For HomeownersKirklandLocal news and informationNot Real EstateWindermere Real Estate October 31, 2013

Donate Your Used Clothing This Saturday At Windermere/Yarrow Bay in Kirkland

For HomeownersKirklandWindermere Real Estate April 29, 2013

Free Shredding Event at Windermere/Yarrow Bay in Kirkland on Sunday, May 5th

For HomeownersRecycling May 31, 2012

Free Shredding Event This Saturday In Kirkland

Got piles of important documents you no longer need to keep?  Have you been meaning to dispose of these documents, but haven’t had a chance to do so? This weekend at my Windermere Real Estate office in Kirkland, you’ll have the opportunity to dispose of all your outdated documents responsibly and safely.

I’m heading off to my garage now to look through some boxes of old files. I know I have boxes of documents that can go.

If you’re concerned about how long you should keep certain documents, take a look below.  Happy shredding!

Free Shredding Event - June 2nd at Windermere Yarrow Bay

For HomeownersKirklandReal EstateRecyclingWindermere Real Estate July 14, 2011

Need to Recycle? Come on Down to Windermere Real Estate For free Recycling This Saturday

Free Recycling on Seattle's Eastside

Need to Recycle? Come on Down to Windermere Real Estate For free Recycling This Saturday

Bellevue, WAFor HomeownersNot Real Estate June 10, 2011

Free Shredding Event at Bellevue's Windermere Real Estate Office

Bellevue Real EstateBellevue, WAFor BuyersFor SellersMarket StatisticsReal EstateSeattle March 18, 2011

How Many Condos Sold on Seattle's Eastside in 2-11?

There were less than 1000 condos for sale on the eastside in February! Seattle-eastside condo sales are creeping up and the number of condos for sale is creeping downward.   This is the fewest number of condos for sale since the beginning of 2008!

Besides the number of condos for sale being at the low for the last 3 years, the number of sales took a big jump up over the last two months.  The number of condos sales almost doubled in that time to 200 sales.

The condo sales market is the most positive it’s been for a long time, and I mean a long time! It’s exciting to see sales really picking up as buyers are out there on the eastside buying condos.  The best of the best are selling quickly, while the rest just stay on the market.
 

Condo Sales in Seattle, 2-11

Seattle-Eastside Condo Real Estate Sales, February 2011

If you plan to sell your condo in the near future, feel free to contact me if you have questions about what you need to do to get ready to sell.  Every seller has to do a few things before putting a home on the market.   If your home is positioned properly, it can be one of the lucky few to get an offer.


Bellevue Real EstateBellevue, WAFor BuyersFor SellersKing County Real EstateKing County, WAMarket StatisticsRedmondSeattleSeattle real estateWindermere Real Estate March 15, 2011

There Are Some "Hot" Real Estate Markets Around Seattle

There are some hot real estate markets in the Seattle area. These “red” hot areas are shown below. The usual suspects of Queen Anne and Capital Hill experienced a hot market in February. The newest suspect, East Bellevue and Redmond near Microsoft, my neck of the Seattle real estate market, was also going strong.    In that area, 35% of the available homes sold last month, the best odds on the eastside.  It’s exciting to see, since it’s been years since we’ve had “red” or a seller’s market on the eastside.*

I keep hearing about homes selling quickly and with multiple offers in a variety of price ranges.   Since most of the eastside is a balanced real estate market,**  this only happens for the best homes.   It happens for the “red” hot homes with hot prices and in beautiful condition. There are number of other homes that take a while to sell, often with price reductions before getting the offer.

The hot real estate markets around Seattle

Hotter King & Snohomish County real estate markets 2-28-11

———————————

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.

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.

Can you see from the map how the real estate was doing in your city did last month?  If you’d like more specific information for your neighborhood, please feel free to contact me.

Bellevue Real EstateBellevue, WAFor BuyersFor SellersKing County Real EstateKing County, WAMarket StatisticsReal EstateRedmondSeattleSeattle real estateWindermere Real Estate March 4, 2011

How Badly is Seattle's Eastside Real Estate Affected by Distressed Sales

“Distressed Homes Sales Dragging Prices Down” screamed the print version of The Seattle Times, while the online version shouted  “Median Home Price in King County Drops in February, Dragged Down by Bank Repos.

