I’ve been feeling super down lately because being able to buy a house on the eastside is starting to seem like it will always be out of reach. I know no one can predict the future, but I’d really appreciate some advice. Here’s my situation: My partner and I currently live in Seattle paying $2200/month for 2B/2B, we plan to have our first kid in the next few years and we really want to move to the eastside because we like it better and we want to be even closer to family so they can help with our future kids. We have 600k saved up for a down payment. We want the monthly payment (including property taxes and insurance) to be $3500. We are very risk averse so we want to be able to comfortably afford it. At current rates that means we can afford 1M which as you know isn’t even close to a decent 3B SFH. (Lately minimum seems like 1.3M) We can save $100k a year but with house prices continuing to climb and knowing they’ll climb even higher when rates come down, I feel like this will never work. Am I being overly pessimistic or are we in fact priced out of eastside? Will waiting a few more years at our savings rate improve our odds or make it even harder because affordability will decrease more? HH TC: 330k, 30yo (partner is not in tech)
You can’t time the market
Curious which neighbourhood you stay in Seattle, with 2200 rent for 2b/2b ? My friends pay like 4k for 2b/2b. Even 1b1b is expensive.
We moved in the thick of the pandemic so we got a good deal and negotiated it down further. SLU
Nice
What do people think about this? https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/02/09/bellevue-unveils-bold-growth-strategy-for-152000-additional-homes/
The article even says it likely won’t happen
Townhome for $1.2M in Bellevue crossroads areas is what may be the best fit for you. Otherwise go Seattle. Or leverage up, and buy a higher budget. I would ideally just buy in Seattle for 5% down, save on rent, and then Airbnb it out, and buy another one. Rinse and repeat. In 5 years, you would have 4-5 homes making some money, and you can afford a larger home as your TC increases Problem with Eastside is you can't rent for good money
Do you think over the next 10-15 years crossroads area will improve?
I started living in Seattle Ballard, Madrona areas and bought a few homes there. Then lived in crossroads, it's not bad. I like the commercial area. Now I live in Bel Red in a $3M home, which is close by. It's not bad. Schools are okay, only Interlake is worthwhile. But proximity to Microsoft and Bellevue downtown make it more than worth it
Monthly payment 3500 😂😂😂😭😭😭😭 my dude are you lost? Go back to Seattle for your own good
Yeah I was doing the math all wrong! 😅 🙈 Happy to learn we can comfortably afford quite a bit more.
2200 for 2b/2b is great!! I would suggest reducing the amount the stuff owned and should give enough space for the kid
Move to Kent or federal way and live like a king
Get car jacked and shot, great idea /s
Yeah that rent is not too bad. Stay put. Also you dont have a kid yet. You can look for a bigger home once you have a kid and she starts moving n grooving all around. Thats when you really need a yard lol. Best of luck!
In the current market, a budget of $1.3 million will not get you a house in Bellevue, Kirkland, or Redmond. If you’re basing your expectations on the list price, you might be in for a surprise. The actual selling price in today’s market is typically 15-20% higher than the list price. I’ve experienced this firsthand, having lost 10 bids in just the last month. Most of the bids were at least 15% of the list price and still didn't get the house with high earnest money. With a budget of $1.5 million, you might be able to afford an old shack in Redmond that that too like 1800 sqft max. You would need space with a kid I would recommend considering South Bothell. With a budget of at least $1.3 million, you can find homes that are not only newer but also larger, complete with a backyard. Bothell prices have also exploded, so you may have to move to lynwood now. Since you don’t have children yet, your expenses should be relatively low for the time being. You can refi the house later to bring monthly mortgage down. If you choose to wait, you might end up waiting indefinitely. Or worse, you might find yourself paying 1.5x or even 2x the price for the same house or even smaller house in the future.
Thank you for the advice! It’s good to hear from someone who is going through the process now. Yeah, I always compare list price to sell price and it’s a little discouraging.
You might find a townhouse around 1000-1200 sq ft for that budget in east side. If you are looking for individual house within 10 years of construction then 1M budget is low for east side. And tbh it’s difficult to predict the future of housing market. But it’s unlikely that there will be huge drop in house prices.
Where should one look? Any areas with good schools?
Yeah I agree, 1M is depressingly low. We’ve not been super interested in townhomes because of high HOA fees but it may be our best option. I don’t need prices to drop, just to stop increasing so fast.