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Great Words to Live By As We Head Into 2011
It’s hard to believe, the new year is here. It’s a time for reflection, a time for planning, and a time for partying. It’s a time to make those new year’s resolutions we all hope to keep. Most of all it’s time to have fun, appreciate what you do have: your friends, family, and health.
This post highlighting some of Sir Richard Branson’s tips on life is a good way to end one year and start the next.
Have you made your New Year’s resolutions yet? All the best in 2011!
Seattle Economist Makes Real Estate Predictions
Thinking about the economy in 2011? Who isn’t these days?
Local economist, Matthew Gardner presented his predictions for next year’s economy and the real estate market.
(photo: Andrew@cubagallery)
Here are a few of his predictions for 2011:
Economic growth will remain slow, particularly for the first half of the year.
An “easing” in the economy should been seen as the year progresses, helping to restore some consumer confidence.
The unemployment rate will drop some, but improvement will be slow.
A 5% decline in home prices across U.S.
Inflation will be minimal, benefiting home buyers.
Interest rates should go higher, but still remain on the lower side.
What do you see happening in your area?
Hope your 2011 will be looking up!
Have a Very Merry "Green" Holiday
Attention all you Seattle eastsiders: Have a Very Merry “Green” Holiday!
- Holiday Lights
Looking for a last minute gift idea?
Give a tote bag or sign someone up for weekly home deliveries of local produce. Full Circle Farms has terrific produce available.
Can you re-use a potato chip bag to wrap presents? Check this video out to find some interesting sources for wrapping presents.
Is it better to have a natural or artificial tree? Which is better for the environment?
And for last minute decorating tips.
And if all else fails for inspiration, The Examiner has a compilation of holiday “green” sites.
Have fun!
This Past Month Seattle Eastside Real Estate Was Balanced Between Buyers and Sellers
Seattle Area Real Estate 11-30-10
The Seattle-eastside market is balanced. Surprised by that? Here’s why I say this: A balanced market is when homes on average are selling in 3-6 months. This means there was a more level playing field between buyers and sellers during that particular month, in this case November 2010. Given the news we hear, it’s surprising to think of the eastside real estate market in this way.
Does this mean it’s no longer a challenge to sell a home? Absolutely not. The competition is still very stiff. There are a lot of homes for buyers to buy. A market in which it takes homes 3-6 months to sell is still a challenging, but not a terrible, real estate market. In a balanced market, some homes sell quickly for a good price, others take a lot longer to sell with a steep discount in the the asking price, and still others don’t sell at all. I’m still going to be telling home sellers to have the best home out there and expect a sale to take a long time to happen. Homes that sell have to be a really good value to be the ones that sell. Believe it or not, this is pretty typical of a more balanced, realistic market. A realistic market is not a fast paced real estate market. A realistic market will have some distressed home sellers. Although this is a cause of major concern and I am not minimizing the situation for those who are distressed sellers, the majority of eastside homes are NOT distressed sales.
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What do the 3 digit numbers on the map mean?
The map is divided into the numbered areas as defined by our Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). Downtown Bellevue is area 520 and East Bellevue is area 530, as an example.
What do the colors mean?
Red means it’s a sellers’ market, a sellers’ advantage. Homes take less than 3 months to sell.
Yellow means a balanced market between buyers and sellers. Homes on the average take 3-6 months to sell.
Green means it’s a buyers’ market. Homes take longer than 6 months to sell.
If you take each area as shown on the map and look to the area number on the side of the map, it will tell you how long it would take to sell every home currently for sale if no other home came up on the market in that area.
How Was The Seattle Eastside Condo Real Estate Market in November, 2010?
Seattle Eastside Condo Sales Nov 2010
(The absorption rate, the percentage of condos selling, is the number of condos for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of condos sold that month. So if the absorption rate or chance of selling is 10% that means out of 100 condos for sale, 10 received offers and sold.)
November, 2010 1191 condos for sale 150 condos sold 12.5% odds of selling
October, 2010 1375 condos for sale 136 (was 147) condos sold 9% (was 11%) odds of selling.*
September, 2010 1448 condos for sale 130 (was 155) condos sold 9% (was 11%) odds of selling.*
November, 2009 1289 condos for sale 121 condos sold 9% odds of selling.
*Adjusted from previous month’s original numbers to reflect the actual number of condos sold and closed. Some of the sales originally reported last month failed and did not close. Some of the reasons sales fail are the buyer and seller don’t agree on the building inspection, the condo does not appraise for the sales price or the buyer’s financing does not come through.
Wow, November showed the biggest drop in the number of Seattle-eastside condos for sale so far this year! There are 184 less condos for sale. We’re almost at the lowest point of inventory, that is the available condos, for the year. The peak of condos for sale was back in July, when over 1500 condos were for sale on the eastside.
