Food and Dining, Health and Beauty, Business, Pets and Local Favorites....which are best on Seattle's Eastside? The annual poll has been taken and results are in for 425 Magazine . As a Kirkland resident, I was delighted to see that Kirkland was named "Best City" for 2011!
Kirkland has recently doubled it's population with the annexation. Now there are even more residents who will be enjoying the Lake Washington waterfront, popular shopping districts, wonderful art galleries, workplaces, a notable school district, dozens of fantastic parks and diverse and distinctive neighborhoods. So glad 425 recognized what so many of us knew from first hand experience: Kirkland is a great place to live, work and play!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Selling Like Hotcakes in Bellevue!
So with all this bad national economic news....here's a bright spot in our corner of the world: Bellevue housing listed between $500K and $950K is selling like hotcakes! The demand ratio is 1.21:1....or put another way, for the 40 homes currently listed in this price range, there are currently 33 in this same price range that are pending. Anything less that a 2.5 ratio in this price range is considered a seller's market.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Fun Facts About Washington State
Did you know:
1. The forests of the Olympic Peninsula are among the rainiest places in the world and the only rain forests in the continental United States.
2. Washington has the largest ferry system in the nation; 26 million passengers travel by ferry each year.
3. Washington state is the nation's largest exporter, representing 34 billion dollars and 5% of all US exports which includes forest products, aerospace products, apples, tulips, hops, mint, wheat and several other quality food products.
4. Washington State defines innovation. Some of the leading companies include Microsoft, Amazon, Nordstrom, Boeing, Costco and Starbucks.
5. Washington has hosted the World's Fair twice: 1962 in Seattle and 1974 in Spokane. The first revolving restaurant in the US was built for the Seattle World's Fair at the top of the Space Needle.
Washington is America’s coffee capital with more coffee bean roasters per capita than any other state.
6. “The Wave”, a popular fan cheer for the past 25 years, was started by Husky fans at the University of Washington.
7. The state is home to the world’s largest private car collection featuring over 3,000 vehicles.
8. Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in North America, is located in Washington State.
9. Washington’s residents are educated with the most residents holding high school diplomas than any other state. Seattle leads the country in residents with more college degrees per capita.
10. The Boeing Plant, located in Everett, is the world’s largest building able to fit 74 football fields inside.
11. In Washington, a Seahawk is an athlete, not a bird. The closest thing to a seahawk is an osprey hawk.
12. Washington, the 42nd state in the union, is the only state named for a president.
13. Washington produces 70% of the nation’s hops used to brew beer.
14. With 37” annually, Seattle gets less rainfall than Atlanta, Boston, New York, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C.
15. Washington’s Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America, deeper than the Grand Canyon at over 5,500 feet deep.
16. Homegrown musicians include Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Kenny G, The Wailers, Pat Boone, Bing Crosby, Quincy Jones and American Idol runner up, Blake Lewis.
17. Petrified wood is the state’s gem. There is a petrified forest in the state that is considered the most unusual fossil forest in the world.
18. More people in Seattle commute to work on bicycles than any other city in the nation.
19. Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson is a Washington native.
20. The longest accessible beach in the U.S. is in Washington. The 28 mile long stretch is aptly named Long Beach.
21. Washington’s cows produce more milk per cow than any other state, totaling 1.3 billion pounds of milk each year.
22. The state’s nickname is the Evergreen State for its abundant evergreen forests.
23. The state is America’s raspberry capital harvesting more than 57 million pounds of raspberries each year.
24. Washington is the nation’s top apple producing state with 10-12 billion apples handpicked annually.
25. Seattle sells more sunglasses per capita than any major city in the nation.
1. The forests of the Olympic Peninsula are among the rainiest places in the world and the only rain forests in the continental United States.
2. Washington has the largest ferry system in the nation; 26 million passengers travel by ferry each year.
3. Washington state is the nation's largest exporter, representing 34 billion dollars and 5% of all US exports which includes forest products, aerospace products, apples, tulips, hops, mint, wheat and several other quality food products.
4. Washington State defines innovation. Some of the leading companies include Microsoft, Amazon, Nordstrom, Boeing, Costco and Starbucks.
5. Washington has hosted the World's Fair twice: 1962 in Seattle and 1974 in Spokane. The first revolving restaurant in the US was built for the Seattle World's Fair at the top of the Space Needle.
Washington is America’s coffee capital with more coffee bean roasters per capita than any other state.
6. “The Wave”, a popular fan cheer for the past 25 years, was started by Husky fans at the University of Washington.
7. The state is home to the world’s largest private car collection featuring over 3,000 vehicles.
8. Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in North America, is located in Washington State.
9. Washington’s residents are educated with the most residents holding high school diplomas than any other state. Seattle leads the country in residents with more college degrees per capita.
10. The Boeing Plant, located in Everett, is the world’s largest building able to fit 74 football fields inside.
11. In Washington, a Seahawk is an athlete, not a bird. The closest thing to a seahawk is an osprey hawk.
12. Washington, the 42nd state in the union, is the only state named for a president.
13. Washington produces 70% of the nation’s hops used to brew beer.
14. With 37” annually, Seattle gets less rainfall than Atlanta, Boston, New York, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, or Washington D.C.
