Summer Hills Revisited

Main road in Summer Hills in the Autumn

Sometimes people want to get out of town. They want to rid themselves of the city atmosphere, the endless sirens, traffic noise, crowds, etc. Often these weary city beaten folks find themselves in areas like Hockinson or Brush Prairie. There is a subdivision that offers an escape from the city with reasonable proximity to services and of course the prerequisite for this blog is amazing views and it has that too.

Currently listed for $1,496,000

The Summer Hills subdivision offers some of the best territorial and city views in the area. This subdivision is located in the Cascade foothills of Brush Prairie above Hockinson. This subdivision is up around 1000 feet of elevation at the top, so snowfall is more common than Vancouver but the southwest exposure does help the snow melt fast. This is a neighborhood filled with larger homes priced above $700,000 and many exceed $1,000,000. Despite the upper end pricing, these homes tend to be much less expensive than similar homes in Camas or along Evergreen Hwy in Vancouver.

View from a listed Summer Hills Property

Buyers that pay this lofty but actually reasonable price are rewarded with breathtaking views that reach beyond the Metro area to the Coast mountains of Northwestern Oregon, South all the way down the Willamette Valley and across the greater Vancouver area. City lights by night and mountains by day. Most of these homes lack a view of the High Cascade peaks because of the southwest exposure but the territorial views are among the best you will find locally.

Google overview of neighborhood

This place feels like it is way out in the country yet it is only 6 miles to Padden Parkway and 162nd in Vancouver and less than 30 minutes to catch that flight out of PDX. The neighborhood backs up to open space and forest land. Summer Hills remains one of my favorite communities in Clark County. I always enjoy showing and listing property in this wonderful neighborhood. This is really quite the little paradise and I would invite you to check it out if you really want to enjoy the view!

Hip or Serenity? Pick a View

What's your favorite view? A hip view downtown, looking at the skyline or maybe an urban park, waterfront, etc.? Or perhaps something more serene, a quiet lakefront, forested mountains with snow-capped peaks in the distance. The best part is that we have all of that and most of the stuff in between right here in Clark County, Washington.

From Downtown Vancouver which has an increasingly urban vibe and lots of new high rise developments for the city dwelling dreamers right out to places like Yacolt and Amboy with serene forests and spectacular mountains. You can have the city buzz with the metropolitan clatter and clank of the busy bees downtown or you can hear nothing but the breeze through trees and the summer crickets singing at night.

The best part is that it is only about half an hour drive between to two extremes! That is more amazing than the sum of all the views. City to Country and back on your lunch hour.

I had an open house last weekend in a high rise condo downtown. The Farmer's Market was happening, the sun was out and the crowds were buzzing around the park soaking up the vitamin D after a chilly and snowy second half of winter. There is a serious cool factor being in the thick of the city with everything a short walk away, yet high above it all.

Clark County views are a diverse mix of city, suburban, and rural and they are all fabulous. What ever you do, be sure to enjoy the view.

What About the 'lesser' Urban Views?

I recently wrote an article for Urban Living in the 'Couv' about views that are eliminated or obstructed when new high-rise projects are erected. That article focused on the potential for loss of property value as well as losing the view which may have been an important part of the decision to buy a particular unit.

Here is a link to that article: Careful, Urban Views can be Fleeting

But many units in urban areas already have obstructed views of the city. In fact the target project of the above reference article is Parkview Tower in Downtown Vancouver WA. This building has west facing units with a permanently protected view of Esther Short Park but the east facing units all look directly at Vancouver Center 3.

What about these obstructed urban views? Some may feel that their is a lack of privacy when you are looking right into the windows of another high rise only 50-100 feet away. But there is a certain cool vibe about it. Sure, at night you might want to pull the blinds in your bedroom, but looking out your living room window after dark yields a pretty nice city lights type experience. For some there is value in this real urban type view, that whole New York City style view. You don't have to be up 40 floors to get it either.

Really the view is highly subjective. Some people just like being up high off the ground, others expect a view to include something spectacular like a grand panorama or a river, mountain, etc. To each his own as they say, but bear in mind that those more majestic views will not come cheap in most cases. But "not cheap" is subjective as well. This nice little condo in Parkview is listed for $350k and features a permanent view of the very majestic, Esther Short Park. Who says you can't get a cheap view? The guy with a budget of 290k, I guess ;)

Whatever you do, enjoy the view be it majestic or just another building.



 

New Views on the North Shore of Lacamas Lake

The north shore of Lacamas Lake in Camas has been opened up and soon a whole new series of neighborhoods with views of Lacamas Lake and Prune Hill will come to market. The map shows the overall area that will undergo development although sizable chunks of the red area is reserved for permanent natural preservation and parkland.

Lacamas Shores has been the exclusive neighborhood featuring homes overlooking the lake. Now that Camas has opened up the north shore of the lake, more opportunity for that Lacamas experience should soon arrive. The first of these new north shore developments, Deer Haven is nearly built out and features modern homes on smallish lots, many with a view of the lake.

I have a property in Deer Haven listed at $695,000 and it has a peek-a-boo view. But others have a more majestic vista of the lake and surrounding terrain. The range of prices in this subdivision run from $700 to $900k and 3000-4000 SF. Deer Haven is featured in New Homes of Clark County, here.

