About Thurston County, WA

Percival Landing Park in Olympia is a wonderful destination for children who want to play at a playground or adults who want to stroll along the waterfront or relax as they gaze at Budd Inlet.

There are climbing toys, slides, and spinning toys, with separate areas for the younger kids and the older. The climbing toys at Percival Landing Park give kids the chance to get pretty creative about how they move from bar to bar or along the footstool type portions, enticing both the preschoolers and the older, daring kids.

And Percival Landing Park's boardwalk and little bridge let you get up close and personal with the Budd Inlet scene, admiring boats or watching the seagulls beg for bread.

When de-cluttering, did you also de-drug to get your home ready to sell? Where to take your unwanted medications in Olympia WA.

When getting your home ready to sell, most homeowners will clean and de-clutter, spruce up the yard, and maybe add a fresh coat of paint, but there is another part of your house that may be over looked and that is your medicine cabinet. You’ll want to put in a safe place your medications when your home is being shown, but this is also a good time to go through your medicines and dispose of the expired and unused prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Thurston County is one of the 17 counties (of Washington’s 39 counties) that provides free, safe and secure medication disposal drop-off locations. Also visit Thurston County’s Solid Waste website.

Why can’t I just put the medication in the trash?

Medicines are hazardous materials and bad for the environment. Once in the landfill, the medicines will breakdown into harmful chemicals that can leach into the water system. Flushing medicines down the toilet also contaminate the water system. Even though water treatment plants treat wastewater, they are unable to filter out the pharmaceutical compounds, and these compounds are then released into Puget Sound. Of 139 streams sampled in the US, 80% tested positive for pharmaceutical drug contamination.

What is the harm in keeping unused medication?

As a home seller, you don’t want to have any medications accessible to people who are viewing your home. The drugs of choice for abuse are prescription drugs, but over-the-counter drugs can also be abused.

Strangers are not the only problem with keeping unwanted medications. Accidental overdoses and poisonings are the leading cause of accidental deaths according to the Washington State Department of Health. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control says, “More than 70 percent of people who abuse prescription drugs get them from friends or family – often from the medicine cabinet.”

Where do I dispose of my unwanted medications for free?

In Thurston County, there are several drop box locations. All collection locations take controlled substances like Oxycontin or Vicodin EXCEPT Group Health.

Lacey Police Department - 420 College Street SE (drop box available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day)

Thurston County Sheriff’s Office – 2000 Lakeridge Dr SW outside of Building #3 (7 days a week, 24 hours a day)

Tumwater Police Department at City Hall – 555 Israel Road (Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM)

Rainier City Hall – 102 Rochester Street West (Monday-Thursday, 8 AM to 5 PM)

Tenino Police Department – 358 McClellan Street South (Monday-Friday, 7:30 AM to 4 PM)

Yelm Police Department – 206 McKenzie Avenue SE (Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM)

Group Health Cooperative – 700 Lilly Road (Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 11 PM; weekends and holidays from 9 AM to 7 PM. Group Health does not accept any controlled substances.)

For locations in other counties, visit www.TakeBackYourMeds.org.

January 2012 Real Estate Market Update for Olympia, WA

The good news about the real estate market in Olympia, WA and in Thurston County overall is our active inventory is at a 6-year low with about 1,270 homes for sale. This means there is more competition amongst buyers. In comparison, a hot seller’s market yielded less than 750 homes for sale.

Another bit of good news is the absorption rate is at a 5-year low. If all the listings in the market sold, it would take 5.7 months to sell all of them. Historically, our market is considered a balanced market when the absorption rate is between 4-6 months.

The average sales price for Thurston County is at $233,086 (this is down 5.9% from last year), but for the last six months, the average sales price has remained flat. This could be an indicator that this area has “hit bottom” as far as this is the lowest home prices will be and that a slight uptick in home prices are to come. This is a bold prediction however with several months of positive job growth, it boosts consumer confidence and potential buyers are becoming home owners.

Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers for 2011

From a survey from the National Association of Realtors®, here are some interesting trends found in 2011.

• First-time buyers were only 37% of the market compared to 50% from 2010.
• Investors are increasing their inventory. 1 in 10 buyers in 2011 was 45 years old and older and owned at least one investment property.
• 26% of buyers aged 65+ own a second home.
• Sellers are living in their homes longer. In 2011, the average seller had been in their home for 9 years as opposed to 6 years in 2007.
• In 2011, the primary reason for purchasing a home was affordability.

