Seattle metro area surges in new million-dollar homes

By Mike Rosenberg, The Seattle Times

Last year, we got word that a record 12 percent of homes in King County were selling for at least $1 million, a big rise from prior years. Now we know that our share of million-dollar homes is rising faster than just about anywhere in the country.

Zillow released a new national report this week that looked at ZIP codes where at least 10 percent of homes are worth a million bucks or more. Three years ago, the Seattle metro area had 16 of these ZIP codes — now, it has 38.

In the past year only the New York and Los Angeles metro areas — both much bigger — added more of these “million-dollar ZIP codes.”

Seattle, the 15th-biggest metro area in the country, now ranks 7th for the most million-dollar ZIP codes. We’re still behind New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, San Jose and Washington, D.C., Zillow’s information shows.

We asked the Seattle-based real estate site for some extra data — which of our local ZIP codes have the most million-dollar homes, and how has that changed recently?

Not surprisingly, topping the list is Medina (the exclusive 98039 ZIP code, home to the two richest people on Earth — Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos), where 99.7 percent of homes are worth at least $1 million. In Mercer Island, 88 percent sell for more than a million, while 64 percent of West Bellevue homes are worth seven figures.

The only ZIP code in Seattle with a majority of homes over $1 million is 98112 (think Montlake and Madison Park). Next up is the University District (42 percent of homes worth $1 million), Magnolia (39 percent) and Queen Anne (36 percent).

At the other end, a few ZIP codes on the northern and southern edges of the city, like Lake City and Georgetown, still have fewer than 10 percent of homes worth $1 million.

Which areas are making the ascent into luxury living the fastest? In the 98075 ZIP code in Sammamish, 11 percent of homes topped a million three years ago — now, 52 percent do.

The Fremont and Green Lake neighborhoods also stand out. Three years ago, less than 3 percent of homes in the 98103 ZIP were worth seven-figures; now, 17 percent are.