Mill Creek vs Everett school district (Seattle, Bellevue: for sale, power lines, renting)

[skandiah]

Hi,

My wife and I with a 2 yr old moved from Ontario about an year ago and renting in Bellevue now, which is right by my work in Redmond. But we're thinking of buying a house in Bothell, particularly around the Mill Creek area, looked a few new developments, and they're north of 180th street, and they fall under the Everett school district.

I've heard that Northshore school district is better, but again it may depend on the individual schools. For example, the Cedar Wood Elementary and Gateway Middle School seem good, so we're not sure whether we want to stay in Northshore or Everett district, appreciate any advise.

[mkarch]

Northshore is probably the best value right now. The Everett schools have always been sub par, though around the area you're looking it depends on the neighborhood.

I have to ask though why you want to buy a new home way up there if you work in Redmond? There are literally hundreds of new and existing homes for sale that are a lot closer and in areas that present a better long term value. Snohomish county does an unimpressive job managing growth in the unincorporated areas. Drive around some of the older neighborhoods and see what happens to them. Few stay nice for long (exception being the planned community of Mill Creek) I understand wanting a new home, but not with that kind of sacrifice.

[skandiah]

Thanks for your reply. I'd rather stay closer to Redmond, but we're having hard time finding something of 1900+ sqft under 400 - 430k in Redmond/Bellevue/Sammamish. Even the ones we came across are about 25-30 yrs old and require lot of updates, and that's why we decided to look a bit further.

[mkarch]

The way I look at it is the new houses further out will lose more value as they age, and appreciate slower due to location. The older homes closer in, as long as they are in a good area, will require more work but not necessarily cost more over the long run.

30 year old houses well maintained have a lot of life left in them, even if they're not pretty. I've seen some decent unremodeled 1960's houses near downtown Redmond that sell in the $400-$500 range. I'd take that over Everett.

You should repost in the seattle sub-forum. Lots of people there know more than me.

[Hemlock140]

A home with 1,500sf just sold near me in Sammamish for $405,500. Another down the street
(a flip) went for a little more, 430k but was completely redone. You just need to find a good realtor that can dig up what you are looking for. Also try Kirkland, Rose Hill area, and Kingsgate. Even Woodinville would be s better commute. The areas with good schools do gain value faster.

[BellevueNative]

Mill Creek's schools are the gem of the Everett School District. And honestly, the Everett SD is better than what most people think. We just moved up here from Bellevue to be closer to my husband's job and did plenty of research on the schools and everything else. For what it's worth, we specifically avoided the unincorporated area north of 180th because we didn't want to be in, well, an unincorporated area. We bought in Mill Creek proper and we really like our neighborhood so far. Our development has lots of Boeing and Microsoft people, so obviously plenty of people don't find it that bad of a commute. Hell, I drive to lower Queen Anne and back every day.

Oh, regarding appreciation: the houses in Mill Creek - and Mukilteo - appreciate very well because they're popular with Boeing engineers. But if you plan to live in the home for a long time, appreciation speed might not be very important. IMO that shouldn't be the reason you buy a house.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

Oh, regarding appreciation: the houses in Mill Creek - and Mukilteo - appreciate very well because they're popular with Boeing engineers. But if you plan to live in the home for a long time, appreciation speed might not be very important. IMO that shouldn't be the reason you buy a house.

Just based on the past 20 years though, appreciation speed has had an enormous affect on housing cost. Homes in some areas saw a 20% increase, others saw 300%. It's a guessing game for sure, but to completely rule it out is not a great strategy.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Just based on the past 20 years though, appreciation speed has had an enormous affect on housing cost. Homes in some areas saw a 20% increase, others saw 300%. It's a guessing game for sure, but to completely rule it out is not a great strategy.

Aaaaaand I think we all saw how that worked out. It was all a facade. Housing prices will not reach those levels again in the foreseeable future (inflation aside). The house next door to the house we bought sold for more than $700k five-six years ago. We bought our house - which is basically the same size - for more than $200k less than that. Still, our house is valued significantly higher than the unincorporated "north Bothell" area.

OP asked about Mill Creek and the unincorporated area just to the south, so I'm just filling him in on the differences. Mill Creek is much more desirable than unincorporated Bothell, and the houses are priced accordingly. People on this board seem to think that the wealthy white collar earners in the Puget Sound area all live and work in Seattle-Bellevue-Sammamish, but that's definitely not the case. There are tens of thousands of six-figure earners up at Boeing Everett alone, so as long as Boeing is up here, there will be demand for nice family housing in Mill Creek, Mukilteo and Bothell.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by BellevueNative

Aaaaaand I think we all saw how that worked out. It was all a facade. Housing prices will not reach those levels again in the foreseeable future (inflation aside). The house next door to the house we bought sold for more than $700k five-six years ago. We bought our house - which is basically the same size - for more than $200k less than that. Still, our house is valued significantly higher than the unincorporated "north Bothell" area.

Not sure what you're getting at. Some areas are "reaching those prices again" but unincorporated north bothell doesn't seem to be one of them.

[BellevueNative]

Originally Posted by mkarch

Not sure what you're getting at. Some areas are "reaching those prices again" but unincorporated north bothell doesn't seem to be one of them.

The only reason some areas are approaching "those levels" again is because inventory is so lacking. People are moving to the area and need housing, so they're bidding up prices out of desperation. If the housing stock was as it was five years ago, the sales prices would not be as high as they are.

And I agree about north Bothell. We just drove through there yesterday on our way to Woodinville, and it really is a mess. All the land along 35th is being bought up by developers putting up cookie cutter homes on tiny lots...and 35th is just one lane in each direction. Bothell-Everett Hwy is already a traffic nightmare through Thrasher's Corner, and it will get worse with more homes. And the Bothell schools are already crazy crowded. But the thing that I really disliked about north Bothell were the big power lines and HUGE regional power station at the corner of 35th & Maltby Road. It freaks me out! And both my husband and I got instant headaches when we drove through some of the developments nearby.