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Appraisals in
Renton

Washington State Licensed and Certified Appraisers serving the greater Puget Sound area.

About the market

Who does home appraisals in Renton?

AppraisalMS appraises Renton homes for purchases, refinances, estates, divorces and property tax appeals, working out of our Lynnwood office. For a quote, put the Renton address in the search box at the top of this page or call (425) 967-3498.

Renton sits where the Cedar River meets Lake Washington and has grown through a long run of annexations since incorporating in 1901. HistoryLink notes the city absorbed the Highlands war worker housing after World War II, and Wikipedia dates the Cascade and Benson Hill annexation to March 1, 2008. The 2020 Census counted 106,785 people.

Where we work

Renton neighborhoods and what we look at in each

Kennydale

Started in 1898 on the lake north of downtown, Kennydale is split by I-405 into Lower Kennydale on the water side and Upper Kennydale to the east. Frontage, a view and freeway noise can all turn up within a few blocks, so we confirm each on site.

Barbee Mill

The Barbee lumber mill on the Kennydale shore closed in 2002, and Conner Homes bought the site in 2006 for a planned 114 townhouses. HOA documents and shore access get read before any sale is compared.

Renton Highlands

The plateau east of downtown filled with war worker housing in World War II. The city is now rebuilding the Sunset Terrace area with apartments and a park, so a Highlands house is matched with houses, never with the new buildings.

Benson Hill and Cascade

About 17,000 residents joined the city here in 2008. Unincorporated Fairwood starts at the edge, and Kent schools serve most of Fairwood, so we confirm city limits and school district for every comp.

The Landing

A 68 acre mix of housing and retail on former Boeing land near the lake. Units here are compared first with attached sales near downtown, never with Kennydale view houses.

Every Renton neighborhood we could place, plus nearby unincorporated areas

  • Downtown Renton The Cedar River still runs through the old center, so FEMA flood maps come out first for homes near its banks, and the city's Rainier and Grady transit plan shows where taller building is planned.
  • North Renton Named in HistoryLink's list of Renton annexations and still used as a neighborhood name, so older deeds may show county records from before it joined.
  • Talbot Hill HistoryLink lists the Talbot Hill area among the land Renton annexed over the decades, and hillside lots there get a slope check before comps are picked.
  • Earlington Straddles the city line on the west side, with part inside Renton and part in unincorporated Bryn Mawr-Skyway, so the parcel record settles which one a house is in.
  • Sunset Terrace The Highlands pocket the city and the Renton Housing Authority are rebuilding around a 3.2 acre park, which changes what sits next door to older houses.
  • Center Village A Highlands zoning district aimed at mixed use buildings near NE 10th Street and Sunset Boulevard, where the new Highlands Library opened.
  • North Highlands Named for the city's North Highlands Community Center, at the north end of the plateau.
  • Southport Hotel and office buildings on the old Shuffleton power plant site by the lake, including a 347 room Hyatt Regency opened in 2017, with no single family homes of its own.
  • Fairwood and Fairwood Greens (unincorporated) Outside city limits. Voters turned down joining Renton in 2010; the Fairwood Greens neighborhood surrounds the Fairwood Golf and Country Club course.
  • East Renton Highlands (unincorporated) Outside city limits. County land east of the city where most homes fall in the Issaquah School District and the Maplewood Heights area rejected annexation in 1996.
  • Skyway and West Hill (unincorporated) Outside city limits. The Bryn Mawr-Skyway area northwest of Renton, often called West Hill, counted 17,397 people in 2020 and stays under King County rules.
  • Bryn Mawr (unincorporated) Outside city limits. Part of the same county area along Renton's western edge, served by the Renton School District even though it is not in the city.
  • Lakeridge and Campbell Hill (unincorporated) Outside city limits. Two more Bryn Mawr-Skyway neighborhoods; Lakeridge runs over into Seattle's Rainier Beach, so a single street can hold sales from two jurisdictions.
Local knowledge

What moves home values in Renton?

The city line comes first. Fairwood, Skyway and East Renton Highlands border Renton without being in it, and a county comp carries different taxes and rules. Then lake view or frontage, freeway noise (I-5, I-405 and SR 167 meet here), Cedar River flood maps and new apartments next door.

What we offer

What appraisals does AppraisalMS do in Renton?

Lenders order purchase, refinance and FHA appraisals from us; owners and attorneys order estate, divorce, pre listing and relocation work. If the King County assessor's number looks high, our property tax appeal guide walks through the steps.

The report arrives on the date we set, with updates while we work. As Chief Appraiser for a national AMC, Gerry reviewed other appraisers' reports for years, and an unexplained comp from another jurisdiction was a common reason one came back. So when a Renton report uses a Fairwood or Skyway sale, it says why.

Purchase AppraisalsRefinance AppraisalsDivorce & Legal AppraisalsEstate & Date of Death AppraisalsPre Listing AppraisalsProperty Tax Appeal AppraisalsFHA AppraisalsPrivate & Relocation AppraisalsTax appeal guide
Common questions

Renton appraisal questions

What does a Renton appraisal cost, and how fast is it?
Each Renton job is quoted, because the home and the scope set the fee. Most take 7 to 10 days, delivered on the date we commit to. Enter the address up top or phone (425) 967-3498.
Can I hire you directly for a Renton property?
Yes, for an estate, divorce, pre listing price or tax appeal. Loan appraisals go through the lender, who places that order. We research the MLS history and county records, then send a fee and delivery quote.
How do you appraise a Renton home on or near Lake Washington?
We stand on the property to sort true frontage from a view, and a view from a glimpse, then compare sales with the same lake exposure, starting in Kennydale.
Does your team appraise Renton condos and townhomes?
Yes. Our team is very experienced with townhomes, condos and every attached dwelling type, including Barbee Mill and The Landing. HOA dues, reserves and special assessments go into every attached report.
Which school district covers my Renton address?
The Renton School District covers the vast majority of the city. Issaquah, Kent and Tahoma districts serve edges and nearby county areas, per Wikipedia, so we check each address.
Sources for this page

Written by Gerry Allard, Certified General Appraiser. Gerry has appraised homes in the Seattle area for more than 30 years and manages the AppraisalMS team. Gerry has served as an expert witness in multiple landmark legal cases, wrote Washington State real estate and appraisal continuing education curriculum, and is a former Chief Appraiser for a national appraisal management company. Gerry also teaches a three hour CE class for real estate agents on how an appraisal is built; mortgage offices can host it for their agents through our contact form.

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