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It was the same story for most of 2017: low inventory, rising costs, and high competition. While the situation wasn’t unique to Seattle, we weren’t imagining it being especially prevalent here. According to a recent report by brokerage and listing site Redfin, Seattle neighborhoods made up a whopping 19 of the 25 most competitive neighborhoods in 2017.
The most competitive neighborhood, per Redfin’s data, was Grass Lawn in Redmond, where 73.1 percent of homes went above asking during 2017, with an average of 8.4 percent above list. Nos. 2 and 3 were also in the area: north Seattle neighborhood Pinehurst, with 74.1 percent of homes above asking by an average of 8 percent, and Crossroads in Bellevue, with 60.8 percent and 4.3 percent, but a price growth of nearly 50 percent.
Other Seattle neighborhoods that made the top 25 are southend neighborhood Rainier View, Victory Heights, Licton Springs, lower Queen Anne, Olympic Hills, Columbia City, Bitter Lake, and Lake City-adjacent Cedar Park.
While some of those neighborhoods have been hot or bourgie for a while, some, especially those farther south or north, show Seattle’s stiff competition going to lower-cost neighborhoods—many at a higher risk of displacement for existing residents—as buyers struggle to find a single-family home that even approaches affordable.
Redmond real estate was extremely competitive in 2017, and it shows in the ranking, with downtown and Overlake also making the list. Bellevue, too, including Newport and Woodridge. Neighborhoods in Woodinville and Issaquah also cracked the top 25.
Some of the data used for the ranking is specific to Redfin—listings handled by Redfin agents, their “hot home” algorithm—it tracks with what we’ve been hearing from others. In March, Estately compiled data showing more than 60 percent of homes in Seattle and 85 percent of homes in Redmond were going above asking.