By Olivia Palmer

For first-time buyers like Miranda Dancik, the process of finding a home is a maze of rising prices and bidding wars. After half a year, her search in West Seattle has still yielded only dead ends. 

West Seattle has traditionally been one of the least expensive parts of the city to live in. Dancik said its affordability and location between her and her husband’s workplaces were two of the biggest factors in their decision to start looking for a house there. But heavy competition has meant they’ve gotten outbid on every offer they’ve made.

“Now is the time where we have enough money saved up for a down payment,” Dancik said. “We’re excited. We want to buy a house. And this was kind of a rude awakening when we saw the reality of the situation.”

Rob McAllister, mortgage broker at West Seattle Mortgage, said first-time buyers like Dancik are often at a disadvantage because they tend to have a lower down payment. When competing with cash offers, it’s nearly impossible to secure a home. 

Dancik recalled one house that had 37 offers on it. She and her husband were number 37.

“People are offering hundreds of thousands of dollars over list price, and have that money to pay for the differential between the appraisal and their actual offer,” Dancik said. “And, you know, two young 20-somethings who don't work in tech don't necessarily have all that extra cash.”

Dancik’s situation isn’t uncommon. Katie Melton, a real estate broker from West Seattle, said 15-20% over asking price is baseline in some neighborhoods.

Mara Haveson, managing broker at Compass Real Estate saw one home in North Admiral soar from 5% to 30% over the listing price and sell in just six days. 

Since its closure in March of 2020, Melton said she has had clients who view the West Seattle Bridge is a big obstacle to buying a home in the area. Despite this, the West Seattle housing market remains highly competitive. 

Haveson said one factor that may have softened the impact of the bridge closure on the market was the coincidental start of the pandemic. With fewer people going to work in-person, commuting out of West Seattle became less of a consideration for some. 

Haveson said she also thinks the pandemic may have provided space for families to consider buying a home when they might not otherwise have. 

“For a year of COVID, nobody was really traveling. Nobody was really spending money going out to dinner,” Haveson said. “People were spending a lot of time in their homes and realized that they really need to get into a better house.” 

Low interest rates have been a motivating factor for many of those searching for a house. McAllister said buyers don’t necessarily buy a value; they buy a payment. Low interest rates lock in low payments, so many buyers are willing to put more toward a down payment at a time like this. 

Another driver of competition is the market’s low inventory. Haveson said she estimates only about 50 single-family homes were on the market in West Seattle in early spring of 2021. While availability has increased since, it’s still low, maintaining a competitive market. 

“The reality is, once the bridge is back, it's going to become even harder and more difficult to get in a house here,” Haveson said. 

When it comes to the landscape of the West Seattle housing market, Haveson said houses west of 35th Avenue Southwest tend to be more expensive than those east of it. In neighborhoods to the west, like Belvidere or Genesee, she said an average small home would likely cost around $800,000. In neighborhoods to the east, like the Westwood area, that number might be closer to $600,000. 

Neighborhoods on the east side of West Seattle aren’t just more affordable. Melton said areas like Delridge and Highland Park also have higher inventory, more construction and more variety (a mix of single-family homes, condominiums and townhomes). They’re often neighborhoods for “starter homes,” leading to greater turnover. 

Melton said she wouldn’t necessarily call any part of West Seattle a “hot area” for real estate.

“It's a little bit of a running joke, every house is a hot home in Seattle. There's nothing available,” Melton said. Nevertheless, she and Haveson said they have noticed some neighborhoods appear to be particularly popular in West Seattle.

Haveson said traditionally popular neighborhoods like North Admiral and Alki remain competitive. However, areas in transition like White Center are also becoming increasingly competitive because of their room for growth and appreciation. 

“The flip side of having a crazy market like ours is that once you are able to get --no pun intended -- your foot in the door, then it's like instant equity,” Melton said. “And so you do benefit from that rapid growth once you do have homeownership.”

Dancik and her husband have been looking for a home in Highland Park, Delridge or White Center. Even containing their search to these more affordable neighborhoods, however, she said she’s starting to fear they might get priced out of Seattle altogether. 

“We'd like to stay in Seattle proper. This is where our friends are. But it's getting a little out of reach,” Dancik said. 

Here's an interactive map showing market statistics for different West Seattle neighborhoods, using Redfin data.

You can view the map here

Rachael Morris faces a similar dilemma. 

Morris bought her parents’ townhome near Fairmount Park 10 years ago. At the time, it cost about $270,000. Over the course of a decade, Morris said its value has roughly doubled, now resting at about $550,000. 

As the value of Morris’ property increases, so do her property taxes and insurance. She said those rising costs have become a problem for her and her neighbors alike, but when she’s looked at places to move to, she’s struggled to find something affordable. The competition and bidding wars now woven into the fabric of the market have put many options out of reach.

“I want to move but I don't know where to move to. Because the more I look, I have to move like way out to Puyallup to afford something decent with a yard,” Morris said. “Even homes that I could afford now are being priced out.”

Because of the high demand and low inventory, McAllister said sellers have the freedom to be more selective, asking for extensive income documentation, credit polls, work history and information on buyers’ assets and bank accounts. As Morris has found, however, that freedom often doesn’t last after a sale.

“They're hearing the same thing that they're being told, hey, sell your house, we can sell in five minutes and you're going to get a bunch of offers and you're going to make a ton of money,” McAllister said. “Well, then you're a buyer. And then none of that's good news for a buyer.”

As competition pushes many buyers further south, it also impacts residents in those communities.

Peter Kwon, deputy mayor of SeaTac, said he was priced out of Seattle himself. Now SeaTac, one of the least expensive areas of King County, is also becoming unaffordable for its residents. When people are displaced, they typically have to move to an entirely different county. 

“I still monitor the local real estate market, just out of personal curiosity, and I can't even afford to buy my own house today,” Kwon said. “The people in SeaTac are getting displaced because the people in Seattle are getting displaced, and then coming over here to SeaTac. It’s disappointing to see that; it's just like a domino effect.”

For West Seattle residents like Morris and Dancik, a hesitance to move south has less to do with affordability, and more to do with community. 

“We just love West Seattle,” Dancik said. “It's kind of a nice little oasis away from the big city even though it's in Seattle proper, it feels a little bit removed.” 

Morris felt similarly.

“We still have a small-town feel, and that's a big thing,” Morris said, noting the convenience of having grocery stores, a veterinarian and a mechanic all so close to where she lives. “Neighbors are still neighbors; real neighbors.” 

As Dancik continues to search for a house, she said she fears moving south would not only add to her commute; it would also isolate her and her husband from their friends and community. The future is uncertain, but she hopes that they can stay in West Seattle.

“We're not too picky. We're looking for a house that will fit us and our dog and that we can add a few family members to hopefully in the future,” Dancik said. “Two people who work and have advanced in their professions should be able to afford a home in the city that they work in.”