seattle washington

Freeway Interstate 5 (I-5) runs north and south through the middle of Seattle. If you come from the east you will probably want to use I-90 or Freeway 520.

Seattle Real Estate Investments

I contend that Seattle real estate will always be terrific real estate investment. Along the way there may be ups and downs in the Seattle real estate market, but over all I would give Seattle a 4-star rating for future increases.

First of all, Seattle offers oceanfront property. How many other cities can say that. People love the ocean. It is mysterious and exotic.

Zillow.com reports that the first quarter 2007 shows a 12.7% increase in overall value for Seattle real estate. The report says that the entire Northwest area of the US had significant increases over the last year. This includes: Corvallis, OR, that had a 17.26% increase. By comparison, Stanta Barbara, CA, was -11.8%.

In the Zillow database the "average" home looks like this: 1,500 square feet; 3 bedrooms; 2 bathrooms. The average home in Seattle sold for $316,000. Of course, this assumes a well-kept and repaired house.

Another reason I think buying real estate in Seattle is a good idea is that Seattle has strong employment. Washington State's economy is centered around agriculture and industries such as aerospace, paper, lumber and software development. Yes, Seattle is the home of Microsoft. The unemployment rate hovers around 4%. Average household income is about $50,000.

Seattle also has a large sector of luxury apartments. The people in these apartments will eventually, for the most part, decide to buy a home and they will have the money to do so.

If you are looking for a great place to live that also has a solid real estate history of strength, go to Seattle.