Everyone is so focused on how much homes and condos are losing in value. Yes, there’s no one selling in today’s market that hasn’t lost money in the value of his/her home or condo in the last few years. But remember, if you’re selling because you’d like to buy another condo or home, that one will also cost a lot less than it would have been a few years ago.
If you plan to selling your condo in the next year or so, feel free to contact me if you have questions about what you need to do to get ready to sell. Most every seller has to do a few things before putting a home on the market for the world to see. If your home is in the best possible condition before going on the market, there’s a better chance your home will be one of those 9-12% of homes that gets the offer.
Happy Holidays and have a great 2011!
How Did November, 2010 Real Estate Sales Do In Your Seattle-Eastside Neighborhood?
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Bellevue,+WA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.403932,58.271484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Bellevue,+King,+Washington&ll=47.610377,-122.200679&spn=0.310148,0.910492&z=10&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
In 5 of the 7 Seattle-eastside real estate areas, sales percentages were up by a lot from last year! Sales increases ranged from 13.5% in Redmond/Carnation to 47% in Redmond/East Bellevue.
We also saw a huge drop in the number of homes for sale on Seattle’s eastside over the past few months. A higher percentage of home sales and less homes for sale is good news. The market is still challenging. The homes with the best value proposition of price and condition grab the attention of the buyers. These are homes that are selling.
How did November, 2009 compare to November, 2010 in your neighborhood?
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. The odds of selling a home in each area is a result of the number of homes for sale divided by the actual number of home sales, so if 10 out of 100 homes sold, the odds of selling would be 10/100 or 10%)
The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 16%.
Median sales price decreased from $552,500 to $474,000.
The number of homes for sale increased by 12% and sales were down by 15% from last year.
The odds of selling a home were 22%.
Median sales price decreased to $416,500 from $479,000.
The number of homes for sale was down by 12% and sales were up by 47%.
The odds of selling a home were 22%.
Median price decreased from $685,000 to $599,419.
The number of homes for sale dropped by 10% and sales were up by 26%.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 15%.
Median price was down from $411,750 to $405,000.
The number of homes for sale declined by 3% and sales were up by 41%.
The odds of selling a home were 17%.
Median price decreased to $549,950 from $739,000.
The number of homes for sale declined by 16% and sales were up by 13.5%.
The odds of selling a home were 15%.
Median pricing was down from $996,500 to $829,500.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 9% and sales decreased by 3%.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 16 %
Median pricing decreased from $559,900 to $525,000.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 3% and sales increased by 16%.
If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.
Have a terrific holiday season and Happy New Year!
How Was The Seattle Eastside Real Estate Market in November, 2010?
Are Seattle-eastside home sales going “merrily” along? Merrily may be an extreme word to use in this case to describe Seattle-eastside real estate, however, it’s good news to see in 5 of the 7 eastside areas, there were more home sales this November than last. In some areas, there was a huge increase in the number of homes sold when compared to last year.
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Seattle Eastside Real Estate Sales, Nov 2010
The odds of selling a home on the Eastside in November ranged from 15% to 23%, with an average 17% absorption rate.* Most home sellers on Seattle’s eastside had a 17/100 change of selling their home last month.
*(The absorption rate is the number of homes for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of homes sold that month. If the absorption rate is 10%, then 10 out of the 100 homes for sale sold that month.)
November, 2010 2818 homes for sale 485 homes sold 17% odds of selling.
October, 2010 3267 homes for sale 477(was 519) homes sold 15% (was 16%) odds of selling.*
September, 2010 3487 homes for sale 422 homes sold 12% odds of selling.*
November, 2009 2943 homes for sale 431 homes sold 15% odds of selling.
*(Some home sales fail because of the buyer financing or an inspection. The number of sales is updated when we find out the actual number of homes that sold during that time.)
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November, 2009 Seattle-Eastside real estate market compared to November, 2010:
- The average price of pending homes (recently sold homes) went from $612,955 to $532,907.
- As of this past week, there were 11,519 King County homes (houses and condos) for sale, there are about 3000 less homes for sale in King County now than in July.
- The number of homes sold on Seattle’s Eastside: down 15% from last year.
- Number of homes for sale on Seattle’s Eastside: About 450 fewer homes for sale than in October, 669 less than in September and 125 less than November of 2009.
- If you look at all 4 months worth of sales above, you can see the number of homes sold does not vary as much as the number of homes for sale. Each month, between 422-485 homes sold. Whereas the number of homes for sale varied by as much as 600 homes.
Best odds of selling: South Bellevue/Issaquah, and East Bellevue/Redmond areas around Microsoft.
Worst odds of selling: West Bellevue and Woodinville/North Kirkland/Kenmore and Bothell.
Biggest increase in sales from last year: East Bellevue/Redmond near Microsoft.
Smallest increase in sales from last year: Kirkland, which had the highest increase in sales last month.
Decline in home sales from last year: There was a decline in 2 out of the 7 Seattle-eastside areas. Sammamish/Issaquah/North Bend/ Fall City had the largest decline in home sales.
