Over the past year, Seattle had the biggest annual home price gains in the nation. According to the Case-Shiller home price index, single family home prices rose 13.2 percent in August.
While the housing market tends to slow down toward the end of the year, The Seattle Times reports that only the metro's luxury home markets and most expensive neighborhoods are experiencing that trend. “There are early signs that price (growth) may have peaked [in Seattle]," Trulia's senior economist Cheryl Young explained.
Seattle also is among the most coveted markets for foreign investors. And rents here are soaring at close to the fastest rates in the country, with the average two-bedroom rent now topping $2,000, pushing more people into the homebuying market.
