Tag Archives: Seattle 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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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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New Homes on the Market in North Seattle

Posted on April 23, 2012 | 2 Comments

I think of all the times I’ve neglected this blog since I started it, the past two weeks have been the worst.  It’s all due to the fact that this is the busiest time each year for real estate, and this year is much busier than the prior.  So busy, in fact, that I have had 7 signed around deals this month so far and am waiting to hear back about #8.  But, for all I talk about lack of inventory on the market in north Seattle these days, there are still homes coming on all the time, every week, and I like to tell you about them from time to time.

In the past seven days, 49 new listings have come on the market in MLS areas 705 and 710, which make up north Seattle (705 is generally west of I-5, and 710 is east).  Of the 49, 38 are residential listings and the rest are condos.  Here’s just a brief look at a few of the homes that just came on the market in north Seattle.

6111 14th Ave NW – This townhome has 1,160 square feet and 2 bedrooms in Ballard.  It’s an end unit, and priced at $355,000.  The townhome does have an attached 2-car garage.

7330 18th Ave NE – This 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath home is located in the Ravenna area and has 2,160 square feet.  It’s been updated with a newer roof, hardwood floors, crown molding and double-pane windows.  This home has been on the market just a few days and is priced at $485,000.

I’ll write my regular monthly update during the first week of May with more information about the amount of home sales we had this month, but the market has definitely been on fire!

 

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A view on Q1 Seattle Real Estate Market from Guest Writer Emma Crawford

Posted on February 8, 2012 | 2 Comments

As a local real estate broker, I tend to post a lot of real estate stats, news and information.  How ’bout a second opinion?  Guest writer Emma Crawford is a creative writer from Murray State University. As an aspiring writer she specializes in writing about travel destinations and tourism.  Here’s Emma’s views on the remainder of Quarter One in the Seattle real estate market:

Real Estate Outlook: Seattle, First Quarter 2012

As 2011 was drawing down and gave way to 2012, a number of real estate professionals in the Seattle area  were hoping for a strong beginning to the year. With the early numbers in from January, the rest of 2012 could live up to some expectations. A combination of positive early figures, combined with nationwide real estate trends could spell a solid first quarter for the Seattle real estate market.

Optimism has been coming from a number of sources, but specifically with regards to a few figures. Real estate professionals in the area have pointed to things such as low inventory, low interest rates, and positive action in the local job market as potential signs of strong 2012 in real estate. Still, there does remain some hurdles for a resurging 2012, including a high amount of distressed properties in the area.

The main point of positivity right now is the increase in pending sales over January 2011. The 13 percent increase over last January represents a transaction jump of around 739 different properties. There were 6,132 sales this January, compared to 5,393 in January of last year.

A source of optimism in the early part of the year has also come from the rental market, as area rates have continued to sky rocket over the past year. On average, Seattle apartments have gone up nearly 10 percent a month at a rate of about $100. This increase from last year at the same time is telling, as a number of potential buyers could be weighing continuing to rent and choosing to buy their first home.

One issue the market could continue to see throughout the first quarter is the inventory for Seattle. With an increase in sales, the area market has been seeing the inventory stay down as well. This is most likely an issue of development and new areas being lower than normal recently. Even though sales numbers are up, the lack of brand new properties has kept the inventory from staying on pace.

One of the only mixed figures comes from the median prices in the area. Five counties in the Seattle area had an increase in prices, while two counties in particular experienced a large drop. Clallam and Grays Harbor counties each had nearly a 40 percent decrease in price from last January. All in all, the entire Seattle area saw a 12 percent drop in median sale prices from the outset of last year.

Overall, the numbers from January’s reports seem to paint a number of different pictures for the Seattle market. Despite low inventory and median price drops in some areas, the news of increased pending sales and median prices in other areas are telling. Factors such as record low interest rates and rising apartment rates should be large in getting some buyers off the fence. Overall, the Seattle market is in for a busy first quarter this year as it looks to get off to a good start.

Thanks for contributing, Emma!

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