A transforming agricultural community east of Seattle
Located in the Snoqualmie River Valley in the Cascade foothills, Duvall is an agricultural area that’s experiencing a population boom due to nearby tech jobs, Microsoft, Amazon, and SpaceX. “Duvall is in the middle of transforming right now,” says James Doerfel, a designated broker with Prime Realty and Duvall resident since 2001. “Most people buying right now are commuting to work — they probably work in Kirkland, Redmond or Bellevue, and Duvall is a 20-minute drive away.” In addition, Downtown Seattle is a 25-mile trip.
Duvall’s roots are in farming and logging, and its four-block downtown hasn’t grown much, even though suburban growth started here in the 1990s. “It’s kept much of its small-town charm,” says Sydney Groen, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty NCW who’s sold homes here for nine years. “It hasn’t turned into a Seattle suburb; it still has a distinct community feel. People are friendly — you know your neighbors and run into them downtown while shopping.”
The City of Duvall welcomes residents with its old town feel and historic roots.
The City of Duvall can be a great place to call home.
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Northwest Contemporary homes and new construction
The median home sale price in Duvall is around $1 million, higher than the national median of roughly $406,000. “As you walk up the hill from the river, the homes are from the 1900s to the 1970s, but since then, all of the growth has come in since the ‘90s and is very suburban,” Doerfel says. “There are a bunch of new developments built in the last five years, and there are more in the process of being built.” Northwest Contemporary and split-level homes are common along the steep, narrow streets near downtown. “Some of these older homes tend to be a little more competitive because they’re closer to downtown and a little more unique,” Groen says. Further south and east, new traditional houses with Craftsman and farmhouse styles sit along cul-de-sacs. New construction is primarily in the city’s south and includes both single-family homes and townhouses.
A stunning yellow farmhouse on a large lot in the Cherry Gardens neighborhood.
Modern craftsman homes can be found in nearby Duvall.
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Snoqualmie River access at McCormick Park
McCormick Park is the city’s main gathering space, where locals can hang out at “the beach,” a sandy bank of the Snoqualmie River. Anglers can cast a line here, and a few swimmers might brave the chilly water in summer or float in an inner tube, though Doerfel says the prime floating spot is 15 miles away in Fall City. Duvall is the starting point for the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, a nearly 32-mile paved trail that heads south to Rattlesnake Lake, and there are other popular hiking trails in the Cascade Mountains to the east. Summers here are typically dry, but winters can be rainy and misty. “Duvall does get some snow, but storms are infrequent and typically short-lived,” says Jen Brooks, a Realtor with Re/Max Northwest and Duvall resident.
The Snoqualmie Valley Trail near Novelty offers residents the space to stretch their legs.
McCormick Park is a beautiful large park in downtown Duvall.
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Duvall Days and other community events
Festivals, concerts and community gatherings occur frequently throughout the year. “Duvall Days is kind of the high point of the year,” Doerfel says. “It happens the first weekend of June and is kind of the Fourth of July of Duvall.” The event features a parade, live music and fireworks. At the Sandblast Festival of the Arts in July, sand sculptors and other artists descend on McCormick Park for a weekend of live sculpting and live music. “In February, we have the Lantern Festival, where people make handmade lanterns and parade through town,” Brooks says. “Because it’s so dark and gloomy here in winter, we try to do things that get people out and about.” Spring brings the March of the Vegetables, a parade where residents dress in vegetable costumes to celebrate the city’s agricultural heritage.
Farm-to-table restaurants in downtown Duvall
Downtown Duvall’s local businesses and restaurants line four walkable blocks of Main Street near the river. “We have literally three stoplights,” Brooks says, “and there are no franchise fast food restaurants. The restaurants that are here are owned by individuals, and they're big on farm-to-table. Some of the owners lease land from farmers and grow their own food.” The Duvall Farmers Market sells local produce from May through October, and both local and national grocery stores are available.
At Local Roots Farm Store near Novelty, shoppers can choose from fresh local produce.
