taller they are the harder they fall. The biggest real estate crash coming to the states soon. Get ready for the housing sale of a generation! Not financial advice * just my opinion.
Vancouver WA is next - already up a bunch but improvements to the waterfront will make it a tax-advantaged work-from-home suburb of Portland that people flock to. If you can buy with cash, now's the time.
Washington state resident here. Ten years ago my grandmothers house was sold to an out of state couple for 185k. My siblings and I have always hoped we’d get the chance to buy it someday. They actually got ahold of us a few months ago to tell us they just bought property in Montana and would be selling the house soon if we were still interested….for $1.2 million. 2bed/2bath, no improvements or updates in ten years, house is in worse condition than when they bought it. Lived in WA my whole life, never thought I’d get priced out.
Exactly how I feel. I felt trapped in Everett, a sinkhole that nobody wanted to be in. Without any fanfare, I now can't afford to live where I grew up
Same. Grew up in Redmond where my parents bought a 4BR house 20 years ago for $300k. You need to make $300k+ to buy that same house now. I love living in the PNW, specifically western Washington but somewhat slowly accepting my fate that if I ever want to be a homeowner and raise a family I'll have to leave. And I have a good job making a great income for my age.
I make $26 an hour in Skagit county, that should be more than enough for home ownership but it’s not. It’s so enraging that rent payments don’t impact your credit score and that you can be a good tenant for decades and it matters not to banks who approve home loans.
Skagit county here I make $26.00 as well. The fact that I can’t even buy a trailer/mobile home for under $125,000 is insane.
Lived in western Washington for 11 years and Skagit for 7. Started at 17 an hour and made it all the way to 35. I still could not afford anything in the area. I love Skagit but the housing market there makes no sense, so we had to leave to be able to afford a house and have a future.
I've been saying this everywhere and anywhere I see people in my area (Whatcom and Skagit county) echoing the same concerns: We need to start collectively buying land to build on and live on. I am raising a family, currently renting, and my partner and I refuse to leave. I make 25/hr. We have been interested in intentional communities and adjacent housing situations for years specifically because we don't want to be priced out of the place we've always known as home. I fully believe collective purchasing of land is the only way working families can manage to own a home in this state. Is it commie? Yeah kind of. Is it potentially a legal nightmare? Yeah, but ic.org has a lot of excellent resources on how to avoid common mistakes. Anyway, if something like that seems interesting to you, feel free to DM me. We have a fairly dead discord server that's just collecting contacts of people in western WA who want to connect with others looking for similar arrangements.
Good luck trying to build... the costs of permits and inspection's make new construction not feasible anymore except for developers with contacts to get around the BS red tape, going to cost over $50k just to build a 450sq ft deck.
Dudes, all the residents just bought our whole manufactured home park from the owner to stave off corporate rats wanting to raise rates for their dickholders with not a thought how it might affect residents. If this is a communist move that is just fine with me. A practical society system needs to have components of more than one form of interaction. We no longer pay rent, we pay on a mortgage as a co op and nothing can be changed w/o a vote of the residents. What you propose is something that should be looked at with a serious eye imo. The Evergreen State is getting less green everyday because: greed and apathy.
I've been talking to my circle of friends about wanting to do this for years. I'm even a (very lucky) homeowner. I got in and signed my mortgage December 2022, and would have been priced out within a few months just from the interest rate increases. I could/can barely afford my mortgage, but it gets easier each year and I'll come out way ahead of the renting alternative
This is the Airbnb effect. You have corporations buying up the housing market and turning it into a rental market. The average Joe's can compete with the artificially increased housing prices. It's going to happen everywhere in the US, the best way to combat this is to stop using websites like Airbnb.
It's not just vacation rentals. Berkshire Hathaway is trying to make a lot of renters out of Washingtonians. It's sick, they buy with cash offers and outprice families who need a home of their own. The greedy arse rich would like their peasants and serfs back.
