Category Archives: Real Estate

Green Lake Real Estate: A look at Inventory

Posted on May 12, 2013 | 2 Comments

I’m not the only real estate broker who has been talking nonstop about the lack of inventory in the Seattle area.  So if there’s no inventory, why do I keep seeing “for sale” signs on every block – does that mean ?

In January, I wrote a post about the current state of the market and there were seven active listings – six single family homes and one condo.  So where are we at today?  Well, it’s Spring – a time when the market generally picks up and this year is no change.  There are currently 14 single family homes on the market and two condominiums.  Not including the condominiums, the average size of the homes on the market is 2,199 square feet and the average price is $611,268. This gives us an average price per foot of $278.

5608 Latona Ave

This home at 5608 Latona Ave NE is currently listed for $730,000. It has 5 bedrooms and 2.25 baths.

In April, fifteen homes sold in Green Lake (three condominiums and twelve single family homes).  Despite the amount of homes being added to the market, the average time these homes spent on the market was 13 days – and ten of the homes were on the market for a week or less.

Compared to 2012, we had just a few less homes on the market.  There were 18 homes sold last year in April, but at an average market time of 51 days – that’s almost two months compared to our current time of two weeks!  And in 2011, the average time on the market for April was 61 days.

To sum up: More houses are coming on the market, but we’re not balanced yet.  We still have a lot of home buyers out there and not enough houses to sell them.  Houses in Green Lake are selling quickly, often for more than asking price.  We’re still out of whack, but the addition of new listings each week is putting us on the right track to a balanced market.

 

 

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Modern Townhome just listed in north Seattle under $300k

Posted on February 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

I know, I know, it’s just about impossible for a first time buyer to purchase in north Seattle.  Besides the fact that there’s barely any inventory, there’s also essentially nothing in a first-time buyer’s price range.

Luckily, Debbie Lee of Matrix Real Estate just listed this great modern townhome at 29 on Stone that should fly off the shelf fast (so hit me up if you want to see it!).

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The townhome is just three years young and faces southwest so it has lots of natural light.  It also has a high-efficiency A/C heat pump to keep energy costs low.   The kitchen features gas cooking, there are natural hardwoods in the living area, and you’ll find vaulted ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms.

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For three bedrooms and 1,210 square feet, it’s kind of a steal in north Seattle for just $294,950 – its almost impossible to find anything around here under $300k.   It’s located just off 99 at 1246 N Northgate Way (#29).    The home is having an Open House this weekend, so stop in Saturday from 1-4 or Sunday from 1-3 and say North Seattle Sarah sent you!  Call me at (253) 653-6299 if you can’t make it to the open house and we’ll set up a private appointment.

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Green Lake Real Estate Inventory: 2013 and Beyond

Posted on January 30, 2013 | Leave a comment

Green Lake, I love you.  But if you don’t start providing inventory soon for my buyers that are still waiting in the wings to purchase, I’m going to get annoyed.

As I’ve done in the past, I’ve taken a look at current Green Lake inventory from 85th at the north end down to 50th at the south end, and between Aurora & I-5.  And do you know what I’ve found?   Seven homes for sale.  Seven.  That’s all.  That’s one condominium and six homes, with price ranges from $205,000 (for the condo, the lowest price house is $399,000) to $859,000.

This 3,500 square foot house on Green Lake Way N is currently listed for sale for $765,000:

5012 Green Lake Way N

I don’t think this data will come as shock to anyone, and I’m sure everyone can make the interpretation as to what this is continuing to do.  Limited inventory drives up house prices, causes bidding wars, and also reflects only a small amount of sales.  So far in  January, nine homes have closed in the Green Lake neighborhood.

Time to get frustrated?  If you’re a buyer or a real estate agent, sure.  Time to panic?  Nope.  Last January, Green Lake closed twelve homes – just three more than where we’re at today.  And in January 2011, Green Lake only closed four homes.   My biggest fear is that sellers who are waiting to list because they’re seeing prices rise will all list their homes around the same time, bringing on more inventory than necessary.  However, the desirability of the Green Lake neighborhood should continue to move homes quickly into the hands of new buyers, no matter how many come on the market at once.

