Moving to Seattle: buy or rent?

[Heidi Wilson]

Hi everyone,

I’m currentky in Columbia SC and have received a job offer which requires me to move to Seattle. I have 4 rentals here in a Columbia which I plan to keep, and my home, which I will likely sell if I move (for the capital gains tax benefit).

The question I have is that Seattle is a hot hot hot market and while I’m totally fine jumping in with both feet, part of me wonders if it might not be a better market to rent in, which would  allow me to use the cash from the sale of my house for other investments. I’m also a bit worried about a market correction (and spending $700k on a fixer upper and finding myself in the middle of a correction!)

Any thoughts on the pros and cons of the Seattle area market? My job will be in Bellevue btw.