Top 5 HIGHEST Appreciating Areas in Vancouver WA & Clark County!

Summary

In this episode of the Spotlight Vancouver podcast, host Doug Varenas discusses the top five highest appreciating areas in Clark County, Washington, over the last three years. He highlights the importance of considering both lifestyle and investment potential when buying a home. The conversation covers specific areas such as Camas, East Heights, downtown Vancouver, Yakult, and Washougal, detailing their appreciation rates and unique characteristics. Doug also reflects on the overall real estate trends in the region and invites listeners to engage with him for further insights.

Takeaways

Overall appreciation rate in Clark County is 5.36%.

Camas has a 7.83% appreciation rate.

East Heights area is desirable for its proximity to transportation.

Downtown Vancouver has seen consistent double-digit appreciation.

Yakult offers a rural feel with urban amenities.

Washougal is the top appreciating area at 10.77%.

The waterfront area is a key factor in appreciation rates.

Ridgefield is growing but not as rapidly as others.

Home buying should balance comfort and investment.

Engagement with the audience is encouraged for personalized insights.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Clark County Real Estate Trends

02:46 Top Five Highest Appreciating Areas in Clark County

05:21 In-Depth Look at Each Area

08:26 Conclusion and Future Insights

Hello! I’m Doug Varenas, REALTOR® and occupational therapist based in Vancouver WA. My services include representing buyers, sellers, and investors in the Greater Vancouver WA area. I am on a journey of creating a business that offers a positive impact on my community by not only helping my community realize their real estate dreams, but by donating 5% of net commissions to local non profit organizations. I bring a wealth of experience as a home owner, real estate investor, and healthcare professional to the real estate industry and believe that real estate has the power to change lives for the better! That’s my mission, and I hope you choose to join me on my journey!

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Doug Varenas, REALTOR® REAL Brokerage

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Disclaimer: Doug Varenas is a licensed real estate agent in Washington with REAL Brokerage as of the time of making this video. All information given is meant to be educational in nature. Specific financial and liability issues require the advice of appropriate, licensed professionals. The use of the Internet for communications with the firm will not establish an agency relationship. All information provided on this channel is from our personal experiences as a licensed real estate agent.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Spotlight Vancouver podcast. I'm your host Doug Varenas, licensed

(00:04):
real estate agent in Washington and Oregon. And we have the only podcast for and about the people
of Vancouver, Washington and Clark County. So welcome. And today we've got an exciting show
because I'm going to be talking about the top five highest appreciating areas of Clark County
in the last three years. So what I wanted to do was take out the anomalies of the COVID craziness

(00:29):
and just focus on the last three years. So that's kind of the tail end of COVID and then coming
out of it, I'm going to give you the top five highest appreciating areas. And that is based on
the average sale price. Overall in Clark County over the last three years, we've seen an appreciation
rate of 5.36%, which isn't bad at all. But there are some areas that are appreciating at a much

(00:57):
higher rate. And so while buying a home is all about getting something that you're going to feel
comfortable in, getting a safe neighborhood, getting close to the amenities you want, getting the
lifestyle you want. And that is really the most important thing is getting a place that you're
going to love to live in. Your family's going to enjoy and everyone's going to have a good time
and be happy. But at the end of the day, your home is also an investment. And so I'm going to go over

(01:21):
these five top five high appreciating areas. And we're going to get it kicked off with number five.
Number five highest appreciation, highest appreciating area in Clark County is going to be
Hamas. So no surprise here, Hamas is at 7.83% appreciation, average appreciation over the

(01:42):
last three years. People are looking to move there. There's a lot of development there. There's
some really good school districts. There's a really good access to nature. A lot of activity in
Camus and people have been flocking there. And so we've seen an appreciation rate that's just
about two and a half percentage points above what's averaging Clark County over the last three

(02:04):
years at 7.83. So Camus are top five highest appreciating area in Clark County. Moving on to
number four, it's going to be the East Heights area. So this is the area that is east of Andreessen,
south of Mill Plain, and west of the 205 Freeway. So we're talking about the Ellsworth Springs area

(02:29):
and the Blanchett Park area. And this is getting to be sort of a more sought after area.
Probably going to see more development on that side of the waterfront.
Proximity to transportation, proximity to Oregon. If you're still commuting to Portland
or you have friends or family there, that can be important. I mean, some really desirable

(02:50):
neighborhoods in this area. And so they've seen an appreciation rate of 7.9% just edging out Camus.
And that was a little bit of a surprise to me. Actually, a lot of things on this list have been
a little surprising. So let's move on to the third highest appreciation. I'm having all kinds of
problems with that today. Highest appreciating area in Clark County. And that is going to be

