Affordable house with great schools!
So yesterday we looked at an affordable house with easy commutes in the Bay Area – just $288 per square foot in East Palo Alto.
Now, let’s look at what’s going on for about the same $/sqft in one of our two mortal enemies: Seattle!
$525,000
Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Sq. Ft.: 1,800 $/Sq. Ft.: $292 Lot Size: 7,725 Sq. Ft. Property Type: Residential Style: 1 Story View(s): Territorial Year Built: 1969 Community: Microsoft County: King MLS#: 165784 Source: NWMLS Status: Active On Redfin: 8 days Cumulative: 151 days Large elegant rambler. Giant open living room + formal dining + breakfast counter. Lots of Italian tile, new carpet and paint. Remodeled baths and kitchen. Entertainment size deck with hot tub. Tam-O-Shanter Golf Club community with golf, Olympic pool and tennis courts.
So it’s in a golf club. So it’s got some of the nation’s best schools. But is it near Google and Facebook? Does it have the Bay Area schools? Does it have great sushi? (No, all they have is teriyaki!)
Sure they’re similar in price per square foot, but let’s face it – Redmond simply isn’t as livable as East Palo Alto. Add to that the lack of a state income tax… well… what would you do with all your money? Save it for retiring? Stop working and become a slacker?
Further proof that the Bay Area reigns supreme and why our awesome ho
using prices help drive our awesome innovation.
January 18th, 2011 at 6:47 am
You’d think a realtor selling a Microsoftie house would have better computer skills when it comes to photoshopping. That sky is flat out creepy.
January 18th, 2011 at 7:28 am
This home is pretty average, and there’s little chance I’d move to Seattle for such a marginal upgrade. Now, of course comparing this home to EPA is going to help you, but there are many good places to live in the BA for $300 sq ft.
January 18th, 2011 at 8:03 am
From a sale price of $355k in 2005 to an asking price of $525k in 2011? I suspect this will experience at least one of the following: 1. Asking price reductions, 2. A long period of time without a sale, 3. Foreclosure
January 18th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Remodeled kitchen? When, 1978?
(More pics have been added to Redfin.)
January 18th, 2011 at 9:30 am
Where else can you get a home that looks as if the interior is completely engulfed in flames? That’s gotta be worth something.
January 18th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Man, I’m so sick of this poorly photoshopped pictures… Is it just me, or now practically every image I see in listings is HDR’ed? Every second is oversaturated, white and color balances are usually off everywhere. Like it helps to sell.
January 18th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
I have a policy against houses that glow, just a personal thing.
January 18th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
$525k isn’t exactly chump change either here or in Seattle. The windows are definitely “aglow”.
January 18th, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Bob,
Cheaper options are available, but if you want one of the better school districts such as Bellvue, you would typically pay between $700K and $900K for a 2500-3000 sf house. It is cheaper than here considering the size and quality of the homes are better.
January 19th, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Cheaper options are available, but if you want one of the better school districts such as Bellvue, you would typically pay between $700K and $900K for a 2500-3000 sf house
“better schools” are in my opinion overrated anyway. I didn’t go to the best school in my area by any means and somehow both me and my brother turned out just fine and are quite successful in our endeavors. So yeah- cheaper houses can be had in less than perfect school districts. But paying more to live in a house near the best schools doesn’t guarantee its going to pay off in the form of exceedingly smart children either.
January 19th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
>>“better schools” are in my opinion overrated anyway.
Better schools may be overrated, but bad schools are not an exaggeration, particularly in California. How you turned out is debatable; if you had kids, your perspective on the importance of schools could be very different.
January 19th, 2011 at 10:55 pm
Here is an example of why bad schools are not an exaggeration.
January 19th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
yes, as opposed to yet another student suicide in Palo Alto last Thursday
January 20th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
I don’t think the sky is touched up. That’s what the sky always looks like in Seattle.
January 20th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
I thought the school issue wouldn’t be controvertial.