Marie Hagman
Recent posts
June 30, 2008
Recent posts on Redfin Seattle:
If you missed the Seattle Red Carpet Event you missed a good time and some really interesting morsels shared in the home buyer’s class - fortunately for you, the slides are posted.
Redfin mined some data on what homes are actually selling for vs. the price they were listed at. In general you can expect a couple percentage points of advantage on price if you’re buyer unless you’re shopping in Snoqualmie. Surprisingly, houses and condos in Snoqualmie are selling *above* asking price. Snoqualmie is best known for its Falls that plunge down into the Snoqualmie River (unlike it’s home prices that are soaring over asking). If homes are selling over asking price that usually indicates there are multiple offers. Any comments or anecdotal stories from buyers or sellers in that part of the County?
King County Houses Sale-to-List Prices, April 1 - June 23 2008
| City |
# Deals |
Final v. List |
Average Price |
| Auburn |
131 |
98.6% |
$338,870 |
| Bellevue |
198 |
97.4% |
$821,883 |
| Bothell |
66 |
98.5% |
$442,362 |
| Burien |
43 |
98.1% |
$347,888 |
| Des Moines |
55 |
97.7% |
$299,295 |
| Duvall |
30 |
96.9% |
$496,607 |
| Federal Way |
111 |
98.5% |
$328,122 |
| Issaquah |
123 |
97.3% |
$646,272 |
| Kenmore |
39 |
97.5% |
$506,493 |
| Kent |
196 |
98.9% |
$360,366 |
| Kirkland |
135 |
97.3% |
$787,105 |
| Lake Forest Park |
20 |
98.9% |
$461,073 |
| Maple Valley |
118 |
98.8% |
$411,227 |
| Mercer Island |
56 |
96.5% |
$1,441,888 |
| Newcastle |
34 |
97.6% |
$858,459 |
| Normandy Park |
13 |
95.4% |
$577,150 |
| North Bend |
26 |
97.5% |
$431,987 |
| Redmond |
192 |
97.6% |
$672,922 |
| Renton |
278 |
98.2% |
$415,984 |
| Sammamish |
144 |
97.4% |
$696,178 |
| SeaTac |
38 |
98.3% |
$302,714 |
| Seattle |
1442 |
98.4% |
$553,891 |
| Shoreline |
105 |
98.3% |
$418,262 |
| Snoqualmie |
79 |
100.2% |
$530,302 |
| Tukwilla |
23 |
98.5% |
$329,918 |
| Woodinville |
51 |
98.1% |
$727,207 |
King County Condos Sale-to-List Prices, April 1 - June 23 2008
| City |
# Deals |
Final v. List |
Average Price |
| Auburn |
35 |
98.2% |
$214,646 |
| Bellevue |
109 |
97.6% |
$373,350 |
| Bothell |
32 |
98.5% |
$259,634 |
| Burien |
17 |
99.1% |
$196,747 |
| Des Moines |
15 |
98.4% |
$257,233 |
| Duvall |
2 |
98.2% |
$234,757 |
| Federal Way |
34 |
99.0% |
$174,542 |
| Issaquah |
101 |
98.5% |
$312,222 |
| Kenmore |
8 |
99.7% |
$250,148 |
| Kent |
61 |
98.5% |
$230,368 |
| Kirkland |
101 |
96.9% |
$404,509 |
| Mercer Island |
5 |
95.1% |
$472,000 |
| Newcastle |
7 |
98.9% |
$313,836 |
| Redmond |
68 |
98.1% |
$333,342 |
| Renton |
58 |
97.7% |
$236,964 |
| Sammamish |
9 |
98.3% |
$291,033 |
| SeaTac |
9 |
96.6% |
$219,470 |
| Seattle |
538 |
98.2% |
$399,317 |
| Shoreline |
25 |
98.1% |
$249,899 |
| Snoqualmie |
15 |
102.0% |
$210,398 |
| Tukwilla |
9 |
99.2% |
$176,242 |
| Woodinville |
7 |
99.6% |
$295,932 |
June 26, 2008
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
Redfin just released its fourth major site update in the past five months. Here’s some of the exciting new goodness you might check out:
Check out Redfin Chicago: If you’ve seen every listing in Seattle (and California, Massachusetts and DC) and need more real estate porn, Redfin is now open for business in the Windy City with over 100k listings and 1.7 million properties. Take a peek at the Chicago Sweet Digs blog too.
Washington search area expanded to cover Western Washington. Hurray!
Google Street View and “Zoom-in” on the map: Fancy new zooming allows you to see the area around each listing and past sales like never before. You can now see the front of a sale record to know if it’s a good comp.
See Glenn Kelman’s post on the recent release for more on the new site.
