Newsletter
NEARLY 25% OF HOMES SELLING FOR CASH
The Seattle Times recently reported that nearly one in four Seattle area homes are selling for cash, slightly up from a year ago. This is on par with national trends of nearly 30% of homes selling for cash, a level not seen since 2014. Analysts think this is due in part to techs influence, with high salaries and stock options. Tech also attracts people from the Bay area, a much pricier real estate market than even Seattle. There are some agencies out there that will help people make cash offers as well. Read more here.
VULCAN IS BULLISH ON EASTSIDE GROWTH
Vulcan announced the acquisition of 1.4 acres adjacent to the Bel-Red light rail station. This will add to its current construction of 2 million sq feet of office space in Bellevue. They are bullish on Eastside growth.
“With 10 million square feet of office space slated for delivery on the Eastside by 2025, much of which is pre-leased, we anticipate the creation of over 50,000 new jobs, driving strong apartment rental demand and rent growth in the years ahead.” said Ada M. Healey, chief real estate officer for Vulcan Inc. Read more here.
SEATTLE AREA FUN IN THE SUN!
When the weather warms up, those of us in the Seattle area take to the outdoors, like few other big cities (most of us looking like white ghosts!). While many of the festivals and fairs are yet to resume, there is much to do around here for fun or a staycation. Here are some ideas. And be sure to check the post on Facebook and add your ideas for all to share!
- Visit Chihuly Museum of Glass.
- Take a ride on Sundays at the Wooden Boat Center on Lake Union.
- Visit your local farmer’s market for fresh berries and produce, arts and treats!
- Spend a day at Pike Place Market with tons of artists, food and produce! Don’t miss the newer market place on west side overlooking Elliott Bay.
- Visit on of the many beaches like Golden Gardens, Juanita Beach, Alki or Lake Sammamish State Park. Many rent paddle boats or Kayaks.
- Rent a hot tub boat or electric boat and tour Lake Union, check out the houseboats.
- Visit the local wine country in Woodinville with dozens of places to sip and savor!
- Take a drive to North Bend or Tulalip to shop the outlet stores for great deals.
- Visit Snoqualmie and take in the train museum. Many weekends offer rides.
- Stop by a you-pick farm in Bellevue for the freshest blueberries at the best prices!
- Score at the Pinball Museum in Seattle.
- Speaking on museums, take advantage of First Thursdays when are all free in Seattle ~ visit one each week.
- Go hiking and camping.
- Check local park activities like Movies in the Park at Marymoor or Shakespeare in the Park at many area locations.
- Take in a Soccer or Baseball game!
- So many other ideas ~ add yours here!
Fun Tip
Are you getting out more and socializing? What a treat, and what a great reminder not to take anything for granted. Wanting to find outdoor seating? Travelocity has list of suggestions and the ability to filter for outdoor options. Check out the Village at Totem Lake for an ice cream stroll on a warm weather night—what a beautiful job they did with the firepits and ambiance there.
Best priced home on Mercer Island
This home is an AMAZING value ~ huge open spaces, very light with tons of windows and phenomenal privacy and location. It needs work, but it’s all cosmetic and relatively easy and inexpensive to do ~ paint, new vanities, etc. If you or someone you know if in the market for a deal, this is it. Best priced home in Mercer Island.
Click here to view the listingMarket Update
Hello Friend–
More of the Same
I would love to have something new to tell you, but you’ve heard it all before about how hot the real estate market is. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service made a shocking statement in this month’s market update – inventory levels are down to around two weeks in some areas! That means that if we stopped listing homes,we’d run out of homes to sell in a little over two weeks. And, not just our area – inventory levels have continued to tighten up around the country— in fact around the world! The Seattle Times claimed recently that our market heat index is second only to Phoenix. If you Google “real estate bidding wars” you’ll see zillions of articles on hot real estate markets across the country, like the home in Washington DC fixer upper that received 76 cash offers. If you’re like me, you wish that you had purchased 5-10 extra homes 10 years ago. But, not to worry. It’s never too late – we don’t see anything but forward momentum. Demand and migration to the Eastside especially remain strong, and many of our largest local employers are looking forward to welcoming people back to the office soon. Amazon has announced their new building design in Bellevue and Google in Kirkland has announced expansions as well.
