The Sammamish Valley in Woodinville, WA

My husband and I decided to head up to Woodinville for some lunch at one of our favorite spots, The Purple Cafe and Wine Bar, and then do a tasting at some of the wineries.  Right near the restaurant, you can find 22 wine tasting rooms in just a short distance.  We checked out two of our favorite wineries on Saturday,  Brian Carter Cellars

Enjoying Wine on the Deck of Brian Carter Cellars

and DeLille Cellars.  These two wine tasting rooms were hopping with people enjoying wine and enjoying the day.

There are a lot of wineries to choose from in Woodinville.   I counted over 60 listed on The Woodinville Wine Country site!   Woodinville has become a magnet for locals and tourists alike who want to taste some of the great wine available in Washington State.  Most of the wineries are located in and around the picturesque Sammamish River Valley.

View Larger Map

Locals come, tourists come, people rent limos and take group tours.  It’s a fun thing to do around Seattle and you don’t even have to go to France!

What’s your favorite winery in Woodinville?

It’s a more realistic market. It doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s still challenging to sell a home, but it’s not impossible. Homes are selling everyday. There have been many successful sales and there will continue to be successful real estate sales in 2011.  On Seattle’s eastside, 7310 homes sold last year.  Short sales and foreclosures will still happen. Which, unfortunately, means there will be people who are suffering through these tougher, more realistic times.  But the majority of sales on the eastside are not short or distressed sales.

If you are thinking of selling your home, it won’t happen overnight, but it can, and does,  happen.

• 2010:  9,594 homes and condos were pending (received an offer from a buyer).  There were 7310 firm sales.
• 2009:  8,842 homes were pending.
• 2008:  7419 homes were pending.

Right now in the Seattle area real estate market, most homes are selling in 3-6 months. This is the now the “normal” market time to sell a home. Some homes will sell very quickly depending on the local competition and the price and condition of the home, others will languish and maybe never sell.  This will be the typical pattern we’ll see in Seattle area real estate sales for the near future.

Don’t put your home on the market unless you’re clear on the pricing, clear on what the market will bear. This is not a market where you can “try” a price and then come down.  If you beat the competition to start, you’ll probably make more money in the long run.  Too often, sellers have “tried” a higher price and ended up selling their home for far less.

Is it moving, making a lifestyle change, or the money that’s more important to you right now? If it’s the move that’s more important because you need more space, downsizing, relocating, etc., then plan to move and do it right. Get your home gleaming and ready for the market with a value added sticker price. Your home will need to outshine the competition with a pristine look and a “beat the competition” price.   If you price your home right where all your competition is, your home may not stand out.

If more money than the current market will bear is more important, then maybe this isn’t the right time to sell. However, plan on staying put for 5 or even 7 years to realize some significant appreciation in your home’s value.  But remember, if there’s only 3% appreciation over 5 years, that’s 15% more.  Let’s say you have a home that is worth $500,000 in this market, in 5 years at 3% appreciation,  it will be worth $515,000.  A 5% increase is $25,000 to $525,000. The increase is nothing to sneeze at, but with 5-7 more years of wear and tear, there’s something that needs to be done with most every house.  Any future appreciation should factor in some costs for maintenance and updating.

For those buying, home ownership has gone back to what it always has been, shelter, a place to hang your hat that you enjoy. It’s a lifestyle choice, not a banking machine or something where you can make a “killing.”  If you decide to buy, and some of you won’t, then evaluate your home for how it fits your lifestyle.  Pick a place to live that matches your wallet and that you enjoy.  Pick a place with good access to amenities: schools, shopping, parks, economic centers and easy access to commuting services.  When you sell your home in the future, the home will be in a better position, literally and figuratively, to capture any appreciation.  The homes located close to conveniences will become increasingly more desirable in this decade.

The glass is “half full” in Seattle area real estate. The media will continue to talk about the “bad” real estate market, but the fact is, the people who need or want to move are still going forward with their plans.  Home sellers will not see the appreciation of the past, but home buyers should be able to purchase a good value and a great home.  Remember if you’re a seller who’ll be buying another home, you’ll have a great chance of making a great deal on your home purchase.