June 20, 2008
The Redfin HQ here in Seattle is having another Red Carpet Event where the office is open to customers, plenty o’ pizza and beer are provided, there’s a home-buying class, then everyone talks real estate. They’re usually a good time. You have to sign up to attend.
Redfin HQ Seattle:
710 2nd Avenue Map
Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98104
The Agenda
4:30 – 5:30 Agent One-on-Ones
Meet your agent face-to-face and ask questions about neighborhoods and prices.
5:00 – 6:00 Class: Home-Buying, Zero to Sixty
Sign up for a class on the home-buying process, packed with useful links, checklists, neighborhood pricing data & insider insights on getting a good deal.
6:00 – 8:00 Pizza & Beer
Redfin customers, agents & executives compare notes on real estate & whoop it up. Drop in whenever you like, ask questions about how Redfin works, chat up our agents.
7:15– 7:45: Redfin.com Beta
See the super-secret next release of Redfin.com and tell us how to make it better. Just ask the lonely looking guy standing next to a monitor for a demo.
June 20, 2008
On June 24th the NWMLS is replacing the property status “Active STI” ( subject to inspection) with a different name and has added two more status designations.
Pending Inspection: signed Purchase and Sale Agreement and has an inspection scheduled. Was formerly “Active STI” (subject to inspection)
Pending Feasibility: purchase and sale agreement is signed pending a feasibility study
Pending BU Requested: purchase and sale agreement is signed but the seller would like to receive back up offers
After June 24th, you won’t find Active STI listings on any websites since they will be considered off market and not part of the NWMLS Standard IDX feed.
All pending statuses are considered off-market and will:
- not accrue market time.
- be included in the Pending section of the NWMLS monthly published statistics.
- not be included in the NWMLS Standard IDX feed and cannot be displayed on a web site
June 19, 2008
Does it seem like though there are more homes on the market, it’s still just as hard to find the right one? I went through 2 years searching and 3 real estate agents before I finally found a house I liked enough to buy. Now I still watch to see what new homes come on the market and I haven’t seen anything I like better (phewf! ). I get my daily Redfin email updates with all the new properties on the market in my search area and it’s only just a few listings per week. I’m so glad I pounced when I did because even though it’s a “buyer’s market” the search is not any easier. Seattle Bubble has a great post that inspired me to write this one, since I really thought I was the pickiest person on the planet and no one could ever possibly feel the same way I did.
When I was house hunting I saw plenty of homes but most were just not quite right. Top priorities were a good location and functional floor plan. If the first requirement was met and I actually would go visit the home, the unpleasant surprise of a weird renovation or small 1905 bedrooms would deflate my enthusiasm. My least favorite home renovation idea is to install a stairway from the kitchen to the basement (where the only original access was via an exterior stair). Beyond being just plain weird visually and functionally it seems like it would be an expensive project. I once saw a bedroom built off of another bedroom with a door separating the two. And corner fireplaces that have been added on are also bizarre in my book. Am I the only one who is annoyed by these little details?
After the 2005-6 house buying frenzy all the not-so-picky people dying to get into the market scooped up all the homes with “character” (aka anything they could get their hands on and a bank to finance) only the most discerning individuals remain in the market. As Seattle Bubble points out, the difference today is not the rate at which homes come on the market, it’s the rate at which they go off. The number of new listings is the same as in the 2005-06 timeframe but number of stale listings is going up and up and up. Bigger selection just isn’t better.
June 8, 2008
Recent Posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
I read a lot of blogs and news magazines about real estate. A lot. It’s an obsession. Fast Company recently published their list of top real estate related blogs. I saw a few of my favorites were missed so I need to augment their list. If you have any resource tips, please share! Here are my top 10 blogs:
1. The Real Estate Bloggers - Excellent analysis and commentary on national real estate numbers, news, and trends.
2. Housing Doom - A local housing bubble blog for the northwest. Has great data analysis.
3. Real Estate Investing for Real - Everything you ever wanted to know about investing in real estate, like for real.
4. HousingPANIC - Daily dose of pessimism or reality depending on your perspective.
5. Get Rich Slowly - Great personal finance blog. The first step to owning a home is getting your finances in order. This blogger dug himself out of debt and paid off his home. He has great finance tips for home owners and wanna be home owners alike.
6. Seattle Bubble - Seattle’s favorite bubble blog if you’re not bubbled out yet.
7. Curbed - Ultra hip New York real estate blog for a taste of what’s going on in the Big City.
8. Mortgage Insider - The OC knows mortgages.
9. Seattle Real Estate News - the Seattle PI’s Aubrey Cohen’s real estate blog.
10. Rain City Guide - Local real estate blog with a smattering of great topics.
Fast Company’s list of the Top 25 Real Estate Resources: From Mortgage Rates to Market Predictions:
1.HouseBlogger.com - A great resource for land service companies
to test their online marketing potential through the art of blogging.