About Olympia, WA

Olympia is Washington State’s capitol city, and is located in Western Washington at the southern point of Puget Sound. One of the best features of living in Olympia is its centric location to the Pacific Ocean, two metropolis cities (Seattle & Portland, Oregon), and the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges, which include the Olympic Rain Forest, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens.

The Olympia-Tumwater-Lacey cities of Thurston County offer a rich diversity of outdoor activities from hiking to kayaking to bicycling; a vibrant arts and entertainment scene with world-renown productions visiting the Washington Center for the Performing Arts; a waterfront lifestyle from tug boat races to pier fishing;lots of choices for “retail therapy,” including many independent shops as well as the national chains;

And so much more.

(All data compiled from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Data is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.)

Interested in living in Olympia, WA or other cities in Thurston County? Call me today to find your next home. In the meantime, visit my website to check out the current homes for sale in Olympia, WA.

Indian Summer Golf & Country Club in Olympia, WA – January 2012 Market Update

January 2012 Real Estate Market Update

The Indian Summer Golf & Country Club neighborhood in Olympia, WA typically sees on average two sales per month, however there were no sales that happened in January 2012 but there is one pending sale. December 2011, though, did have 3 homes sales.

The good news about the real estate market in Indian Summer is the average home price has remained steady the last three years. The average prices from 2010 to 2011 only dropped 1.8%. This chart includes all home sales – single family homes, townhomes, and new construction.

2011 saw an increase in the number of home sales from 2010. This is attributed that homes were priced correctly, as well as an increase in buyer confidence. (The surge in home sales in 2005 was due to new construction sales.)

About Indian Summer Golf & Country Club in Olympia, WA

Indian Summer Golf & Country Club located in southeast Olympia, WA is a premier gated neighborhood that surrounds the private Indian Summer Golf Course.

Indian Summer is still experiencing growth with new construction being built in The Links, part of Indian Summer located off of Rainier Road and is in the southeast section of Indian Summer. When fully built out, Indian Summer will have approximately 500 single family homes, townhomes and condos – most with sweeping views of the golf course.

You don’t need to be a golfer to enjoy the beautiful design of Indian Summer. Several unique and appealing features Indian Summer residents enjoy are:

• A 33-acre nature preserve with walking trails open to the residents of Indian Summer.
• Sidewalks throughout with wide streets and underground utilities that capitalize on the golf course views.
• Indian Summer is a gated community with a gate guard on staff.
• Indian Summer residents and the public can enjoy The Embers restaurant. You can sit in the bar, sit outside on the elevated deck overlooking the greens or enjoy the views from inside the restaurant. Residents like they can walk to a great restaurant and dine in or order take out.
• The clubhouse also has banquet and meeting areas – perfect for weddings and other events.
• And who has a salon and spa in their neighborhood?! Indian Summer does and it is Antidote Spa & Salon, where you can take a spa-cation, all within the gates of Indian Summer!

(All data compiled from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Data is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.)

If you’d like more information about Indian Summer, please visit these links:

Overview of the Indian Summer neighborhood

Where is the Best Place on the Golf Course to Live?

Indian Summer Nature Preserve

Indian Summer Chehalis-Western Trail

Indian Summer Andrew Jackson Chambers Homestead

Indian Summer Local Business Spotlight – Thrive Fitness Center

Indian Summer Home Insurance with Douglas Allan, State Farm

Interested in making this premier neighborhood your home? Call me today to find your next home. In the meantime, check out the current homes for sale.

Have we reached bottom in Thurston County?

Over the last couple of years it seems like every time we think that we have reached the bottom, of home prices here in the Olympia area, out comes the shovel and the bottom has been dug Even deeper. However, we have definitely seen a new pulse in real estate home sales in Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater areas; homes sales for the last quarter rose over 25% from the last quarter of 2010.

What does this mean for home buyers in the Thurston County? In my opinion, now is the time to buy! There are still great low and zero down loan programs available with interest rates as low as 3.5%. In many cases you can buy a home for less than it would cost to rent a similar home in the area. When you couple this with the fact that home buyers have a tremendous amount of homes to choose from... This just might be the time in history where people look back and say... "I wish I had bought then... I would have made a fortune on this home!"

For example: I just sold a 1,700 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, on a qu iet tree lined street with a private fenced back yard near Capitol High School, for $200,000. Principle and interest on that home @ 3.7% is only $920.00 per month on a 30 year loan. That is amazing!

Now a verterans could have bought this home for zero down and an FHA buyer could get into a home like this for 3.5% down, which could be gifted to them from a family member.

If you are thing about buying and would like to search homes for sale in Western Washington or find out how much your payment would be in your price range then... Click Here.