15. Washington’s Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America, deeper than the Grand Canyon at over 5,500 feet deep.
16. Homegrown musicians include Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Kenny G, The Wailers, Pat Boone, Bing Crosby, Quincy Jones and American Idol runner up, Blake Lewis.
17. Petrified wood is the state’s gem. There is a petrified forest in the state that is considered the most unusual fossil forest in the world.
18. More people in Seattle commute to work on bicycles than any other city in the nation.
19. Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson is a Washington native.
20. The longest accessible beach in the U.S. is in Washington. The 28 mile long stretch is aptly named Long Beach.
21. Washington’s cows produce more milk per cow than any other state, totaling 1.3 billion pounds of milk each year.
22. The state’s nickname is the Evergreen State for its abundant evergreen forests.
23. The state is America’s raspberry capital harvesting more than 57 million pounds of raspberries each year.
24. Washington is the nation’s top apple producing state with 10-12 billion apples handpicked annually.
25. Seattle sells more sunglasses per capita than any major city in the nation.
Tenant Rights
Washington State Residential Landlord/Tenant Act provides great protection to tenants. In a lease/rental agreement, the rights of a tenant can be increased, but cannot be decreased. Whatever provision offers the greatest protection or benefit to the tenant will stand in court, whether it comes from the Landlord/Tenant Act, the Seattle Rental Ordinance or the terms of the lease. For example, if the lease calls for a 30 day notice to vacate and the Landlord/Tenant Act requires a 20 day notice, 30 days' notice will be required. If the Landlord/Tenant Act requires a 30 day notice to increase the rental rate and the lease specifies 20 days notice, the law would supersede the terms of the lease and 30 days' notice would be required.
Monday, July 25, 2011
"Hopeful and cautionary projections"
According to Ron Sparks, Managing Broker of Coldwell Banker Bain, Bellevue, we have the following informative report:
PMI, one of the nation’s largest insurers of home mortgages, recently released a report that contained both hopeful and cautionary projections for the national real estate market. Among the highlights:
Forecasts a 19% increase in 3rd quarter 2011 sales over 2010's 3rd quarter.
Forecasts a 14% increase in 2011 sales over 2010.
Prices increasing marginally by years end, then up 3% in 2012, and another 3% increase in 2013.
On the cautionary side is the anticipated rise of mortgage interest rates. PMI noted that current rates are near 2011 lows (4.66%), but predicted and increase to 5.65% in 2012, and 6.60% in 2013. This means that if homes with identical $400,000 mortgages are purchased, but one is bought at today’s rate (4.66%) and the other at the 2013 projected rate, (6.60%), then the home with the higher rate will cost nearly $30,000 more in payments over the first five years of ownership. A remarkable difference that should be considered when thinking about buying…
On a more local note, PMI reported that in Washington State “seriously delinquent mortgages”, the pre-cursor to the foreclosure process, have increased just 0.02% year over year. This would be highly contrary to the perception that Washington has a burgeoning foreclosure issue on the horizon.
As always, I appreciate Ron Sparks and his market perspective.
PMI, one of the nation’s largest insurers of home mortgages, recently released a report that contained both hopeful and cautionary projections for the national real estate market. Among the highlights:
Forecasts a 19% increase in 3rd quarter 2011 sales over 2010's 3rd quarter.
Forecasts a 14% increase in 2011 sales over 2010.
Prices increasing marginally by years end, then up 3% in 2012, and another 3% increase in 2013.
On the cautionary side is the anticipated rise of mortgage interest rates. PMI noted that current rates are near 2011 lows (4.66%), but predicted and increase to 5.65% in 2012, and 6.60% in 2013. This means that if homes with identical $400,000 mortgages are purchased, but one is bought at today’s rate (4.66%) and the other at the 2013 projected rate, (6.60%), then the home with the higher rate will cost nearly $30,000 more in payments over the first five years of ownership. A remarkable difference that should be considered when thinking about buying…
On a more local note, PMI reported that in Washington State “seriously delinquent mortgages”, the pre-cursor to the foreclosure process, have increased just 0.02% year over year. This would be highly contrary to the perception that Washington has a burgeoning foreclosure issue on the horizon.
As always, I appreciate Ron Sparks and his market perspective.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Record sales!
This just in....our Bellevue office just closed $50M in sales last week! It's been 17+ years since our office has sold this kind of volume. Slow market? Really!
Monday, May 23, 2011
What a Buyer needs to know about their Signing Appointment
It is a happy day when a buyer gets the call that all their closing documents are in order and they are asked to make an appointment to sign the documents. Signing occurs one or two days before the scheduled closing and is determined by when the loan documents are received from the lender Plan to be at the signing for about 45 minutes to an hour for a first mortgage and if there is a second involved, it may take up to an hour and a half. What should you bring? Buyers each need to bring two forms of identification and one must be a photo id such as a driver's license or passport. Also, buyers need to remember to bring a cashier's check written from a Washington state financial institution or have their funds wired, confirming the bank's wiring requirements well in advance of the actual closing date. Who will be at the signing? The escrow closing officer will explain all the documents to you and show you where to sign. Your Realtor may or may not attend your signing.
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