Saltwater waterfront is a different animal from lakefront, and the people who love it would not trade it for anything. You get open water, big west-facing sunsets over the Olympics, ferries and ships on the horizon, and a wilder, more elemental setting than any lake provides. The defining question here is bank height: low-bank beachfront like much of Alki puts you on the sand, while the Magnolia bluffs trade direct beach access for a commanding view and a real staircase. Bulkheads carry more weight on saltwater because tides and storms work the shoreline constantly, so their condition belongs at the top of your diligence, not the bottom. This is the most characterful waterfront in the city, and matching the right buyer to the right bank is most of the job.