Housing prices expected to continue to rise in Puget Sound region

Hana Kim, Q13 Fox News

Click here to view the article in full, along with one of the news segments.

SEATTLE – Seattle continues to be the hottest housing market in the nation.

The Case Shiller Indices show Seattle ranked number 1 in home price growth in the country. The latest data they have is from January.

Real estate experts say the residential housing market in the Puget Sound region is not on a bubble; they expect soaring home prices for maybe years to come.

They are consistently experiencing competing offers on luxury homes in the $1 million to $2 million range. Experts say as long as luxury homes sell at top dollar, the values of other homes in the same neighborhood will go up.

The trend in Seattle is partly affecting Pierce and Snohomish counties in a big way.

In 2016, Pierce and Snohomish counties topped the nation when it came to people moving in compared to moving out. Pierce County was number 1 and Snohomish County number 2.

The Census Bureau shows 12,000 people moved into Pierce County and Snohomish trailed with 10,500 people. The 2016 numbers are double what they were in 2015.

Experts say many people are moving in from out of state but many are just priced out of King County.

Some of the hottest areas in Pierce County include Puyallup, Old Town Tacoma and Bonney Lake. In Snohomish County, Bothell, Mill Creek, Lynnwood and Lake Stevens are hot.

On average you can get twice as much space in Pierce and Snohomish counties for the same price in King County.

“They come in and ask how much are home prices, what can they get for their money here, they are very shocked,” broker Eric Shull with John L. Scott said.

Shull says most Seattle buyers are coming in looking for homes in the $500,000 to $ 800,000 range but the inventory is slim. He says buyers need to have financing ready and for many buyers it’s a three- to four-month process to purchase a home.