East vs West Bellevue
Some interesting things are happening and you can see it in the new construction pricing. The relative differential in values between East Bellevue and West Bellevue have been narrowing. A good way to see the market differential for different neighborhoods is to look at their new construction. Since the value of the neighborhood and location is a big factor. Using resales in tear-down areas can be deceptive because many homes are sold for land value not land and house value.
Some interesting numbers come up. Five years ago in May of 2004 the average per sq. ft. sales price for a new home in West Bellevue was about $300 per sq. ft. in East Bellevue it was $200 per sq. ft. Now here is a shocker in May of 2009 the average per sq. ft. sales price was $258 in West Bellevue, in March of 2008 that number was $427 per sq. ft. In East Bellevue in May of 2009 the average price per sq. ft. was $254 and in March of 2009 it was $262.
Now once financing and the economy returns I think you will see this differential widen again between East and West Bellevue when the extreme upper end market comes back to life; but there is a shift going on that I am seeing at the street level. When I first started 30+ years ago Bellevue was a commuter cityand living next to the two bridges, particularly 520 had a big premium because it cut the commute time. The Doctor and Lawyer crowd chose West Bellevue as the place of choice. It always had a certain appeal because of the waterfront and large lots but what drove the values in West Bellevue like all real estate was location. Also East Bellevue was seen as “tract” development and the commute to everything was longer. You could have a spread in relative values of a 100% or more between new constuction product.
A couple of generations make a difference. Now Bellevue is the fastest growing job base north of San Francisco and the main crowd purchasing is the “tech” buyer. There is no real location advantage living in West Bellevue. Overlake and Group Health is where the Doctors go and the lawyers are moving to Bellevue. Yes there is the aesthetics of the neighborhood and the presitege factor but the basic location difference which drove the differentials in values is changing.
In addition odd things have happened such as Interlake and Sammamish High School are rated higher than Bellevue High. In addition the City of Bellevue will be sinking huge resoources into East Bellevue and East Bellevue has a neighborhood park system within walking distance of almost any home in Bellevue.
The tear down cycle will start in the next go around in East Bellevue. Most of the available infill was done in the last cycle in East Bellevue. The character of East Bellevue is going to change with the most notable improvements being transportation and redevelopment of post war strip centers such as is being done in the Lakehills Shopping center now.