Downtown

Residential Housing Statistics in King County December 2009

I was just asked this week how is the Real Estate Market in King County since I mentioned earlier about Snohomish County. Well here is information which was requested about King County. Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reported as following statistics for Dec 2009. Jan 2010 stats will be published in the coming weeks. We still got 21 months of inventory in King County while Snohomish County got 19 months of inventory of homes for sale. UNITS ACTIVE PENDING SOLD DEC 09 UNITS 6,918 1,413 1462 DEC 08 UNITS 8,707 911 929 Total Unit +/- -1789 502 533 Difference DEC % -20.55% 55.10% 57.37% YTD 09 UNITS 33,744 23,019 16,022 YTD 08 UNITS 38,889 18,895 15,991 Total Unit +/- -5145 4124 31 Difference YTD % -13.23% 21.83% 0.19% As seen above chart, Residential active listings units dropped 20.55% from 8707 units in 2008 to 6918 units in December 2009 while Pending Residential units increased 55.10%, as Dec 09 pending listings were 1413 units compare to 911 units in December 2008.  There is a huge increase in sold units at 57.37%, 1462 units closed in 2009 vs 929 units in 2008.  Snohomish County Sold... 

Pioneer Square Walkabout, Seattle’s Historic Treasure Trove

Pioneer Square is a lot of things that Seattlites love.  It’s great shopping.  It’s lively and eclectic, with fun and funny takes on pubs and dining.  It’s near the ferries so you can pop over from the islands and stroll around to Pioneer Square in Seattle meet friends.  It’s in the “free bus” area of downtown, making it easy to get around and play, shop, enjoy coffee or the historic features everywhere you turn which lends it that “Old Seattle” feeling and ambiance.  Here is a little walkabout photo tour, and some examples of the city’s favorite haunts. Photo Tour, a few shots of Pioneer Square (click here) Historically, Pioneer Square is Seattle’s 2nd oldest neighborhood (the first settlers landed in Alki, now West Seattle, and establish a town but moved the second year to find a more sheltered spot for their settlement).  Since it’s adjacent to Quest Field and Safeco Field, the huge, relatively new sports stadiums that house Seattle’s treasured teams, the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks, it’s a popular place to go afterwards for a meal or a drink. After dark, it is full of entertainment in... 

Celebrating Seattle, New Year’s Parties

If these three words strike your heart like lightening as they did mine (underwater dance floor) you’ll want to be at the Bonza Bash at the Seattle Aquarium. This New Year’s Eve 2010 party is a first, as they say on the website, the inaugural bash, billed as A Diamond Night in the Emerald City.  At $75 per ticket or $230 for the VIP package, it’s about equivalent to the other AMAZING parties out there this year.  This one features the Mach One Jazz Orchestra.  Oh, and did I mention the underwater dance floor?  It’s for a good cause, too, supporting conservation work done by the Seattle Aquarium.  It’s black tie or cocktail attire (hey, go with the black tie!) and the mood is diamond bright!  And don’t forget the underwater dance floor. Giving the Bash some serious competition are two major parties, one is DList Magazine’s “New Year’s Eve 2010″ being held at Fremont Film Studios (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.).  If you haven’t at least been in the neighborhood when the Studios are lit up with a celebrity event, noticed the strings of limos and party-goers approaching (the friendly smiles of the Valet guys tell us it’s... 

Heating Bills a Thing of the Past?

I’m pretty sure if the power company offered you a month off from paying your bill, you’d say yes. It might not happen tomorrow, but according to an article I just read in a Sierra Club magazine, in a few decades looks like large power bills will be a thing of the past. As we all know, it’s possible to build homes and offices that will not only be energy self-sufficient, but will produce zero carbon emmissions. In the short run this might be more costly to build (which is why some elements of the building industry look on the movement to increase energy efficiency requirements in building standards with dismay) but in the long run it will more than pay you back for the investment… in other words, save you money. So where a Green-Built house might cost you however thousand dollars more now, it will more than pay you back over time in utility bill savings. So how do we make it practical and attractive not only to spend the $ up front for long term savings, but to include the more than 100 million homes and offices we already have in the new technologies that result in these long-term savings? Looks like the plan is in place. Economically it makes sense to retrofit.... 

Seattle Parks Provide WiFi Hot Spots

That’s what I love about Seattle, technology seamlessly integrated into life.  It’s no surprise with our city being billed “The most Educated City in America” because we have the highest rate of PhDsand higher degrees  per capita, and “The Smartest City in America” because we not only have more bookstores and independent bookstores per capita, but a truly impressive number of entrepreneurs making strides to change the world in positive ways.  Just as important, they are challenging the idea some people have that “green” living means more expensive and loss of profits.  Committed innovators are making sure that “green” living can still create profit so that a majority of companies can join the movement toward making our future safe from environmental change. Of course this should be no surprise with high profile leaders like Microsoft, Amazon, Expedia, and other futuristic companies being located here and drawing talent from all across the country and all over the world.  Even the medical services and hospitals here are at an impressivly high level compared with perfectly adequate services in other locations. As far as... 

