April Home Prices Skyrocketed in These 9 Seattle Suburbs - Seattle Met
/APRIL’S HOUSING DATA, recently released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, shows the first glimmer of a real estate market leveling off—at least in Seattle. But how are higher interest rates, worn-out buyers, pinched inventory, and too-high prices affecting the suburbs? Not very much at all.
Back in March, the top suburbs showed evidence of the continually brisk market with year-over-year sales price increases from 25 to 32 percent. Buckle up, because April’s stats blow those numbers out of the water.
Newcastle, the land of million-dollar homes.
9. Auburn
In February, we marveled at Auburn’s median sale price below $600,000. Alas, no more. While it may still seem “affordable” to higher earners seeking space, consider that this time last year, the median sale price was just $499,000.
April 2022 median sale price: $650,000
Price growth year-over-year: 30.26 percent
8. Mercer Island
From relatively affordable Auburn to one of the most persistently expensive suburbs around. Mercer Island has always been a pricey place, but its recent year-over-year growth still has the ability to shock as that median sale price edges close to $3 million.
April 2022 median sale price: $2,720,000
Price growth year-over-year: 32.52 percent
7. Renton (Benson Hill)
What a difference a month makes. In March, Renton’s 32 percent price growth was enough to land it at the top of this list. One month later, and an even higher price growth takes it only to the seventh spot. Renton did end April with more sales closed than the same month in 2021, suggesting its higher prices aren’t necessarily spurred by inventory scarcity.
April 2022 median sale price: $799,950
Price growth year-over-year: 35.01 percent
6. Eastside (South of I-90)
Just how hot are the real estate markets in Newcastle, Newport, and Factoria? In January, the year-over-year price growth jumped a whopping 63.87 percent. In April, that number looks a tad more modest—until you realize the median sale price is up $415,000 in just one year.
April 2022 median sale price: $1,550,000
Price growth year-over-year: 36.56 percent
5. Redmond and Carnation
Maybe it’s Microsofties heeding the call to return to work en masse. Maybe it’s Eastsiders tired of paying for increasingly expensive rents. Whatever the reason for the demand, April home buyers launched Redmond into the top five, with a $370,000 increase in the median sale price compared to the same month last year.
April 2022 median sale price: $1,365,000
Price growth year-over-year: 37.19 percent
4. Juanita and Woodinville
Woodinville has consistently topped our list of most expensive Seattle-area cities to rent an apartment. In April, the home-buying market matched that demand with a hefty year-over-year price growth and a median sale price that climbed $418,500 in the same amount of time.
April 2022 median sale price: $1,325,000
Price growth year-over-year: 46.17 percent
3. Kirkland and Bridle Trails
That is not a transcription error. Yes, the median—repeat median—sale price of a home in Kirland was above $2 million in April. Perhaps it’s all those Googlers trying to find a home closer to its new campus?
April 2022 median sale price: $2,040,500
Price growth year-over-year: 50.45 percent
2. Bellevue (East of I-405)
The scarce inventory in this part of Bellevue has improved slightly, up to nearly three-quarters of a month, but that apparently hasn’t cooled the white-hot demand in the slightest. Still, if you’re looking on the Eastside, this appears to be par for the course.
April 2022 median sale price: $1,585,000
Price growth year-over-year: 57.24 percent
1. Bellevue (West of I-405)
If you bought a home in the Lake Washington side of Bellevue last April, congratulations. You saved yourself $1 million. That’s how much the median sale price has grown year over year, causing a truly eye-popping 80 percent price growth. Hey, at least the schools are good.
April 2022 median sale price: $2,373,350
Price growth year-over-year: 80.76 percent