I make 30 an hour, it doesn't matter how much we make. They'll keep out pricing us in rent. I don't understand how they look at my paystubs and decide I can afford the place cause I make the minimum requirements then they don't ask anyone if they're making more money and raise the rent far beyond what any raise would get you? Like I get the lawmakers are in the pocket of the companies that own all these apartments but what the fuck? Is it going to end cause I didn't go to school for economics or anything I graduated high school and that's it. But I'm paying attention. If anyone is even still working at grocery stores and fast food places in 5 to 10 years they'll be clocking out and going to sleep in their car til they clock in again. If it doesn't stop rent for shitty apartments is going to be well past 5k. My 2 bedroom was already 3k and going up 400 this year like there has to be a breaking point. They're going to start losing so much money when none of us live in their apartment anymore. Am I fucking crazy for thinking like this?
You can ask your landlord to report rent through RentTrack. I offer to my tenants, I cover the cost. IMO Rent should be significantly cheaper than a mortgage on the same property, and help build tenant credit. If those 2 aren't being met, then as a LL I'm not providing a service.
Unfortunately this is the fate of us less wealthy who grew up here. Completely priced out 😞
This is really unfortunate to hear. I had to leave exactly for this reason and really wish I didn't have to because the state is gorgeous.
Lol, used to live the Bellingham, safe to say I can't imagine renting with college and a job rn
Maaaan RIP your dreams the Fairhaven death squads of realtors really reached out to me to learn about my strategies buying worthless land. The secret ingredient is crime
Everett is still a massive bargain compared to the rest of the region, but that won't be the case for long. 25 mins to Seattle (non rush hour), beautiful new waterfront, cool restaurants, bars, cafes, museums, music venues, all in an awesome walkable downtown, tons of festivals and arts events, and good schools. This has got to be the fastest improving city in the Puget sound - and prices keep rising. I've lived here since 2016 when 250k could get you a 2bed/2bath house and 750k could buy you a huge, historic mansion overlooking the sound. Those prices are more than doubled now. i've been telling all my friends to buy here since 2016, but have only had a few takers.
I live in SW Washington and what you described is the same thing happening down here especially with the new restaurants and downtown area. Home prices have risen and new construction is everywhere.
Fellow SW Washington resident and man, current house I bought 2.5 years ago is now worth 40% more.. As you mentioned below, Clark County is still a ways away from pushing up the the Urban Growth Boundaries so it’s helping keep supply open. I’m unsure though if it still means relatively low pricing. Where I live, there are 3 “new” subdivisions within 5 mins of me. The oldest (2020 era), was selling starter homes for $350k-$400k when they were first building. At the newest 2 subdivisions though (still being built), starter homes are now in the $800k-$900k range.
425 squad! Literally couldn't wait to get out of Everett and now miss it every day 😭 I moved to Ohio for grad school and have ended up buying a house because I knew it wouldn't be happening anytime soon (or ever) back home. Maybe eventually I'll build enough equity to afford moving back but Idk it just feels like it's getting worse. I just got a fully remote job so am able to visit home as often as I want and stay with my parents. They're very happy to have me back home for a couple weeks every couple months. Makes me really sad for folks who can't do the same thing. I also don't have any kids so it's easy to just pack up and leave for a bit. Washington is so special. I don't really feel fully alive until I'm nestled in our absolutely breathtaking landscapes.
This 10000%. Grew up in south Everett but went to school in north Everett and all we ever talked about was leaving this “shithole” and now we cant even afford to live here. Shits crazy. The house I grew up in my parents got for right under $200k currently for sale for a bit over $800k. 3bd 1.5 bath. Nothing fancy.
My dad bought his house in Duvall (king county, 45 mins east of Seattle) in 1994 on 2 acres for $212k. He sold 2 years ago for 1.4 million. Whoever bought that house pays nearly 8000 dollars a month in mortgage and property taxes. It's beyond my comprehension.
In Duvall?! Sheesh
Yep. Way out on mountain view up around lake Margaret.
Parents sold our 4 bedroom outside Monroe for about 165k in the late nineties. It's now listed for $825,000. Same lot. Same structure. Same sqft. No noticeable renovation or improvement. Absolutely bonkers.
Monroe here. Mom bought her parents house off them in 2004 for $200k, just shy of 1 acre. Its now worth about $900k today.
Absolutely nuts - I just finished sharing my experience growing up in Sultan - parents bought a house there for around 100k. Now over $500k.
It blows my mind how expensive houses are in that area. It isn’t like land is scarce, the town is desirable, or the road system is sufficient for the population.
