Archive for the ‘Redmond’ Category
June 20, 2008
If you’re up in our greater Seattle area, to join the notorious Microsoft family, and you’re looking for a place to settle down, you’ll be interested in a few facts that I’ve run across. Data from late 2007 shows that Microsoft employees live in the following areas:
- Redmond (21%)
- Seattle (17%)
- Bellevue (8%)
- Sammamish (8%)
- Kirkland (7%)
- Bothell/Kenmore/Woodinville (7%)
- Issaquah (4%)
- Other (22%)
(Source: Microsoft from the Seattle P-I)
It’s interesting that about one-fifth of Seattle area employees live and work in the Redmond area, which is probably about a 15 minute commute in from most parts of Redmond. Almost as many make the great commute over the 520 bridge, which is about a 30 minute commute in no traffic (like on a Sunday morning), or closer to an hour or significantly longer, if you’re very unlucky. Slightly more than one third (36%) live in surrounding Eastside areas, including Bellevue, Sammamish, Kirkland, Woodinville, and Issaquah, which are all about 30 minutes out.
In the fall of 2007, Microsoft gave birth to the Connector bus, its own bus service to provide employees with transportation from these various population hubs into the Redmond campus. Surely you must have seen one of these cushy, Wi-Fi enabled buses whiz past you on the road! Though the program started with 14 shuttle buses running, the program has been so successsful that Microsoft just extended its service, now providing transportation to even more areas. According to Microsoft:
- Of the 1,900 unique riders in November 2007, 61 percent said their previous commuting method was single-occupancy vehicle (SOV). That’s 1,159 SOVs off the road!
- Each employee riding the Connector will reduce about 30 pounds of carbon emissions each day and nearly 5.5 tons annually.
- Greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced as a result of employees taking 800 fewer car trips and driving 32,200 fewer miles each day, or 200,000 fewer car trips and more than eight million vehicle miles annually.
It’s a brilliant idea, I think! Aside from the green benefits of the Connector bus, Microsoft has figured out a way to get an extra 2 hours of work time out of its employees!
June 9, 2008
The May statistics were just released a couple of days ago from the NWMLS, and there weren’t too many surprises here. Seattle Bubble gives an in-depth analysis on King County stats, along with the following King County SFH market summary:
May 2008
Active Listings: up 42% YOY
Pending Sales: down 39% YOY (new record)
Median Closed Price*: $440,000 - down 6.2% YOY (new record)
On the Eastside, active listings of SFHs are up 54% from last year, with pending sales down 40%. Median price also closed down by 6%. The strongest Eastside SFH area reporting in during May was area 550 (Redmond/Carnation), where number of closed sales and median price were neck in neck with the same time, last year. Also consistently a strong performer, area 520 (Bellevue, west of 405 ) reported a 19% increase in median sales price, though the % change in number of closed sales was significantly down as well. The largest decline in median price of SFH occured in area 500 (Issaquah/South Bellevue), where median price slipped by over 23%, and the number of closed sales was down by half.
Eastside condos weren’t exempt from the downfall either, with the May median price 10% below last May’s median price. The total number of condo sales closing during May were down 37%, and inventory remains nearly twice as high (+93%) over last year. However, only three Eastside regions submitted price declines compared to last year, including area 20 (Bellevue, west of 405), area 540 (Sammamish), and area 550 (Redmond/Carnation).
No suprise, we’re gonna have to hang on longer for any sign of a recovery.
June 7, 2008
June’s arrived alright, though it just doesn’t feel like it! However, in case you’re wanting to get out this weekend, but still stay dry, these homes are all new on the market in the last week, and will be open on Sunday, June 8th. As an added bonus, these homes are all located close in to Microsoft, so click away and if something catches your eye, it’s worth a look!
All homes scheduled to be open Sunday, June 8th, 1-4 pm.
Bellevue
13427 NE 12 Pl.
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,520 sq.ft.
Price: $899,000
MLS 28097267
1912 164th Ave NE
4 br/2.25 ba
Price: $535,000
MLS 28090452
Redmond
16628 NE 118th Way
5 br/2.5 ba, 3,270 sq.ft.
Price: $749,500
MLS 28097201
18551 NE 57th St (Condo)
3 br/2.25 ba, 1,669 sq.ft.
Price:$430,000
MLS 28093942
Woodinville
21219 NE 132nd Ct.
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,100 sq.ft.
