Is Your Seattle-Eastside Home Ready to be on the "Hot" List?

by The Beaupain Team

The last few weeks I’ve spent a lot of time helping soon-to-be home sellers get their homes ready for the market. I’ve spent time creating lists of cosmetic/structural items that need to be done to make a home market ready. I’ve recommended reliable contractors. I’ve helped to pick out paint colors, carpets, tile, vinyl, light fixtures, and then some, so people can do the updates necessary to get their home sold.

Color, carpet and tile samples

My car is on auto-pilot and assumes its heading to the Lowe’s or Home Depot in Bellevue each day!

Sometimes I think I should add interior decorator and project manager to my title. My business card says I’m a Realtor, but more often than not, I’m a decorator/project manager.

Seriously, this is a big part of my job and is one of the most important ways I can help sellers make the most money when selling a home. Recently, I’ve written some posts about how there’s a “hot” market and a “not” market on Seattle’s eastside. The homes that make it into the “hot” market are those that have been updated, staged, and photographed and look their best when out there on the market. These homes are market ready and look fabulous from day one. Nobody gets in to see these homes until the list of work is completed.

For most people, it’s work to get to the point where they are in the “hot” category. Most home sellers need a few weeks or months to get ready to sell. Some people even call me a year ahead, which is smart move. These people can then take their time to get their home ready. There’s no rush. But more often than not, I get the call a few weeks or months before the move. I’m okay with that time frame, but are you? Can you get your home ready for the market in just weeks or months?

Pick up the phone and call if you’re thinking of selling in the next year and want to be one of the “hot” homes.

Bellevue Real Estate • For Buyers • For Homeowners • For Sellers • King County Real Estate • King County, WA • Market Statistics • Real Estate • March 30, 2011

The Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Market Is Better Than You Think!

by The Beaupain Team

Number of Properties for Sale in King County

It’s simple. Mix one part law of supply and demand; one part the more positive economy; and one part more ready, willing, and able buyers. Mix with more realistic pricing that meets the market demand. You now have the well priced homes selling and the most positive real estate market the eastside has had since mid 2007.

The supply of King homes and condos, the number of those for sale, is shown above. This week, near the end of the first quarter of 2011, there are about 2000 less homes and condos for sale in King County than last year at this time. This means there are 16% less homes and condos for sale. That’s a big difference. It’s noticeable in a lot of neighborhoods. It’s noticeable to a lot of buyers.

The eastside statistics mirror those in the county. There are pockets on the eastside where home sales are popping, because there are only a few really great homes that come on the market. I’ve seen this happen in different price ranges and different cities all over the eastside, including Bellevue, Kirkland, and Sammamish.

Seattle Eastside Residential Real Estate Sales Through February 2011

Supply is key to the more positive eastside real estate market. With less supply out there and more homes selling (other than March and April of 2010, which was the result of the tax credit) than any other month in a few years, this is a stronger real estate market.

With less supply, it’s a faster paced market. It’s happening in many eastside neighborhoods, but not all. It’s happening with some homes, but not all. With less to choose from, the better valued homes are selling more quickly. There are some great homes that I’ve previewed or shown over the last month and I can almost tell which homes will be sold inside of a week or two. Almost everyday we see the number of pending sales outstrip the number of new listings coming on the market. And yes, there are homes still sitting on the market for a long time, are distressed sales or homes that don’t sell. Despite this, there’s a big difference in the eastside real estate market.

Now I know you’re going to say this is not what you’re reading in the media. Here’s the latest real estate article in The Seattle Times continuing with the same doom and gloom report about the real estate market. From the this article:

In the Seattle metropolitan area, which includes King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, prices are back where they were in September 2004, according to Case-Shiller.

Two things to consider when evaluating the above statement. The first is Case-Shiller lumps King County statistics in with Pierce and Snohomish Counties. King County has a far more positive economy than the other two counties. Seattle and Bellevue, the economic hubs of the region are both in King County. The number of distressed properties is much smaller in King County than elsewhere in the region.

The second thing to remember is Case-Shiller is reporting on the past few months, not what’s happening in the market today.

I agree with Case-Shiller regarding home values, although home values may not be quite as low as 2004 pricing in some areas. Prices are down and probably will stay at these levels for a while. I don’t anticipate prices going up any time soon.

But I do see a stronger market in many eastside neighborhoods. People are ready to move on, literally, and they’re tired of waiting. Buyers are ready to buy and more sellers are pricing their homes to meet the current market demand. All in all, right now the Seattle-eastside has the best real estate market it’s had since 2007. It’s not the old real estate market of the past, but it’s a good, realistic market.

Built Green and Sustainable Living • Energy conservation • For Homeowners • Home maintenance tips • sustainable living • March 28, 2011

Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Saving Money and Energy When Drying Clothes

by The Beaupain Team

Ye Olde Drying Rack . Not so fast.

