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Appraisals in
Yelm

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

About the market

Who appraises homes in Yelm, WA?

AppraisalMS appraises Yelm homes for purchases, refinances, estates, divorce and property tax appeals out of our Lynnwood office, and we cover all of Thurston County. To get a quote, put the property address in the box at the top of this page, or call (425) 967-3498.

Yelm incorporated on December 8, 1924, per the city's history page. The Census counted 3,289 residents in 2000 and 10,617 in 2020, and the comprehensive plan puts single family detached homes at 77.5 percent of the stock. Zillow's Home Value Index had the typical Yelm home at about $479,000 on January 31, 2026.

Where we work

Yelm neighborhoods and the questions each one raises

Downtown blocks along Yelm Avenue

The comprehensive plan bounds the business district by Solberg Street, Stevens Avenue, 4th Street and Mosman Avenue. Houses here share blocks with newer duplexes and a Stevens Avenue fourplex, so nearby commercial zoning and age steer the comps.

Tahoma Terra

A master planned community in southwest Yelm, estimated at 1,200 homes at buildout in the 2013 sewer plan. The city's September 2025 project list shows Phase II adding 234 lots. Resales inside it come first, with any builder incentive noted.

Mill Road and Mill Pond

Vista at Mill Pond has 29 lots holding 58 units because its houses carry ADUs. Meadows at Mill Pond, Leah's Landing and a duplex short plat share the road. An ADU gets value only when sales of homes with a second unit support it.

Berry Valley Road and Thompson Creek

The city approved Summit at Thompson Creek (96 homes) and Tahoma Ranch (192 apartments, 36 townhomes) here. The comprehensive plan calls for restoring Thompson Creek, so lots near it are checked for buffers that cut into the yard.

The 2026 annexation area

Ordinance 1142, adopted January 27, 2026, brought about 1,200 acres of the urban growth area into the city. That land was zoned one home per five acres; city zones allow 4 to 16 units an acre, and acreage is valued with that in mind.

Every Yelm subdivision and nearby community we can place

  • Mountain View Meadows and Viewmont Place Neighbors on Mountain View Road SE: the first finished at 118 lots, and the second (115 homes) was under city review in September 2025.
  • Willow Glenn IV A 75 lot fourth phase on Grove Road SE, under construction in September 2025.
  • Liberty Grove Twenty four approved lots at 10143 Grove Road SE, on the same road as the Willow Glenn phases.
  • Mountain Meadows Twenty two single family lots off Burnett Road SE, a separate tract from Mountain View Meadows despite the similar name.
  • Rainier View Estates Approved on Durant Drive SE with 19 houses and four duplex buildings, so it will produce both detached and attached sales.
  • Country Meadow Estates Two approved phases, 78 lots on Vancil Road SE and 29 on Morris Road SE.
  • Crystal Springs Subdivision Thirty houses going up at 714 Crystal Springs Road NW.
  • Crystal Springs Short Subdivision Three lots carrying six duplex units further along the same road, approved by the city.
  • Shelm Meadows Ninety single family homes under way at 16330 Railway Road SE.
  • Michael's Landing A dozen lots on Canal Road SE, small enough that most comps will come from nearby tracts.
  • Carter Loop short plat Six lots at 15106 Carter Loop SE, where new sales are measured against older homes on the loop.
  • Middle Road Subdivision Twenty three approved lots at 16418 Middle Road SE.
  • The Reserve at Palisades Thirty nine lots proposed on SR 507 SE; the city's list showed its land use approval under appeal in September 2025.
  • Longmire Street Habitat homes Habitat for Humanity is building six houses and 16 townhomes at 407 Longmire Street NW, and we check each deed for any affordability covenant before setting value.
  • Ridgeline and Berry Valley apartments Rental buildings near Berry Valley Road; they matter to nearby homeowners mainly as traffic and density on the street.
  • Manufactured home community The comprehensive plan sets a goal of keeping the city's existing manufactured home community, and we confirm whether the land under a home is owned or leased before choosing comps.
  • Thurston Highlands A 1,240 acre master planned community at the far west end of the city, sized for 5,000 homes with its own wastewater plant; development had not begun as of the 2013 sewer plan.
  • Lake Lawrence (unincorporated, outside city limits) A 326.5 acre lake held by a dam, with Yelm mailing addresses; homes near it are compared with other Thurston County lake sales.
  • Clearwood (unincorporated, outside city limits) A community that uses the Yelm post office, so a Yelm address alone does not put a home inside the city.
  • Bald Hills (unincorporated, outside city limits) Rural land on Yelm addresses, where well, septic and road access are confirmed before comps are chosen.
Local knowledge

What moves home values in Yelm?

Sewer comes first. Since January 1994 most city homes have used STEP sewer: a city owned tank, pump and control panel on the lot. The owner pays its power and keeps the line from house to tank. The 2013 sewer plan still found 157 city parcels on septic.

Then city or county status, tract phase, attached or detached, and stream buffers. Parcels inside the Joint Base Lewis McChord military influence area mapped in the comprehensive plan get a note.

What we offer

What appraisals does AppraisalMS do in Yelm?

For Yelm loans we do purchase, refinance and FHA work ordered by the lender. Owners, executors and attorneys call for estate and date of death, divorce, pre listing and relocation reports. Yelm owners fighting a Thurston County assessment can use our property tax appeal guide.

You get a delivery date up front and updates until the report arrives. Yelm keeps adding duplexes, ADUs and townhomes, and our long work with every attached dwelling type means a Tahoma Ranch townhome is compared with attached sales, shared walls, parking and HOA included.

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

Yelm appraisal questions

What will a Yelm appraisal cost, and when is it ready?
We quote each Yelm job once we know the property and purpose. Most reports are done in 7 to 10 days, on the date we commit to, and a quote starts with the address box above or a call to (425) 967-3498.
Can I hire you myself for a Yelm home, without a lender?
Yes, when the report is for an estate, a divorce, a tax appeal, relocation or setting a list price. For a loan, the lender places the order. Yelm owners hear back directly after we check the MLS history and county records.
Do you appraise Lake Lawrence homes and acreage outside Yelm city limits?
Yes. We confirm the well, septic and road access first, then compare county sales of similar land. A Yelm mailing address does not mean city services.
Can you appraise a Yelm townhome, duplex or home with an ADU?
Yes. Our team is very experienced with townhomes, condos and every attached dwelling type, including the Mill Road and Crystal Springs Road duplex lots and the ADU homes at Vista at Mill Pond.
Which school district covers a Yelm address?
Yelm Community Schools serves nearly all of the city, per its Wikipedia entry, and its 193 square miles reach into Pierce County. Near the city edge, check by 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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