Price: $875,000
MLS 28093056
May 23, 2008
Open House Date and Time:
Sunday, May 25th, 1-4pm
16210 NE 46th St
Redmond, WA 98052
Seller’s Comments
Coffee shop of choice: Starbucks makes it convenient with a location around every corner. Regardless of the route taken to work, I don’t have to go out of my way for my morning latte.
Favorite restaurant in the area: Thai Ginger at Redmond Town Center is fantastic. The food is flavorful and reasonably priced.
Favorite places to go: We like to walk to Marymoor Park and enjoy the trail, dog park, or just watch the activity.
Best features of the home: We love the open floor plan and spaciousness. The house is light and bright…so comfortable.
Favorite room: The family room is our favorite. We like to curl up in our comfy couch to watch a movie.
Any Remodeling?: Most of the house has been updated since we purchased the house.
- Exterior paint and shutters
- Landscaping
- Interior paint
- Trim/chair rail/crown moulding
- Lighting
- Bathrooms: granite countertops, tub and surround
- Updated cabinet color and hardware in kitchen and bathrooms
- Blinds/drapes
- Granite fireplace surround
- Updated built-ins
Most romantic spot: Sitting on the back deck, enjoying the privacy and listening to the frogs croaking in the evening is the best!
What’s in the neighborhood: Microsoft, Marymoor Park, Cascade View Park, Redmond Town Center
What I will miss the most: We will miss our nightly walks through the quiet and friendly neighborhood that can take us through the Microsoft campus.
May 5, 2008
The NWMLS stats for April were released earlier today and things weren’t all bad for King County in April, traditionally one of the better months for real estate. Overall, the month of April brought 5,196 new listings for a total of 15,359 active listings, which is more than 55% higher than the total inventory, measured same time last year. Both the number of pending and closed sales during April 2008 were about one-third less than the stats for same time, last year; 2008 April pending sales amounted to 2,419, while the number of closed sales during the month were slightly less at 2,020 at an average price of $498,861. Overall median price for King County weighed in at $410,000, all in all pretty flat (technically a 0.67% increase) from April of last year. The complete NWMLS King County breakouts for April can be found here.
Taking a closer look at the Eastside, total inventory is still high (surprised, heh?!), 75% over last year’s number. Also in line with the rest of King County the numbers of pendings and closed sales are about 30+% below 2007 stats. Median price overall, however—flat, flat, flat, 0.06% over April of last year though sales of SFH are sustaining this measure, as when examined separately, the median price of SFH is down by 6.65% and the median price of condos is down by just over 9%.
Eastside Highlights:
Area 510 (Mercer Island) – Way to go, 510! The median price of sold SFH is actually almost 12% up over last year’s price and the number of closed sales was actually just about 9% over last year’s also. (It’s no surprise though, that the economy isn’t stopping those who have money from using it.)
Area 530 (Bellevue, East of 405) – Another decent stat for April, with the number of closed SFH sales almost 2% higher than same time last year. Median price however, declined by just over 8%.
Condo sales – Tsk, tsk… No stand out winner areas in condo sales, though in general, prices aren’t too far off of last year’s. The biggest drop in median price was around 20% in area 540 (East of Lk. Sammamish), where competition’s much tougher, as this area has the highest number of active condo listings on the market.
May 5, 2008
Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
Source: RealtyTrac.comRealtyTrac’s March report on the U.S. foreclosure market which includes filings on defaults, auctions, and bank repossessions. Nationwide, foreclosure filings totalled 234,685 during the month, which is 5% greater than February’s total.Specifically, RealtyTrac’s CEO stated that On a year-over-year basis, default notices were up nearly 57 percent and bank repossessions were up nearly 129 percent, but auction notices were up only 32 percent, indicating that more defaulting homeowners are simply walking away and deeding their properties back to the foreclosing lender. This deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure process allows the lender to take possession of a property without putting it up for public foreclosure auction.Tops of the list for foreclosure rates-Nevada, California, and Florida, while California, Florida, and Ohio reported the highest foreclosure totals overall during the month of March.As for home-sweet-home, Washington ranked number 16 based on foreclosure rates, with 3,830 total foreclosures in March 2008,which could be as high as 73% over February’s number and 121% over March of 2007.
Redfin’s latest Freakish Depth platform release, which now includes FSBO’s and foreclosure properties, brings up a few Eastside properties on the list:
BELLEVUE
16228 Northup Way
3 br/1 ba, 950 sq.ft.
Bank Listed Foreclosure#: 2233765
KIRKLAND
13353 NE 61st St.
4 br/4 ba, 3,010 sq.ft.
MLS 28062471, Price: $819,900
Bank Listed Foreclosure#: 2233691, Price: Unknown
REDMOND
9527 171st Ave NE
2 br/1 ba, 1,150 sq.ft.
