Snoqualmie Ridge...What's You Opinion? May possibly move and make it home. (Seattle: fit in, sale)

[ajp2004]

I have been looking very carefully at homes and the market in Issaquah, Sammamish, and Snoqualmie for six months. I can tell you that homes ARE selling despite new construction nearby, and that they have appreciated nicely in Snoqualmie Ridge over the last 5-6 years (looking at property sales records before/after). There's been a definite decline in prices over the last 6 months, but that's mirroring national trends and is not unique to Snoqualmie.

A few miscellaneous notes:
Issaquah Highlands: way too dense for my tastes, single family homes in my price range are built on top of each other and the "street".

Issaquah/Khalanie: nicer sized lots, but most are 20+ years old and many don't have the latest upgrades.

Sammamish: nice sized lots, but kinda conjested getting up there from I-90.

Snoqualmie: 8 minutes east of Issaquah (folks, it's 70 mph outside Issaquah, how is it taking you 15-20 minutes per previous posts?!), amazing views, big sky, basic restaurants/shops/services, though you have to drive to Issaquah to get more bigbox options.

Last thought: do your homework with a realtor who's gonna crunch data for you (ask specific questions though!). And re finding a realtor, get someone active in the community (e.g. in the local chamber of commerce and other business groups), since they tend to have good "in the know" advice about what's happening in various areas.

Good luck!

(P.S. I've chosen Snoqualmie!).

[Topaz]

When we lived in Klahanie before the real estate bubble burst, a local high school teacher told us that the high school students call it "Klacompton" because prices started in the $500's rather than the higher prices surrounding it. I thought that was pitiful. Those kids are in for a rude awakening when they discover that it isn't so easy to earn enough to afford a million dollar home (unless their families are going to gift them a huge down payment).

[texastrigirl]

I would check your Sno Ridge appreciation numbers again. The 2 houses listed right across from my friend on Fairway Ave, both of them beautiful houses, sold for less than $100K than they were originally listed and were on the market more than a year, both of them. I was looking at them in July 2007 when they were just starting to drop prices because they had been for sale for so long. One owner eventually did a total redo and his home was barely 8 years old so that he could sell it. Our friends bought their beautiful home in 2003 for $499 and the same houses across the street (similar floor plan, sq ft, age, etc.) both sold for between $525 and $540K. They had a realtor recently tell them that this would be correct pricing for their home. So that's less than 10% appreciation in 5 years. That is the only basis I have for my answer. I have not looked any more than that but was interested in what happened in these two homes only because I looked at both of them and am so thankful I didn't pay the original asking price of $649K!! Not picking on Sno Ridge. Lovely community for many reasons but I think it's wrong to say the huge amount of new building and lower priced homes at that is not affecting the prices out there. That would defy the laws of basic economics...supply and demand.

[texastrigirl]

The Issaquah Community Center has a really nice pool that would be a 15 minute drive for you. Google that name and you will find pool info. I teach cycling and aqua aerobics at Columbia Athletic Club Pine Lake and they also have a nice pool. Sammamish Club and Gold's Gym Issaquah have pools also but I don't know the rules on kids swimming. There is also an old old Y in Sammamish that has an adequate pool if you are not looking for fancy. ProClub is way too far to commute. I don' t really know what you mean by "competitive" preschools?? I may have different standards but our pre-school was NAEYC accredited and was a place my son loved going to every single day. He is doing just fine in Kindergarten. The preschool is Noah's Ark at Sammamish Christian School. Many others like Sammamish Learning Center and many Sno Ridge families drive for both schools. Hope this helps. Good luck with your move.

[ysabella]

I would second the mention of the weather in Snoqualmie. I commuted there for work for a few months, and there was a lot more wind, rain, snow, etc. there than I'm used to in greater Pugetopolis. The weather on the lower Cascades really is quite wild. Trees fell over onto the new houses, too.
I think the original town might be in a slightly more protected area, weather-wise. The new construction just gets the brunt of it, as far as I can tell. If you're considering the new parts of town, try asking some locals about the weather.

