Archive for the ‘Bellevue’ Category
August 16, 2008
There’s the high, there’s the low, and there are the everything-in-betweens. However here, I thought it might be interesting to take a look a the high and the low in each of the Eastside’s most popular areas.
The least variation between the high and the low is in Woodinville–makes sense, the community is considerably more homogeneous. Bellevue has the most city to rural extremes, while Kirkland and Redmond fall somewhere in between, each host to many waterfront properties. It’s interesting to note that the highs and the lows include a good number of condos on either end.
Bellevue:
10700 NE 4th ST, #4302
4 br/4.5 ba, 6,937 sq.ft.
Price: $9,249,000 ($1,446 sq.ft.)
On Redfin 34 days
5721 122nd Pl SE #202
1 br/1 ba, 663 sq.ft.
Price: $176,800 ($267/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 115 days
Kirkland:
2033 Rose Point Ln
5 br/4.5 ba, 6,180 sq.ft.
Price: $7,600,000 ($1230 sq.ft.)
On Redfin 168 days
9900 NE 124th St. #1312
1 br/1 ba, 690 sq.ft.
Price: $154,950 ($225/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 43 days
Redmond:
W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE
4 br/4.5 ba, 5,300 sq.ft.
Price: $3,950,000 sq.ft. ($745/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 46 days
6674 138th Ave NE #547
1 br/1 ba, 822 sq.ft.
Price: $164,950 ($201/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 64 days
Woodinville:
14320 186th Pl NE
4 br/4.5 ba, 6,370 sq.ft.
Price: $1,985,000 ($312/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 149 days
12921 NE 192nd Pl
2 br/1 ba, 1,000 sq.ft.
Price: $133,000 ($133/sq.ft.)
On Redfin 15 days
August 5, 2008
My first experience with Lake Sammamish was Vasa Park. The park is fun—so cool it’s actually called Vasa Park Resort—and it is surrounded by moderately priced and well kept homes. The area has a lot to offer Eastsiders. Walking distance to the lake and surrounding parks, a safe and family-friendly community, close proximity to businesses (eh hem, Microsoft) and easy access to I-90.
Nearly 45 homes are currently listed for sale within five miles of Vasa Park. The average listing price is $699,950. That’s actually not bad considering all the homes are at least two bedrooms and not pint sized as you would find with homes closer to Seattle. It’s not the “chepper chicken”, but it’s certainly not grim compared to homes near the water in Mercer Island, Kirkland or Lake Union. The more I think about it, finding a waterfront home with a private dock on Lake Sammamish for less than $1.5 million seems too good to be true – but not near Vasa Park.
Are you interested in living near a “resort” within walking distances to one of the area’s most popular lakes? If yes, then these homeowners recently listed their home just for you. Awe.
16557 SE 30th St - $469,000
4 bed, 3 bath
Needs work all around but great remodel opportunity
16666 SE 27th St - $648,000
3 bed, 2.75 bath
Lake views, impeccable hardwood floors, pleasant and fun kitchen and living area
16802 SE 28th St - $729,000
3 bed, 2.75 bath
Lake views, some updating needed, unique (but spacious) master bathroom, 900 sqft deck (my favorite!)
2500 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE - $1,275,000
3 bed, 3 bath
It doesn’t get much closer to the water than this (see picture), private lot, handcrafted wood framing, neat loft and wind storage areas, vaulted ceilings
August 4, 2008
Every so often, it’s interesting to take a peek at what you can get for your money. Today’s magic number is $500,000, and for that kind of money, you can get yourself some pretty cool digs around town.
Urban living on the Eastside in Bellevue’s Washington Square:
10610 NE 9th Pl, #500
1 br/1 ba, 683 sq.ft.
Price: $499,950
Lot Size: Zippo–It’s a condo!
Year Built: 2008
MLS 28084926
Wine tasting on weekends in Woodinville:
16860 128 Pl NE
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,000 sq.ft.
Price: $500,000
Lot Size: 5,941 sq.ft.
Year Built: 2001
MLS 28129544
Room to run in Redmond:
9743 159th Pl NE
4 br/1.75 ba, 2,658 sq.ft.
Price: $499,000
Lot Size: 9,800 sq.ft.
Year Built: 1977
MLS 28044794
A Kirkland cul-de-sac:
11332 NE 129th St
4 br/2 ba, 2,300 sq.ft.
Price: $499,900
Lot Size: 10,000 sq.ft.
Year Built: 1974
MLS 28058639
An Alki Beach cottage:
2252 Bonair Pl SW
2 br/1 ba, 1,930 sq.ft.
Price: $499,000
Lot Size: 2,720 sq.ft.
Year Built: 1927
MLS 28132024
A brand new Belltown beauty:
81 Clay St, # N427
2 br/1.5 ba, 944 sq.ft.
