SEATTLE, Wash. — Columbia City may have been dubbed one of Seattle's hottest up-and-coming neighborhoods for years.
"You have a lot of businesses that are now here before there wasn't as vibrant as it is now," said Lynne Oliphant who lives nearby.
However, she said that much of the development here may have already peaked.
But if you want more of a bargain, you may have to look elsewhere.
Windermere Chief Economist Matthew Gardner said he's keeping his eye on new areas as the next wave of hot neighborhoods.
"I mentioned Burien for the past couple of years and people say, 'Really Burien?" said Gardner.
Gardner said many people are surprised to learn about a shorter commute into Seattle from Burien.
"You look at it from transportation, you could actually get to downtown faster from Burien than you can sometimes from West Seattle," said Gardner.
"One of Burien's greatest assets is that its location in the metro you can hop on 509 and get to downtown Seattle, you can always go to West Seattle a couple of different ways, head to Bellevue on 405, head to Tacoma," said Matthew Wendland, who lives in Burien and runs a coffee shop called Burien Press.
Gardner said to look closely at what retail and restaurants are nearby to predict if an area has potential as an up-and-coming neighborhood.
"You start to see these storefronts opening, invariably you'll find population growth behind it," said Gardner.
Wendland said business is thriving downtown.
"I think Burien has a lot to offer," said Wendland.
When we headed to downtown Burien, we found great spaces for families, a charming downtown, a public transit center, and a burgeoning arts scene.
Aside from Burien, Gardner said consider buying in the Central District and Beacon Hill in Seattle and also in Renton.
Gardner predicts rising property values and development in these areas in the next three to five years.
Klaus Gosma is a real estate agent for Redfin and said many neighborhoods in South Seattle are hot right now.
"More bang for your buck close to the city, still many amenities," said Gosma.
He just sold a house in South Beacon Hill in a matter of days.
Redfin has its own hot neighborhood projections for 2015 calculated by Internet searches.
Topping the list is Woodridge in Bellevue, then Bryant in North Seattle, Rainier Beach and Rainier View in South Seattle, then up north again in Bitter Lake.
"I definitely think it would be a smart investment to get into one of these areas," said Gosma.
But Gardner said it wouldn't be smart to buy property in an up-and-coming area just to make a quick buck, because while he said property values will rise in many places, it won't happen overnight.
"If you're looking for (a) longer term place, you're going to live for an extended period of time, I think there are significant upside(s) to for house values," said Gardner.
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