Seattle is a gorgeous area, full of lakes, mountains, and lots of green spaces. Just to the east of Seattle, directly across Lake Washington, are Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and other communities, commonly referred to as Washington's high-tech corridor. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and a batch of other big tech name companies make their home in our Seattle and eastside areas. We love them to death ... but they DO increase home prices in the area.
However, just a few miles southeast of Bellevue lies Maple Valley. Those of us in the area, believe Maple Valley is the best Bellevue suburb! After all, Maple Valley's affordable prices, idyllic setting, mountain views, top rated and highly desired schools, and mix of new subdivision-style homes and acreage properties make it a logical choice for home ownership.
Maple Valley is located approximately 20 miles (approximately 40 minutes) southeast of downtown Bellevue, or approximately 15 miles from the Issaquah, Lake Sammamish area. A driving coomute to downtown Seattle takes about 50 minutes, while commuting to Tacoma can be a quick 40 minutes or so as well. (It can be confusing -- you may have to see a map:)
(Thanks to Google Maps)
However, if you're an eastside or Seattle worker, no doubt you're well acquainted with those much higher housing costs. Maple Valley is perfectly positioned and poised to combat those prices while offering so many similar -- and maybe superior -- amenities: parks, lakes, golf courses, awesome schools, pleasant commutes, and a small-town persona with friendly faces.
A few interesting demographics:
- Maple Valley consists of an area approximately 5.6 miles square
- Most business are independently owned -- no big box stores, although they're not far away in the adjoining small city of Covington
- Population of just over 20,000 people
- Of all the residences in Maple Valley, 80% are homeowners
- Tahoma School District
Now then, why Buy in Maple Valley? Here's a bit of information about houses currently on the market:
So what does this all mean? Well ... you're likely to purchase a home that's between 2000 and about 2300 square feet, priced between $289,000 and $331,000. It's also likely that you'll be working directly with the seller or with new construction.
Although it's not obvious from the stats, I can tell you from experience that if you purchase new construction (and you can see that there's a LOT of new construction in Maple Valley), you'll be in a subdivision of like homes, with smaller lot sizes. If you step into homes that are older than about 10 years, you're more likely to be on a lot size of better than a quarter-acre.
Click here for information about Summer Home Sales in Maple Valley.
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