Real Estate Showdown: Seattle Vs. Bellevue

SEATTLE, WA - Last week, we kicked off our first Real Estate Showdown column, where we showed you what you can buy in another city for the median price (about $729,000) of a home in Seattle. Last week, we compared Seattle to Boise, Idaho. But this week, we wanted to stay closer to home, and match Seattle against a city that's also very, very expensive.

So, for this week's column, we're pitting a home in Seattle versus a home in Bellevue. The median price of a home in the Eastside's biggest city is about $829,000, according to Zillow. Obviously, Bellevue is more expensive than Seattle in general - so does that mean you can get a better bang for your buck (if you have the bucks)?

First up, our Seattle home. (One note: there wasn't a home on the market in Seattle for exactly $729,000.)

$735,000
3425 24th Ave S Seattle, WA
This mid-century, 2,300 square-foot home is located in a secluded part of Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood. It's definitely a nice home (if pricey), and you have easy access to the urban wilderness of the Cheasty Greenspace, and you're relatively close to a light rail stop and I-5. What you're paying for here is access to the city and all its amenities, and the house is pretty cool, too.

And now our challenger from across the lake. Here's what you can get in Bellevue for about $735,000:

$715,000
6104 125th Ave SE Bellevue, WA
OK - we couldn't really find a home in Bellevue in the $729,000 range. We either had to go up to $750,000 or down to $715,000. We chose the "cheaper" home. We were surprised to find that, for the money, you're not really getting more house in Bellevue. This home is about 700 square-feet smaller than the Seattle house, although it comes with a much bigger lot. The Bellevue home, however, has a lot more Brady Bunch-era architectural flair, which is fun. The lot is meticulously landscaped, and there's a hot tub shack in the backyard. This house is definitely a little more swingin'.

The winner: It's always a matter of personal taste, but you have to go with the Seattle home here. It's bigger, so you're technically getting a little more for your money. But the reason it wins is because of its location. As traffic around Puget Sound grows worse by the day, living near a light rail station (this home is about a 15 minute walk from one, or a 3-minute bus ride) is going to be like having access to gasoline in "Mad Max." In other words, light rail access is a commodity, and this home is probably only going to get more valuable as traffic gets worse.

Images via Realtor.com