Camas is on the move and growing like a weed it was only a matter of time before the North Shore opened up. So now at Lacamas you can be sure to enjoy the view... north or south.

New Colorado Ridge Opportunities

Colorado Ridge is back with a few more lots under construction. A beautiful new spec home is about half way complete on lot 11 that will feature this view shown in these photos.

Lot 11 is up near the top of the development and features excellent views of the river and some views to the southwest of Portland as well.

Colorado Ridge in Washougal, is almost built out so now is the time to get a home in this excellent community.

Washougal is adjacent to Camas on the west and the amazing Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area to the east. The modern hillside development sin Washougal offer similar homes, and views to Camas' Prune Hill but at prices roughly 10-15% lower than comparable units in Camas.

More information on Colorado Ridge can be found here.

Neighborhood Views, an Affordable Alternative

From the street near NE 152nd and NE 108th ,Vancouver

I have blathered on ad nauseum about views, views, views. What can I say? I love views :) But owning a home with a view can be an expensive proposition. Sure, sitting out on that deck perched up high over the river, the city or the valley is great. Who doesn't want to relax after a long day a watch the sun set over the gorgeous Pacific Northwest scenery? But homes that offer these terrific views are often substantially more expenses than a similar home without such views.

For those among us that like to walk or bike around the neighborhood an affordable view opportunity may exist. Owning a home in a neighborhood that has other homes with spectacular views means there is a very good chance that just walking around the neighborhood will offer gorgeous views. Sure, this scenario doesn't offer the opportunity to sip your favorite beverage while soaking in the view, but it could save you tens of thousands of dollars on the purchase price.

Overlooking WSUV, Mount Vista Neighborhood

Clark County is chock full of neighborhoods with a variety of views and many homes are situated on lots that do not have a view. A quick walk around the block however often yields wonderful view opportunities. Many neighborhoods have small community parks that have views of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, or the river and a short walk or bike ride gets you there.

The Mount Vista area in Vancouver offers a lot of views along NE 29th above the WSUV Campus and there are nice paved trails on the campus as well featuring rather spectacular views of three Cascade volcanoes, Mount hood, Mount Saint Helens, and Mount Adams.

Renaissance Trail, Vancouver

Some of the condos along the waterfront near the Kaiser Shipyards offer excellent waterfront views, yet many more are interior units that do not have a view. It is a very short walk to the Renaissance trail to take in the wonderful riverside vistas.

There are many great public viewpoints throughout our city and Clark County, and the next best thing to a great view property is a great view neighborhood.

What ever you do, please enjoy the view.

Affordable Waterfront View?

That seems like an oxymoron these days, right? Well yes and no, really. Portland and Vancouver offer some neighborhoods with actual waterfront living in a diverse array of houseboat communities. I wrote about some of these back in 2015 here is that article. This can be an affordable alternative to the high priced traditional waterfront living.

Originally posted March 17th, 2015, by Rod Sager

Floating views? You may be thinking I am taking advantage of Washington State's legal marijuana with a headline like that. No, I assure you I am quite sober. The Portland metro area however does have a pretty large collection of floating homes. I would say the lion's share is in the inside channel of the Columbia River between Hayden Island and North Portland. This channel is protected from the main Columbia River traffic and flow through clever engineering. There are a variety of yacht harbors and marinas in and around Hayden and Tomahawk Islands in North Portland. Of course there are hundreds of permanent floating homes in the area as well. These vary from cozy little ensembles well under $100,000 to elaborate floating mansions approaching a million dollars.

Over here on the Washington side of the Columbia we have floating homes as well. Although our collection is much smaller since the Columbia River's main channel is not suitable for such housing. Our shore of the Columbia features more traditional and very expensive river front property. There is Caterpillar Island however, that creates a narrow inside channel. It has a marina and house boats. These floating homes look over the water into a recreation area on the island.

Here in the 'Couv' we have the beautiful Vancouver Lake and it is drained by a tributary called the Lake River. The Lake river carries water from Vancouver Lake to the Columbia River. Unlike the Hayden Island urban style of floating homes, the Lake River features homes that look across the water and into a National Wildlife Refuge. In Vancouver and Ridgefield are two more such places to buy a floating home with a view. The upside to the Lake River is that it is a very slow flowing tributary. There are strict 5 mph speed limits and no through traffic at all. Motorized vehicles are strictly restricted on Vancouver Lake and heavily regulated on the Lake River.

Here is an opportunity to own waterfront view property starting at entry level prices. I have seen listings as low as $20,000. There are of course some issues to be considered. First and foremost is the very name of these properties; floating homes. Yes they are floating and there is some mild swaying that happens in this type of home. It is not as bad as you might imagine however. There is also the marina fees. Just like a manufactured home in a park, these homes occupy a rented space. In this case a marina slip and those will having monthly fees ranging from $200-$500. These marinas sometimes offer a variety of services included with the slip fee.

There is some special maintenance requirements with this type of home and they are less forgiving than a traditional home when it comes to neglect. All of this aside many people enjoy the dockside living afforded to floating home owners. Although the views are sometimes limited due to the close proximity of the homes, they can be quite enjoyable.

The Columbian newspaper ran an article on houseboats here. Due to Washington State's more strict laws governing navigable waterways it is more difficult to build houseboat communities than it is in neighboring Oregon. This could be a factor in why we have fewer such facilities on the Washington side. Houseboat living is yet another way to enjoy the view.