Buying a home? How to choose the right Seattle neighborhood

As with most developed cities, Seattle is density challenged. That is, more people want to live here than there are homes available. The result of this manifests itself in higher than national average home prices.

While highly simplified, in Seattle, pricing works like a ladder. For example, using Seattle as the top rung, as you travel north, pricing drops in steps or rungs.

Leaving the discussion of suburbs and other cities around Seattle, the top rung of this ladder would include the older established neighborhoods of Magnolia, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill and Laurelhurst. Taken in total, the average home prices for all of these areas are over $1M. Keep in mind that these are median price ranges representing a wide range. In some cases, homes sell for well over $10M and push these median prices much higher. Conversely, some homes sell for less.

Moving one rung north finds median home prices in the $800,000 to $1M range. The neighborhoods in these areas include Crown Hill, Greenwood, Green Lake, Wedgewood and Wallingford.

While these areas have a much tighter price range, it is essential to remember that, like all averages, there are exceptions that skew numbers significantly. For example, a home with a Green Lake Park view will have a significant premium attached to its price. For this reason, it is possible to find a more affordable gem within one of these great neighborhoods while maintaining the advantage of a shorter commute to downtown Seattle.

If you want to remain within a few miles of the Seattle city limits from the north, this ladder's next rung includes great neighborhoods like Shoreline, Lake Forest Park and Pinehurst. The median prices in these established neighborhoods range from $600,000 to $800,000. While morning rush hour is longer than the previous mentioned areas, this is entirely manageable compared to traveling 10 miles in Southern California.

As simple as the ladder analogy is for separating price ranges in a precise pattern going north, it does not work well for the rest of Seattle.

Immediately to the west and east of downtown Seattle, neighborhoods like Madrona and Alki in West Seattle have median prices above $800,000 with areas to the east such as Mt. Baker and Seward Park, and Fauntleroy to the west coming in at the $600,000 to $800,000 range.

The only neighborhoods left within Seattle city limits with median home prices in the $500,000 to $600,000 range are Delridge, Georgetown and Beacon Hill.

There are many considerations when choosing a neighborhood in Seattle. Only one of these areas is the price. The above ranges are all based on single-family homes. Perhaps a condominium or co-op is the right compromise to gain the advantages of closer proximity to downtown Seattle while achieving a particular price goal.

Other areas of consideration include the local amenities within the community. For example, Wallingford has a diverse restaurant culture that allows for walking, while other neighborhoods require a car for essential shopping.

The last area of consideration is that of public transportation. The Seattle region is in the midst of a large development project that will reduce commute times and hopefully reduce some local traffic patterns.

The good news is that there has already been considerable progress made. Under construction with completion due in 2021 is the new Northgate Link Extension. The coming Lynnwood Link Extension is nearing completion in 2024. The combination of these two developments will help serve the neighborhoods to the north. Those neighborhoods to the west, such as Ballard and West Seattle, will come in 2030–2035.