New Light Rail in Seattle

[Sam Denny]

I've been the researching the new plans to expand the light rail from Seattle north into Shoreline, Mount Lake Terrace, and Lynnwood.  Soundtransit.org has the plans and the light rail is expected to open in 2023.  The commute on the rail should take less than 30 minutes from Lynnwood.  I'm interested in investing in a rental income single family home or multi family property around one of the train stations in hope that rents will appreciate in the future as Seattle continues to get more expensive and traffic gets worse.  I live and own in Ballard so I'm familiar with rent prices and valuations around Lake Union but not so much up north.  I was hoping to hear what people think of the investing thesis around the light rail expansion.  Also would like to hear from anyone familiar with North Seattle suburbs and what they think of investing in that area for rental income?  Thank you in advance for reading my post and letting me know what you think.

[Alex Chin]

@Sam Denny - in my opinion, basic real estate investing in north Seattle and into Lynnwood is no longer a cash-flow game, but a bet on appreciation or tax strategy. Perhaps in higher-end rentals, but that is more labor/time intensive than I want to invest in.

From my perspective, I believe that you've already seen a market response to proposed Light Rail stops in the north end and the time to buy and get the easy appreciation is past. I feel that as an investor, I am better served looking south to the proposed links in Kent, Auburn, and Tacoma as the whole of Puget Sound evolves into one "super-region".