FORBES.COM’S RELENTLESS REAL ESTATE proclamations typically read like twisted outbursts from a listing agent who’s gone from reading the tea leaves to crushing and snorting them: “America’s Recession-Proof Cities”! “Worst Cities for Homeowner Debt”! But the site officially went off the reservation in July, when it went from ranking Seattle the fifth-best real estate market for investment at the beginning of the month, to saying the city was home to the third-most overpriced zip code in the country by the end of the month. And in between, it rated us 16th among the best cities to rent a home and first among the country’s increasingly unaffordable cities. It was a rankings bender that gave new meaning to “housing meltdown.”
It’s also the kind of factually debatable headline fodder that can mess with prospective buyers’ heads. “As you keep on getting these conflicting ideas and you keep on reading what’s being said in the national press, it’s very easy to get stuck in the mentality of the negative media,” says Matthew Gardner, a principal at the Seattle office of real estate advisory firm Gardner Johnson. After scratching our heads over the conflicting, which-way-is-up rankings, we asked Gardner to weigh in on their methodologies. And the assessment from the former adviser to England’s royal family? It’s all a load of bollocks.
Important things to keep in mind: Forbes.com based its “most overpriced zip code” ranking on 98104, which is the mostly commercial Pioneer Square neighborhood, and the site conveniently overlooked Seattle’s topographic restrictions and the state’s strict Growth Management Act, both of which limit supply. Things aren’t necessarily rosy on the housing front—Gardner admits that the housing market is slowing down and we’ll see a decrease in net value next year—but it ain’t as bad Forbes.com would have you believe. “You want really, really bad news?” Gardner says. “Go to Southern California. Go to Arizona. Don’t come here.”
Second Home
Ashland, Oregon, $1,099,000
Yes, Ashland is home to Southern Oregon University, but that doesn’t mean it has that beer-bong bacchanalia feel of a college town. What it does have is plenty of excuses to get outside: skiing in the Siskiyou Mountains, hiking in the 93-acre Lithia Park, and boutique shopping downtown. A short bike ride from town—yet still set back on an acre of wooded land—is this 3,158-square-foot, three-bedroom, open-plan home that borders the proverbial babbling brook; call it a modern escape for anyone who still wants to live where the wild things are.
Listed by Leslie J. Rose, Ashland Homes Real Estate
Buying Power
Off-Leash Dog Parks
Proximity to pup-friendly green spaces won’t necessarily add value to a house, but it’s a nice little bonus—and maybe even a deciding factor—for dog lovers who want to get to know the neighbors and who’d rather have Spot burn off some energy out in the grass than on the new carpet.
Oyster Bay $548,000
Details 2108 Madrona Point Dr; 1,580 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2½ baths, built 1998
Selling points Right on the water and a short drive from the temporary location of the Bremerton Bark Park.
Listed by Mark Corcoran, Windermere
Greenlake $759,000
Details 712 N 64th St; 2,148 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2½ baths, built 1927
Selling points Southwest of Green Lake and the aptly named Woodland Park, where dogs get a workout in the impressive off-leash area.
Listed by RoJane Maybee, John L. Scott
Edmonds $999,000
Details 1427 Ninth Ave N; 3,848 square feet, 4+ bedrooms, 2¾ baths, built 1916
Selling points Pooches can run along the surf at Marina Beach Park, just blocks away from this completely renovated home.
Listed by Michelle Van Tassell, Coldwell Banker Bain
Published in the Northwest College Rankings 2008 issue of Seattle Met.
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