Home-buying frenzy in Seattle driving up prices

Demand from Chinese emigrees and technology workers is sending home prices to a record, with pending home sales rising 16 per cent last month to the highest in a decade

Published Thu, Jul 9, 2015 · 09:50 PM

    Seattle

    RETIRED baseball pitcher Jamie Moyer sold his seven-bedroom Tudor mansion in Seattle, complete with a batting cage and saltwater pool, to a Chinese couple for US$3.2 million in September. The new owners promptly rented it out to a group of Amazon.com Inc employees.

    Seattle has become the latest West Coast hot spot for homebuyers, from Chinese emigrees to technology workers, sending home prices to a record in an area renowned for its clean air, mountain ranges and lakes. Surging demand is combining with limited supply to boost values, squeezing affordability.