(03:17):
downtown. Downtown has actually had the strongest appreciation over the last five years. They're
a little flat this year. But other than that, they've seen solid double digit appreciation
in downtown. So we're talking about obviously like the waterfront area, but also the area around
Esther Short Park, the Halk neighborhood. So the downtown area has been appreciating at a really

(03:43):
healthy clip. So in doing these averages, a lot of them have had negative appreciation. They actually
fell year over year. But because they bounce back so strong on the average, they've, you know, they
get that average appreciation that's pretty high. But downtown is the one where they have not had a
negative appreciating or down year. Every year has been solid double digits. So we're talking

(04:08):
about 12, 15, 18% appreciation rate in that downtown area. And I think right now, and I mentioned
in my last video, I think right now it's quite a bargain at where it's at just being flat. You
can find deals there in the downtown area. And so yeah, downtown comes in at number three of the
highest appreciating areas in Clark County. Next on our list, a little bit of surprise. I like this

(04:37):
area, but I wouldn't have guessed it was higher than Camus and kind of unbelievable. Yakult.
Yeah, that's right. The Yakult area. I'm a big fan of this area for the certain kind of person
who's looking for more acreage, really looking to tap into some natural beauty there. A lot of,
you know, you're sort of, you're kind of in that molten falls area, Lewis River. You've got a lot

(05:02):
of great things going on there. You've got some beautiful countryside there. And if you're looking
to get away and you're looking for like a little more of a rural feel, but you still want access
to some urban amenities, you know, don't sleep on Yakult. I just love, I just love the name too,
Yakult. It's a great area. It's not for everybody, but apparently it's for somebody because it's

(05:24):
appreciating over the last three years at an 8.73% average. So higher than Camus, you know,
higher than downtown on average has been the Yakult area. And that is number two on our list.
I really don't have any insight into the Yakult area other than people just wanting more land

(05:46):
and more space. So people just who maybe lived in that city center and they're kind of like,
yeah, I'm tired of the density. I'm just, I want some more room and Yakult offers, offers that
because most of the plots out there are going to be, you know, on acreage. And so that's really
appealing to a lot of people. And the community is also pretty tight. And so that might appeal to

(06:08):
some people too. But Yakult coming in at number two on our list of highest appreciating areas in
Clark County, Washington, number one on the list, also kind of a surprise for me. I mean,
maybe it shouldn't be, but Wash Ugl comes in at number one. It is the top appreciating area in

(06:34):
Clark County over the last three years based on average home sales. And so it is topping 10%,
almost at 11% at 10.77% average appreciation over the last three years. It is Wash Ugl. So
actually, if you take that strip of land from Wash Ugl through Camus, through that East Heights,

(07:01):
Ellsworth Springs area, stretching all the way to the waterfront and downtown, you have basically
most of the highest appreciating areas in Clark County right along that sort of water
adjacent area. And that really shouldn't be a surprise. But Wash Ugl was a little bit surprising
to me. When you think about it, it makes sense. I'm wondering if you're starting to see a little

(07:25):
spillover from Camus. The taxes are a little bit more manageable in Wash Ugl. You get a lot of the
same amenities. You get proximity to Camus. You're still on close to the water. There's a lot of
development going on there in the waterfront too. So that might be a part of it. And it can be one

(07:45):
of those skate to where the puck is going moments. And so I think Wash Ugl, similar to Camus, is
going through a lot of changes and seeing a lot of growth there. So number one on our list
of highest appreciating areas in Clark County, Washington is Wash Ugl. So this has been really

(08:06):
interesting. I don't know about you, but I'd love to hear your experience or where you see the puck
going. You drop a comment of an area that you see really growing. I know that East Vancouver also
came in pretty high. You had some usual suspects, I guess, like your Philitas, your Salmon Creeks,
your yields, but they did not break into the top five. I mean, they are growing, but the appreciation

(08:31):
is not as strong as the areas I mentioned. And some of that, maybe in Ridgefield, is just because
they keep building more homes. And so that keeps the inventory up and the price is manageable.
Still appreciating, obviously, at a higher clip than the average in Clark County, but not by a

(08:51):
super large degree. Again, number five was...
We'll find it here. We started off with Camus. We moved to the East Heights area, that swath kind
of in between Cascade Park and downtown. Then we had Yaakult coming in at number two, and then

(09:16):
Wash Ugl at number one. Again, if you are looking to move anywhere in Clark, I'm happy to help you
out in that regard. If you're interested in finding out what your home's worth, drop the word value
in the comments, and I will get back to you. And we can discuss. I'm happy to come up with your

(09:36):
home's current value, so you can see where you stand in that regard. And on that note, I hope
everyone's doing well out there, and I'll see you on the next episode. Take care!