Seattle Homes on the Puget Sound

Home sales in the U.S. showed their fourth gain in five months by posting a 9% gain in existing home purchases as compared to 2008.  At the same time, inventory of total homes was down 7.5%, signalling more good news for home sellers.  There’s no sure sign of recovery in the national real estate market, but this is another month of positive figures.

Realtor Article

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com  (206) 552-8820

Seattle foreclosures have been rising steadily for the past couple of years, but a new article from CNN Money puts the total numbers in perspective.  While Seattle got hit with the real estate downturn much later than most cities, our foreclosures have been increasing while other cities have been slowing.  This hasn’t affected the Puget Sound waterfront real estate much at this point.

That being said, our total foreclosure numbers are less than half the national average.  Most big cities have real issues with foreclosed homes and distressed properties.  Seattle bank-owned homes constitute less than one quarter of one percent of the homes for sale on the market, of which even fewer are Puget Sound waterfront.  This is miniscule, and doesn’t affect the real estate market much at all at this point.  From the article:

The housing market could rebound quickly… “It’s down because of economic distress,” …. Once job losses end, the city’s very diverse and modern companies should drive a quick recovery.

Article from CNNMoney

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com  (206) 552-8820

This is an interesting article by Diana Forman with the Floating Homes Association.  The Shoreline Master Program (SMP) consists of regulations for the use of waterways in the Seattle area.  There is a committee that consists of land owners, businesses, developers, and recreation groups that all have a stake in the management of the floating homes, waterfront real estate, environment, and atmosphere on the Puget Sound, Lake Union, Lake Washington, and the other bodies of water in the Seattle area.

From noxious weeds to new Seattle floating homes and construction requirements, these folks have their hands full.  The SMP is trying to combine conforming and non-conforming regulations for Seattle houseboats and homes on land–no easy job.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

The jumbo mortgate market has been rough for more than a year.  Interest rates on larger mortgages have remained very high, as banks are reluctant to make large investments in individual borrowers.  This has caused a real lag in sales of luxury homes and waterfront homes on Seattle’s Puget Sound.

There may finally be some relief on the way.  It seems that some banks have finally turned the corner and are starting to invest again without the fear of massive losses on the horizon.  Whether or not this comes to fruition, we’ll see.  There are still clearly a lot of foreclosures on the horizon, but apparently some banks feel that they have planned for those losses are are ready to begin investing again.  For Seattle waterfront real estate owners, this could signal a chance to get the market moving again on the Puget Sound waterfront and get a home sold in a reasonable amount of time.

Jumbo Loans May Be On A Comback

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

Many economists are predicting that the real estate market has stabilized and will be steady for the near future:

All the leading indicators say housing is definitely on the mend, economists reported in advance of the official release of several pieces of good news expected this week.

Bloomberg News surveyed 53 economists and asked them where they expected the numbers to fall. Here are their predictions:

• Construction starts in September are expected to hit a 610,000 annual rate, the most since last November.
• Sales of existing homes likely rose to a two-year high.
• Because of fear of a relapse, the Federal Reserve is predicted to leave interest rates low for a few more months.
• Building permits, a sign of future growth, probably rose to a 590,000 annual pace, also the highest level since November, the Commerce Department is likely to announce.
• The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index is expected to rise to 20 from 19, the economists say.

Google Inc. plans to resume hiring and acquisitions after its third-quarter sales beat analysts’ estimates. CFO Patrick Pichette says: “We weathered what is an incredible recession. If you have all this behind you, the only outcome you should have as management is: ‘OK, let’s build now.’”

Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (10/18/2009)

A few interesting points about Seattle, for prospective buyers of Seattle homes, tourists, or trivia nuts:

The name Seattle came from a Native American, Chief Sealth, whose tribe inhabited the area.  The pronunciation, “See-AL-tuh-huh”, eventually became Seattle.

The U.S. Census Bureau lists Seattle as the most educated city in the US with more than half of residents over 25 yrs old having a bachelor’s degree.

Seattle also regularly ranks as one of the most fit cities in the U.S., with large numbers of outdoor enthusiasts (even in the rain).

Most East Coast cities actually have more yearly rainfall than Seattle.  The total number of gray, drizzly days in Seattle are high, which give it the reputation as a rainy city.

Seattle sells more sunglasses per-capita than any other major city in the U.S. (we lose them every winter).

The Space Needle, Seattle’s most iconic building, was built for the 1962 World’s Fair.  It now houses a rotating restaurant which makes one full rotation per hour.

Seattle is home to some of the longest floating bridges in the world:  Evergreen Point (520) Bridge at 7578 ft, and Murrow (I-90) Bridge at 6620 ft, both which cross Lake Washington.

Boeing, UPS, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, are just some of the major U.S. companies founded in Seattle.

If you can stand a few gray, cloudy days, Seattle is one of the most interesting and vibrant cities in the world.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

Here are last month’s Seattle waterfront homes sold in the greater Seattle area:

On the North end of Medina, a 4 bed, 4.25 bath home was sold for around $3.3 million.  Listed at nearly $4 million, this was a big discount for the buyer.  The home is on almost half an acre, which is somewhat deceiving considering Medina’s long, sloping, switchback driveways.