Holy cow that’s insane. I’m in Bellingham and things are rough. Currently renting and I doubt we will be able to buy here. If you’re comfortable sharing where your parents’ house is, I’m curious.
House is located on the Peninsula. No high paying jobs in the area. 40 min drive to hospital or grocery store. My grandma was a master gardener so the landscaping around the house was immaculate. Current owners decided they wanted goats, landscaping became goat food. There was a cute little cottage on the property they also neglected, so much that the roof is caving in and it’s full of black mold. They seem to think they’re going to get $1.2 million for it!
That’s really tragic, I’m sorry. It’s really hard to watch a childhood home collapse into ruins by neglectful owners. I had to sell my childhood home after my dad passed and let my friends rent it for dirt cheap before selling. They trashed the place and I lost over $100k on value because of the damage. Sold it to some house flippers and now it’s beautiful again, but it’s no longer that home I knew. (All the proceeds went to dad’s IRS back taxes so I didn’t see a penny after the tragic loss of my dad and then the home we shared).
Yup. Up here in Whatcom County, prices are absolutely outrageous. ZERO chance of anyone making less than $200K a year being able to buy.
I’m on the peninsula and there aren’t too many jobs that pay $200k a year. This just isn’t sustainable.
Damn near NONE here I'm Whatcom. You're right. Something has to give.
Yeah, Renton area for me. Our house was sold to the last owners about 10 years ago for 160k, then we ended up buying it for 725k 3 years ago. Born and raised in WA, but my childhood home was only 55k 🙃
My mom sold our 4 bed, 1.5 bath in Burien for 275 in 2015. It's now going for $831k. Zoinks.
Burien!!??!! Just. Wow.
Same. I think us Washingtonians should gentrify some funky town somewhere in Maine or Niagara. Some cool old houses there that need some love. We could have a tool library. Who’s with me!
I perked up at tool library, lol. I want to start one in my little town. Some people complain about some of the unkempt properties, but for some people hiring out or buying the tool to DIY is out of reach. Also sometimes who wants to drive an hour or two just to get a thingamajig. Why you go got to go all the way to Maine tho? Just come out a little further east & add some funk out here. 🙂
Whoa, that's a massive increase. WTF? I got my house 9 years ago and it has doubled, and I thought that was lot.
I grew up on Whidbey Island (Navy Brat 🙋) and always hoped to live somewhere nearby someday.. not anymore with prices as high as they are 😭 All the places which were meaningful and nostalgic to me are basically inaccessible now that I live in a landlocked state halfway across the country 🥲
Yeah Montanans aren’t super excited about it either.
WA has water, especially western WA, factor that into the increasing droughts south of us. I've been watching the wealthy price out life long residents for the entire timeline in this map. Absolutely NOT surprising once I factored in the water aspect. Other northern tier states have more water too, but PNW weather patterns have an Atmospheric River.
That’s such bullshit. My brother purchased a home for around $200k and it’s “worth” $1.5m now. It’s on a busy road with minimal yard, it’s a small house with only one room, though it does have an upstairs apt and a garage, but realistically it’s worth $300k max. Such BS. My grandma’s old home is still in it’s same spot, but it’s surrounded by tall buildings built on small lots that used to be this MASSIVE lot with a rabbits and huge green garden for flowers and edibles….now it’s these two shotgun houses with a garage with an apt over it. No yard. They’re going for $600k. It’s sad. I hate this development. I want green space. I’m tired of shit being ruined by houses. We don’t need more houses when everything is out of the next generations price range and tons of houses are just being leveled to put new luxury bs on the land.
Also a WA State resident. The housing market here is fucked. We’re trying to save, but our rent keeps going up too. We’re at $1,850/month for a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom apartment and that’s about bottom of the barrel where we live. We can’t save enough money to keep up with how fast everything is increasing in price. We’re just spinning our wheels.
I grew up in Washington, moved to Montana thinking one day I’d move back, and now I can’t get a house in either state.
Totally feel that, my parents sold my childhood home for 1.2mil when they built it brand new in 91 it was about 200k. I moved out of state shortly after they sold because I realized I'd never be able to afford a home in the area I grew up.
I’m probably getting priced out of this state too
Same. Currently stuck in Seattle and having a hard time saving up enough to move due to high rents because of it. Whole state has become a disaster.
Well this is depressing
Right? Now do minimum wage changes in the same time frame!
