It can be tough to get around in Seattle and on the Eastside. As we add hundreds of people per week to our expanding city, and even more to the whole area, the problem is not going to go away anytime soon. More-flexible work schedules and people working from home will certainly help, but in the coming years, as Link light rail expands, the value of properties around those light rail stops were expected to go up. But now there is a study that substantiates that!
According to the Seattle Times article, This Is How Much More You’d Have to Pay For a Home Near Light Rail, Estately did a study on the median cost to buy a home within a mile of the existing and planned Link light rail stations and compared it to median sales prices beyond that radius. Here are some of the highlights of that study:
- Capitol Hill: Median Sales Price: $470,000. Homes near station: $505,000 – a $35,000 premium
- Beacon Hill: Median Sales Price: $455,000. Homes near station: $516,000 – a $51,000 premium
- Tukwila: Median Sales Price: $252,000. Homes near station: $340,000 – a $88,000 premium
The above are examples of light rail stations that already exist. But what about the ones that are approved and not built? The report points to Bellevue as an example where five light rail stations are planned for South Bellevue, East Main, Bellevue Downtown, Wilburton, and Spring District/120th where the premium is between $65,000 to $$90,000 for proximity to a Link light rail station.
For properties without designated parking, if a person can avoid having a car at all, that is a savings and perhaps worth the additional investment. In addition, as traffic gets worse, people are priced out of the urban core of Seattle, businesses expand outside the core, and more Millennials are in the workforce and are willing to think outside-the-box when it comes to transportation, the premium for living close to light rail may rise even more.
Link light rail planning may expand even further when voted on in November with proposed stations all the way up Everett, west to Ballard and to West Seattle, east to Issaquah, and south to Tacoma. You can read more about the proposal here:
I encourage readers to learn more about the proposal and to keep appraised of the developments around this issue, especially if you live within a mile of a light rail station (or even a planned and approved one) or would like to. Would you like to learn more? Give me a call, text, or send me an email: (206) 226-5300 or sold@windermere.com.