There are still opportunities
We have found that there’s a huge difference in price and demand between the super popular homes and the homes that people might overlook. There are still good homes available for sane prices – homes that need some updating or vision, homes that are outside of the heavily contested locations, homes where schools are maybe not as popular, homes that are priced on the high side and some condos and townhomes are opportunities right now. So, if you are pursuing the most popular homes you’ll need to be prepared to take some risks and pay a huge premium, but if you are willing to compromise a bit, we can still help you get a home without having to lose your mind.
Want to get an insane price for your home?
The homes that sell crazy high are the homes that have been updated and tricked out. It seems like all of the buyers for the weekend gravitate to the “best” home of the week, and those are the homes that gets a zillion offers and price goes sky high. So, let me know if you are curious about what that might look like for you if/when you sell in the future. I can also advise you on simple, inexpensive things you can do to improve your market appeal.
Interesting Trends
When I started selling real estate in 1994 Bellevue was the little sister to Seattle, and prices were considerably higher in Seattle than they were in Bellevue. We most often work on the Eastside, but did some work comparing markets for one of our Amazon buyers looking at both sides of the lake last month. Over the last 60 days, Seattle addresses between 2000 and 3000 square feet sold in an average of 6 days at 105.43% of List Price and closed at a median price of $950K. Bellevue addresses between 2000 and 3000 square feet sold in an average of 5 days at an insane 116.85% of List Price and closed at a median price of $1,125,000! (Yes, I checked it twice to make sure that was right).
Want to know what the market and inventory look like around your home? Call me. Every home is different.
Warmest Regards,
Rhonda
(425) 503-0300
Real Estate Service for Bellevue and the Eastside
Keller Williams Eastside
Inspiring Movie of the Month – 7 Yards on Netflix. I’d love to hear your picks, and especially love stories on ordinary people living extraordinary sacrificial lives serving others in this world.
GETTING READY TO BUY A HOME? HERE’S HOW TO RESEARCH A NEIGHBORHOOD
After months of searching you finally found your dream home, but it’s in a new neighborhood that you may not be familiar with. Here are a few ways you can learn about the area so you’re fully informed before you take the plunge and buy.
Go For A Long Walk, Or Two
This is the best way to get a feel for the neighborhood you may soon call home. Taking a couple of long walks in a neighborhood can accomplish a lot of important things all at once. It will also give you the opportunity to look out for all those little problems that are hard to notice when you visit a neighborhood briefly to check out a house. How noisy is it? Are there any busy main roads, or building sites nearby? Are there nearby amenities that are important to you? Local parks, quirky cafes or leisure facilities?
Test Out Your Commute
This is an important step to understand what your day-to-day will be like living in that neighborhood. Just routing your trip to work on Google Maps won’t be nearly as informative as getting out there and experiencing it yourself at the time of day you typically go to work, run your errands, etc.
If you take public transit, you can learn if everything usually runs on time, how crowded it gets, and the travel duration. If you can’t do this, try using the ‘time of day’ function on Google Maps to get an impression of what a rush hour commute looks like.
Online Research
Walk Score is a great resource. You can learn about walkability, public transit, nearby amenities, as well as crime and safety ratings. I have a Walk Score rating on all of the listings on my website, and there’s also an option to enter in any address in North America to find out more info. I hope this is useful to you!
IS BELLEVUE BECOMING NEXT TECH HUB?
More good news for Eastside property values ~ In addition to Amazon’s continuing major moves into Bellevue and the Eastside, Facebook snapped up the formerly planned REI headquarters in Downtown Bellevue.
When the pandemic hit, REI decided they really didn’t need a new big headquarters because their people could work from home. So, they put their new building in Bellevue’s Spring District up for sale and like a new home listing, it got snatched up quickly. On Sept 14, Facebook announced they will move into the 400,000 square foot building and create the largest FB hub outside of its Silicon Valley headquarters.