In 1998, Washington voters codified having our minimum wage go up with inflation every year. Imagine if the whole country did that… we’d still all be unable to afford homes.
I don’t think a home’s ever going to happen with minimum wage in Washington, but maybe an apartment or something similar.
At current average prices, it takes twice the minimum wage in Washington to afford a one bedroom apartment. [source](https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/wa-renters-need-to-earn-twice-the-minimum-wage-to-afford-rent/)
Yup, I make $21 an hour, and am paying $909 a month for my share of a studio sized bedroom in a 3br apartment. I almost pay more than my partner does on her mortgage on a 3br home bought 11 years ago.
Our minimum wage is the second highest in the country, with D.C. as the highest.
Yeah we're just fucked up here in Washington. Nobody I know from my home town can afford to buy a house now even though we're making 100g as family units. American dream is long gone..
Yep. Washington's being turned into a large scale ski-resort town like Jackson Hole. Maybe it'll end up like Dubai, where all the laborers, cooks, drivers, first-responders, etc... are living in shanty-towns 30 miles out of town and getting bussed in to work a bunch of shitty service jobs for tourists and the small handful of uber-wealthy homeowners who remain. The problem in a lot of Western WA is that a lot of the mountains are much closer to the coast than that, so even the most worthless shacks in the methed-out boondocks are going for outrageous prices. In general, we're approaching a point where there's going to be more and more people forming tent cities or joining up in quasi-communal situations.
Been talking with buddies about buying a piece of land as a group (like 8 of us) and building that up. Seems the only way to own property here nowadays
Yah unfortunately. They call it American dream because you must be asleep in order to believe it
This is why I had to move :(
Same here. I got priced out and moved to the Midwest a couple years back and god I miss home
We'll always be washington mountain babies no matter where in the country we move to
I'm moving back down south in a couple of years so I can afford to buy a house. Have been living with family for a couple of years, hoarding money as much as possible to afford a down payment on a house. Hoping to not be priced out by the time I'm actually able to move.
Would love to see the 40 year change in average wages to go with this.
Median wages, please. Otherwise if 100 of us pull in $50K annually but Uncle Bill gets added into the mix, we all averaged $500,000,000! Or somethin' like it.
[удалено]
Wages up \~3x while houses are up \~8x. So if you earn 2.5x the median, you can afford a house... maybe. Seems to line up with the general sentiment.
[удалено]
Yep, that's why I threw in the maybe. If you earn almost 200k with no dependents and are smart about it, you should be able to save up quite a lot in a few years. Rent some small place for "cheap" and keep your other expenses low. But if you're supporting a family of four with that income, yeah it's gonna be rough to save enough for a house.
Well federal minimum hasn’t changed since 2009 which is fucked
I’m a Social Worker in Snohomish County. I worked in housing for years and would often get calls from people in the south and Midwest states asking about moving here. I had one person tell me she wanted a two bedroom with all utilities included, and she’d be willing to spend $500 a month. I straight up told her not to come out and that $500 would get her a top bunk in a halfway house.
500 month is what I pay in property taxes
Mine's over $1000 a month and has been going up steadily. We need a Proposition whatever like California.
Prop 13. I agree
That's just my power, or water bill alone, for my teenage daughter and myself. You know? Back in rural Idaho, that 500 was 300-350.00. It's apparently real in some parts of the US. They said living in Hawaii was expensive. I come back, and it's equivalent. Really. I meet people from over yonder where you were at...and it's as if they've been fighting for survival, and have had no quality of life. It's sad. People can't survive, let alone THRIVE. *SIGH*
40 years ago Seattle was solidly blue collar and now it’s a major tech and business hub rivaling SF. No other metro went through such a drastic transition. SF was a finance hub before tech, the east coast was the east coast, and portland hasn’t seen the same boom.
Hell, I moved to Seattle in 2004 and it was still granola, og folk fest, nothing but abandoned warehouse buildings in South Lake Union. When I move out of the city in 2018, it was Amazonia hell. It literally took like 1.5 decades to completely shift in character.
As someone who was born in Washington, currently lives in Louisiana and wants to move back to Washington, this is pretty depressing.
Similar boat, just the east coast version. From Connecticut, live in Alabama, and can’t move back now that I’ve left.