It wasn’t “perfect’ for buyers back when we all thought the real estate market was great. Many of today’s sellers need to think back to when they bought their home.  Buyers often competed for the same home with other buyers and paid full or over full price.  Now it’s not perfect for sellers.

Sellers have to be ready to meet the market. Buyers will be looking for the best value out there. That won’t change any time soon. This is our new “normal” market.

This is the “State of Real Estate.”  Our glass is “half full” rather than “half empty.” We’re still doing better than most areas here in the Seattle area.

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!

My client bought his first home from me 5 years ago.  It was a new home in a city with an excellent school system, but not the top school system on Seattle’s eastside. Now that his daughter is 5 years old, he’s looking at the different school systems even more closely.  He’s done his homework and checked out such websites as Great Schools and Education. com.  He’s read about the different school systems in the area and narrowed his choice down to the Bellevue, WA Schools.  The Bellevue Schools have been honored in a variety of places.  The high schools listed are in Newsweek’s Top 100 list and US News’ list.

But is the Bellevue School district affordable? My client wanted to know.  He had questions about what he could afford and find in Bellevue. He owns a 5 year old home with 2300+ square feet out in Sammamish.

According to the article, Bellevue is not an affordable town.  (Affordable is a relative term and each area will have a different affordability scale.) No matter where you live and what the affordability is of homes in your area, the rule of thumb is if a home is in a desirable school district, then it’s probably more expensive than a similar home in a less desirable district.

But even in some expensive school districts, prices can vary.

So what types of homes and prices can you find in Bellevue, WA? Here’s a snapshot of a typical week’s homes for sale during a week in July, 2010, which is representative of the housing available in Bellevue.

In Bellevue, homes can be found ranging from the high $200′s to multi-million dollar homes. If you divide Bellevue into areas, it’s easier to see what you can get in each area of Bellevue. Bellevue is divided into three main areas, West, East, and South Bellevue.

West Bellevue

The home of Bill Gates Jr, Charles Simonyi and other billionaires and uber-millionaires has some of the most expensive real estate in the country.  (West Bellevue, also includes the towns of Hunts Point, Yarrow Point, and Medina, some of the priciest locations in the state and the country.)

Here’s a sampling of the homes available this week in West Bellevue:

Under $500,000- 4 homes

some of which are truly lot value with small, older homes.  One home is a remodeled, most need to be remodeled and are small.

$500,000-$1,000,000-  35 homes

Ranging from homes built in the mid 50′s to the 60′s  with 1400-2000 square feet to larger homes with a huge variety of square footage.   Most of the homes were built from 1950-to the end of the century.  Newer homes in this price range are generally smaller.

$1,000,000+  66 homes

often with gracious appointments, lush grounds,  views or waterfront.  There’s an abundance of styles, ages, and square footage available.  These homes are among the priciest homes in the area with a significant number of multimillion dollar homes.

East Bellevue

Under $300,000  10 homes

older ranch style homes with square footage usually around 1500 square feet.  Some homes are bank owned, some in need of remodeling.

$300-$500,000    105 homes

(notice how many more homes are available in this price range than the other Bellevue neighborhoods.  Here’s where you can find more home for your money and in less expensive neighborhoods)

$500-$1,000,000   79 homes

You’ll find large ramblers, 2 story hoomes, and all other styles.  the homes in East Bellevue in this price range are usually terrific homes.  East Bellevue is the most affordable part of Bellevue to find a home.

$1,000,000+  18 homes

some with waterfront on Lake Sammamish, others are new construction.

South Bellevue

Under $300,000   4 homes  One is a short sale, 1 is partially remodeled, and two are older smaller homes.