Price: $499,000
Lot Size: Zippo–it’s a condo.
Year Built: 2008
MLS 28107444
Captivating on Capitol Hill:
525 Belmont Ave E #4F
1 br/1.75 ba, 961 sq.ft.
Lot Size: Zippo–it’s a condo!
$499,950
Year Built: 1965
MLS 28067716
Charming in Fremont:
4002 Linden Ave N
3 br/a ba, 2,230 sq.ft.
Price: $499,000
Lot Size: 3,400 sq.ft.
Year Built: 1924
MLS 28119904
August 1, 2008
Open House Date and Time:
Sunday, August 3rd, 1-4pm
4615 123rd Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98006
Seller Comments
Coffee Shop of Choice: We constantly find ourselves at the Starbucks in Coal Creek Village for our caffeine fix.
Favorite Restaurant in the Area: We love Yea’s Wok in Coal Creek Village and McCormick & Schmick’s seafood restaurant in Bellevue downtown.
Favorite Places to Go: Bellevue Arts Museum and Beneroya Hall in Seattle make for a great day out.
Best Features of the Home: The wonderful Newport Hills neighborhood, which was ranked #1 Suburban Neighborhood to live in by Seattle Magazine in 2007.
Favorite Room: The living room with brick fire place and vaulted ceiling.
Any Remodeling Since Last Sale Price: Yes! The house is fully renovated. Kitchen: white cabinets, Whirlpool oven, Whirlpool microwave and GE Profile dishwasher. Sauna downstairs.
Most Romantic Spot: Gene Coulon Memorial Park is a great place to walk along the lake and watch the sunset in the evening.
What’s in the Neighborhood: Swim and Tennis Club. Factoria Mall just minutes away.
What I Will Miss the Most: The beautiful, quiet neighborhood.
July 24, 2008
Get out this weekend and sample urban style living on the Eastside with Bellevue’s annual street fair festivities. Browse for pleasure or pick up some treasures to decorate your home! These fairs run Friday, July 24th through Sunday, July 26th so there’s ample time to get those walking shoes ready!
Bellevue Festival of the Arts
Located in the Cost Plus World Market parking lot, this is an outdoor arts and crafts fair where you can find local treasures such as jewelry, glasswork, woodwork, and textiles galore. Over 200 artists are represented in this festival and it’s free to attend. Hours are Friday and Saturday, 10-8 and Sunday, 10-6.
6th Street Fair
If the Bellevue Festival of Arts isn’t enough, walk over to NE 6th St near 106th Ave NE where you’ll find another gathering of more than 120 other artists and their fine handiwork including baskets, beadwork pottery and more. Don’t miss the munchies, the music, and craft activities for the kids. Also, free to attend, hours are Friday and Saturday, 10-8, and Sunday 10-6.
Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair
Free admission into the Bellevue Arts Museum during the festivities brings you up close and personal with another 300 artists displaying their work in everything from glass blowing, to ceramics, to painting. The Kidsfair offers free painting, drawing, and chalk art projects for the kids, as well as the High School Arts Expo. Museum hours during the festival are 9:30 am-9:30 pm Friday and Saturday, and 9:30 am-6 pm on Sunday. Kidsfair hours are 9:30 am to 6 pm Friday -Sunday.
July 22, 2008
What does a “Super” store actually mean? What is a SuperK or in Bellevue’s case, a SuperTarget?
Is it just bigger? Do they carry bananas?
Rumors circulating the blogosphere say the Factoria target will be not only be plowing down Grazie to make way for the new Marketplace @ Factoria development, but it will be stealing more square footage for a new “Super” title. We’ll watch out for confirmations and be sure to let you know the deets.
I have never been to a SuperTarget, but the idea screams Wal-Mart to me, which is not everyone’s favorite idea for a neighbor. So, in the theme of re-thinking supersized retail, let’s take a look at Eastside homes new on the market this week that fall on the opposite side of super—less than 1,000 square feet to be specific. Perfect for a twosome or a lonesome.
13301 SE 79th Pl, Newcastle - $276,000
844 sqft., 1 bed, 1 bath
5722 SE 122nd Pl #235, Bellevue - $225,000
784 sqft., 2 bed, 1 bath
973 NE Ingram St #202, Issaquah - $199,950
933 sqft., 1 bed, 1 bath
July 22, 2008
If you’re anywhere on the Eastside, you can’t help but notice the ever-changing skyline of Bellevue, a continuously growing, not-so-mini-metropolis of it’s own. The silhouettes of skyscrapers paint the sky, as do the shadows of looming cranes, poised to build upward.
Bellevue is clearly coming into its own. Just a few months ago, Bellevue reigned at the top of Fortune’s top 100 list of Best Places to Live and Launch.