So you think you know how to save money and time when drying your clothes? Sure, you just pop them in the dryer and push the button. Not so fast.

If you’re rethinking your energy usage and looking for ways to save time and money, this post will give you more insights than you ever imagined when it comes to the topic of saving money when drying your clothes. I’ve never seen so much detail given to this subject before. In fact, I hadn’t thought there could be this much detail on the topic of clothes drying. It’s worth a read, you might end up saving a few dollars, some time, and some energy.

The post will answer these burning questions:

Can you dry your socks on a drying rack by dumping them on the rack?
Is it more work to dry clothes in a dryer than to dry them on hangars?
What kind of hangars should you use to dry your clothes?
Is it better to dry your clothes indoors or out?
Is it okay to “freeze-dry” your clothes?

So get out that drying rack you have in the back of your closet and put it to good use. Do you have any other money or time savings tips for clothes drying? Feel free to pass them along.

For Buyers • For Sellers • Real Estate • Real Estate Marketing • March 24, 2011

Does a St. Joseph's Statue Planted in Your Yard Help to Sell Your Home?

by The Beaupain Team

My sellers had received the St. Joseph’s statue as a present from a friend and asked me to plant it when the “for sale” sign was planted in their yard. So, I planted the St Joseph’s Statue in their yard.

St. Joseph Statue

I’ve heard about St. Joseph’s statue being planted in the yards of homes for sale, but this is the first time I’ve had a seller ask me to do so.

I was curious as to how this whole idea got started, so I checked online. Snopes has an interesting post on its history and some of the results from planting a St. Joseph statue in the front yard. According to Snopes and a few other sources, the idea originated centuries ago when a group of nuns first planted St. Joseph on the grounds of their convent. The idea didn’t spread to the sale of homes in the U.S. until the late 20th century.

So along with along with today’s high tech marketing with professional photos and video on Zillow, Craig’s List, Trulia, and a number of other sites, I went with the centuries old luck of St Joseph. I’ve always said that the most successful real estate marketing combines the best of old with the new!

Do you believe the St. Joseph statue will help a home to sell faster? Have you tried this and have you had luck with it?

Oh, by the way, the home sold in 4 days!

Dining on the Eastside • Exploring the Eastside • Uncategorized • Woodinville, WA • March 21, 2011

Have You Been to Woodinville's Wine Country?

by The Beaupain Team

I went to France this past weekend. Ok, I didn’t really, but last Saturday I imagined I was transported to France when I sat down with a glass of wine in my hand and looked out over the valley in Woodinville. It felt like spring was almost here in the Seattle area. Spring was almost here by the calendar, but the weather also supported that spring feeling. It was sunny and just plain beautiful.

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.

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=14419+Woodinville+Redmond+Rd+NE,+Woodinville,+WA+98072&aq=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.38984,90.175781&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=14419+Woodinville+Redmond+Rd+NE,+Woodinville,+King,+Washington+98072&z=14&ll=47.731131,-122.140468&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

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?

Bellevue Real Estate • Bellevue, WA • For Buyers • For Sellers • Market Statistics • Real Estate • Seattle • March 18, 2011

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

by The Beaupain Team

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.

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 Estate • Bellevue, WA • For Buyers • For Sellers • Issaquah Real Estate • Issaquah, WA • Kirkland • Market Statistics • Real Estate • Redmond • Sammamish, WA • Sammamish, WA Real Estate • Seattle • Seattle real estate • Woodinville, WA • Woodinville, WA Real Estate • March 18, 2011

How Many Real Estate Sales Were in Your Seattle-Eastside City in February 2011?

by The Beaupain Team

[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]

How well did homes sell in February, 2011 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%)

Thirty-five percent of the homes for sale around Microsoft in Redmond and East Bellevue sold last month. That’s an incredible number and one we haven’t seen for years. Overall, February was the most positive month for eastside home sales in the past several years!

The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City

The odds of selling a home were 23%.

Median sales price dropped: $499,995 to $489,990. Home values have been more stable here than anywhere else on the eastside.

There were 605 homes for sale.

A total of 153 homes sold.

Redmond/East Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 35%.

Median sales price increased by 2% to $430,000 to $439,950.

157 homes were for sale

A total of 57 homes sold.

South Bellevue/Issaquah

The odds of selling a home were 25.5%.

Median price decreased from $579,990 to $500,000.

283 homes were for sale.

A total of 83 homes sold.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 24.5%.

Median price was down from $397,000 to $375,000.

549 homes were for sale.

A total of 150 homes sold.

Kirkland

The odds of selling a home were 20%.

Median price increased to $542,725 from $537,500, a 1% increase.

251 homes were for sale.

A total of 60 homes sold.

West Bellevue

The odds of selling a home were 18%.