The other trend I’m seeing right now is the greedy seller.  Yes, it is a seller’s market.  Yes, prices are rising.  But no, buyers out there aren’t actually stupid and still aren’t going to pay way more than market value for your home.  If your home is listed in Green Lake (or most of the surrounding area) for more than 30 days, there’s a strong chance that you overpriced it so much, no one even wants to make a low offer.

Other neighborhoods seeing similar action: Ravenna, Greenwood, Phinney Ridge and particularly Maple Leaf after Redfin named it one of the up-and-coming neighborhoods in the country to watch. 

As always, I’m happy to help any of my neighbors purchase or sell their home, and provide free extensive market analysis reports to sellers.  You can reach me directly at sheath@matrixrealestate.com or at (253) 653-6299.

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Green Lake Real Estate: November 2012 Stats

Posted on December 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Are your Christmas lights up yet?  They sure do make a neighborhood look festive.  Not that Green Lake needs any help attracting buyers – we’re still at a low inventory of just seven residential homes on the market right now.  Five of those homes have been listed for some time, and two came on new in November.  The average price of our current inventory? $556,636.

As usual, I’m taking data from 85th on the north end to 50th on the south end, and bordered west to east by Aurora Ave and I-5.  And with such little inventory available to purchase, you probably won’t be shocked to hear that another 15 homes in the neighborhood are currently pending (under contract but not yet sold).   On top of that, seven more homes closed in the month of November, with an average sales price of $545,357 and an average size of 1,910 square feet.

The average time on the market for the seven closed homes last month was 19 days – with over half of those homes selling in less than two weeks.

When I give these monthly updates, I usually like to separate out condominium data from single family data so as not to skew the numbers too much.  However, this time, the market did that for me.  If you thought single family inventory was low in the neighborhood, you’ll be surprised to hear that there are no condominium homes for sale in Green Lake right.  Not one.

Are you putting your house on the market in the next few weeks?  If so, I wasn’t joking about the Christmas lights – not only are they festive and inviting, they also help light up the outdoors for evening showings of your home.  A wreath on the front door and a tidy yard can also go a long way in making your home look attractive for a buyer.

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Green Lake Real Estate: Preparing for the market slow-down? Don’t bother.

Posted on November 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

I mean it.  Usually come November, most real estate brokers are twiddling their thumbs and decorating their own homes for the holiday season – because no one buys at the holidays, right?  Wrong.    Thanks to very little inventory, interest rates remaining incredibly low, and a large pool of ready and able buyers, there will be no holiday slow-down.  Houses that are priced well in Green Lake and most parts of north Seattle right now are selling about as quickly as it will take you to cook the turkey later this month.

As usual, when it comes to assessing Green Lake real estate, I look at residential homes from 85th to 50th, Aurora to I-5 (there are also three active condo listings in the neighborhood right now, but I’ve taken those out of the stats so as not to skew numbers).   As of today, there are 10 active listings in Green Lake.  The average price is $527,285 and the average size is 2140 square feet, for the price per foot of $276.  The average time they’ve spent on market is 46 days – sounds like a long time when I’m talking about how fast these homes sell, right?  We can contribute that number to these homes being the ones that didn’t get an offer right away – the others are already sold!

This home at 140 NE 63rd Street is currently listed for $549,500, at 2500 square feet.

In October, five homes went pending and seven more closed.  Of the closed homes, the” average” time on market was 40 days – but that number gets skewed by just two listings that were on the market for over 100 days.  In reality, five of the seven closed homes were sold in one week or less.   The average sale price was $607,086 with an average size of 2,394 square feet and a price per foot of $253.

If you’re selling, how do you become on of the “sold-in-less-than-a-week” houses instead of one that sits?  While price plays a very important role in that process, I can’t stress enough the importance of the showing condition in the wintertime.  Let’s look at the basics:

  • It’s cold outside.  So, if you’re expecting showings, crank the heat on.  You might be comfortable throwing on an extra sweater, but that chill won’t make a good impression on buyers walking in.
  • It’s dark outside.  And most of your potential buyers are going to be taking a look after work, in the evenings – so make sure your porch light is on, and keep at least one or two lamps on in the house while you’re not home.
  • The flowers aren’t blooming.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a nice yard – rake leaves, make sure water is draining away from the home and make a clean entry for potential buyers to get from their car into your front door.

