The $100,000 Flip: How a Seattle Speculator Made a Fortune on the Corner of Pike and Pioneer
While the city debates housing affordability, a quiet real estate deal reveals how early developers turned modest lots into massive wealth in just one year.
The Albion House, situated at the corner of Pike Street and Pioneer Avenue, has been sold for $100,000. The property was formerly owned by C. J. Smith, who listed it about a year ago for $75,000. The deal has not been officially consummated, and no deed has been filed, but it is understood that the purchase is being handled by a local estate firm to build the building. The purchaser is an English capitalist.
This transaction highlights the aggressive speculation that defined Seattle's early boom years. A property flipping from $75,000 to $100,000 in a single year represents a 33% return, driven not by improvements but by pure land value inflation—a pattern that echoes in today's discussions about housing affordability and the role of foreign investment in local real estate markets.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.