$300-$500,000  33 homes

Ranging from small rambler (ranch style) homes of 1000 square feet  up to two story homes built in the 1960-1980′s with 2800 square feet.  There are mid-entry and tri-level homes along with one and two story homes in this price range.  Mid-entry and tri-level homes will be the most affordable and offer the most square footage for the money.  If you want a home with some size and in good condition, you’ll be spending closer to $500,000.  The lower end of this price range buys you a small home.

$500-$1,000,000  57 homes

Here you’ll find larger one level homes with 3 and 4 bedrooms.  Two story homes built after 1980 with square footage ranging up to 3000+.  You’ll also find large mid-entry and tri-level homes.

$1,000,000+ 37 homes

Upscale neighborhoods with drop dead gorgeous views of Seattle, Bellevue, the mountains, and lakes abound with homes ranging from mid-century modern ramblers on large lots to all styles of homes with views and lots of square footage.  Many of the homes were built after 1980.  Homes can be found with substantial square footage, high end amenities, and excellent quality and finish work.

The most affordable part of Bellevue is East Bellevue, although there are affordable houses all over.  However, what you can get for your money is vastly different in each of these areas as you can see from the above. There are options, though, and everyone has to decide the value of the schools in relation to the type of home available.

Are there great schools in other parts of the Seattle-Eastside? Yes, if you look at the lists above, other schools in Lake Washington School District, as an example pop up.  Woodinville High School is another great school.  These are not the only great schools.  There are more out there on the eastside.  Bellevue has some affordable housing, but some home buyers may want newer or larger homes for the money and may need to look at other Seattle-eastside cities.

The beauty of the Seattle-eastside is there are great schools and some great housing all over. There are options.

Who will survive in 2012? Apparently, not many of us, according to the new movie coming this fall.  It looks like the end of the world will be happening in 2012, so my previous article about the state of the real estate market and when there will be a rebound in the market, is kind of a moot point.  Enjoy 2009-2011!

Briefly, the HVCC requires all appraisals to go through a central clearing house.  The next appraiser on the list is assigned the job, regardless of experience and knowledge about an area.  The appraiser may live and work in an area hours away from the property. It’s very hard for anyone to know the individual nuances of a neighborhood, builders, school systems, etc. and how these affect value.  I can only imagine how hard it must be for appraisers to have to evaluate properties hither and yon.   How could anyone appraise properties in an area that’s the size of small states and get it right all of the time?

In addition,  appraisals cost buyers about the same as before, $450-500, but the portion of the fee directed to the appraiser has decreased. The appraisers only make about $200 and the rest of the fee goes to the appraisal management companies, which, by the way, are often owned by banks and title insurance companies.  This from Matt Carter at Inman News:

As originally proposed, the code would have barred lenders from ordering reports from appraisal management companies they owned more than a 20 percent stake in. But as adopted, the code does not limit lender ownership stakes in appraisal management companies.

What if your lender makes a mistake and your loan needs to go to a different lender?  Believe me, it happens and it happens to good, strong buyers.  Well, not only will your loan close late, you”ll be the proud owner of two appraisals. This from Matt Carter at Inman News again ( Joseph Heller would have had fun with this one):

I’ve heard of appraisals coming in late, causing the buyer to close late and lose their loan lock.  Imagine how difficult this is when you have movers sitting in your driveway and they are booked for weeks afterward.  I could go on, but this is a simplified version of the changes brought to the real estate industry by the HVCC.

Two US Representatives, Representative Travis Childers (D-Miss) and Gary Miller (R-CA),  have introduced a bill, HR 3044, to suspend the new HVCC code for 18 months, so it can be properly evaluated. This a good thing for consumers and the housing industry.  Changes to the appraisal system need to be done right, but not by implementing a system that creates more problems.   We must be fair to both buyers and sellers and make sure  appraisals are coming in on time and at the value that exists in the marketplace.

It’s important for you to contact your congress person to see this law is passed to help protect the integrity of the system and ensure changes to the appraisal system are a benefit, not a detriment.

