How to Narrow Down Your Seattle Home Search

The sprawling Seattle map is a thing to behold. There are countless neighborhoods with pockets of rich culture and vibrant activities. Renowned coffee shops dot almost every corner of the Emerald City, and the majestic views of the famous Pacific Northwest’s mountain ranges are hard to rival. 

But that only makes it harder to decide where to buy your Seattle home. It isn’t easy to narrow your search in a city with so much to offer. There are housing options to consider, commutes to evaluate, and a lot of pondering about what will ultimately satisfy your lifestyle in the long run.

Below, the team at Prevu Real Estate has put together a quick guide to help you focus on the essentials that can make narrowing your search for a Seattle home a lot easier.

Commit to a budget

Financial stability is an essential factor when entering a real estate transaction. One of the most important steps towards a successful home purchase is having your finances in order, with room to spare.

A good way to find a home in the Seattle area is by budgeting. When you commit to searching for a home in Seattle, you want to set a price range. But you should also consider closing costs, moving fees, and possible repairs.

If you find a home or condo that checks off every item on your list, be prepared to make some counteroffers. Bidding wars may be subsiding, but the demand for homes is still prevalent, and many desirable properties will have multiple offers you may need to contend with. Therefore, budgeting out extra money to feel comfortable offering over the asking price will help you secure the home you want.

Getting a pre-approval is another surefire way to help narrow your search. Once you have an underwritten pre-approval from a mortgage lender, you can begin to start crossing off homes you know are out of reach and exploring the options you know you can afford and make an offer on.

Figure out what you want in a neighborhood

Narrowing your home search means focusing on your favorite neighborhoods. Your choice of a home might ultimately come down to which neighborhood you decide to set roots in. This could be a tall order simply because Seattle has a long list of places with unique offerings and distinct vibes.

Try to highlight the most important things you need to have nearby. For example, do you want to be close to your place of work? Do you want to have a handful of coffee shops nearby to work from? Will you have access to multiple forms of transportation?

Setting up your list with the necessities will help you narrow down the neighborhoods before you even begin to consider things like amenities and recreation. 

For example, if you know that your dream house must be near the water with its own dock, Magnolia might shoot to the very top of your list. Likewise, if you want to be close to some of the most eclectic cuisine in the city, you might add the Industrial District as one of your top choices and refine your options.

Seattle naturally lends itself to a variety of different lifestyles. Though initially overwhelming, choosing a neighborhood may be one of the most exciting parts of your home search in Seattle.   

Consider your commute

If you’re fantasizing about hopping into your car and leisurely cruising through the lush greenery of the Seattle suburbs on your way to work, you might be in for a rude awakening. Los Angeles may be notorious for horrendous traffic, but Seattle is close behind. Highways get congested during peak hours, and rush hour makes it nearly impossible to get anywhere on time.

The silver lining is Seattle’s extensive transportation system. From the Sound Transit Rail to the King County Metro Transit to the prominent ferry system, no matter where you decide to settle in the Emerald City, there will always be multiple forms of public transportation available to you. Commuting in Seattle is also made easier by the nearly universal OCRA card, which allows you to maintain a balance on it for use on major Seattle transportation options. 

When narrowing down your home search, consider which commuting options work best for you. If buses aren’t your thing, stick closer to the Western part of Seattle, which relies primarily on the Light Link Rail. Or, if you want to move to West Seattle or Bainbridge Island to escape the hustle and bustle but still be within reach of the action, you can rest easy knowing you will have the ferry system to get you in and out of town. 

Determine what kind of home you want

It is easier to search for your home when you have a firm idea of what you want. Some people may like to adhere to the adage "I’ll know it when I see it," but in a fast-moving real estate market, the luxury of time is something homebuyers may not afford. 

Deciding on the kind of home you want will make the search easier. Ask yourself how big you want the house and what features it should have. For example, do you want a large backyard with space for a pool? Or, do you prefer a condo in a building with multiple luxury amenities overlooking the Puget Sound? 

Painting a fuller picture of what you want out of a home without compromise will help you understand where to look. Some parts of Seattle offer an abundance of modern townhouses located in planned communities with shared amenities such as a pool and BBQ areas. This option can give you the best of both worlds when deciding between a condo or a single-family home. 

Waterfront homes are the signature offering of Seattle, but they also carry a hefty price tag and multiple maintenance requirements that may be cumbersome to manage. When it comes to deciding where to find a Seattle home, the search can be a lot easier with the help of a buyer’s agent.

Hire a buyer’s agent

No matter how confident you might be in your negotiating skills, the advantage of having an experienced buyer’s agent at your side cannot be overstated. 

This is because negotiating is only a small part of the overall picture. A buyer agent’s expertise begins from the get-go, before you even start hunting for a house. But to reap the most benefit from the relationship, you have to interview several agents thoroughly before committing to one. So make an agent’s local knowledge and expertise your top criterion when deciding who to work with. 

Finding the right home is a crucial part of the equation, but how much you pay for it and other financial considerations are just as important. A buyer’s agent who knows the neighborhood inside and out can advise you on which prices are adequate for a given area. This can help a lot when negotiating the price and determining if the home is worth its asking price.

Homebuyers can also walk away with a sizable check if they work with a buyer’s agent that offers commission rebates after closing. 

Modern, tech-enabled brokerages like Prevu Real Estate offer buyer rebates as a way for aspiring homeowners to unlock savings that can help them offset various costs. 

Knowing that you will have a check waiting for you after closing can give you the confidence to negotiate more aggressively. Or it can give you the peace of mind that you can afford potential renovations your future home might need.

Prevu offers the largest rebate in Seattle with buyers receiving a commission rebate up to 1% of the purchase price of a home.

Interested in buying a home in the Greater Seattle Area? Browse listings and see how much you can save with Prevu’s Smart Buyer Rebate.