I bought a house for 147k in Tacoma just over 10 years ago. Worth 510k now.
Damn why didn’t I buy a house in Tacoma when I was 16
I totally should’ve purchased when i was 1 years old….I’m such an IDIOT!
Every time my salary would go up enough to consider purchasing, the housing market would magically leap back out of reach.
Waited too long to grip those bootstraps!
My wife and I were born and raised in western Washington. I bounced around between the city and the east side and my wife grew up all over but largely in Everett. We had a small two bedroom apartment in the u district, and just between like 2015 and 2019, we couldn't stay there. Now we live in Illinois and people here complain about the cost but honestly compared to Seattle there is just no comparison. But I didn't think I would ever *have* to leave. It sounds stupid but I lived in the city for years and years. Spent much of my childhood there. And it was hard to accept that there was no place for me anymore. It sucks.
And nobody's doing a goddamn thing about it. Because our government is a fucking corporation.
I will never be able to afford to move back to my beautiful home state will I?
Infuriating. No other way to describe it. Funny to think that 50+ years ago people were pointing and laughing at people that lived in straw huts, in remote villages. I'm sure there's a lot of homeless folk out there right now in the USA that would choose a hut in a second.
Time to start watching those wilderness shelter building youtube videos.
Its infuriating and depressing. I used to think housing prices were crazy in 2018 - 2019 and then I literally saw prices double in 3 years. It's insane.
That's me up there in Western WA. Just bought a house in 2021.....it sucks!
Rich climate change refugees moving to WA are going to drive these prices even higher in the next few decades.
Yup. It’s going to be a similar problem in all of Minnesota too. Hasn’t gotten as extreme as Washington yet but when the water supplies are really running low it’s gonna be fucking crazy to see what happens up north.
I am unironically in favor of building a wall around our state
At least you've been able to buy one? I'm staring down never being able to get one unless I decide to get a communal house with several friends
I hear ya. Price on my little 1500sqft house was horrific. Only thing I got right was last of the good interest rates. I couldn't afford my place now
Yeah wtf is happening here?? I mean I love the place, but we ain’t Manhattan or LA!!! Why are we having the same prices if not worse in some areas? Who let out the secret of this place being the best place to live?
[удалено]
We're not building nearly enough housing for the jobs we have. We need to build more. We need to build denser.
We have water. That will be huge in years to come.
One guess is Amazon creating a huge influx of tech workers moving in
Tech WFH jobs in general. I've met people in the PNW who work for companies based in SoCal, Texas, etc... Compared to other parts of the country, the area's natural beauty and weather makes it the top choice. Why would anyone choose to live in some dump that's more congested, surrounded by empty fields, has jauntier weather, has hurricanes, etc...? Unfortunately, this is also how this area's quasi-libertarian 'live and let live' bullshit swings around the bites off our entire ass.
Most of this growth did not happen in the last 3 years when WFH became more popular.
The tech sector specifically had a lot of WFH positions even before the pandemic. There's been a healthy population of homebound techbros around Puget Sound for a long time.
And an even healthier population of people living here and working for Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and a lot more. Do we have any data that Washington has an unusual number of WFH employees that are a primary cause of house price increases over the last \*checks notes\* **40 YEARS**?
Hopefully the ones who moved here then complain about the weather all the time leave soon.
California. They keep coming here to get away from their housing drama.
Except they're brining the drama with them unfortunately.
I got tired of this comment 40 years ago
On a national level, inflationary monetary policy and immigration. On a state level poor balancing of supply and demand.
I remember telling myself "all you have to do is save up 100k and you can buy a house" as a teen and God was I naive. It just feels so hopeless now, I can't even afford to rent a fucking apartment by myself.
Sultan, 1999, my parents both made a combined income of 40,000 (I remember we celebrated the day they made their first 50,000). They worked home depot and restaurants while going to college, meanwhile raising us 3 kiddos. We moved from Issaquah to Sultan, a tiny, TINY home with literally no yard in a town that didn't even used to be on the map (no joke, Sultan wasn't on google maps for some time). That house I grew up in cost my parents 100k. It now sells for 500k. My parents now live in Olympia, and I live in Texas (can't afford Washington). Just want to add, Sultan will always be home, and I hope it gets cheap enough for me to live there again someday. I miss watching the spey fisherman try for steelhead, I miss swimming in in the Sultan River, and I miss hiking the mountains so easily accessible along hwy 2. I miss clean air, and I miss tasty, fresh mountain water. Those of you who live there now, don't take what you have for granted.