“the first issue of a reinvented and rethought NEWSWEEK—represents our best effort to bring you original reporting, provocative (but not partisan) arguments and unique voices. We know you know what the news is. We are not pretending to be your guide through the chaos of the Information Age. If you are like us, you do not need, or want, a single such Sherpa. What we can offer you is the benefit of careful work discovering new facts and prompting unexpected thought.”

In tandem with these big changes at Newsweek, Anna Quindlen, the widely respected journalist, Pulitzer prize winning author, and Newsweek columnist wrote her last piece for the magazine. Ms. Quindlen recognized the need to step down and move on to allow new media talents to emerge.

“One of those changes is in technology, and because of it young people in the news business have been able to exact a kind of inadvertent revenge. They seized on an information-delivery system that their elders initially found puzzling or unpersuasive. They created online outlets from the ground up. Now that this is where the action is, they are quite properly part of the action, not because we made room for them, but because they invented room for themselves.

Throughout the country there seems to be an understanding that this is and ought to be a time of reinvention, in the economy, in education, in the office. But no one seems eager to reinvent on an individual level. Yet never has there been a time when fresh perspective and new ideas were more necessary. The linear path, the ladder, emphasizes stability, but too often at the expense of innovation and mobility.”

Ms Quindlen is going out on top with her last “Last Word” column.  I will miss her terrific insights, but as she said, look forward to seeing her work possibly elsewhere.

Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, wrote a piece on his blog entitled The Next Media Manifesto. in which he states:

“Paper isn’t dead: it’s on demand.

Collaboration rules.”

His list of suggestions for the development of a new media company is a list bloggers and traditional news media outlets should be required to read.  He covers everything needed for today’s media outlets to survive and be relevant.  But it’s today’s list of everything.  I’m sure he’d be one of the first to agree the media, like Ms. Quindlen states, the economy, education, and the office should continually evolve and stay relevant by reinventing themselves.

Here in Seattle, The Seattle Times is looking to reinvent itself with a pilot project for hyper-local news.  Recognizing the need to provide the news no longer covered regularly by The Seattle Times, it’s partnering with local blog, Kirkland Views. Rob Butcher of Kirkland Views does an excellent job with hyper-local reporting from Kirkland’s City Hall to community events.  The blog has filled a niche traditional media no longer meets in the Kirkland area.  The Times, recognizing the niche needed to be filled, is doing a smart thing by partnering with Kirkland Views.

The Seattle PI.com, as a web only news source, plans to cover local news more thoroughly with a combination of bloggers and web writers.  (full disclosure, I write posts for the SeattlePI.com real estate professionals blog)

Eli Sanders, from the Stranger, interviewed Michele Nicolosi, the executive director of the Seattle PI.com and she had this to say:

the new Newseek marching orders are very similar to the marching orders at SeattlePI.com. “I just think there’s not a lot of room in this universe for duplication of effort,” she said. However, she added that SeattlePI.com has staked out some beats that it intends to cover aggressively: health, education, real estate, transportation, Amazon, Microsoft, crime, courts, and local government.

When media outlets get the new dynamic of journalism, there’s more hope for the future of these media outlets, but it’s a very different future.  The reinvention of news media is the collaboration between different sources and formats, such as video and social networking.  But more importantly, it’s the collaboration  between journalists who are paid to write and the public who wants to contribute.

The traditional media outlets must reinvent themselves, find a new niche and allow their readers to participate with an active voice to survive.  Here’s wishing Newsweek, The Seattle Times, Kirkland Views, The Seattle PI.com, and Anna Quindlen  thrive in our “new world.”   Chris Brogan, keep sending those great ideas.

Refinancing is a good idea, but not for everyone. It has to make financial sense.  Sometimes it’s not worth spending the money to re-fi if you already have a good rate.  Compare your monthly payments to what your new payment would be plus your costs to refinance.  Calculate how many years it would take to earn the cost to refinance back.  If you think you’re going to stay in your home for longer than that time, it may make sense to refinancing.

Ilyce Glinck is a columnist for Inman News and she recently wrote a post with some great tips for refinancing.  Check her article out before you refi to see if it’s right for you.

