Burien, WA Real Estate - Lisa Bosques, Assoc. Broker/Mktg Specialist

White Center's only donut shop, Seattle Donut & Deli, is located in a tiny strip mall on 15th Ave. S.W. and 100th St. I went in there for the first time a couple of weeks ago to grab a quick bite to eat. This is definitely a hang-out for a lot of people, many from the Camodian community. The place was busy as can be so I knew I was onto something good.

Luckily there was one booth available, way in the back of the store...a good spot for secret picture-taking. I ordered a sandwich on French roll bread, with ham, cilantro, mayo, tomato, (I said, "No, thank you" to the jalapenos) and my favorite part, pickled daikon(japanese radish) and carrots. It was delicious. And at $2.99, you can't beat it. Afterwards, I ordered a cruller, a chocolate sprinkled donut and a couple of glazed donuts to take home to my husband and son. Those were also very good. The other day my friend and I had the Maple Old-Fashioned there, and oh my GOSH it was just divine. I keep thinking about it.

They also have all kinds of interesting beverages, including the iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk, and bubble tea. If you're in the area, give Seattle Donut & Deli a try sometime.

Currently, there are 150 active listings(that's available homes on the market), broken down into 122 single family homes and 28 condos.

From reading the agent comments, there is currently one short sale on the market right now; there has been one home sold through a short sale in the last 6 months in 98146. That's pretty good compared to some areas.

A brief explanation before I go further: Interestingly enough, and of course as you already may know, 98146 includes part of West Seattle, part of Burien, and part of unincorporated North Highline. West Seattle is known as "Area 140" and Burien/Highline is known as "Area 130", for purposes of classifying listings on the Multiple Listing Service.

So:

Average Market time in 98146/Area 140: 100 days

Median price: $400,000 Average price: $521,800

Average Market Time in 98146/Area 130: 59 days

Median price: $283,750 Average price: $272,000

Furthermore, since 1/1/08 98146 has had 13 sold homes, and 19 homes are currently pending.

The stats support what we already know to be true, that entry-level, starter homes under $300,000 are selling much more briskly than those in the upper price range. This is due in some part to higher interest rates on jumbo loans(loans over $417,000). However, we may soon see higher loan limits, set up in tiers; we may also see interest rates go down on jumbo loans in the lowest tier starting at $417,000.

I was on my way home from work today, dwelling on a transaction I'm currently involved in that as of today has officially boarded the handbasket to Hell. Other than that my day was fabulous, but of course our minds can't help but go back to the bad things that have happened. I was feeling so sorry for myself that I put in a CD by the Smiths, because Lord knows I can't possibly feel worse about myself than Morrissey feels about himself!

As I was settling in to wallow in my sour mood, I catch a glimpse of this sign outside of Dr. Ron Fulton's chiropractic office. How long it's been there, I don't know. But it made me turn at the next corner and go around the block so that I could a) get a good look at it again, and b) take a picture of it for my blog. This sign made me laugh so hard that my mood instantly changed, and I turned off the radio so that it wouldn't change back. I don't know what it has to do with chiropractors, but it is hilarious. Thanks, Dr. Fulton!

It's been about 3 weeks or so since I last blogged about www.myzip.net. Since my marketing is based on my zip code, I was very excited to see this new blog avenue, and I was determined to get my zip code so that I could be the neighborhood blogger for 98146.(www.98146.net)

MyZip.net is "part of the Marchex network of local sites including local search service Open List. Launched in 2007, we're building the nation's first and best network of local and neighborhood blogs. To see for yourself, type your ZIP code + .net in your Web browser.".

Basically, MyZip will pay you $50 per month to blog about goings-on in your zip code, during a trial period which goes for an unspecified period of time. I should be getting my first payment into my PayPal account sometime next week. They 'require' you to post 3 - 5 times per week, and uploading a photo counts as one post. So far, I'm having some fun with it, and for me, this is one more way to position myself as a neighborhood resource.

Last night I had the opportunity to meet other neighborhood bloggers in my area, as well as the guys in charge of implementing MyZip.net. We met up at Kell's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Pike Place Market for some beers and appetizers. I had a great time getting to know everyone, though I couldn't help but feel old amongst all the other younger, more hip bloggers. I know, I have issues.

Most of us were sweating the minimum submission guidelines; not necessarily because of the $50 stipend but because, in my case anyway, I don't want to get replaced by a more prolific blogger. The powers that be assured us that we needn't be so hard on ourselves at the beginning, as the guidelines were just that.

There are plans in the works to have more networking events such as the one last night. It was a great opportunity to communicate with the guys in charge, and let them know of issues that we're having with things such as uploading photos and other items.

In case anyone is still interested, they still have lots of zip codes available. Just go to MyZip.net, and click on 'Compensation'. You'll be directed to a survey, and once that's done they will contact you and let you know if you got your zip code. I'll keep posting more on this as time goes by.

Citizens of Burien, have you been to Dino's Gyros yet? It's on SW 148th St. and 1st Avenue South, just a couple of doors down from Safeway. If you haven't been there and you like this kind of food, you MUST go!

My friend had been wanting to try it, so we went there a few weeks ago. I was going to order a Gyro or a Greek salad, but then I saw these things called Doner Kebap. I know that these are much more prevalent on the east coast, so if anyone from there is reading, please pardon my ignorance! I envy you for having had easy access to this amazingly delicious "sandwich" your whole life.

The doner kebap is Turkish in origin, and is apparently Germany's most popular fast food. At Dino's, the bread is made fresh in-store and is heavenly. You can order the doner with lamb, chicken or beef; it also comes with lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber and tzatziki sauce; if you like, they will also put some feta cheese and kalamata olives on it.

I'm no food critic, so I just don't have the vocabulary necessary to adequately describe how good this is. So I'll just let the photos speak for themselves.

The doner kebap is gargantuan. See the salt shaker in relation to the sandwich and you can tell just how huge it is. Or take a look at the photo below. Are you hungry yet?