The Seattle Real Estate Boom of 1882
A survey of rapid land value appreciation in early Seattle, where modest lots doubled or tripled in price in just a few weeks.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To give an idea of the actual advance in local real estate, personal illustrations are necessary. We have two to offer. Six weeks ago, J. McKinnie, the Pacific Mutual Life manager for Oregon and Washington, bought four lots in the Bayside addition, the extreme southern end of town, for $275. Yesterday, he sold them for $1250, an advance of 280 percent. This was about as great an advance in so short a time, and as clever a transaction as we have lately heard of. Two years ago, the lot upon which the Frink house is built was sold for $700, and a house that cost about $3600 was placed upon it. That property was sold a day or two ago for $9000. The house, of course, is worth no more today than it was when new, and all the advance is really upon the lot—a jump in two years from $700 to $9000.
“The house, of course, is worth no more today than it was when new, and all the advance is really upon the lot.”
This 1882 report on rampant real estate speculation captures a foundational moment in Seattle's history, mirroring the city's modern struggles with housing affordability and property valuation. The 'Bayside' mentioned—once the southern extreme of town—is now part of the bustling Industrial District and SODO, where the speculative cycles described in the late 19th century continue to echo through the modern housing market.
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