By Anne-Marije Rook and Kate Ganiron, Web Intern

Despite the economic downturn, Ballard has seen condominiums and apartment complexes go up quickly in the last three years and developers are proposing more. The housing market in Ballard, it seems, is climbing out of the recession hole.


“The prices are down 15 to 20 percent from three years ago, but not all across the board,” said Greg Stamolis, Windermere Ballard real estate agent.

“Activity level is stronger in Ballard than in some of the other areas in Seattle."

Jeff Menday, real estate agent at RE/MAX Northwest Realtors echoed Stamolis stating that the housing market in Ballard and in-city Seattle was up considerably in 2010 from 2009.

“Ballard sold 52 homes in December 2010, while only selling 35 homes in December of 2009. This is up nearly fifty percent,” he said.

But that increase wasn't all across the board either as Sam Debord, Managing Broker at SeattleHome.com, said the Ballard real estate market had been slightly down in 2010.

“It’s had similar sales over the past three years,” said Debord. “There are 330 homes showing as sold on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service in Ballard for 2010. In 2009 there were 363 sales, and in 2008 there were 374 sales.”

Yet the end of 2010 showed a surprising boost in sales in Ballard.

“The end of 2010 was surprisingly strong, considering October through December are slow months,” said Debord.

“There were 120 sales from September 2010 through the end of the year. This matched last year’s sales numbers, and 2009’s year end had an artificial boost from the supposed ending of the home buyer tax credit.”

Currently, an average home in Ballard sells for approximately $400,000, Stamolis said. And a three bedroom, 2.5 bath house runs at about $499,000.

A recent study released by Trulia.com found that thanks to the foreclosure crisis, buying a two-bedroom home is cheaper than renting in most big cities but not in Seattle.

In its quarterly Rent vs. Buy Index, the real estate data firm Trulia found that buying a property -- including the mortgage principal, interest, taxes and insurance -- was cheaper than renting in 72 percent of cities around the country with the exceptions of Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. The firm compared a years' rent for a 2-bedroom apartment, condo or townhouse with cost of buying a similar property in 50 big cities around the country.

“We’re certainly seeing more home buyers who are waiting for a deal, and taking a bit longer to buy,” said Debord.

“Renting is an attractive option for some, but the historically low interest rates are still making home purchases affordable for many buyers. This seems to be keeping a healthy number of buyers in the market.”

Stamolis agreed stating that while people have been a little more gun shy when it comes to buying a house, people want to continue to own.

“It’s harder to get loans so not everyone can own [a house], but they do prefer it," he said.

So who's coming to Seattle?

According to Menday, you see a mix of people moving into Ballard.

“First of all, the younger generation in the past five years has been purchasing condos that are within walking distance to shops and restaurants,” said Menday.

“You also see a good amount of married people with families moving in to Ballard because of the favorable environment, including a highly reputable Ballard high school, lower crime rates than in other parts of the city, and the traditional Scandinavian culture.”

Stamolis said younger people and couples not looking for parks and schools are those who come to Ballard and “congregate to Market Street and Ballard Avenue, which caters to that crowd.”

“Ballard has enough character and culture to support businesses,” said Stamolis. “It’s getting younger, but it still has a decent mix of old and young.”

Yet it's the elderly community who's selling their homes.

“A lot of sellers in Ballard are retired senior citizens who have lived in their homes for decades and are moving only because they are moving to assisted living situations.”

But overall, the future of Ballard’s housing market is looking promising.

“Ballard is a wonderful place to live. The housing market in Ballard will continue to improve and grow," said Menday.

“I think there’s a lot more positive energy in the market now,” Stamolis added.

“In Ballard, people can be confident that there’s value here.”