Huge corporations exist symbiotically with startups, a booming downtown abuts healthy residential neighborhoods, and the rising skyline is tempered by an abundance of parks, as well as lakeside and mountain views. Flash retailers such as Neiman Marcus draw regional shoppers, but Bellevue’s excellent healthcare and schools are key attractions for relocating families.
The city’s condos are quickly filling with trendy, young professionals in their 20’s and 30’s who are getting the most out of “urban living on the Eastside,” living and working in close proximity. With continued job growth in the works for employment biggies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, and Expedia in the area, the number of downtown residents is expected to double in the next two years, according to the Seattle Times.
Businesses have been quick to pick up on this trend. Safeway, for example, opened a new, upscale store on Bellevue Way Northeast, which very much encompasses this new urban style of living. Complete with sushi-bar, a selection of prepared foods that would make your head spin, and a gelato bar, this store sits beneath the Avalon Meydenbauer project, home to 368 apartments.
Urban living on the Eastside can still be found for a reasonable cost (if you’re willing to go with an older condo that might need some updating):
200 99th Ave NE #33
2 br/1.75 ba, 1,164 sq.ft.
Price: $499,900
MLS 28105827
401 100th Ave NE #311
2 br/1.75 ba, 1,230 sq. ft.
Price: $399,500
MLS 27184970
Or if you’re a fan of newer construction, you can live for a pretty penny more, a few steps away (don’t worry, these probably don’t need updating!) :
10015 NE 4th St., #4002
2 br/1.75 ba, 1,561 sq.ft.
Price: $1,385,000
MLS 28114384
535 100th Ave NE #3A
2 br/2.5 ba, 1,638 sq.ft.
Price: $995,000
MLS 28100980
July 20, 2008
I never realized the benefits of living near bike trails until I tested the 520 and I-90 commuter trails. Many thanks to Seattle bike commuter, Dave Treadwill, whose blog helped me locate the most bike-friendly Bellevue back roads. While my biking skills leave little to be desired, today’s trip got me thinking that all I really want to do is ditch the car.
After experiencing the luxury and convenience of living on the I-90 bike path, I’m beginning to look at alternative transportation as a new home selling point. Maybe it was this home’s proximately to the 520 bike route that scored its recent sale for $635,000.
Judging from current economic forecasts, more people need to research alternative transportation conveniences when buying a home. Living on the Burke Gilman trail or adjacent to commuter bike paths are HUGE perks… for the right buyer.
Fortunately, we are more likely to find buyers who are interested in this type of fanfare in the Northwest. Reading this post from the Mercer Island blog, Surrounded By Water, we know at least one person enjoys bike commuting. Read the post for a step by step guide to commuting by bike from Mercer Island and the Eastside to downtown Seattle.
Seattleites, the weather will be nice this week. Get out. Take a walk or (gasp) bike to work. Maybe you will find that you, too, live near a pedestrian commuter path that may someday be your own personal cash cow.
Do you like to bike, and are you looking for a home on the Eastside that supports your hobby? Check out this home in the Kelsey Creek neighborhood. They love biker riders (at least they always waive to me!). Or try this home in the pleasant Glendale neighborhood of Bellevue. Not only is it smack dab on the 520 bike path, but it’s also close to some of the Eastside’s best schools.
Interested in what bike path I took today? The map below shows my path from I-90, and you can go here for more detailed street directions.
July 15, 2008
I’ll be honest. I hate doing maintenance work on the home I live in. HATE IT! Come on people. I know I’m not the only one. Some homeowners, such as myself, like to believe everything from the kitchen sink to the vinyl siding was built to last through a nuclear explosion. Well, imagine my disdain when I read a recent article on the Eastside real estate blog, Bellevue Bubble that told me exactly what I didn’t want to hear. Your house DOESN’T last forever. According to a National Association of Homebuilders study (downloadable here), a paint job typically lasts 15 years. Kitchen cabinets should last 50 years, according to the association.
The study also determined the median age of a home in the United States is nearly 32 years old. To me, that means I have 18 years before I need to replace the cabinets. To others (perhaps more house-responsible individuals), it means we better take care and elicit constant maintenance on our homes.
To many real estate investors, it’s a good thing the housing market has a lot of people like me in it. Purchasing a home that needs work can be profitable. Sometimes it is just too easy! What do you think? Are the fixer-uppers below—all new listings or recent price reductions—candidates for flips or a high-end rentals?
Please let your answers be yes, otherwise, I’m going to have to pick up a drill or a paint brush soon.
4503 89th Ave SE, Mercer Island
$748,896
(NOTE: The seller is actually accepting offers as low as $649,000)
4 bed, 2.25 bath
What needs work? Exterior paint, landscaping, and… it doesn’t offer any other pictures so we can assume probably EVERYTHING else.