AMAZING lodge for sale in Chilliwack, BC

I was up in the Vancouver BC area last week and my friend Laura Howren took me with her to see a property she just listed in Chilliwack. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, it’s a city in the Fraser Valley region in BC about an hour and a half away from Vancouver (home to the 2010 Winter Olympics!!) with an abundance of recreational activities…hiking, fishing, golfing, water sports, you name it. This log home is currently a short term executive rental, rented out on a nightly or weekly basis, and is in a perfect location as it’s only 35 minutes to Harrison Hot Springs and 25 minutes to Cultus Lake, a popular camping destination. Think 26′ ceilings with ceiling-to-floor windows that take advantage of light, beautiful Hans Rhodes natural rock fire place, large recreation room in the daylight basement and a private master suite on the upper level…it’s literally the perfect Getaway! With the exchange rates today at $1.08, with US dollars it’s like getting an 8% discount right off the top of the purchase price. The listed price is $969,000 and the home has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, about 2600 sqft and is just shy of 2.5 acres,... 

Dragonfish Asian Cafe Downtown near the Paramount

Seattle’s downtown is full of choices.  The Dragonfish Asian Cafe, right across from the Paramount is fun and worth a visit, especially if you’re in the area.  It’s been called “sort of a pop-culture Asian restaurant where you can snack on cuisines from ’round the Pacific Rim” by the Stranger critic, and features a very nice Happy Hour 3-6 and 9-1 daily, and all day Mondays.  Their Happy Hour features $2.95 sake, beer and cocktail specials, and $1.95 sushi.  The roasted duck spring rolls were great, and people love the Lemongrass Lime Ricky (vodka infused with lemongrass and lime peel).  We also tried the deep fried calamari, which was different and interesting with little tempura crumbles added.  Others I’ve heard are good include Chinese bacon and scallion mini-quiche, shiitake and salmon satay with a  noodle salad, and shrimp with cashews and house-made lemongrass vodka sauce.  The Dragonfish website will provide you with four menus, lunch, dinner, breakfast (dim sum on weekends) or happy hour.  Take a look, it’s even fun to read the menu!   #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float:... 

Metro Bus, Travel Green and Ride Public Transit

With the increase in gasoline prices in the recent past years, commuters in Seattle and surrounds have turned to a public transporation system that has long been an economical, convenient, not to mention eco-friendly way to travel; Metro Transit.  Though not the 10 cent fare that I last remember it being, it is still one of the most cost efficient modes of travel, you arrive to your destination on time and you don’t even have to pay for parking.  What better way to enjoy a rush hour commute than to sit back and read a good book or the morning newspaper, or just closing your eyes for thirty minutes listening to your I-pod Shuffle music and taking a quick power nap.  Whatever your reason for traveling mass transit,  it certainly ranks highly as one of the most stress free and reliable ways to travel.  With unleaded regular gasoline selling for $2.78 and up,  it is still a great bargain at 75 cents for kids, 50 cents for seniors, and adult fares for $1.75 during off peak one zone and $2.00 for peak times.  You can also purchase unlimited monthly bus passes starting at just $27 for youths, and the new ORCA card which is reloadable and for all age groups.  Transfers are received... 

Dim Sum at Sun Ya Seafood Restaurant

Seattle’s Internatonal District is famous for it’s exotic flavors and a myrid of choices, and rightly so.  One of my family’s favorite Sunday morning activities is heading to one of the traditional Dim Sum restaurants sprinkled throughout the International District.  Last week it wasn’t even Sunday, but we were nearby it was lunchtime, and what are we waiting for?  Sun Ya Seefood Restaurant was nearby and we stopped in. One of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods, the International District was at first Seattle’s Chinatown, which emerged at the edge of Pioneer Square in the 1880’s as Chinese immigrant workers arrived to work on the city’s emerging railroads, coal mines, and salmon harvests.  Now over 100 years later it has matured into the only neighborhood in America where Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese and Southeast Asians live and work together, side-by-side.  For Seattlites, the bounty of authentic and diverse asian cuisines is first rate.  But as I said, my family can’t resist the dim sum.  The restaurant we went to has a long history in Seattle, not to mention it’s own parking lot which is important in the crowded... 

Seattle’s Flagship REI Store

This is one of those things about Seattle I never get tired of… the access to the Great Outdoors and all it brings us… and one of our own local takes on that is REI, the “granddaddy of all consumer co-ops” which you can join… actually even on their website! Anything you can imagine doing in the Pacific Northwest, you can get outfitted for here…and I like passing the flagship store (see photo) as I go up and down I-5…it always makes me start musing on what my next hiking trip should be! And since I am not that good at planning my outdoor adventures, I find it a help to be a member of our local chapter (Cascade Chapter) of the Sierra Club, which then offers hikes and excursions each weekend which are guided by local members who know a LOT more than I do and also offer great opportunities to get to know like-minded outdoor lovers.  

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