Downtown Seattle home prices now cheaper than city as a whole

Ten years in the past, in the event you needed to purchase a house in downtown Seattle, it got here with a steep value. The median dwelling value downtown was about $570,000 in 2014, round 26% increased than the citywide median of $452,000.

For lots of oldsters, the downtown life-style was well worth the expense. “Walkability” was all the fad again then, and that’s what downtown supplied — you would stroll to work as an alternative of sitting in visitors. Seattle’s bustling retail core, and plenty of of its cultural choices and occasions, have been proper at the doorstep.

Downtown remains to be walkable, however you might not care as a lot. There’s an excellent probability you’re working from dwelling and commuting merely isn’t a problem anymore. Downtown procuring isn’t what it was, with many empty storefronts. And maybe because the pandemic, you’ve gotten into the behavior of staying dwelling extra and are much less more likely to reap the benefits of theater, motion pictures, museums and live shows.

Which will clarify, a minimum of partially, why downtown houses now not command a premium. Whereas dwelling costs have gone up downtown since 2014, the costs elsewhere within the metropolis have elevated a lot sooner. The median dwelling value in downtown Seattle final 12 months was $745,000, about 12% decrease than the citywide median of $845,000.

This development is just not distinctive to Seattle. In line with a brand new report by actual property information agency Property Shark, the flip from a downtown that was dearer than town as a complete, to 1 that was cheaper, has occurred in 9 of the nation’s largest cities since 2014.

The others are Portland; Los Angeles; San Diego; Denver; Albuquerque, N.M.; Dallas; Chicago; and Kansas Metropolis, Mo.

Amongst these, Kansas Metropolis skilled the largest hole in value change between downtown and town as a complete. From 2014 to 2023, Kansas Metropolis’s downtown median dwelling value elevated by about 39%, whereas the citywide median value elevated by 122%. That’s a distinction of about 83 share factors between the downtown and citywide value will increase.

In Seattle, the downtown median dwelling value elevated by about 31%, whereas the citywide median elevated by about 87% — that’s a niche of about 56 share factors, which ranked seventh among the many 9 cities.

Even in most giant cities the place this flip hasn’t occurred, downtown dwelling costs have nonetheless lagged behind citywide dwelling costs. Among the many 41 places within the report — 39 cities plus Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York — dwelling costs grew at a sooner fee citywide than downtown in all however 10.

There have been even two cities the place downtown dwelling values have declined since 2014. In Chicago, the median value downtown was $269,000, down $57,000 from 2014. In Washington, D.C., the median downtown was $620,000 final 12 months, down $9,000 from 2014. To be clear, these greenback quantities weren’t adjusted for inflation.

This development could also be one signal that the “again to town” motion of the 2010s, largely fueled by millennials and empty nesters, has misplaced steam.

There was just one metropolis the place the flip in costs was reversed — in different phrases, houses downtown have been cheaper than the citywide median in 2014 however have been dearer final 12 months. And it might be a shock.

In San Francisco, the median dwelling value downtown soared by 87.5% from 2014 to 2023, in contrast with a citywide improve of 41%. Within the course of, the downtown median went from $74,000 decrease than the citywide median to $265,000 increased.

Among the many 41 places within the report, downtowns have been nonetheless dearer than town as a complete in 24. Seattle was among the many 17 the place this was not the case in 2023.

Philadelphia had the most costly downtown relative to the remainder of town. The median value downtown was $839,000, in contrast with simply $210,000 citywide. On the reverse finish of the spectrum, Fresno, Calif., had the most cost effective downtown. The median final 12 months was $173,000 in contrast with a citywide median of $360,000.

For Seattle, Property Shark outlined downtown as town’s central enterprise district, slightly than the larger downtown space.

Seattle’s downtown median dwelling value of $745,000 final 12 months was seventh highest, down from sixth in 2014. Seattle’s citywide median of $845,000 ranked fifth highest final 12 months, up from sixth in 2014.

The costliest downtown was San Francisco’s, with a median dwelling value of $1.5 million. The most affordable was in Tulsa, Okla., at $113,000.