2.Real Estate Investment Blog – Provided by EquityScout.com, you’ll find the most
current information about the real estate industry and how to properly evaluate
properties.
3.SmartMortgageAdvice – Russell Martin’s invaluable advice on financing and buying homes. He’s a
residential mortgage advisor with PERL and he’s there to help you.
4.Carnivalof Real Estate – The best blogs of the Real Estate Industry come together
to provide you with a wealth of information. Reap the benefits of maximum
community input and involvement.
5.Jim Crawford on ActiveRain – An Atlanta real estate columnist for
RealtyTimes.com gives you the run down on the latest industry news.
6.Flipping Houses – Billed as Real People Connecting to the Real World of Flipping
Real Estate, Flipping Houses provides free access to investment real estate
tips on maximizing ROI in the land services industry.
7.LegalWiz.com
– An online glossary of real estate, mortgage and legal terms for your
inquiring mind and browsing convenience.
8.Real Estate Investment Advice – A publication of The Oxford Club that helps promote the
true value of Real Estate stock and property.
9.Pension Real Estate Association – The premier association for institutional investors in real
estate grants users access to objective forums, research initiatives, and
valuable industry information exchange.
10.John Barker’s Mortgage Blog – A real estate expert from Oak Forest, Illinois answers your
questions about mortgage and refinances. In this selection, he tackles the
short sale.
11.Austin, Texas Real Estate Blog – Eric Bramlett, a techie and real estate whiz, lets
you inside the Austin real estate market.
12.How to Sell a House in Over 6 Months – For a little humor, Ben Cotton provides you with a tutorial
on an unconventional methodology for the industry.
13.Understanding Title Insurance – A concise description of what takes place in the
settlement process and what to expect at closing time.
14.Title Rate Premium Calculator– Calculate title rate premiums with the exclusive online Title Calculator
provided by Imperial Software Systems.
15.Finance Triangle – Tom Taylor of Thoma Capital Management educates end-users on how
to achieve higher rates of return with his excellent blog post.
16.Buying Foreclosure Property – The Flordia Upfront Mortgage Broker gives you great
tips on buying a foreclosure property. What to expect and what to be wary of. A
must read.
17.Mortgage Application Checklist – Know before you borrow. Wade Young offers an
excellent checklist that you can literally take to the bank.
18.Mike Jones on Active Rain – Another dedicated real estate blogger serving his
community for the common good. A great author. A great blog.
19.Business Bankruptcy Blog – How are commercial real estate leases treated in
bankruptcy, find out at Robert L. Eisenbach’s blog at Cooley, Godward and
Kronish.
20.Jay Well’s On Settlement Cost – Jay Wells expounds on the confusing concept of mortgage
closing and how to reduce the many fees involved.
21.Be Aware of Real Estate Handbook – Helpful Real Estate Tips explain closings, closing costs,
loan origination and many more confusing terms to greenhorns in the industry.
22.Will the Market Correct Itself? – Paul McFadden from Exact Financial group is taking
predictions on the resiliency of the real estate market’s current volatile
status. “Your predictions please?”
23.The Dynamic Portland Real Estate Market – A blog based in Portland, Oregon
offers up an informative hypothetical to educate end-users on why pricing is
more important than ever.
24.The Dying Days of Print Advertising – The Real Estate Industry needs to shift
its marketing gears says the Fairfield Vine.
25.Reverse Mortgage Loan Blog– Our list ender is a gem in the industry for seniors. A news aggregator on all
things reverse mortgage.
Open Houses today:
May 23, 2008
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
I love living in small spaces. Not only is it more environmentally friendly to reduce your bio-footprint but you also spend less on heating and housekeeping the fewer square feet per person you have.
Friends and real estate agents look at me like I’m crazy when I rule out a property for being too big. In Seattle finding a small house is not that hard since most homes near downtown were built before 1950 but it is difficult to find one that hasn’t been molested by an overzealous renovation.
Ever since the ’50s home buyers have been saying “supersize me” yet the average American family has been shrinking. The pendulum is now swinging back the other way for homes as more and more people are opting for fewer square feet that are more functional as opposed to the “bigger is better” mentality of recent decades.
A few reasons for the shift:
- Fewer married couples with kids
- More empty nesters are downsizing
- More young people that want to live near urban centers and have low upkeep
- Formal entertaining spaces are no longer the craze – do you really need two living rooms?
The most telling shift is in home values – according to the Money Magazine article, small homes are appreciating faster than their larger neighbors.
Over the years, many a seer has predicted the mass downsizing of the American home. Instead, the average size of newly built houses has continued to rise from just over 1,600 square feet in the late 1970s to nearly 2,300 now.
