As Seattle struggles with a lack of affordable housing in the midst of a tech-fueled surge in growth, a new report by Trulia further illustrates how rapidly things are changing by highlighting the increase in million-dollar homes in the region.
Trulia, the online real estate company, calls seven-figure homes “commonplace” in some of America’s largest housing markets. Seattle, when combined with the Eastside communities of Bellevue and Kirkland, lands on a list of the top 10 spots in the country with the biggest increase in million-dollar homes between 2012 and 2016. Homes were included based on their value whether they were listed for sale or not.
In May of 2012, Seattle’s percentage of homes valued at $1 million or more was 2.5 percent. Four years later, the number has risen to 7 percent, for an increase of 4.5 percent. The Emerald City, along with New York and Honolulu, are the only non-California cities in the top 10.
A Trulia GIF illustrating the spread of the high-priced real estate plays out like a red tide washing over the region. It’s clear that waterfront property with views of Lake Washington, Lake Union and Puget Sound commands top dollar.
Here are the Seattle-area neighborhoods which showed the largest increase in million-dollar homes:
The numbers don’t look so daunting when compared to San Francisco, the leader on the list with 57.4 percent of its homes topping the $1 million mark for a jump of 37.8 percent in four years. San Jose and Oakland finish out the top three to give California’s Bay Area a commanding hold as the region with the biggest surge in pricey homes.
The neighborhood of Westwood Park, in the city of San Francisco, saw its percentage go from 2.9 percent to 96 percent. The small suburb of San Mateo, in job-rich Silicon Valley, had the four other neighborhoods on SF’s top five.