If you’re buying, I know you’re getting frustrated.  Many buyers have submitted more than one offer in the past few months and still haven’t won the home in multiple offer situations.  Keep persevering and it will happen for you!

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New on the market: 5 bedrooms in Maple Leaf under $500k

Posted on July 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

This morning I just listed a new home for sale in Maple Leaf that I think is absolutely adorable.  For a start, it has a perfectly symmetrical view from the street that gives it amazing appeal right from the first look.   It’s also just a few short doors down from the Maple Leaf Playground and less than a mile from Green Lake.

Once you’re inside, you walk into an enormous living room with hardwoods and the big original 1928 fireplace.  From there, you can walk through the swinging butler’s door to the kitchen.

The kitchen has porcelain tile countertops with a full height tile backsplash and white cabinets, and gets more light than any room I’ve ever seen.  It also has a super cute eating nook with built-in full-height cabinets that give tons of storage space!

There’s one bedroom on the main floor, with hardwood floors.  There’s also a full bathroom on the main floor with hex-tile flooring and an oversized vanity.  Upstairs, you find two more bedrooms with walk-in closets and another 3/4 bath, plus tons more light flowing in from all the windows.

If you head down to the basement, you find two more finished bedrooms and another full finished bathroom.  You also find a spacious laundry area with washer/dryer and a laundry sink, plus tons of cabinet space and counter space.

There are two doors to the backyard, which is level and grassy and partially fenced (really easy to fence the remainder).  Out there you’ll also find a pleasant surprise – a 2-car garage at the end of the long driveway.

Overall the home is 2400 square feet with five bedrooms and 2.75 baths.  It’s listed at $474,950 and will be open this Sunday, July 15th, from 12pm to 4pm.  Stop by and see – or ask your broker to show you anytime.  The home is located at 828 NE 83rd Street.

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Green Lake Real Estate – June Stats

Posted on July 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

Thank goodness summer is finally upon us – I’m on vitamin D overload this week and just can’t get enough of being outdoors.  Traditionally though, summer also means a bit of a slow down for the real estate market as home buyers and sellers go on vacations and spend more time at the barbecue than the computer (Hey -does that mean us real estate brokers can go on vacation, too?).

According to NWMLS data, Green Lake saw the closing of 14 single family homes in June this year, ranging in price from $340,000 to $1,120,000 and with an average price per foot of $287.17.   And 14 must be our lucky number, because that’s also the amount of homes that went to ‘pending’ status in June that haven’t closed yet. Overall June was a very good month for total number of sales, but it would appear to me that we are seeing a slow down of the multiple bid situation that has had us in a frenzy the past few months.  Whereas in May the average home sat on the market for just nine days before selling, in June that number shot back up to a more “normal” 24 – giving buyers a better chance of getting their offer in on time and in a less competitive environment.

We currently have 12 homes on the market in Green Lake (as usual, 80th to 50th, Aurora to I5), priced from $299,000 to $1,220,000.  Quite an assortment – but still not a lot of inventory.  In fact, of the homes that are on the market right now, only 3 were listed in the last 30 days so the homes that are on the market are generally a lot of the same ones that were listed a month ago or longer.  We’re thirsty for freshly listed houses.

This 1912 home with 3,350 sq ft is currently listed – for the first time in 54 years.

So, where are we headed?  Back to normalcy, I expect – at least for the next few months.  Another kick in the market tends to happen in September and October, but until then we’re going to see homes start to sit on the market for around 30 days before a sale.

 

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Just listed by Matrix Real Estate: Tangletown Bungalow w/MIL

Posted on June 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Trisha Quigley with Matrix Real Estate just listed this adorable Tangletown home yesterday at 2116 N 53rd Street.

The home has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and altogether comes to 2,120 square feet.  Built in 1926, it has the original well cared for hardwoods in the entry, living and dining rooms, and of course lots of period details that we all love so much about our north Seattle homes.

But don’t expect a typical older home here, folks.  The kitchen has been updated with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, plus a dramatic burst of color that seems to fit the home well.