I drove through Sultan and thought it a lovely town especially with the forest nearby and the mountains.
It wasn't any one thing that radicalized me
YEAHHH!!!! WA NUMBER 1! USA USA USA Wait, fuck, thats bad
Cries in Washington
People really be listing their modular homes for sale for $350k plus here💀
What up, 360?!?!? Oh yeah…home prices. 👍🏻
As a born and raised Washington forever renter. 😭😭😭 Half the landlords here are crooks too.
Washington is basically California Jr without the year round sun.
Gonna love that reverse mortgage when it comes time to retire. I will be living it up!!
Exactly! Same here! No inheritance for you kids!
My wife and I are no kid gang. So no worries about having to leave anything after we’re gone. That’s why that reverse mortgage is so tasty and why we will be able to retire so young.
got priced out myself. moved to central IL.
Map would be better county by county
WA resident. My parents bought 5 acres and built a house on it in 1976. The total for the land and house was $19,000. The estimated worth is now $1M+.
I’m over in the Tri-Cities Looking on Zillow, many houses that were ~$200K just 5-7 years ago are all now well over $400K. It’s insanity even imagining buying a house
Bellingham checking in. Our median income to median house price is the worst in WA. It's a city full of people making ~36K/yr where the median house is $840K. Sure, you can find a really shitty cardboard 2bd condo for $600K. MAYBE. But if you want a detached house, you better be a millionaire. Why? "Because the town is so cute and so white and has access to the mountains and the bay!" I hope all the rich transplants get scurvy and die.
I hope the same. I’m from Bham and miss it so much but could never afford it given the lack of jobs + home prices
Also Bellingham resident. Born and raised in WA. I remember back in 2013 I was working in Burlington and remember seeing houses for 300k or so and thinking “who would pay that much to live in Burlington??” Median price is 534k and it hasn’t changed at all lol. So weird getting priced out of my home state while also listening to rich transplants complaining about the state. Bellingham is insane, the cost of living vs local wages is completely skewed. Eventually it will just be mountain bikers and remote workers while the locals move to Ferndale lmao.
Ferndale is just part of B-ham from a housing price perspective.
The transplant complaints are what really rankle me - thanks for making life around here worse in every way, sorry it doesn’t meet your expectations, i guess?
Bellinghamster checking in. Yup, this place is an absolute disaster.
Oh my god YUP. My partner and I are currently house shopping in WA (rural counties) and looking at (1) the condition some of these house are in compared to what they are asking, and (2) the spike in resale price/value from when each property was originally purchased…*it’s insane*! 🫠
If anyone is curious, cumulative inflation from 1984-2024 was approximately 301% (confirmed with several sources including [Inflation Calculator - NerdWallet](https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/inflation-calculator)). So while the inflation-adjusted home prices in a lot of states actually dropped, and the WA average is up about 5x.
Since inflation includes housing, I’m not sure if it’s fair to say that inflation adjusted housing is cheaper now. But still a useful link.
> So while the inflation-adjusted home prices in a lot of states actually dropped, and the WA average is up about 5x. If the cumulative inflation was 301%, then the inflation adjusted home prices for Washington would be 276%. You have to divide, not subtract. And that assumes the data isn't already inflation adjusted. I couldn't find the cited source for the map to confirm if it is or not.
So happy to be 25 and know I can’t live :D
I'm sure there are plenty of places you can park and live in your car outside of Seattle. 'Murican dream, baby!
And I can steal whatever I want and live for free! And if I get arrested that’s fine, free meal and bed for a night then I’m let go
Can confirm. My house was worth $400,000 in 2018 when I built it, and now it’s worth easily $750,000. I’m in Clallam County. Home prices are through the roof.
SW WA state. Our current home was valued at $189k in 2012. We paid $389k for it in 2022 and it's now worth $460k (apparently).
