Seattle is a gem of the Pacific Northwest, surround by water on Puget Sound. It boasts some of the counties most scenic areas with thousands of acres in parkland, mountains and forests. Seattle is known as a massive tech hub (Microsoft & Amazon notably) and also home to some of the most popular coffee brands in the country. Here are some nice resources if you're moving to Seattle and want to learn more once you get through the home inspection and closing!
The Seattle real estate market has taken it's largest year-over-year jump in 12 months according to the Seattle Times. Many brokers are calling this a settling in to "normal conditions" where previous years brought rapid growth and rapid contractions.
Prices in Seattle rose 3.3% from a year ago, to $775,000 - this outpaces many other sought-after growing markets across the country. Seattle scores an 85 on Redfin's Compete Score, meaning homes sell relatively fast - within around 21 days. In an oddly opposing view, Zillow calls Seattle a "Cool" buyer's market on it's Market Temperature Scale.
Seattle is in line with the national average home inspection cost of $358. It's worth noting that this cost just includes a standard home inspection and not add-on services like termite, radon or mold inspections. These ancillary services can be smart to add onto a traditional home inspection.
We recommend looking at each inspector's website to get a sense for their services, professionalism, customer service, etc. as well as their reviews and a sample report. Some homeowners will call a few inspectors and get pricing and a feel for each company's level of service. A great inspection company will reassure you that they will guide you throughout the process, deliver an easy-to-understand report and be there for you when you have questions.