And then it doesn’t stop there.  This home, like so many in our neighborhood, has a non-conforming mother-in-law unit in the basement.  The MIL is a studio home with kitchenette and 3/4 bath, perfect for guests or even as a personal rental.

If you’d like to take a look at this home, it is being viewed by appointment only with offers reviewed on June 15th (and believe me, there will be offers).  Priced at just $559,900, it’s a steal in the neighborhood.  To view it before the deadline hits, feel free to call me at (253) 653-6299 or email sheath@matrixrealestate.com.

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Green Lake Real Estate – May 2012 Stats

Posted on June 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

The blog has been a bit neglected this past week or so, as my mother has been in town and I’ve been too busy taking her places rather than writing about them (we’ve been to Naked City Taphouse in Greenwood three times already because she loved the truffle fries so much).  But I can’t forget to give you my monthly real estate update, so here goes: a look back at May real estate in Green Lake.

Twelve single family homes, and two condominiums, closed in Green Lake in the month of May (as always, 80th to 50th, Aurora to I-5).  The sale prices of these homes ranged from $355,000 to $879,000, with an average price per foot of $299.65.

This 4-bedroom home on E Green Lake Way North sold in just 11 days for $710,000.

Now here’s the real kicker, folks – the average days  on market, which is a great unit of measure for figuring out how much inventory we have – was nine.  That means that of the 12 residential homes sold last month, the average time it took a home to sell was just over a week.  In fact, only one of those homes sat on the market for longer than 10 days, which skews our numbers a lot.

In addition to those closed homes, there are another 12 single family homes that went pending in the neighborhood last month, as well as 16 that are currently active.  Of the active listings, the average size is 2,249 square feet, and the average price is $551,384. This gorgeous tudor, listed by Redfin, has been on the market just three days on the Green Lake/Wallingford border at $574,950 for 2,930 square feet:

Inventory is remaining steady at basically less than a month’s supply of homes.  Bidding wars are continuing in Green lake, as well as the now common process of doing a pre-inspection and waiving contingencies that are meant to protect buyers.  It is definitely no longer a question of what the buyer can bargain for, and instead is now what the buyer is willing to sacrifice.

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North Seattle Condo Market: Are we picking up?

Posted on May 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Every month I give you an update of how we’re doing in the north Seattle real estate market, focusing on single family homes and neglecting to keep you abreast of what’s going on with condos.  Well, anyone that reads The Seattle Times would have seen their big headline yesterday about downtown condos finally starting to fill up – and that’s true of north Seattle too.  I wanted to give you a little bit of a recap of what’s going on in the condo world in North Seattle.

Overall, we’re seeing a very active market around here.  In all of North Seattle, there are 148 active condominium listings right now with an average price of $219,582 and an average size of 899 square feet.   There are even 15 condos currently listed for sale under $100k.   The news gets better too – in the last six months, 211 condos have closed in north Seattle with the average price being $204,093 and the average size at 895 square feet.  That’s about 35 condos each month and demonstrates a pretty healthy 3-4 month supply of inventory.

The unfortunate news to go along with that is that 64 of those sold homes were bank-owned, and 31 were sold as short sales, giving us about 45% distressed inventory in the condo market – a much higher number than with our single family homes and to be honest, completely expected.

Not surprisingly, 52 of the closed condos in the last six months were in Ballard, which is one of the most heavily saturated areas for multi-family housing in north Seattle.   But this is a good thing – Hjarta Ballard, one of the few remaining new construction communities there, is currently averaging between two and three sales per month, and is almost in the single digits for remaining inventory.  Strong sales are helping keep values up in Ballard and beyond.

Hjarta Ballard, new construction on NW Market Street

The only other new construction building from 2008 or beyond currently on the market in the neighborhood is Duncan Place, with nine homes remaining in the U-District.  Which begs the question – where will the condo market go?

With so much new construction in the area for multi-family housing, you would think that some new condos must be hitting the market soon.  But you’d be very wrong, because all these new buildings are apartments.  ALL of them.  However, as with the normal rise and fall of the market I do expect to see some of these apartment homes turn around and become condominiums within the next couple of years.  Apart from that, condo shoppers will have to keep their eye out for great deals in the resale department while waiting out the storm for new construction to begin.

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