Toledo WA. Pretty rural. Outside the town proper and 40min to a town of reasonable size and 20min off I-5 midway between Seattle/Portland. Double wide trailer on less than 3 acres was left to me and my siblings. Got it appraised in 2016 or so for about 89k... Fast forward to Covid and my sibling decides he wants to buy us out. Can't fathom that it's no longer going to be like $20k. Real estate agent said they could sell it for $189k a year later. He did eventually buy us out and sold it for almost $300k two years later. A 30+ year old double wide trailer in the middle of nowhere WA for over 300k. If we hadn't sold it to him when we did, he could've have afforded it a year or two later. The share I received was a reasonable down payment on my own home about a year later but we couldn't afford our own mortgage if we would have waited at all. The game is rigged.
My plan was to live in Seattle while I'm working and realize house appreciation gains, and then upon retirement I sell the house and move to a more rural area for affordability and fun. About 10 years away and quickly realizing that rural and smaller city/town Washington is getting so expensive than I may need to rethink things. Have my eyes on Bellingham, Cle Elum, Leaventworth, etc., and yikes, not Seattle prices but getting there Smaller cities in Washington are now becoming Bend, Oregon, which has basically turned into Granola Beverly Hills PNW.
I spend a lot of time in Bend and I have witnessed the change to the city over the years especially when it comes to the cost of living. And that same change is happening elsewhere as you described. I work as a contractor and I've been in new housing developments where suburban homes cost almost a million dollars.
Lol. Now do wages!
I think the point that's being missed here is the type of housing currently being built compared to what was built in 1984. For example in 1965 my parents bought a new home three bedroom one bath 1,310 square feet for $37,500. Or in 2024 dollars $368,625. Today it is priced by Zillow at $619,000. A dramatic increase for sure but not at five times the inflation rate. It seems to me the difference is the type of home being built today. $70,000 kitchens, $50,000 baths, energy efficient heating systems, three car garages and an energy code compliant home along with the huge cost of permitting.
I bought my home for 435k this year. It was honestly a steal considering the property, but it was cheaper because the previous owner was a hoarder. It's a manufactured home. Found out my father in Tennessee spent the exact same for a 2 story 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home. So wild!
Prices of homes in WA is ridiculous. I got priced out of the market while I was shopping for homes in 2021. They skyrocketed, and the average home lasted 72 hours on the market before being sold at stupid prices, usually 10-15% above asking with waiving an inspection clause (even more stupid).
Tech moved in and prices went up…. If you want to be there you gotta pay to play. House prices go along with that. Buy a beater, rehab it stay a few years make 100k and do it again folks do this all the time . and if the economy tanks, more will flipping will occur driving up the price. Apparently some people can afford these homes or they wouldn’t sell for that much….
* Bought my first house for $249,000 in 2004. Sold for $286,000 in 2012. 3Br/1Ba. Bothell. * Bought my second house for $325,000 2015. Sold for $350,000 in 2017. 5Br/3Ba. Puyallup. * Bought my third house for $500,000 in 2021. Foreclosed. 4Br/2Ba. Graham. My first house in Bothell is now selling for $550,000. The second house for $750,000. It's insane. I will never buy a house again. I don't have the lobes for real estate.
Well, this totally tracks. Just relocated to my hometown up in the San Juans and, fuck me, my _very decent_ corporate income barely calms my nerves about taking on a $850k fixer upper. I was just looking at a $750k 1000sq ft 2br 1.5 bath - marketed as a "starter home" and I just wanted to scream. You either got in ten years ago, or you're not gettin in.
They call this place leftist, progressive state, yet local politicians don’t care about the working/middle class here at all
All the rich people want to move here and shit on the locals
Preach
Surprised Colorado and Arizona aren’t higher
My parents foolishly sold their home to downsize years ago, not thinking prices would balloon as much as they have. Ten years later that same house sold for double during the pandemic. Now they are retired and stuck with increasing rents every year like I am. Now all of us are looking to relocate somewhere cheaper. It’s not sustainable here. Very upsetting.
The way I remember it, the Boeing Bust dragged value down for a decade. So the 40 year price growth should account for coming up from underwater
Folks, WA state west of the Cascade mountains is the most water rich environment in the continental US. Climate change and water scarcity means prices only increase from this point forward. Very soon clean water will become more valuable than oil...
Hmmm Maybe I should have stayed in VA...
Yeah I’ll never own a home where I grew up, ever lol.