Median pricing was down from $981,750 to $899,000.

174 homes were for sale.

A total of 37 homes sold.

Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation

The odds of selling a home were 16%

Median pricing decreased from $474,950 to $450,000.

293 homes were for sale.

A total of 52 homes sold.

If you’d like more specific information about your neighborhood or home, feel free to contact me.

Bellevue Real Estate • Bellevue, WA • For Buyers • For Sellers • King County Real Estate • King County, WA • Market Statistics • Redmond • Seattle • Seattle real estate • Windermere Real Estate • March 15, 2011

There Are Some "Hot" Real Estate Markets Around Seattle

by The Beaupain Team

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.

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

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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.

For Buyers • For Sellers • Real Estate • Seattle real estate • March 14, 2011

There are Two Different Real Estate Markets on Seattle's Eastside

by The Beaupain Team

There are two different real estate markets on Seattle’s eastside. I didn’t make this up. I heard this from several buyers at an open house this past weekend.

I held an open house at a home which I knew would attract buyers. It’s new on the market, shows fabulously, has little competition, and is in a great Kirkland location. I had this conversation with several different buyers, which prompted me to write this post. They told me there were a lot of homes sitting on the market and then there were the other homes. These are the great ones. The great ones sold quickly. Hence, there are two real estate markets out there on Seattle’ eastside.

Real Estate Market #1- This market is filled with the best homes. They’re priced well, show beautifully with minimal work needing to be done, and sell in less than a week. These are the homes where it makes sense to hold a public open house. Because the home shows so well, when the buyers find it online, they come specifically to see the home. They’re already excited before they come through the door. You get “real” buyers who are checking the house out as a potential buy, not just neighbors and “lookie loos.”

Real Estate Market #2 This market is filled with homes that are the good, and the not so good. They aren’t priced well or don’t show well. Most of these homes eventually sell, although some do not. When they do sell, it’s often after one or two price reductions. Distressed home sales, the homes that are short sales or bank owned properties, are part of this group of homes. But this market isn’t filled with just distressed sellers. It includes those homes which may not have been maintained well, are not updated, are overpriced or fit all of these labels. If a home doesn’t show well, have professional photos, and isn’t priced well, it will be part of real estate market #2.

If you want your home to be part of real estate market #1, prepare your home properly for sale. This means doing the updating you’ve wanted to do but never had time to get around to doing. Take out the blue flowered vinyl in your bath. Change your carpet so it’s no longer green. It means having your maintenance items done. Get your furnace serviced, the drainage issues resolved, your water heater checked, and your roof in good shape. Don’t go on the market until these items are done. Then make sure your home has professional photos, staging, a video, and a great price tag. There’s a very good chance your home will sell quickly, if it meets all these criteria.

Otherwise, your home will be in real estate market #2 and you’re going to have the “for sale” sign in your yard for a long time.

Despite what’s broadcast by the media, there are homes selling in a flash. Buyers are seeing this in the eastside real estate market. These homes fit real estate market #1. Buyers are in a great position to know what’s really happening with homes for sale because they’re out there on the eastside. They’re living it everyday as I’m doing. These buyers are in the real estate market trenches with me.

It’s too bad the media only reports on real estate market #2 and hasn’t gotten in the trenches with us to see the full picture.

Bellevue Real Estate • Bellevue, WA • For Buyers • For Sellers • Issaquah Real Estate • Issaquah, WA • King County Real Estate • Kirkland • Market Statistics • Real Estate • Redmond • Seattle • March 11, 2011

How Many Real Estate Sales were on Seattle's Eastside in February 2011?

by The Beaupain Team

Seattle Eastside Home Sales through 2-11

Seattle Eastside Residential Real Estate Sales Through February, 2011

Despite what the media is reporting, February Seattle-eastside real estate sales were the strongest we’ve seen in a very long time. If you look all the way back to December, 2009, there were more real estate sales in February than any other month, except March and April of last year. More homes sold last March and April because of the tax credit. However, this February’s higher sales numbers had nothing to do with a tax credit, but everything to do with buyers being more ready and willing to buy a home. In February there were 2446 homes for sale and 565 homes sold.

The other good news is the number of homes for sale last month was still low when compared to the other months shown on the chart. Because of this, there was a higher percentage of homes selling, 23% in fact.

So far this year, real estate sales on the eastside of Seattle are trending upward. Because of the strong economic base found in such eastside cities as Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, and Issaquah, I believe this trend will continue, at least for the near future.

If the number of homes for sale jumps up, it could have an impact on how quickly homes will sell. If we stay with lower levels of inventory, it should help the homes on the market sell more quickly. But if we end up with numbers like we often do in the summer when we have had 14000+ homes in King County on the market, sales will slow down.

Are you seeing more real estate sales in your neighborhood?