Comments on Last Call for Sprawl?

On first glance that doesn't really make sense, I guess because I'm perhaps not factoring in other "amenities" that might come with a $550K crackerbox in bum-fuck Redmond - what? - do you get, like, a yard with that?

But, add in the commuting costs, even to, say, MSHQ, along roads that were already at-capacity 10 years ago (I know, part of 220 was widened east of Redmond, but how close is it to capacity NOW? - and we're going to add another 800+ round-trips per day?), the time costs of that commuting, the relative inaccessibility of the area itself - nearest retail services are either in Redmond proper, or, up on the plateau, etc., etc., and it all adds up to not-such-a-great-deal as compared to a similarly priced domicile in the city, which, while smaller sq, would be much closer to jobs, shopping, banks, hospitals and other vital services.

I am eagerly anticipating the condo market crash.

@2:

Put your hands up, cuz this rollercoaster has reached the top!

happy renter is the wind beneath my wings

"Semi" autonomous Eastside economy?

You really need to get out more.

Living in Seattle has really warped your perspective.

Bellevue/Redmond have zero need for Seattle. In fact I wish the eastside was its own county.

Then we'd see some real perspective on who depends on who.

Reality Check

Right RC, 'cause those daily a.m. traffic jams in the WESTBOUND lanes of I-90 and 520, and subsequent p.m. backups on the self-same EASTBOUND lanes are just folks going the long way around the lake to-and-from their jobs in Kirkland and Renton.

You been served, @5.

Prices "as low as $550,000" - it gives me the opportunity to ask: Correct me if I'm wrong, but that translates to a 5-grand mortgage. Who can afford that? No one I know.

Good point, 8.

A $550k house by the 'traditional' affordability rule of thumb would require a $137k annual salary and a downpayment of $110k.

@8, it would be closer to 3 grand a month--with a decent interest rate loan.

I am actually working on this project and other Quadrant jobs and I am getting the impression that they are starting to get really desperate. But I am not sure that even needs to be said

Actually, they bumped up the VA and FHC loan limits to $850K (going by memory here), so you could still lock in a 6 percent 30 year loan with 5 percent down (vet) or 10 percent (non-vet).

The Atlantic has an interesting article this month arguing that urban real estate will do better than suburban real estate in the future.

If you buy the argument, suburban sprawl has a poor future.

Check it out-- http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/subprime

@6 and @7

Don't think so.

Those backups exist in both directions. To imply that the east side is not autonomous and depends on Seattle is f'n laughable.

Which companies support the high cost of living in King county? And where are they located again? And the consulting firms that make a living off said companies? What city are they based out of? Who exactly supports who?

People buying $550K houses are most often not first-time buyers. They've got equity in their existing home and can make a substantial down-payment.

That said, get out and about the area and you'll be amazed at the number of houses that cost far more than that. So clearly a lot of people are making that kind of cash -- perhaps we just travel in the wrong circles.

And Reality Check has it right: I know a lot of Eastsiders who live and work there and only hit Seattle for Seahawks or Mariners games, or when visitors come to town. Semi-autonomous? No longer. Not with many of the largest private employers in the area, and not when the number of Seattle-to-Eastside commuters is rapidly approaching those traveling in the other direction.

5 & 6

Ya'll are high as fuck. The traffic coming from Seattle to the Eastside in the AM and back in the PM is soooo much worse than the reverse. I ride the 545 Sound Transit every day and it blows my mind why anyone would live in Seattle and commute to the Eastside. But people do it every day. Just check out the different in the Friday PM commute...going to the Eastside is a breeze while the slog back into Seattle is backed up all the way to MSFT.

Sorry 5, didn't mean to call you out in the previous post...I meant 6 & 7.

Also, as to the prices of the houses...you are forgetting that most of the people buying these cribs are dual wage earners...it's not one dude pulling down 150K a year but maybe a guy making 65K and his wife doing about the same. When you have 2 incomes it makes affording housing easier.