Print  email 

tool name

close

tool goes here

Commuters filling up new home developments in county

By Rolf Boone | The Olympian • Published April 03, 2007

• Links
• Comments (0)

More than half the new homes built in eastern Thurston County are occupied by someone who commutes to work in another county.

In communities such as Hawks Prairie, Lacey and Yelm, 55 percent of the homes built between 2000 and 2005 are occupied by at least one outbound commuter, said Pete Swensson, a senior planner with the Thurston Regional Planning Council.

And in households with at least one commuter, earnings totaled $20,000 more than in those without a commuter, Swensson said. In 2004, the county’s median household income was $51,000; in households with at least one commuter, it rose to $73,000, he said.

“Outbound commuters make more money on average than those locally,” Swensson said.

The primary destination for outbound commuters living in the eastern part of the county is Pierce County. About 18,000 commute to Pierce County daily; an additional 2,900 drive to King County.

With more buying power, commuters have changed the face of some of the county’s newest subdivisions, such as those found in Hawks Prairie.

One of the biggest developers in Hawks Prairie is Jenamar Communities of California, best known for Jubilee, a more than 1,000-home development that caters to those 55 and older.

Jenamar also is building up to 530 homes for an all-ages development known as Edgewater, Jenamar spokeswoman Christine Bachman said.

To date, 168 homes at Edgewater have been sold; buyers have come from all over the country.

At Edgewater:

• 39 percent of buyers are from Thurston County

• 37 percent are from Pierce County

• 4 percent are from King and Snohomish counties

• 4 percent are from other areas in the state

• 16 percent are from out of state

In other words, 61 percent of Edgewater home buyers have moved here from somewhere other than Thurston County.

A big reason is Edgewater’s proximity to Fort Lewis and escalating home prices in King and Pierce counties that have made Thurston County a more affordable choice.

Fort Lewis is Pierce County’s largest employer, with nearly 40,000 personnel.

Kandace Masters and her husband, Christopher, who is stationed at the post, were the first owners of a home at Edgewater.

Christopher Masters has been in the military six years. Before moving here, the couple looked for a home in DuPont, but found themselves quickly priced out of the market.

By buying a home in Thurston County, they saved up to $100,000, Kandace Masters said.

“We were looking for a new community,” she said. “It’s secluded but it has all the conveniences of a city.”

The single-family housing market has cooled a bit from its peak, but the median price of a Pierce County home still is about $20,000 more than one in Thurston County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Other families stationed at Fort Lewis soon found their way to Edgewater, Masters said. Exact figures aren’t known, but she said 10 other homes near hers are owned by members of the military.

Not far from the Edgewater development is another community with a similar name: The Greens at Edgewater. So far, 85 out of 220 homes have been built and sold, Prudential real estate agent Dean Pierce said.

Like Edgewater, The Greens has had a diverse group of homebuyers, with more than 60 percent coming from outside Thurston County, Pierce said.

Homeowners Jim and Shannon Meldrum, who used to live near Vancouver, cited convenience and affordability as key reasons behind their decision to buy at The Greens.

Jim Meldrum, a pilot with Alaska Airlines, discovered the development on flights between Portland and Seattle.

“He flew over and saw the land cleared, and he liked that it was off the freeway,” Shannon Meldrum said.

They later took a closer look and fell in love with the floor plan of their new home, which would be a 40-minute commute from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

At first they had looked at living in Seattle, but found it crowded and too expensive. The same home in Seattle would have cost them an extra $100,000, Meldrum said.