On Lake Sammamish in East Bellevue, a 4 bedroom waterfront house sold for $1.8 million.  It’s a newer home, built in 1995 with 3300 sq ft, a 4 car garage, and 3.5 baths.  A nice dock and covered boat moorage highlight the waterfront footage.

In Renton’s Kennydale neighborhood (just south of Bellevue), a 3300 sq ft waterfront home sold for $1.8 million.  This was a mid-century home, 3300 sq ft with 4 bedrooms.  With 55 feet of Lake washington waterfront footgage, it’s a nice piece of real estate.

Across Lake Washington in Madison Park/Seattle, a similar-sized home on a small lot sold around $1.7 million.  This is a 2600 sq ft home on 5700 sq ft of land.  The lot has a nice dock and big decks to enjoy the water views.

In Kenmore, just North of St. Edward State Park, another Lake Washington waterfront home was sold for $1.5 million.  This was a very large home at 6 beds, 4.5 baths, and 4500 square feet of living space.  The mid-century home has a lot with no-bank, deep water moorage for a 45+ ft boat.

Back on Lake Sammamish, another Bellevue home sold at just under $1 million.  This was a beach house and cottage, both sold on the same parcel.  The 1960s home needs some updating, but the dock and boat lift are ready to go.

Houseboats!

We had a wide range between the two houseboats sold in September on Lake Union/Portage Bay.  One sold for $50k, the other for $650k.

The Portage Bay floating home was a full-sized home with cathedral ceilings, etc.  With no HOA dues, it’s a beautiful waterfront home.  The Lake Union/Canal/Queen Anne houseboat was a little bungalow on the water.  It’s a “house barge”, basically a floating cabin.  At $50k, it’s as cheap as you can find Seattle waterfront homes.

There was a flurry of Seattle waterfront real estate activity in August – seems like the nice weather finally brought the buyers out of the shadows.  After a slow July, there were quite a few closings last month, from small houseboats to grand waterfront estates.  The highlights:

Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

There were three houseboats sold in August, with one being a small “house barge”, and the other two being true “floating homes”.  The house barge in Westlake (Lake Union) is a small craft, newly-built, and cozy.  With 1 bed and 1 bath, it went for just $65,000 (yes, there are a lot of other costs involved in living here).  The two floating homes were on Roanoke Reef and Mallard Cove, higher-end floating home communities in the Eastlake area.  These are 2000 sq ft quality homes, with sale prices of $1.1 and $1.2 million.  The views from both of these homes are beautiful.

Waterfront Land:
A property on Alki Ave SW in West Seattle sold for just $440,000 with Puget Sound waterfront.  It’s zoned for low-rise multi-family, so there will probably be townhomes/condos on this lot soon.  There’s a small house on the lot for now, but not for long.

West Seattle Homes:

Two waterfront homes on Beach Dr SW sold for $1.35 and $1.55 million.   At 60-70 feet of Puget Sound waterfront, they’re very comparable properties and are just a couple of blocks apart.  The first home was a 1970s-built remodel with about 2600 sq ft of space.  The second is a newly-built home, but a bit smaller at around 2200 sq ft.  Both lots are around 5600 sq ft.

North Seattle Waterfront Homes:

Northeast Seattle has some of the most expensive and least expensive waterfront in Seattle.  Case in point, our two sales in Cedar Park and Windermere.  The Cedar Park home has 75 feet of waterfront on Lake Washington, 2700 sq ft in the 4 bedroom 2.75 bath home, a 50 foot dock, and a covered boat slip with lift.  It sold for just $1.3 million after almost a year on the market, a relative bargain on Lake Washington.

Just a couple of miles South, a home in the Windermere neighborhood with very similar stats sold for almost $2.1 million.  The Windermere neighborhood is well-known, sought-after, and exclusive.  Buyers pay for these factors.  This home sold in just one month, which seems to happen a lot in Windermere.  When something comes on the market, if it’s priced well, it’s gone quickly.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand

http://SeattleHome.com

There were two significant Seattle waterfront real estate sales in the month of July.  Both sales were on the Puget Sound waterfront, but coming from opposite ends of the city.

A 2 bed, 2 bath, 1500 sq ft West Seattle home on Beach Dr sold for $930,000 after 4 months on the market.  This was clearly a sale based on the land value, the home will very likely be torn down and rebuilt.  They didn’t even bother putting pictures of the home in the MLS listing.  There are very few folks in the Seattle area who will spend nearly $1 million and live in a 1500 sq ft home.  The west-facing views should make this a great lot for a new house.

On the North end of Seattle, a Blue Ridge home sold for just under $1 million.   This was a 2500 sq ft, mid-century home built specifically for the views.  It had been on the market for about 5 months.  This is a high-bank waterfront property, so most likely the access to the beach would be through the community Blue Ridge beach/park access.  The Puget Sound waterfront in the Blue Ridge/North Beach area is some of the calmest, with great walking beaches and low surf.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
SeattleHome.com