Homes for sale in the University District

 

Click here for all current real estate listings in the University District

I’m currently working with a lovely young couple of first-time home buyers. He works in the tech sector. She’s finishing a graduate degree. They want to buy an entry-level condo as close to the University of Washington (and the surrounding “U-District”) as possible to facilitate a quick and easy, low-carbon footprint commute to the school. They determined that they’d be willing to live anyway within the circumference of the following neighborhoods: Sand Point, the north half of Capitol Hill, Fremont, Green Lake, Roosevelt, and Maple Leaf.

Assisting them in their home hunt over the last two months, one thing has become quite apparent to me; proximity to the “U-District” has a definite and distinct correlation to property price per square foot and days on market. In short, reasonably-priced properties close to the University of Washington sell faster and for more money than their more distant comparables. My conversations with brokers listing properties in the U-District anecdotally supports the notion that the majority of buyers of properties near the university are investors and parents of UW students. And my experience previewing approximately 30 active listings on my clients’ behalf as well as touring with them reinforces  my belief in this phenomenon.

True, my assertion is based on a pretty small data set, but seems to be more than coincidental. Of the properties I’ve shown my clients, the ones having the best combination of price, amenities, property condition, low-HOA’s (in the case of condos), parking, view, and size, have all been near the outskirts of the borders of their search. And all the properties they considered as “possibilities” that were close to the U-District, have all gone into contract since we viewed them, while arguably more-desirable listings farther out continue to sit on the market.

While I harbor no ill will towards the out-of-town owners of property in the University District, it does make me feel sympathetic to the challenge this presents my buyers. . .

Have a look at this list of University District real estate listings and contact me if you’re interested in seeing any of them; I’ve seen quite a few of them already!

- Keller Williams Seattle Metro West