Seattle has seen growth in terms of the sale of high-end homes last year as tech execs and foreign nationals inject money into the area's real estate market.
According to The Seattle Times, Windermere Real Estate said there were 33 homes with a price tag of more than $5 million that were sold in King County in 2015, two-thirds of which were bought through cash. The most expensive of them all is the Faben Point mansion in Mercer Island that scored $13.8 million from a buyer whose identify was protected through LLC. The luxury home sales figure is twice the number of high-end properties sold in 2010.
The reports say that 39 percent of those who purchased a luxury property in Seattle are foreign nationals, mostly from China, who are business owners, corporate executives, entertainers or athletes.
There may be differences on what people perceive as "luxury," but The Seattle Times reported that nonetheless, home sales across the board were generally strong in 2015. For instance, 9 percent of properties sold last year in King County are homes priced at least $1 million, a 5 percent increase from that of 2010.
Puget Sound Business Journals reported that the demand in Seattle area will remain as high this year according to Windermere President OB Jacobi. This is despite a projection of the market cooling and home values slowing.
"With so many companies hiring, and no one wanting to leave, we expect the trends of 2015 to carry on through 2016," Jacobi said.
The influx of the international buyers and tech workers, along with constructions of new luxury projects to replace old properties have contributed to the increase in home sales in the area. In addition, local investors are equally fast; they accounted for the six of seven transactions made in less than 10 days out of the 33 homes sold.