View Larger Map

Of course, we on the eastside have always known this was not true.  There are cookie cutter neighborhoods, but there are slick contemporary homes, mid-century modern homes, mid-entry homes, old bungalows, and McMansions.  You can choose to live in a variety of neighborhoods, in a variety of homes, on a tiny lot or acreage, within walking distance of shops and restaurants or in rural privacy.

But more importantly, the eastside is filled with a diverse population. It’s a veritable melting pot with people of all ages, from all over the world, with a variety of interests and lifestyles-very much like the population of the westside of the lake, Seattle.

Fast forward to 2009.  The eastside or Seattle’s eastside is now the economic center of the region.  The reverse commute is worse than the commute into Seattle. (Thank you Microsoft, Nintendo, Expedia, etc) Bellevue’s downtown is fast becoming a hotbed of luxury shopping, dining, living, and working.    Seattle Metropolitan magazine had a recent issue on the terrific economic growth of the eastside.

It’s time to throw down the boxing gloves and declare a truce.  Seattle and Seattle’s eastside are both great areas.  We grow and prosper because of each other, not in spite of each other.  The eastside is an outgrowth of Seattle and we would not be here without it.  Seattle would not be thriving if it weren’t for the eastside.

Lisa Hilderbrand was right when she responded to a comment on a post to someone who asked about her using the name the Seattle/Eastside. The comments in her post prompted this piece.  Most people outside of this area have no clue where and what the eastside is without the name Seattle attached to it. Mmm..makes me think I should change the name of this blog to Seattle/Eastside Real Estate Buzz.  (By the way, you should check out the link to Lisa’s post, she has some gorgeous eastside photos.)

So which is it?  The Seattle/Eastside or the Eastside?  Does the Eastside stand alone?

Inman News had more information about the stimulus package as it relates to real estate.  The stimulus package has a provision to change last year’s first time home buyer’s $7500 credit  to a  credit which won’t need to be repaid.  Last year’s stimulus package required the credit to be repaid over 15 years.

It’s clear incentives are needed to get home buyers off the fence to buy.  People are afraid if they buy a home now, it will shortly be worth less.  Incentives, along with low interest rates, and great prices can help bring buyers back into the market.  Mark Zandi from Moody’s Economy.com.   thinks this buyer incentive should apply to all buyers to really have an affect on  the number of people buying a home:

“A refundable tax credit for a home purchased in 2009, payable at the time of the purchase, would be an effective way to quickly stimulate home sales and reduce the mountain of unsold homes weighing on house prices and exacerbating foreclosures and the crisis in the financial system.”

Here’s some additional news about the tax credit from a CNNMoney article:

“To be eligible, buyers cannot have owned a home for the past three years, and the new home has to be used as a primary residence. The credit phases out as income rises above $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for couples, and disappears entirely at $95,000 and $170,000, respectively.

Applying for it is easy, or at least as easy as doing your income taxes. Just claim it on your return. That’s it. No other forms or papers have to be filed.

Both the Senate and the House versions of the new act remove the requirement that buyers repay the credit. The Senate bill applies retroactively to any purchase completed between January 1, 2009 and the end of August. The House version is also retroactive to the start of the year, and expires at the end of June. As long as buyers don’t sell for at least 36 months, they keep the money.

And the credit is refundable, meaning that it can be claimed even if the amount of the credit earned exceeds the buyer’s tax liability. So even if your total tax bill comes to just $5,000, you can still qualify for a full $7,500 refund.”

Seniors are also mentioned in the stimulus package with regard to reverse mortgages.    Seniors are often overlooked when people talk about the economy.  Many seniors have lost so much of their equity and life savings and are no longer in a position to go back to work.  Anything that can be done to ease their situation is significant.   The stimulus plan is increasing loan limits for reverse mortgages. The FHA HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) loan is now $625,500 while conventional loan limits are at $417,000.

____________________________________

For the latest in the stimulus package and the proposed tax credit for home buyers, check out this link.