Lake Stevens Area? (Seattle, Everett, Edmonds: fit in, for sale, rental)

[peach143]

I was looking online for rental houses and seen some nice looking houses in the Lake Stevens area that were priced really low. Is this because it is a bad area to live in, bad schools, or just because it is farther north?

[eskercurve]

It is not a bad area to live in. Very suburban. And more remote from the cities, average schools. A lot of people who work in Everett live there, but it doesn't attract the "big money" of Microsoft and Boeing workers as much as Seattle and the northern seattle suburbs and the eastside about as far north as Bothell.

Hence, supply and demand. Looking on redfin too, there appears to be a lot of homes for sale, so there may be a glut of supply there.

[peach143]

thanks, that's helpful to know. i am trying to figure out where the housing prices start to drop off (going out from seattle) but the area is still nice to live with good schools, so I can evaluate if I would be willing to live farther from the city in order to save a little money.

any one have suggestions on good cities to live with good schools but more affordable housing? how far away from seattle are these places?

[Inkpoe]

I wouldn't say Lake Stevens is that suburban, there's lots of rural aspects to it. You're asking for good schools with more affordable housing? What is "affordable"? Generally, if the area has good schools then it'll be higher priced than the area that doesn't have good schools... case in point: Mukilteo and Everett. Lake Stevens does fit in the sense that it has affordable housing and good schools. You could also try Snohomish, even Bothell (for Northshore SD).

(Do *NOT* look into Marysville, they may have "nice" affordable homes, but the schools are god-awful and the area isn't really that good to begin with.)

[eskercurve]

I think the OP is wondering where housing starts to drop off the ~350k mark for a good schools-area 3 bed/4 bed house.

Mukilteo and Everett are good examples. However there's "demographic shifts" going on in both places. More hispanics are moving into Mukilteo because it is exactly more affordable, same with Everett. I'm seeing more Indians and hispanics moving there too.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. I would in fact welcome it. But just an FYI since a lot of people DO care about it.

Bothell and Mill Creek have pockets of affordability left. But in the past 10 years Bothell has really gotten spendier. They're also renovating their downtown area. I think both are in the 300-350k range still. Case in point: the most affordable 3 bed house we could find in Bothell was abandoned and it was so sad ... couple of squatters and their kid apparently made themselves at home, empty beer and liquor bottles were around, and the back yard was totally overrun by the bushes, and the deck and hot tub were totally rotted. The house itself was fine, if you consider a total interior re-do "fine." That house was 270k.

You may find trailers or smaller places for less there.

Yeah, we need more info on what's "affordable." 250k? 300k? May want to consider south of Seattle too. Typically that area is overlooked but is still in decent neighborhoods and more affordable.

[peach143]

thanks eskercurve! i am looking for a rental house for now, and am seeing between $1600-2000 for houses in places like bellevue and shoreline. was curious how far away from seattle i would have to go to see the rental prices drop by a couple hundred bucks for comparable houses.

[eskercurve]

Snoqualmie if you want to go east, Des Plaines if you want to go south, and Edmonds / Lake Stevens / Everett if you want to go north.

Ira would be better to ask about this sort of question.

Or check out hotpads.com and other rental websites.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by eskercurve

Des Plaines if you want to go south,

Do you mean Des Moines?

[eskercurve]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Do you mean Des Moines?

Yes.

Oh my word a Freudian slip. At the time I was thinking of a suburb of Chicago.

[navyguy34]

Lake Stevens is a nice area just east of Everett....depending on your budget you have alot of choices. I live in North Marysville close to Smokey Point. It is not as bad as people make it. I have lived in alot of places throughout the country and Marysville is not the worst....not even by a long shot. It has it "rougher areas" but its nothing compared to other places I have been. The schools are average...but so are most schools in Washington.