Guess what Seattle? ‘Rich people want to live with rich people’
Jul 7, 2015, 12:05 PM | Updated: 1:58 pm
KIRO Radio's Tom Tangney is worried Seattle and areas around the city are becoming too much like Sammamish. (AP)
(AP)
Seattle home prices are steadily climbing, which means a strong economy and dynamic marketplace. But at what cost?
The concern some people have is that Seattle is turning into Sammamish or San Francisco, said KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney to John Curley.
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What’s wrong with Sammamish, a stunned Curley asked.
“Only rich people can live there,” Tom responded. It’s becoming a scenario where the wealthy are pushing out everyone else.
The median home price of a single-family home in King County was about $480,000 in May, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. That’s more than an 8 percent increase over May 2014.
It’s good that home prices are high because that shows there’s a good employment rate, among other things, Curley said. High home prices is better than a 10 percent decrease.
Homes in and around Seattle are so sought after that people are willing to purchase them on property that could destroy them. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that a home missing a backyard — backed up against a cliff — recently sold for nearly $900,000 in Bellevue.
Tom agreed that rising home prices are a good thing, to some extent. However, he said there is no way “people like me” could afford to live in the area if they hadn’t purchased their home 35 years ago.
“If you want to have a high-tech industry, that’s great,” Tom added. “The down side is that people that made Seattle can’t afford to live here.”
Curley didn’t have much sympathy for Tom.
“I’ve got news for you: rich people want to live with rich people,” Curley said.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for John Curley and Shari Elliker.
