|
In 1996, a couple of years after moving out west and just having gotten married, I bought a small (1,580 sqft.) home in Redmond, Washington for $185k. A tri-level, no basement, laundry at the back of what was strangely a three-car garage. From the street, it looked like a gigantic garage defending a bungalow.
The neighborhood was only a few years old and had dozens of near-identical homes. I think there were two basic styles - a tri-level and a two-story square - and people could choose two- or three-car garages in front, one of a few basic trim colors that carried over to countertops and carpeting, and there was a skylight package.
The population was exploding around Microsoft and the other Seattle Eastside tech companies. I remember how hard it was to find anything and being a bit disappointed in the quality of the house, but it was nice to join what we call the rat race.
We sold the house in 2001 for a nice profit. From time to time, I look at estimates of what that house is worth.
But getting to the point of this item - inflation and other pressures on the economy are changing housing in many ways. Much of this is the realization that small single-family homes in growing areas are a wonderful opportunity at a corporate level.
All of a sudden that house (and everything else in the neighborhood) is valued at $1.1 million on Zillow - about a $500k increase in the last two years. There's no way it was possible given life, but it's a shame I couldn't have found a way to keep it.
|