14415 141st Pl SE, Renton
$324,950 (Down $10,050)
3 bed, 1.75 bath
What needs work? Interior floors, kitchen counters and cabinetry, exterior patio and living area.
523 Main Ave S, Renton
$199,000 (Down $5,000)
3 bed, 1.5 bath
What needs work? The home is self proclaimed a “handyman’s special.” I’m no assessor, but the foundation looks crooked and the roof quite slanted. At $126 a square foot, let’s assume it all needs work.
July 11, 2008
Open House Dates and Times:
Saturday & Sunday, July 12th & 13th, 1-4pm
1223 112th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
Seller Comments
Coffee Shop of Choice:
Hands down the Starbucks on NE 106th at NE 8th! The crew is great but the clincher is the fact that it is attached to Barnes and Noble; always giving us an excuse to browse our favorite magazines, check out the latest novels and “how to” books. Comfy chairs and sofas!
Favorite Restaurant in the Area:
The Melting Pot is our favorite for a romantic slow dinner or just a late night dessert after a movie. When we want a great steak, particularly in the winter when we don’t barb-a-que as often, Daniels is our place of choice. Friends of ours like Ruth Chris (both a stone’s throw away) but the view from Daniels can’t be beat. The bar is nice too! For seafood definitely go to Seastar Restaurant and Raw Bar (ummm oysters). We can’t leave out our local time honored drive in - Burger Master. Plan to eat at “off times” as this place is always hopping.
Favorite Places to Go:
Bellevue downtown park, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue Arborium, Bellevue Library, Bellevue farmers market, Lincoln Square, Bellevue Shopping Center… the list goes on… see more in “What’s in the neighborhood?” below.
Best Features of the Home:
Our home is definitely a downtown Bellevue oasis! Lush landscaping with deck, stream, falls and pond. You know you are in the middle of downtown Bellevue with I 405, 520, & 90 minutes away, and the “city and all its amenities’” at your fingertips, but you won’t know it when you pull into the driveway. Tucked away in the privacy of your yard you can’t hear anything but the birds and rushing water (even standing at the kitchen sink or in the master bedroom). Lighted paths connect the back and front yard. Raised gardening beds, wine grape vines and an even larger pond that is frequented by a Mallard drake and hen. Yes, the feeling of tranquility is the best feature of the home.
Favorite Room:
The open kitchen and family room is our favorite in the winter months. We love to cozy up to the (certified) wood stove and look out at our yard. The bird feeder out the family room window is always busy with a large variety of birds and a few frustrated squirrels! Looking out the French doors we can see the stream, falls and pond. We get some great icicle formations in the winter! Summer we throw open the French doors and live and entertain on the deck and in the yard. Our friends love to meander the paths under the arbors and explore the extensive landscaping. All said the deck with the water feature and landscaping is the best!
Any Remodeling Since Last Sale Price:
The entire home has been extensively remodeled. An additional fuse box was added to provide plenty of power for the additions. New appliances (Kitchen Aid dishwasher, Maytag refrigerator with exterior water and ice, Kenmore oven/stove, Sharp microwave, Whirlpool washer and dryer set- all included). New lighting throughout. New double-pane Milgard windows. Porcelain tile/hardwood floors/carpet all new. All new Hunter Douglas window blinds. New certified wood burning fireplace. Expansive enclosed storage cabinets in the garage. New built-in work bench and cabinets. Drop down stairs to attics for additional storage. Deck and wood fencing added.
Most Romantic Spot:
In the winter it would be curled up on the sofa in the family room watching/listening to the wood burning fireplace and watching the birds outside the window. Always good smells from the kitchen. Summer, sitting on the deck hearing the falls, watching the birds bath in the streams/falls, enjoying the fragrant flowers, watching the humming birds, anticipating how delicious the food will be that is sizzling on the barb-a-que.
What’s in the neighborhood?:
You are in downtown Bellevue - what isn’t here? Bellevue Square/Lincoln Square and surrounding areas has all the shopping amenities’ one can want. The Bellevue Art Museum is nice. We love the movie theaters at Lincoln Square, the seats are the best! The downtown park offers ice-skating in the winter and 4th of July fireworks in the summer. A large playground area with great areas to walk and look at the fountains. The Bellevue Arboretum has a great light display for the winter holidays. In our opinion, downtown Bellevue has it all!
What I Will Miss the Most:
We love the area but it is our home we will miss the most. The convenience to Bellevue’s amenities and the freeways and yet the feeling when you pull in the driveway that you are in your own sanctuary. The privacy that the large lot provides with its lush landscaping, water features and deck will be hard to impossible to reproduce. It has been a great home!
