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 Linda Thomas
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Seattle home values to increase 14 percent

July 12, 2012 @ 4:20 pm (Updated: 4:22 pm - 7/12/12 )

Housing prices will likely keep falling for most of the nation, but Seattle is one of five cities that are considered "great investment opportunities."

HousingPredictor.com, which bases its information on from the National Association of Realtors, says the top cities for investment properties are: Miami; San Francisco; Los Altos, California; Seattle; and Medford, Oregon.

"When most people figure out that this really is a great time to buy in some areas of the country, it will be too late to make a really good profit," says Mike Colpitts with HousingPredictor.

"Seattle has weathered the housing downturn better than the majority of the nation, despite a sizable decline in home values."

houseIn the next five years, he expects Seattle home values will increase 14 percent.

That estimate is based in part on the area's technology industry, which pays higher salaries. That's expected to bolster the housing market.

Realtor.com lists roughly 1,800 Seattle homes for sale, from a $60,000 two-bedroom condo to an $18 million waterfront estate.

Seattle-based online real estate company Zillow took a look at recent data to determine markets where sellers have the power and those where buyers are in control.

Home sellers are thriving in the San Francisco, San Jose and Las Vegas metro areas, where price cuts are sparse and homes often sell for at or near their asking price.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland metros are buyers’ markets, with homes taking longer to sell and buyers averaging discounts of five percent off the asking price.

By LINDA THOMAS

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Comments (3)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Of course, that's reported up 14% from being down as much as 60% in some markets.
    July 12, 2012 6:29 pm
    And real estate markets differ widely. That's why some houses in Sammamish are twice the price is an identical house in Puyallup.

    But, and not saying reports would be different, do you use as your sources this HousingPredictor.co and realtor.com and especially the usually over generalized Zillow when you could have easily asked for data from NWMLS, the MLS that virtually every realtor in western Washington uses ?

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  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    Meeeeehhhhhhhhh..........
    July 12, 2012 10:41 pm
    I couldn't care less if the price of my house goes up, or down really?

    I bought my house to live in and not to obsess about.

    It would be nice if my taxes went up and down to reflect.....but then I don't live in a world of rainbows and lollipops.

    I don't need to worry about being underwater either as I paid cash for the land and the home to be built and I didn't mortgage my children's future on living in a 5,000 sq.ft. monstrosity.

    Just my opinion.

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  • otmilkr wrote...
    Will wages increase 14%
    July 15, 2012 7:41 am
    For the working class? I doubt it. So, that means some other segment of the economy will lose. I wonder when people will understand that?
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