This weekend has been great weather! Yesterday I took my dog to a large Italian greyhound playdate in Northgate and then about 10 of us met at Green Lake. It was jam-packed with people. We did find parking near the Small Craft Boating Center, but the walking path was crowded with people and dogs.
Recently a friend of mine tried to find a home to buy in this neighborhood and its surrounding environs. Their cap was $500k. That’s a lot of money. But it doesn’t buy you nearly as much as it used to. She said every house they looked at was a fixer, and she didn’t think she should spend half a million dollars and have to do a lot of work on top of it. I agree – but market forces are market forces. Green Lake is a high-demand area. It’s proximity to downtown, the University District, and the benefit of a 2.8 mile walking trail around the lake, not to mention all the great shops there, makes it a very popular place to live.
I noticed one open house sign as I drove around the lake. I didn’t have time to stop. But it made me wonder – are there more condos for sale in this area, or houses?
I searched NWMLS in a 1-mile radius around Green Lake. I turned up 77 houses and 24 condominium listings. But within those SFR (single family residence) listings, 12 of them were townhomes. Townhomes are truly the newest and most affordable type of housing in the Seattle area. The townhome listings around Green Lake range from 2 to 3 bedrooms, 1 or 2 car garages, and start at $340k, and go up to $650k (not quite as affordable).
Unfortunately my friend was already living in a townhome in Mountlake Terrace and wanted to get closer in and into a house with a yard (they have a dog and will be having kids soon no doubt). After looking for several months they finally found something – in Lake Forest Park, only 4 miles away from where they lived in MLK. Not exactly what they were hoping for, but they were ultimately happy with their decision. It was a newer home, with a single owner, and was in good shape. And it was a lot bigger than their townhome.
For me personally, I have done the house with a big yard and am ready to “downsize” into a townhome. What’s funny is the townhome is actually 200 square feet more finished space than our house, and comes with a 2-car garage, something my husband has always wanted. But even with nice neighborhoods like Green Lake, we choose to stay in West Seattle, where we have lived for nearly 10 years. The new High Point is a great community and we drive by our construction site often to see how it is coming along (it’s not supposed to be done until August).
Green Lake, like Alki Point on a sunny day, is very busy and I personally don’t think I would want to live there. But for some people, they love the water! See my selection of Green Lake real estate listings. Let me know if you would like to tour any of these properties!
Last week I attended the online presentation of the Top 10 new products from Sustainable Industries. I am very excited about “Warmboard“. They answered my question about it in their blog. It’s something we can actually install in our condo townhouse since it doesn’t modify anything (it can go over the existing plywood subfloor) and then we can put anything we want over the top of it! We really like some of the cork products we have seen, which also feel less “cold” to the stocking feet.
