Favorite Seattle Zip Codes

The zip codes I like best in Seattle are the high-demand locations in the City of Seattle, typically close in to city center, and close to highway and freeway access. Many of these neighborhoods also have active commercial districts, with restaurants, groceries, galleries and retail shops. They are urban locations, with good access to bus lines, Light Rail, or other public transportation. Even in down markets, these neighborhoods continue to be active in terms of transactions, and see less of a decline in housing prices during downturns.

Below are some of the zip codes for some of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods. In the last 24 months, the following zip codes had these number of sales transactions:

98102 - 23 out of 260 homes (4.5% annual turnover)/Avg TAV: $850,404
98105 - 92 out of 1150 (4%)/$663,403
98117 - 106 out of 1714 (3%)/$450,202
98144 - 69 out of 1155 (3%)/$451,850
98122 - 56 out of 867 (3%)/$490,375
98136 - 51 out of 882 (3%)/$527,316
98119 - 37 out of 551 (3%)/$701,486
98115 - 127 out of 2345 (2.5%)/$469,275
98103 - 82 out of 1759 (2.5%)/$394,761
98116 - 59 out of 1116 (2.5%)/$501,679
98109 - 24 out of 961 (1%)/$731,074

The $300-$400K range seemed to be the most active (the "sweet spot") for most of these sales, so as an investor, I would be looking for neighborhoods that have more inventory in these price ranges. This would discount neighborhoods in the 98102, 98105, and 98109 zip codes.

My top Seattle zip codes for investing might include 98117, 98144, 98122 and 98136 for now. My next analysis will be to determine where cash buyers are buying real estate in Seattle. Stay tuned.