[texastrigirl]

My friends that live in Sno Ridge did live in a condo on Fairway for 2 years that they did fairly well with on appreciation when they sold it to buy their house in 2003 on Fairway Ave as well. She verified for me that they feel they have lost most all of the appreciation they gained from 2003 on. Her opinion but valid none the least as she has verified with a well know Sno Ridge realtor. They actually live in a Conner home (not Buchan) but that is still a very well respected builder in Sno Ridge. She feels you should stay away from Quandrant if you can based on reputation of what people are dealing with a year or so after building with them.

[raindrop32]

Wow! Great Info! When I mentioned "competitive" pre-schools, I was getting at the fact of waiting lists and testing to get in. For a small town like Montesano, just about anyone can get in to a pre-school, however, the good ones do fill up fast. But I have gottenthe impression from the few people I know from the eastside that pre-schools can be like getting into a Ivy League school...is this true? Also, after much feedback abou home prices and such in the "ridge" we may considering just renting for a year or so just to get a good feel for the area and make sure it is where we want to land. Does anyone have an opinion on Echo Ridge the only apartment complex we found and are there any townhouses in the area? OR...would it be best to just rent a house, since the market is so low right now??

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by raindrop32

OR...would it be best to just rent a house, since the market is so low right now??

Rent a house in the neighborhood in which you might like to buy. That's the absolute best way to test it out. I so wish that we had done that when we moved to Colorado. Because we didn't (we bought instead), we made a mistake that could have been avoided if we had just been more patient.

With our most recent move, we DID rent a house and now we feel confident we aren't making a mistake by buying a house in this same area.

[Prple]

Originally Posted by raindrop32

Wow! Great Info! When I mentioned "competitive" pre-schools, I was getting at the fact of waiting lists and testing to get in. For a small town like Montesano, just about anyone can get in to a pre-school, however, the good ones do fill up fast. But I have gottenthe impression from the few people I know from the eastside that pre-schools can be like getting into a Ivy League school...is this true? Also, after much feedback abou home prices and such in the "ridge" we may considering just renting for a year or so just to get a good feel for the area and make sure it is where we want to land. Does anyone have an opinion on Echo Ridge the only apartment complex we found and are there any townhouses in the area? OR...would it be best to just rent a house, since the market is so low right now??

I knew a lot of people on the Ridge who sent thier kids to North Bend Montessori and really liked it. I also knew some people who commuted their kids out to Sammamish/Bellevue for private school. There is also a day care in downtown Snoqualmie that is apparently very pricey. That's about all I know about the preschools.
Oh yeah, they also have great preschool/todler story time at the Snoqualme, North Bend and Issaquah libraries (King County Library System).

[texastrigirl]

I moved here in August of 2007 and was able to have a choice of either Sammamish Learning Center or Noah's Ark for that fall. Not necessarily the times I wanted but it was fine and they are both great schools. Neither of them test. Redgate Farm is another one I hear mentioned and there are church preschool programs all over the city. NAEYC accreditation is always a good standard to look for but not all schools go for it because it is expensive and time consuming to get. Doesn't mean they are necessarily a subpar school. The two schools I mentioned above were the two I was consistently told about when I moved to Sammamish and I was happy with both options. And that was coming from a great program in Austin TX where I had been on the BOD of a child development center that was NAEYC grossing 1.5M a year. My kids were in their preschool side and it was nothing fancy...just your good old fashioned lots of love, hugs, play and learning with other little ones. That's what we were looking for there and that's what we found here. Montessori might be a whole different ball game...it wasn't something I wanted to start my son in at 4 1/2. But Sammamish Learning Center is a blend of mostly Montessori principles with a bit of traditional preschool. They feel that works since most of their kids end up going to public schools on the Plateau and it prepares them at least a little for a similar class structure. Good luck with your move! We have really liked it here and found the Eastside to be very family friendly.