Bank Listed Foreclosure#: 2211474, Price: Unknown
March 29, 2008
Spring usually arrives as a welcome relief from a long winter. Flowers awaken and rise from their sleepy bulbs, leaves begin to fill barren branches, and cherry blossoms burst in radiant color and glory. With these other signs of emerging life from a long winter’s sleep, home buyers also begin to pop up here and there, gathering flyers, touring open houses, and thumbing through comps. But, will this wacky winter keep the flowers from blooming or the buyers from buying? We have yet to see how the usual prime selling time will fare in 2008, but for now, take a gander at this week’s Eastside price reductions of $25,000 or more.
If you’ve a keen eye, you may spot a deal or two in here that certainly may be worthy of a look!
BELLEVUE
3222 110th Ave SE
5 br.3.5 ba, 3,080 sq.ft.
Reduced $45,000 to $1,230,000
MLS 28019971
12331 SE 23 Pl
5 br/1.75 ba, 2,970 sq.ft.
Reduced $40,000 to $749,000
MLS 28022842
1615 125th Ave SE
3 br/1.75 ba, 2,680 sq.ft.
Reduced $30,950 to $719,000
MLS 27196392
ISSAQUAH
1593 26th Ct NE
4 br/3.5 ba, 3498 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $1,249,000
MLS 27081867
1613 26th Ct NE
5 br/4.5 ba, 3,743 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $1,268,000
MLS 27199322
KIRKLAND
11019 NE 104th St
4 br/3.5 ba, 3,760 sq.ft.
Reduced $100,000 to $1,100,000
MLS 28052096
404 11th Ave W
6 br/5 ba. 6,030 sq.ft.
Reduced $100,000 to $2,695,900
MLS 28017788
8131 NE 115th Way
4 br/2.75 ba, 2,720 sq.ft.
Reduced $54,000 to $795,000
MLS 27206470
1324 3rd St
4 br/3.75 ba, 4,000 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $1,299,950
MLS 27205189
12516 NE 94th St
3 br/2.5ba, 1,920 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $599,990
MLS 28034057
11433 80th Ave NE
5 br/3.5 ba, 3,740 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $700,000
MLS 28026148
11026 100th Ave NE
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,940 sq.ft.
Reduced $30,000 to $819,000
MLS 28026569
8005 NE 124th St.
3 br/1 ba, 2,500 sq.ft.
Reduced $25,000 to $599,950
MLS 28025419
REDMOND
21230 NE 92nd Pl
5 br/3 ba, 3,250 sq.ft.
Reduced $53,000 to $1,230,000
MLS 27199382
7820 172nd Pl NE
5 br/1.75 ba, 2,510 sq.ft.
Reduced $25,001 to $499,999
MLS 2800264
SAMMAMISH
24627 SE 2nd Pl
4 br/2.75 ba, 3,770 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $1,150,000
MLS 28016696
25709 NE 10th St
4 br/2.5 ba, unspecified
Reduced $30,000 to $769,000
MLS 28020321
21910 NE 11th St
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,280 sq.ft.
Reduced $30,000 to $865,950
MLS 27099075
WOODINVILLE
15627 NE 153rd St
4 br/6 ba, 6,025 sq.ft.
Reduced $100,000 to $2,250,000
MLS 28026279
15611 NE 157th St
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,770 sq.ft.
Reduced $51,000 to $999,000
MLS 27212533
March 24, 2008
A half of a million dollars seems like boatload of money, but is it? I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Here are a list of things that you could get if you’re willing to plunk down about 500,000 smackaroos:
Royal Diamond Chess Set, Charles Hollander Collection
14 carat white gold
9,900 black and white diamonds
186.09 total carat weight
A condo in downtown Bellevue with updates
200 99th Ave NE #42
2 br/1.75 ba, 1,151 sq.ft.
Price $499,999 ($434//sq.ft.)
MLS 28042021
A small house in Kirkland
11615 NE 97th St
4 br/2.5 ba, 1,610 sq.ft.
Price $500,000 ($311/sq.ft.)
MLS 28043659
Anna Nicole Smith’s Diaries
1992 & 1994 editions
Handwritten including the phrase, “I hate sex.”
Price $512,500
A tri-level house in Redmond with a recroom
15910 NE 105th St
4 br/2.25 ba, 1,970 sq.ft.
Price $499.950 ($254/sq.ft.)
MLS 28046034
An almost-new home in Woodinville
20424 128th Pl NE
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,036 sq.ft.
