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Clyde Hill: an Enduring Community in Bellevue WA

By
Real Estate Agent with Asset Realty Group

Clyde Beach ParkClyde Hill is the largest community in West Bellevue, on a prominent but gradual hill overlooking Lake Washington and the Seattle skyline to the west and downtown Bellevue and the Cascade mountain range to the east.  People like living on Clyde Hill because is is minutes on surface streets to downtown Bellevue, or to the on-ramp to Seattle via the SR 520 on-ramp to Seattle.  Many of the home here have been upgraded to include modern finishes and the character of the neighborhood is very upscale. 

Clyde Hill is one of the most prestigious addresses in West Bellevue, as reflected by the median home price which is holding steady the last two years at $1,210,000.  Recent home sales range from the low 400,000's for a distressed property to $2,400,000 for a stately view residence on a quiet street.  The recent boom construction years saw a lot of new construction where the typical 1960 era homes were yielding to demonlition at staggering lot values.  Many of those homes were purchased at or below the builder's cost as the effects of the recession took hold.  That inventory has all been absorbed, and the general health of the market is quite good.

The current market of Clyde Hill homes for sale consists now of only resale homes, there is virtually no spec building.  Average time on market is running about 60 days, and inventory is about 4 months overall.  Depending on the price point, certain price ranges are oversupplied--take for example homes ranging from $1.4 to $2.5 million.  When one is buying a home, it is important to dissect the market statistically to identify price points that are oversupplied, to position the offer accordingly. 

The views from some of the homes in Clyde Hill can encompass a panorama of the snow capped Olympic Mountains as a backdrop the Seattle skyline, featuring Lake Washington views, all the way south to Mount Rainier, and from certain locations one even has views of the ever changing Bellevue skyline, which has become far more interesting these last few years.  The lot sizes are large, averaging over 17,000 square feet, with an average dwelling unit density of 2.5 units per acre.

The City of Clyde Hill was first incorporated as a town in 1953, but became a non charter city in 1998 with a Mayor and City Council.  They have their own Police and Fire Departments, and City Hall situated on the major east west spine of Clyde Hill, NE 24th Street.  The City limits can be measured in terms of size at one square mile or 632 acres.  There are approximately 1075 households, with an average occupancy of 2.7 persons, with 40% of the population being between the ages of 35-59. The average household income is just over $190,000 according to census statistics. 

One of the crown jewels of the Bellevue Park's Department is Clyde Beach Park, at the foot of 92nd Avenue NE, where it meets Meydenbauer Bay.  This is Clyde Hill's pride and joy, where residents turn out during the best months of the year to enjoy the waterfront, with safe sandy beaches for the little ones, good open swimming areas, and a lifeguard is on duty during the peak months of summer.  All in all, the lifestyle of living in Clyde Hill is hard to beat, and the home values are affordable for many of the income earners this area attracts. 

 

Comments (3)

Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

You live in a great space...nice post/introduction!

Sep 25, 2011 07:01 AM
Katie Munoz
Moving Forward Inc - Seattle, WA

Hello Richard,

What a nice article, more like magazine artilce than an ordinary fast and dirty blog post. 

I'm a move manager and professional organizer in Redmond and I have worked wtih a number of clients in Clyde Hill.  It was interesting to learn more about the community.

 

Nov 07, 2011 06:54 AM
Anonymous
Richard Willard

Thanks Katie, glad you found it informative, you were one of two comments so these aren't widely noticed, or at least responded to.  I plan to do more neighborhood reviews, have done some market reports at year end on Vuecrest and Lochleven, other nearby neighborhoods. 

Nov 08, 2011 01:09 AM
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