City Overview
The county seat of Spokane County and the largest city in the Inland Northwest, Spokane is a city ripe for growth in 2022. This strong cultural and economic center is known by some as the birthplace of Father’s Day. Locally referred to as Lilac City, Spokane’s official nickname is “Hooptown USA” because the city hosts the annual Spokane Hoopfest, the largest basketball tournament in the world. As of 2020, the population in Spokane was 228,989, making it the second most populous city in Washington, behind Seattle.
The city center is a lively cultural hub, home to a number of community events and tourist destinations. Popular museums include the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, a Smithsonian affiliate museum, the Mobius Science Center, and the Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University. The city also holds various art-walks and art displays in the Davenports Arts District and local venues such as Fox Theater, Bing Crosby Theater, and the Knitting Factory.
The market of houses in Spokane is a relatively even mixture of renter-occupied and owner-occupied, and single-family one and two-bedroom homes are the most common type of housing property in the city.
For many years, the city of Spokane has been one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States, and this trend is expected to continue into 2022. Spokane has historically favored sellers, and this remains the case due to low interest rates for buyers and a high demand compared to the house inventory. The median home sale price in the city is currently $332,156, an impressive 27% increase from the previous year. Additionally, the number of houses available on the market is decreasing month-over-month, and the house inventory is down 10% compared to 2021. Over half of Spokane homes sell for above the asking price, and 80% of homes are off the market in less than 30 days from being the listing date. However, buyers are maintaining tight negotiations, as homes sell for only 102% of the asking price on average.
The rapid growth in Spokane could be attributed to a variety of factors. The local geography in the West Coast, containing many mountainous areas, bodies of water, and national parks, limits new construction and development to compensate for the high demand for housing. Additionally, California is seeing a steady outflow of residents moving to nearby states like Oregon and Washington, contributing to rising populations in the Spokane area. Residents of highly populated cities like San Francisco will commonly move to another city with more affordable homes, such as Spokane. Compared to many other nearby Western cities, Spokane home prices remain affordable, making the city more desirable. Home prices on average remain one-third of those in Seattle.
Although sellers are currently favored in Spokane, it is still considered to be a promising investment location, due to its steady historical growth which is expected to continue in the following years. Economically, Spokane is seeing an influx in high wage jobs, many new educational facilities, and biomedical research facilities, indicating future growth and prosperity. The desirability of the city has a strong foundation based on many factors that will continue to drive people to the Spokane area. Additionally, Washington cities have some of the lowest property tax rates in the West Coast, and local laws tend to favor landlords. So, buying Spokane property to either sell or rent is still predicted to be a profitable investment even during a hot market.
Most Popular Neighborhoods in Spokane
These are the seven hottest neighborhoods in the city of Spokane:
- Manito-Cannon Hill
- Browne’s Addition
- West Central / Kendall Yards
- Cliff-Cannon
- Peaceful Valley
- South Perry
- Riverside / Downtown Spokane
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