Price $499,000 ($164/sq.ft.)
MLS 28007713
A 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster
Engine: AMG-built supercharged 5,439-cc 24-valve 90 deg V-8
618 hp@6,500 rpm
575 lb-ft @ 3,250-5,000 rpm
MSRP $497,750
A cyborg T-800 skeleton used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Price $488,750
March 14, 2008
If your wallet’s too fat and you’re loooking to find a novel way to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day this weekend–you can plunck down a whole wad of the green stuff for one of this week’s Eastside price reductions of $25,000 or more. Judging by the number of properties, Kirkland is the place to look, particularly if a little leprechaun has left you a BIG pot of gold.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
BELLEVUE
2398 140th Way SE
3 br/3 ba, 4,318 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,062 to $1,149,888
MLS 27183668
2381 132nd Ave SE
3 br/3.5 ba, 2,490 sq.ft.
Reduced $35,000 to $645,000
MLS 28030653
ISSAQUAH
3089 NE Harrison St
6 br/6.5 ba, 6,313 sq.ft.
Reduced $100,000 to $2,795,000
MLS 28004405
1750 10th Ave NE
3 br/2.5 ba, 1,843 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,977 to $519.950
MLS 28031841
Note: Builder has reduced price on multiple lots, which I’m too lazy to list, but you can view the similar listings/price reductions on MLS 27029836, 27023306, and 28032050.
KIRKLAND
8811 NE 16th Pl
5 br/3.5 ba, 5,600 sq.ft.
Reduced $150,000 to $1,650,000
MLS 28022943
1824 10th St W
4 br/4.5 ba, 4,700 sq.ft.
Reduced $125,000 to $2,150,000
MLS 28029510
7815 NE 112th St
4 br/2.5 ba, Undisclosed
Reduced $75,100 to $899,900
MLS 28033448
133 14th Ave 135
6 br/5.25 ba, 5,747 sq.ft.
Reduced $55,000 to $1,995,000
MLS 27197049
10135 NE 112th Pl
3 br/2.75 ba, 3,160 sq.ft.
Reduced $50,000 to $849,000
MLS 28015747
804 19th Ln W
5 br/3.5 ba, 3,790 sq.ft.
Reduced $49,950 to $1,425,000
12504 89 Pl NE
4 br/2.5 ba, 2,820 sq.ft.
Reduced $49,000 to $639,900
MLS 28010504
526 15th Ave
2 br/1.5 ba, 1,470 sq.ft.
Reduced $34,999 to $565,000
MLS 28026320
10607 106 Pl NE
3 br/2.5 ba, 3,244 sq.ft.
Reduced $29,050 to $999,950
MLS 27169581
12433 83rd Pl NE
4 br/2.5 ba, 1,920 sq.ft.
Reduced $25,000 to $600,000
MLS 28030488
REDMOND
20610 NE Novelty Hill Rd
3 br/1.5b ba, 1,560 sq.ft.
Reduced $29,500 to $419,500
MLS 28015330
SAMMAMISH
24042 SE 13th Pl
4 br/3 ba, 3,150 sq.ft.
Reduced $30,000 to $668,000
MLS 28007244
WOODINVILLE
16817 167 Ave NE
4 br/2.75 ba, 3,240 sq.ft.
Reduced $29,100 to $819,900
MLS 27115822
March 12, 2008
You might have heard that last week the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight raised the conforming loan limit, which now allows buyers to purchase higher priced homes without requiring a jumbo (or non-conforming) loan. In many cases, jumbo loans rates are up to 1% higher than their non-jumbo counterparts.
In King County the new conforming loan limit is $567,500, at least through the end of 2008. Assuming a 20% downpayment, buyers can now consider homes priced to just under $710,000, like one of these Eastside value properties, all within an easy commute to the Microsoft campus:
BELLEVUE
14766 NE 57th St
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,190 sq.ft.
Price $715,000 ($326/sq.ft.)
MLS 28030257
KIRKLAND
7547 124th Ave NE
3 br/2.75 ba, 2,750 sq.ft.
Price $699,000 ($254/sq.ft.)
MLS 28019520
REDMOND
15905 NE 101 Ct
4 br/3 ba, 4,670 sq.ft.
Price $709,900 ($152/sq.ft.)
MLS 27193979
16604 NE 107th St
4 br/1.75 ba, 2,150 sq.ft.
Price $649,900 ($302/sq.ft.)
MLS 28031507
WOODINVILLE
21740 NE 181st Pl.
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,330 sq.ft.
Price $699,000 ($210/sq.ft.)
MLS 28005077
