Packwood trades a lot of weekend cabins. That's the nature of a recreation gateway town: most of what comes up for sale was built to be slept in a dozen nights a year, and you can tell the moment you walk in. A genuinely custom, year-round house on acreage three miles from town is a different animal, and when one lists, the competition for it isn't local. It's everyone within a day's drive of White Pass. That's what my buyers were up against here.

The house earns the distinction. Custom built on 2.26 acres inside mature cedar groves, gated, with tiger wood and slate floors, matching Jenn-Air appliances, a huge open primary suite, and built-in audiophile-grade speakers, which tells you something about who built it and how much they cared. A finished three-car attached garage, and filtered air and water systems throughout. That last one is the detail I'd point out to anyone buying in the mountains: filtration is the difference between a place you visit and a place you actually live, and it's expensive to add later.

Outside is built for company. A large composite deck with built-in seating, an expansive lawn with a firepit and horseshoe pits, and a matching outbuilding for tools, storage and firewood. The HOA carries access to a creekside trail. Three miles to Packwood, and from there you're close to White Pass Ski Area, Mt. Rainier National Park, and the Goat Rocks.

Winning it meant going above asking, and closing in January 2021 that was the price of admission on a property like this one. Some homes you don't negotiate down. You just make sure you're the one who gets it.

*Disclaimer - I was the buyer’s agent and represented only the buyer in this transaction.