The peak of homes for sale in 2008: July, 4370 homes.
The peak of homes for sale in 2009: June, 3859 homes.
The peak of homes for sale in 2010: August, 3492 homes.
The number of eastside homes for sale at the start of 2010: 2584 homes
The number of eastside homes for sale now: 2818 homes.
How are home sales going in your neighborhood? Do you see less “for sale” signs out there this past month?
Five Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Heating Bill
What costs you the most money to maintain your home? I bet your heating bills are at or near the top of the list.
Here are 5 easy ways you can help your heating system to be more efficient and help to save you money.
- Change your furnace filter regularly- I know few people seem to change their filters regularly. Trust me, I ask this question when I meet home owners. Your furnace technician can install a device which “beeps” when you need to change filters.
- Get your furnace serviced annually- Most people ‘fess up and say they don’t service the furnace on a regular basis. Sign a contract with an HVAC company and they’ll call you each year and make sure it’s done. The furnace technician can check the furnace and confirm it’s not leaking any carbon monoxide. The added bonus here is you won’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Make sure your doors have good, tight weather stripping- get down on the floor and see if you see light under the weather stripping. If you do, then it’s not tight and replace the weather stripping.
- Install programmable thermostats- you can regulate your heat and set it to be lower during the days you’re not at home or at night. This could save you some significant money.
- Look at your heating bills for a full year to determine if you are using energy less efficiently than the average home for your area.
If you find you’re using more energy than the average home, check my next post about energy savings. Coming soon is a post with more information about ways to save some money on your heating and energy bills.
- Oh, and did I mention putting on a sweater and lowering your thermostat to 68 degrees? (this is number 6, but who’s counting?)
Does Microsoft Still Have a Big Influence On Seattle's Eastside?
Does Microsoft still have a positive affect on Seattle’s eastside? Yes! Microsoft still has a huge impact on the eastside.
The map below shows only some of the eastside campuses:
[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Microsoft+Computer+near+156th+Avenue+Northeast,+Redmond,+WA&sll=47.647756,-122.133025&sspn=0.038741,0.113811&ie=UTF8&hq=Microsoft+Computer&hnear=156th+Ave+NE,+Redmond,+King,+Washington&ll=47.584406,-122.229424&spn=0.281495,0.25636&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
Recently, the news has focused more on layoffs. There are a number of people who have been laid off and are struggling, which is truly unfortunate. This post is not an attempt to minimize what those who are without jobs are going through, but to focus on the strong influence Microsoft still has on Seattle’s eastside.
There’s little said about the increase in the number of Microsofties on Seattle’s eastside since 2007. There are now over 40,000 employees in the area. Back in 2007, there were just over 35,000. Imagine the impact these additional 5,000 employees and their families have on the eastside economy and quality of life. Imagine the impact of 40,000 people on the local economy. Since 2007, these five thousand more people are renting or buying homes, going out to eat, buying goods at stores and using local services.
Microsoft has had a huge impact on the real estate in the surrounding neighborhoods. The Bellevue and Redmond neighborhoods near Microsoft have consistently performed better than any other area on Seattle’s eastside. The number of homes that sell compared to the number that are for sale, the absorption rate, is almost always the strongest on the eastside. Most every month of the past few years, the Microsoft area of Redmond and Bellevue has had more homes selling when compared to the number for sale.
Does this make this area more expensive?
No, not by a long shot. The good news is there’s been a huge benefit to the whole eastside because of Microsoft and there are homes in most price ranges in the area.
The least expensive home in Bellevue is on the market for $227,000. The most expensive Bellevue home is a waterfront property on Lake Sammamish for $4,250,000. Most of the homes in the area are priced under $500,000. Most homes for sale right now, almost 1/2, fall into the $300-500,000 price range.
These 40,000 jobs help keep our economy and our real estate market going, even with the lay offs. The real estate market is still challenging, but homes are still selling. Clearly, the competition is tougher for the sellers right now as pricing and condition are everything. This very realistic real estate market should continue for a year or so.
The eastside, particularly near Microsoft, should fare better than many other parts of the country as the economy improves. People will continue to move in and out of the area for jobs.
What do you think?
Are We Seeing The Number of Homes On The Market in King County Dropping?
Number of King County Homes for Sale 11-29-10
It’s easy to see that King County real estate is following the national trend right now. There are fewer homes on the market than just a few weeks ago and, definitely, from a few months ago. The peak of the competition was back in the last week of July when there were 14,639 homes on the market.
This week, we’re about ready to cross the line below 12,000 homes for sale with the number standing at 12,119. The number of King County homes for sale should drop back below 12,000 by next week or the week after. Plan on it.
It would be great to get back below the the 10,000 mark as we did back at the beginning of this year.
Many people think this time of year isn’t a good time to sell a home. With the lower number of homes for sale, meaning less competition for buyers, what do you think?
