Surprise! The five most affordable houses in the Madrona neighborhood are all under one million dollars...for now.
We get to start right at a half a million dollars. This 1925 Craftsman is listed at the nice round number of $500,000. For that you get 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, which can sound like a condo; but these rooms are spread out over 1,920 square feet. Either those rooms are large, the house has lots of space, or there's a typo somewhere. The lot is listed at 2,000 square feet, which would leave only 80 square feet outside - and the gardens look larger than that. Numbers aside, the house looks fine, stylish, and well maintained. Even the basement's insulation looks neat and tidy.
This is the first time this 1950 house has been on the market in 50 years. It worked well enough for someone for a long time, so it passed the livability test. For $525,000 you can get a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 story ranch house with 1,440 square feet inside. Updates and upgrades have happened over the decades, and don't appear to be necessary; but the bright red carpet and the wood-paneled rooms may not fit with everyone. The house sits on a 4,800 square foot property that includes a fenced back yard that is mostly low maintenance lawn, or a garden waiting to happen.
This Craftsman was built on the 4,297 square foot property in 1904. In that time the city has grown up to become part of the view, the landscaping has established and matured, and the house has endured. Now, it is yet another example of well-tended historic houses. As its basis it is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,140 square foot house; but it retains a pillared room divider, hardwood floors, and traditional paneling. The more modern bits would be familiar to the original owners: chickens, their coop, and a garden - though the coop and the garden are obviously newer. The chickens themselves must be too. The price for history and tending your own food is $650,000.
Build on a slope and get a good view and little if any lawn. A 1923 "Roman Villa" sits across the street and a park from Lake Washington. It's no surprise that the emphasis is on the views. With a lot listed as "steep slope" it's no surprise the landscaping for the 7,392 square foot lot is bushes and shrubbery instead of grass. Inside the perched palace is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,430 square foot 2 story house that brings some of the Roman style to the interior. They're asking $720,000 for the space that seems to have as many offices as bedrooms. The patios and balconies emphasize those views, though. You might not even notice the leaded glass - though you may noticed the $30,000 price cut.
What a difference one street makes. Step over from the second house on this list that had a price of $525,000 and step up to $950,000. Of course, you get a lot more for that price: 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and 2,600 square feet. The Craftsman house is much older, 1912; and has gone through much grander renovations and remodels. It has also had a much more abrupt sales history; it sold for $487,000 last November - a dramatic increase in less than a year. The property is 4,800 square feet, again (must be a neighborhood thing), and fenced, again; but the landscaping is much more manicured, and not low maintenance - unless you pay someone else to do it.
· 1106 29th Ave [Zillow]
· 1615 29th Ave [Zillow]
· 821 30th Ave [Zillow]
· 1104 Grand Ave [Zillow]
· 1615 30th Ave [Zillow]