North End

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... 

Historic Downtown Snohomish Living

As the Antique Capital of Northwest, Snohomish, WA is home to nearly 450 antique dealers. Snohomish, with a population of 9145, was founded in 1859 and is listed in  National Register of Historic Places. This quaint river-side towne is famous for its Historic Homes and Gardens. Snohomish architecture contains a delightful variety of styles.  As an example, Blackman House is a must see. A Dutch colonial style with Queen Anne Towers, it is located on the corner of Fourth Street and Avenue D. Snohomish architectural collections reflect Queen Anne Victorians, English Tudors and Dutch Colonials as a testament to the diversity of Snohomish pioneer residents. Historic Homes Tour are offered for those who appreciate a stroll among gorgeous historic homes.  Snohomish Garden Club held its 25th Annual Snohomish GardenTour on July 26th 2009 featuring gorgeous gardens among Historic Snohomish Homes on a lovely Sunday afternoon.  Do not miss this Summer’s 2010 Garden Tour. Historic Downtown was a busy hub for milling, timbering and farming in 1860s. Today, there are delightful varieties of charming shops on First Avenue where visitors can take a day and…   Discover antiques, collectibles... 

Edmonds Center for the Arts, here comes 2010

As one of the premier performing arts centers in the region, Edmonds Center for the Arts continues to provide patrons with evening after evening of memorable and affordable entertainment.  There is an excellent range of music, theater and comedy presentations, made even better by the charming and beautiful waterfront city in which the events take place.  Edmonds is a delightful mixture of a rather traditional upscale seaside town, too settled and residential to be a resort but with a feeling of such, with excellent restaurant choices, galleries, antique and specialty shops, a chocolate shop, the inevitable beloved cafes, and a traditional village feel to the downtown area which tempts visits from residents all over the greater Seattle Metro area. At the performing arts center we’re in the midst of the 2009-2010 season, with upcoming events such as The Peking Acrobats (Sunday 1/31/2010), The Second City, a “unique blend of cutting-edge improvisation and satirical sketch comedy”  (Saturday, 2/13/2010), a Grammy nominated woodwind quintet, Imani Winds (Sunday, 2/21/2010), Angelique Kidjo, West African singer/performer gathering wide influences of R&B, funk, and... 

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.... 

Shoreline – Lake Forest Park Magical Strings Concert for the Holidays!

On Sunday, November 29th the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council presents Magical Strings Celtic Yuletide Concert. Now in it’s 31st year, Magical Strings will be performing at the Shorecrest Performing Arts Center at 3 p.m.  As many families and fans in the community have made this a holiday tradition, tickets will go fast.  Phil and Pam Boulding, the center of this musical whirl of Holiday sparkle, are magical at holiday time.  Yuletide Concert Magical Strings Ensemble The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park concert is the first of their holiday series (which goes from Portland to Mount Vernon) and is, according to Phil, “always exciting, the energy is up and high because it’s the first show of the season.”  This year is specially special…Brittany Boulding, one of their five children, has returned from NYC where she lived for years performing with major orchastras.  It’s her first year back and she is busy as she’s the Concertmistress of the Bellevue Philharmonic, as well as playing with the Seattle Symphony.  She will appear with the Magical Strings group and play a special solo as well as fiddling along with the Celtic music and jigs! ... 

Intentional Living Seminar lights up Lake Forest Park

Tuesday evening, as part of the “Lighten the Load and Light Up the Future” project in Lake Forest Park, Piper Lauri Salogga of Natural Balance (Seattle), spoke to a group on “Peace and Vitality, Living Intentionally in Your Home.” The lecture was supposed to go from 7 to 8:30, but at 9:30 participants were still eagerly questioning Piper, whose sparkling intensity won her instant fans.  At that moment, for everyone in the room, the most important thing was to understand how our arrangement and choices in our homes are affecting our moods, energy, ability to move forward in life, in fact. The school custodian, however, was begging us to leave so he could close up, and a last few eager questioners gathered around Piper in the dark chilly parking lot, unwilling to let her go. Explaining that “our surroundings have a powerful effect on us” Piper went on to teach us some of the basics of feng shui, including the bagua, a directional map that you can place over your home to find out which areas are connected strongly with various aspects of your life.  The ancient chinese energy management system includes the symbols of wood, metal, water, fire and air... 

What is a Buyer’s Agent and Why Do I Need One?

WHAT IS A BUYER’S AGENT AND WHY DO I NEED ONE?   Q:  How do Buyers’ Agents Get Paid?   A:  Their services are free to the Buyer.   Q:  How does that work?   A:  When the Seller’s Agent signs a listing agreement with the Seller, they negotiate a commission.  They then offer a part of that commission, usually half, but it varies, to the Buyer’s Agent.  This is listed in the Agent part of the MLS.  So when a Buyer chooses a home and purchases it, the total commission is subtracted from the Seller’s side of the totals, and is paid out to the Seller’s Agent and the Buyer’s Agent.   Q:  But if the Buyer’s Agent gets paid by the Seller, do they really work for me?    A:  Good question!  Actually the Washington State laws have changed.  It used to be that both parties worked for the Seller!  Even though you might pick out your own agent to tour and help you, they would still be obligated to guard the best interest of the Seller of any property you saw.  That was deemed unfair to the Buyer and the law has been changed.  The Buyer’s Agent by law owes the Buyer confidentiality and fiduciary loyalty… i.e. has a responsiblity... 

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,... 

Two Trading Tigers in Lake Forest Park

Lake Forest Park is a very highly valued community for its quiet and rich lifestyle as well as it’s proximity to Seattle and being right on Lake Washington.  In fact the Lake Forest Park Civic Center has a boat launch and a private beach that residents use in the summer to enjoy the water and swim.  There are also a few wonderful shops and restaurants.  While not large, it is enough and with enough variety to keep residents pretty busy and amused without going far to find something valuable.  One of the most amusing I always feel is Two Trading Tigers, which is neverendingly different and fun, and the two owners, lovely ladies you would expect to find running an art gallery as easily as a consignment shop, are full of great insights into home decoration as well as fun to chat with!  It’s really more like a friend’s house in a way Blue white yellow and orange make a summer statement where everyone is trading stuff that they are tired of but someone else will love. As they are “consignees of fine goods” you never know what you’ll find but there is always something I NEED. I love their taste and it’s fun to bring things from home that don’t... 

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... 

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