But a number of trends suggest that this time Americans really might be willing to swap their McMansions for McCottages. For starters, baby boomers, whose eldest members turned 62 this year, are increasingly becoming empty-nesters; with children gone, they need less space.
Families themselves have changed dramatically. Between 1970 and 2000, the percentage of nuclear families - married couples with kids - declined from 40% of households to 24%, according to the Census Bureau. And childless families are expected to increase. For them, the supersize house may no longer be the ideal.
Then too, Generations X and Y seem more intrigued with life downtown where they can enjoy easy access to restaurants and entertainment, a minimal commute and smaller, easier-to-care-for living spaces.
“Ask anyone how many rooms in their house they don’t regularly go into and most will admit that they actually live in a small percentage of their home,” says Marianne Cusato, an architect who used to design 3,000-square-foot-plus homes but now specializes in cottages.
In a February survey of potential home buyers by the National Association of Home Builders, 60% said they would rather have a smaller house with more amenities than the other way around.
“In the past, people would say ‘Give me space and I’ll add the features later,’ ” says Gopal Ahluwalia, the NAHB’s vice president of research.
…
If the trend toward smaller homes does take root, it could trigger a seismic shift in home values. A recent study by online house-pricing service Zillow.com found that less expensive houses appreciate more than costlier and presumably larger homes. If that continues, the ubiquitous McMansion may turn out to be the real estate bubble’s biggest booby prize.
Open Houses this weekend:
Photo credit flickr-member
May 9, 2008
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
This little piece was inspired by Neha Grey’s fabulous post on the Divine Caroline blog on “Colossal Castle or Humble Home? Same Price – Your Choice”. In real estate they say the three key things are “location, location, location” and here are few Seattle examples to add to Neha’s.
Lynnwood vs. Queen Anne - $500,000
In Lynnwood you could have this 5 bedroom 3.5 bath castle that even features a “bill pay station” in the kitchen. When you have a big house like this you’ll need a station for all those heating, water, and housekeeping bills.
In Seattle the same dough will buy you a teeny weenie one bedroom one bath condo on Queen Anne with a great view of the Space Needle and your refrigerator from the living room sofa.
Woodinville vs. Downtown - $1,000,000
In Woodinville you could own majestic views of your expansive 1.2 acre lot and emerald green front lawn or you could drop a cool mil in Downtown Seattle and look out onto the entire Puget Sound. In Woodinville you get four times the living space and probably about one fourth the traffic but it will take you four times as long to get to the Symphony or Barney’s.
Open houses this weekend:
May 7, 2008
With the uncertainty in the real estate market many people that might have been contemplating upgrading are staying put. Home sale volume is down significantly nationwide. If you still need more room or just want nicer digs, you might be thinking about digging into that home equity line of credit to renovate or expand your current place. Think again - many banks are putting the kibosh on HELOCs they gave out when the housing market was doing better… or as this blogger Brian Brady says, the banks “picked up their marbles and went home like spoiled children”.
Probably the most annoying thing about the whole situation is that it appears to be a desperate knee jerk reaction with broad brush policy as opposed to only targeting based on credit rating or delinquent payment.
From Mercury News:
Not only are banks less willing to issue popular home equity lines of credit, but some of the nation’s biggest lenders are freezing existing loans.
Countrywide Home Loans, for example, has sent letters to at least 122,000 homeowners nationwide informing them that they can no longer draw on their home equity lines of credit. Many homeowners rely on these pay-as-you-use-them loans to finance things like remodeling or college tuition, or to use for emergency expenses.
Morgan Hill homeowner Kelly Urbina received a letter from Countrywide two weeks ago telling her she can no longer access the credit line that she says the lender encouraged her to get when she bought her three-bedroom home in 2006.
“I still have a substantial amount of equity in my property, so I was surprised to get a letter that just said ‘we’re going to suspend your line,’ ” said Urbina, who works as an underwriter for Opes Advisors, a mortgage banking and wealth management firm in Palo Alto. She knows the value of her property has dropped somewhat, but not “significantly,” as Countrywide claimed in the letter.
May 7, 2008
You can own the most famous houseboat in Seattle (and probably the world)! The Sleepless in Seattle floating home on Lake Union is on the market. For a mere $2.5 million you too can use the same toilet Tom Hanks used. Something tells me that “123 Lake Union” is not the actual address since the home is really on Westlake Ave N. I would assume the listing is trying to be incognito due to the celebrity status.
123 Lake Union
Seattle, WA 98109
Price: $2,500,000
If all the Sleepless hoopla is too much for you or you just don’t want to shell out that much dough, you could just be a neighbor and pick up the other houseboat down the street that’s for sale at $675K. This home has just one bedroom and one bath as compared to the 4 beds and 2.5 baths in the Sleepless house.
2420 Westlake Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
Price: $675,000
