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.

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.

• On May 10th, head to Brouwers in Fremont for the Underberg Back in Black Stout Fest – 40+ stouts on tap.  Event runs all day
• On May 11th, it’s time to head to Hale’s Ales for Brewgrass – a collaboration of beer & music with 10 local breweries and 3 bands, benefiting NW Harvest.  Starts at 5pm and you can buy your tickets here.
• On May 12th, it’s Mother’s Day. So treat your mother to one of her favorite movies – Psycho.  DJ Nicfit plays this film at Naked City’s screening room to a live soundtrack, and I can say from experience it’s amazing.  Starts at 8pm in Greenwood.
• May 13th, check out the Sierra Nevada dinner at the Burgundian in Tangletown.   5 beers paired with 5 dishes (exact beers & dishes tbd).  This starts at 6pm.
• On May 14th, check out Beer & Burger Battle back at Brouwer’s in Fremont.  It runs all day long, and pits six brewers against each other to design the best burger.
• On May 15th, don’t miss the annual Latona Pub Cask Fest in Green Lake.  A huge selection of cask beers, starting at 6pm.
• On May 16th, try out pFriem Family Brewing at Art of the Table in Wallingford.  Everyone is buzzing about this brewery, and the restaurant is pairing up 7 courses to match.  The reception starts at 6:30, dinner served at 7.  Call the restaurant at (206) 282-0942 for a reservation.  Dinner is $95/person + tax/tip.
• After taking a few nights off to repair your liver, celebrate the last day of Beer Week with The Dray in Phinney Ridge.  The Dray has a celebration of its own that day – their 5th Birthday!  There will be special brews from Firestone Walker, and tacos from The Yard.

Make sure you don’t miss one or two other events in the rest of the city either, as there’s plenty to do!  You can check out the full schedule here. 

Here is the photo I took of the boat (and the note) last week:

Now, some argue this is a nuisance and some argue that it’s art.  No matter what it is, it’s always fun to see what’s coming next.  When I first moved into this particular neighborhood, a bench sat on that island.  Eventually, an inflatable family of aliens moved in….one at a time (here’s dad).

After the aliens moved away (beamed back to the mothership?) Bessie arrived.  Well, okay, I call her Bessie.  Anyway, the life-size Green Lake cow stayed at the traffic circle for several months and even got decorative bows around Christmastime.

And that, my friends, is the story of the last three years of the traffic circle at Kenwood & Woodlawn.   We’ve heard that the boat may be towed – some folks have tried to stop that with a petition that has now disappeared.   Is it art?  Is it funny? Is it tacky?

Well, it’s entertainment.

It’s all to benefit the University District Food Bank, which provides groceries to over 1100 families each week.    But unlike the U-District Food Bank fundraisers we usually see throughout the year, this one isn’t going directly to the food – it’s going towards the building.  Currently, the food bank operates out of an 800-sq ft facility.  This event, called “Fight Hunger, Build Hope” is the kick-off to raise $2.75M for a new, larger facility that can accommodate all the customers it serves.

The event itself will cost $25 for entry, and that gets you eight tastes from food trucks plus four drink sips from local distillers and brewers (this is a 21 & over event).   There will also be live entertainment throughout the afternoon.

You can purchase tickets here for either $25, or make a $125 donation to also receive a community cookbook with recipes from many of our favorite food trucks.

If you’re used to losing the NBA March Madness brackets each year, and know your beers better than your sports teams (I admit, I choose my NBA teams based on how cute the mascot is), then this is definitely the event for you.

Starting Monday, March 18th, Latona Pub will put sets of IPA’s on tap – three at a time.  Your job is to predict which keg will blow first.  They’ll do this four times (timing depends on when the kegs blow), and then the four winners will be put on tap against each other.

Don’t think this is easy though – The first round features Green Flash, Boneyard, and Boundary Bay.  Boneyard won the entire event last year, and Boundary Bay won the year before – so it’ll be a tight race.

Other IPA’s coming up in the tournament include Black Raven’s Trickster, 7 Seas Rude Parrot, Elysian’s Space Dust, and of course, Georgetown’s Lucille.

Brackets are available now to be filled out at Latona Pub in Green Lake and turned in before the first keg blows – likely on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cook-Off will be held on Sunday, March 3rd from 2pm to 5pm at Wine World and Spirit’s private ballroom, with proceeds benefiting the food bank.  Tickets are $10 and include your chili tastes plus 5 drink tickets to sample local beers and wines that have been selected to pair with the chili.

Men, that’s probably all you need to read – buy your ticket here or at the door.

Ladies, if you still need a little tempting, this is the part where I get to tell you that the chili will be judged by Seattle firefighters.   And yes, I know that’s a totally sexist comment and I don’t really care.  FIREFIGHTERS.

Wine World & Spirits is located at 400 NE 45th.

We’re incredibly lucky in north Seattle to have a plethora of the state’s awesome breweries, so I encourage you to get out to at least one of them tomorrow that you might not have been to before and expand your local beer horizons.

In north Seattle, you’ll find the following places participating in the Washington Beer Open House:

• Fremont Brewing – Fremont
• Hales Ales – Frelard
• Hilliards – Ballard
• Northwest Peaks – Ballard
• Maritime Pacific – Ballard
• Reuben’s Brews – Ballard
• Naked City Brewery – Greenwood
• Elliott Bay Brewery – Lake City

Been to them all already?  Great.  Try something new.  Venture further out from our area to visit American Brewing in Edmonds, or perhaps Black Raven Brewing in Redmond.  You can view the full list of participating breweries here.

Cheers!

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!).

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.

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.

Three bands performed Friday evening at The Tractor Tavern in Ballard – River Giant, Smokey Brights and two members of The Head and the Heart, Josiah and Charity Rose.  Here are a few photos I managed to snap!

River Giant kicks off the show:

Team Up for Nonprofits:

Bill Rudolph takes the stage to present a toast to his son, Chris.  Chris Rudolph was the marketing director of Stevens Pass, and passed away last year in an avalanche. The benefit was in his name:

Smokey Brights takes the stage:

Josiah & Charity Rose of The Head and the Heart close out the concert .

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:

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.