Downtown Duvall is just minutes away from the Novelty neighborhood and quite walkable.
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Running Start at Cedarcrest High
Local kids can attend schools in the Riverview School District, which earns a B-plus from Niche. Juniors and seniors at the B-plus-rated Cedarcrest High can join the Running Start program, where they can earn college credits and graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree.
Cedarcrest High School near Novelty opened its doors to students in 1993.
Welcome to Stillwater Elementary School.
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About 10 miles from Redmond
State Route 203, which is Main Street inside city limits, is the north-south thoroughfare, and Woodinville Duvall Road is the main route west, leading about 10 miles to Redmond and about 25 miles to Seattle. Rainy weather and mountain snowmelt can cause the Snoqualmie River to flood in the winter and spring, which can block some of the bridges heading west. “Be prepared to drive an extra 20 minutes one week out of every year because the river crossing closest to you is closed,” Doerfel says.
Snoqualmie Valley Transportation has bus routes up and down the Valley, and King County’s DART bus offers service to Redmond on weekdays. The city has bike lanes and sidewalks, making it friendly for cyclists and pedestrians. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is a 33-mile trip. Evergreen Health Monroe, the nearest hospital, is 10 miles away.
Lower-than-average crime rates
According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Duvall’s violent and property crime rates decreased between 2022 and 2023. FBI statistics show that rates of both types of crime remain well below state and national figures. The police department hosts regular events where community members can meet officers, including Coffee with a Cop and Campfire with a Cop.
The son of educators, James possesses a life-long passion for teaching and learning. Committed to the community he serves and the vitality of giving back, James volunteers as a basketball coach for the Boys and Girls Club and as a football coach for the Greater Eastside Junior Football Association. He has volunteered multiple times with Habitat for Humanity, Washington Trails Association, Ladybug House, Kirkland Teen Union Building, and Seattle Area Farmers' Markets. A dedicated father to seven and husband to one, James' family values include maintaining an active outdoor lifestyle, engaging in constructive intellectual conversation, and exploring the wealth of human cultures.
After completing graduate studies in linguistics and hermeneutics, James moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2001. He quickly earned a reputation as a problem solver and innovator in a booming mortgage banking field. Between 2002 and 2007, he rose through the ranks at Merit Financial, later Yarrow Bay Mortgage, from loan officer to Director of Production. He coached loan officers on balancing risks and yields and established criteria for portfolios of low-risk loans to be serviced in-house. In the wake of the 2008 financial downturn, he got his Real Estate license and shifted from conventional to hard money lending. With Fairplay Funding, he grew an REO team where he pioneered game-changing systems for debt and collateral underwriting and assignments of interests in contracts. From 2011 to 2014, James led teams spearheading acquisition initiatives for national real estate investment funds, which accounted for the acquisitions of more than 1,800 residential properties.
An original member of the Caliber Real Estate team and a Co-Founder of Capture Realty, James served as Chief Revenue Officer at real estate tech startup Pellego Inc during its Series-A round of fundraising. In 2018 he opened Prime Realty, offering boutique real estate solutions for fastidious investors, buyers, and sellers. As Designated Broker, James builds teams, coaches investors, and mentors agents with interest in understanding the technical aspects of real estate as a performing asset class.
An active investor himself, in the past decade, James participated in 200 fix-and-flips, dozens of buy-and-holds, and scores of land-use, infill, and development projects. During that same time, he assigned interests in over 220 contracts and represented investor clients in more than 360 real estate transactions, while the funds he oversaw raised and deployed tens of millions of dollars of private capital in real estate projects.
An engaging speaker and regular participant in panel discussions, James has addressed audiences of all sizes on such topics as determining the highest and best use, investing ahead of zoning, aligning plans with comprehensive plans, off-marketing, interpreting market trends, and weighing risks. A passionate coach and mentor, James offers unique sets of insights into topics such as fundamentals of the deal, syndication best practices, leading questions and negotiating terms, and starting, growing, and tending real estate portfolios.
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