Seattle is a "wealth island" with encouraging future expectations.

A "wealth island" is a 24-hour a day city with a diverse job base and good potential growth prospects. Seattle will have a high demand for more apartment housing and the commercial growth prospects look good. Personally I've seen rent rates increase with low vacancies so am not surprised that the forecast looks good. Click here to read the entire article.

A tale of two real estate markets; the luxury market and the rest of us.

Though it says the luxury market is going up and the rest of the market is going down it's not a complete picture. In Seattle the most desirable areas have low inventory and some homes are getting multiple offers. Just ask my clients who have been outbid on 2 homes already. Still, it's an interesting story. Click here to see the entire article.

The mortgage interest tax break is under scrutiny.

There is a lot of talk about eliminating the tax break for mortgage interest deductions. This will certainly impact those who get the most benefit, namely the younger, higher-wage-earner homeowners who buy a more expensive home with a higher mortgage. I think eliminating this for 2nd/3rd and investment properties wouldn't be such a bad idea. It's funny in the article that all those quoted are getting this break currently. Click here to read the entire article.

King county sales up more than 30% but median prices hardly move.

Single family home sales are up more than 30% August-over-August but the median prices remain flat. Eventually the increased sales will translate into higher prices. The slower luxury market (over $1m) has also kept the median prices down. Condos continue to struggle and now is a great time to get a good deal on a condo. Click here to see the full article.

Home prices up in the Seattle area for June 2011!

Case-Shiller reported home prices up in the King/Snohomish/Pierce counties combined, which is fantastic news, especially considering the challenges the outer areas are facing with Short-Sales and Foreclosures. All but one of the 20 metro areas that Case-Shiller watches had increases in June. Click here for the entire article.

Walkability score for Seattle, how we compare.

Seattle ranks #6 in "walkability" of the biggest 50 cities in the US. Our score is 74 while the US average is 43. Not too shabby. Click here to see the entire article.

Why it is a good time to buy.

Here are some compelling reasons as stated in the Wall Street Journal. I also think that for lifestyle reasons it's a great time for some people to buy and still not good for others, despite any facts about what is happening in the market. Click here for the full Wall Street Journal article.

New Listing in Madison Park.

Here is my new listing in Madison Park. It is TERRIBLY charming. Click here to enjoy the tour.

Good homes in short supply.

I've been in multiple offer situations on the last 3 transactions I've had, two of them with Buyer clients and one was my own listing. With my Buyers one property had 6 offers, the other had 3. It's been tough if you are a qualified Buyer. The inventory of good quality, well-priced homes is in short supply. In general, if a home is in really good shape and in a highly desirable area if it is priced right it will sell within the first week or so of being on the market. After 3-4 weeks the price will need to be reduced to attract the right buyer, the one who feels the price is worth what they are buying.

Seattle area home prices have a slight uptick.

Case-Shiller reports that the Seattle area (Tacoma to Everett and beyond) had a slight rise in home prices. A small increase is better than nothing...I'll take it any day. Click here for the full article.

CaseShiller showing a small decline in home pricing in the Seattle market.

Though the decline is less than 2% the bummer is that it is still a decline. Further out the prices are being forced down by Foreclosures and Short-Sales but closer in the prices are much more stable. Click here for the entire article.

Case-Shiller report reflects Y/Y decline of 6% in the Tacoma to Everett area.

It also says we are back to 2004 pricing but closer to Seattle it's not so bleak. Inventory of good, properly priced, homes is slim. We are seeing multiple offers in our office weekly and the overall mood of where we are headed is positive. Personally I'm busy right now with a hand full of good listings and a couple of active buyers. Click here to see the Seattle Times article about Seattle home prices.

Australian builder comes to Seattle area, plans to built 500 homes.

This is great news for Seattle for multiple reasons; there is international confidence that Seattle has a good future plus it will give much needed jobs to those in the building industry. Click here to read the entire article.

February median home prices slip, mostly due to Short-Sales and Bank-Owned homes.

In Seattle proper about 24% of all homes sold were either Short-Sales or Bank-Owned homes in the month of February. In southeast and southwest King County it was more like 54%, which is bringing down the median home price. Click here to see the entire article.

Ways to make your home more energy efficient.

Making your home more energy efficient doesn't always mean spending a lot of money. In our house we have changed a lot of our lamps to compact fluorescent bulbs, which have pretty good light quality these days. Next on the list, but more expensive, is to replace our water heater with an on-demand water heater. I've only heard good things about this type of system. After that it's a new front-load washer and dryer. Click here for a great website to give you some ideas on what you can do to make your home more energy efficient.

Home values drops don't always equal lower taxes.

Though home values have been dropping in Seattle there are some areas where property taxes continue to rise. That's because there are levies and bonds that are adjusting every year. Click here to read the entire Seattle Times article.

Update on the last post.

The Seattle Times should have said that in was about 1/3 of the homes that HAVE a mortgage on them, not 1/3 of all homeowners. That's a big difference.

One-third of homes owe more than the current value around the Seattle area.

Zillow claims that 1/3 of all homes in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties owe more than their house is worth. They state prices are back to summer 2004 prices. I think owners who have taken equity loans could be in serious trouble. Lesson learned; never use your home as a bank to borrow against it. Those who are "under water" pose a serious risk on the entire economy. Click here to see the entire article.

Rents are going up. Sorry renters, it's all about supply and demand and it will take a while to get more apartments built to handle the demand.

Rents are going up. Click here to read about some of the latest examples of these increases.

December house sales up in Seattle.

Sales went up but prices went down slightly. That might be the trend for a couple of months. After that I predict sales and prices to both go up steadily hand-in-hand. Click here to see the entire article about increased home sales.

Bellevue Towers goes back to the bank.

With only about 20% of the units sold in the last 2 years the Bellevue Towers goes back to the bank. Expect reductions of prices of around 20% to get sales moving. The condo market continues to take a beating in this market. Click here for the entire article in Seattle Times concerning Bellevue Towers.

Construction in Seattle for 2011, Apartments!

Though residential and office builders are nervous about breaking ground on new projects one area that is forging ahead is construction of new apartments. A predicted influx of 20-somethings into Seattle over the next few years creates a market for more renters. That's good news for everyone. I predict that many of those who come to Seattle will decide to stay and eventually buy a home or condo. Click here for the entire article found in the Seattle Times.