Pretty scary headlines.  Scary headlines certainly attract readers. Distressed home sales, bank repos and short sales, are out there and affecting home values, but in varying degrees depending on which neighborhood is being discussed.    If you read further down in the article:

The percentage of King County single-family homes that fit the “distressed” category in February varied widely by area, according to Windermere’s analysis.

By lumping all of King County together, it gives an inaccurate picture of Seattle real estate.  Seattle real estate is far more localized. The neighborhoods of Queen Anne and Capitol Hill are usually the strongest performing areas, while the eastside suburbs of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and others are doing better than most of King County.  The suburbs of Mercer Island and Medina have few distressed properties for sale.

The chart below gives a picture of the 2010 distressed property sales for all the counties around Seattle.  My focus is on Seattle’s eastside neighborhoods, since it’s the market where I work. The eastside data is broken out from the rest of King County, because it’s usually different than the rest of the county.   The pattern for distressed sales activity can be seen through 2010.  The eastside had less distressed properties for sale than the rest of King County. I expect a similar pattern to continue in 2011, although the numbers may be different.  When the 1st quarter numbers are released, I’ll report those numbers.

Irrespective of the distressed sales issue, homes are selling well in some areas.  Prices are less than they were, but there are fewer homes for sale in many neighborhoods.  So the old law of supply and demand is working in these neighborhoods. Near Microsoft in Redmond, there were three home sales that closed this past week.  All the homes sold in less than 8 days.  One was for full price, another for slightly over, and one sold for about 2% less than the asking price. Neighborhoods in Kirkland have a lot less homes for sale than is typical.

Distressed home sales are a part of the picture of Seattle eastside real estate, but they are not the complete picture.  Too bad the screaming headlines didn’t balance more of the good news with the bad.

Seattle Area Distressed Property Data

2010 Distressed Properties by Seattle Area Counties

What is happening in your neighborhood?  Are homes selling?  Are there a lot of distressed sales?

Bellevue Real EstateFor BuyersFor SellersIssaquah Real EstateKing County Real EstateKirklandMarket StatisticsReal EstateSammamish, WA Real EstateSeattle real estateWoodinville, WA Real Estate February 17, 2011

How Did January, 2011 Seattle-Eastside Condo Sales Compare to January, 2010?

This is the fewest number of condos for sale in years, and I mean years.  I checked all the way back to the beginning of 2008.  There were only two months in 2008 when less than 1100  condos were for sale on Seattle’s eastside.
 

This is a better time than most of the past three years (tax credit time is the exception) to sell a condo.  Buyers are getting “off the fence” to buy, hence the higher absorption rate. The best of the best are selling quickly, while the rest just stay on the market.

Seattle Eastside Condo Sales

January 2011 Condo Sales on Seattle's Eastside

(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.)

January, 2011             1028 condos for sale      174 condos sold               17% odds of selling.

December, 2010         1084 condos for sale      120 (was 135)  condos sold      11% (was 12%) odds of selling.

January, 2010             1217 condos for sale       117 condos sold          10%  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.

If you plan to sell your condo in the near future, feel free to contact me if you have questions about what you need to do to get ready to sell.  Every seller has to do a few things before putting a home on the market.   If your home is positioned properly, it can be one of the lucky few to get an offer.


Bellevue Real EstateFor BuyersFor SellersKing County Real EstateReal EstateSeattle real estateWA real estateWindermere Real Estate February 8, 2011

Seattle Economist's Predictions for the 2011 Real Estate Market, Part II

Matthew Gardner, of Gardner Economics,  spoke at our annual Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc kick-off meeting today.  Mr. Gardner shared his thoughts about the local economy and Seattle real estate. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Seattle will recover more quickly than other parts of the west.
  • Growth will be slow and from the center, Seattle, out to the suburbs.
  • The private sector has increased job growth in the last 4-5 months and will continue to do so.
Seattle Area Private Sector Employment

Private Sector Employment in the Seattle Area

  • There will be more price corrections for those hi-rise condos that have not sold both in Seattle and Bellevue.
  • Buyers are still looking for good deals and feel uncertainty remains.
  • Prices are stable and, hopefully, will stay that way this year.
  • Banks are not releasing all of the bank owned homes to sell. The banks would go bankrupt if they flooded the market with these homes, causing prices to drop.
  • Mortgage rates will increase:  over 5% this year, 6% in 2012, and 7% by 2014.
30 year Mortgage Rates

30 Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Predictions

Here’s a few of Mr. Gardner’s thoughts for 2011 from the first of the year.

What do you think?  Is this what you see happening in the area and with real estate?