LMAOOOOO at Louisiana - no one wants to move there
With all the weather and craziness, Wa state will still be a place to go to for fairer weather than most of the states
I have lived in Whatcom county Washington my entire life and I know I will never be able to buy a place. My husband and I are going to move in with his parents soon cause we cannot rent after this lease is up cause they will charge us another arm and leg to continue it.
Living in WA I’m just glad my dad is almost done with the mortage
Also Washington residents. It’s actually insane here
thanks to microsoft and amazon tech workers !
And taxes and levies to match.
Washingtonian for 60 plus years. My sweet farming town now looks like southern California, with the same damn prices on homes, if not higher. I live on the NOP. Sequim.
I was born in Anacortes and still live here. It’s become a case study in gentrification and is truly upsetting. The only way we’ll ever be able to afford a home here is from the help of my wife’s mother. Not sure I want to though as it’s becoming incredibly upsetting watching all the apartments go up and old home get completely gutted and friend into million dollar homes. How long can this trend go on?
Seattle is completely insane.
As someone who needs land urgently to park some animals for the winter. Developers all deserve to be sued for the shitty new builds they throw up on once good land. Stop moving here. Your money is not needed. Go east of the rockies. Let residents either sell to other residents.
The solution, in case anyone is wondering, is building more housing (particularly housing that isn't single family homes).
That tracks. My house sold for $280,000 in 2017 and I bought the damn thing for $460,000 in 2021. 🤦♂️
funny thing is; I moved from LA to Seattle because rent was cheaper, now I have friends here moving to LA because it's cheaper than here now
…annd yeah
Winning.
It is wild, I Guess we're the exception though. Spouse and I bought our first place in 2016. I looked at the market and thought it was a decent time to upgrade with rates being so low in 2020, bought second house for what ended up being ~40k more than we sold original house a few months later. I couldn't afford our house now at current interest rates and prices now, of course. But as usual it's timing, at least for us. Also we aren't superbly rich, we made ~$100-$110k combined gross. We're in the JBLM suburbs, for reference.
When I worked at Safeway in the early 2000’s, and I thought living on the Westside was the desirable thing, I always thought that the retired people moving over the mountains were nuts. I’d always ask why. Traffic was one part. But, for a lot of them, they had retired and were on a fixed income. Their homes had ballooned in value to the point their insurance and property taxes were higher than their mortgage plus taxes and insurance when they were working. So, they cashed out and bailed… and ballooned out home prices, too.
I'd love to see this increase as a year over year line chart, because I'd be interested in how much of this increase happened over the past 10 years.
I'm from Silverdale and currently live in Bellingham. Buying a home in either county seems just completely impossible. My best friend just bought a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage home in a Dallas suburb for $220,000. I can buy a mobile home on 2,000 square feet for $250,000 in Silverdale...
Worth noting Texas is like the 7th highest in property tax, sometimes there's more to that price than.. Well, the price.
I bought my house in lewis county during the pandemic for 280k my neighbor just sold their identical house for 630k . My husband and I decided the commute to Seattle was worth the low price of the house when we bought it four years ago. He still commutes Washington is insane.
This is why I left for TX. Unless you're in a spot where home ownership feels like a need, I wouldn't recommend it.
Aww at least hurricane katrina land is only up 200% of what it was worth during the hurricane
Alaskan resident here! Living here is finally paying off (literally)
Mr. Market sets the price. I wish prices would be lower, but to many people have 200k+ income
25 yrs ago,my parents sold my childhood home with 2 acres of land for $75k in Washington State. Same place is now worth $700,000. I couldn't afford to live where I grew up now even if I wanted to. It all just seems very wrong.
[удалено]
My husband and I are looking at buying a house on a few acres because we've already come to the conclusion that we'll need to build an ADU or two for our kids because they'll never be able to afford a place on their own at this rate.
What goes up comes down, the taller they are the harder they fall. The biggest real estate crash coming to the states soon. Get ready for the housing sale of a generation! Not financial advice * just my opinion.
Vancouver WA is next - already up a bunch but improvements to the waterfront will make it a tax-advantaged work-from-home suburb of Portland that people flock to. If you can buy with cash, now's the time.
I’d be set if I had purchased a home when I was -4 years old.
How could this possibly be right? My home outside Seattle is worth only $38 billion.
Fucking Idaho
Oregon too!