Discover North Seattle with Jay Silver

About every Thursday there are concerts on the lawn at the Northgate Community Center. My wife and I can hear the music from our window and sometimes we stop by to enjoy it in person.

This Thursday will be a perfect day to check out the next band, The Mediocres. The forecast is set to be sunny and warm, so come out and enjoy some live music for FREE!

Click here for a map to the community center.

The Whole Foods Market at Roosevelt Square (map it here) will be serving up a cooking class dedicated to the Dave Matthews Band on September 3rd.

Dave's personal chefs have put together some recipes to be cooked up and accented with a nice glass of wine.

The class starts at 6pm and costs $30 per person. You can sign up at the guest service booth. Space is limited, so hurry!

I believe we have started a slow rebound from the worst of things in the housing market. "Housing Starts", which are basically the number of applications for building permits and initial construction of single-family homes, has had a sharp increase in June. Here's an article with more info on CNN/Money.

This is usually a "heads-up" for where the general housing market is going. There is still a large supply of homes on the market, along with bank owned properties and foreclosures. Until that supply is absorbed by homebuyers, I think prices will continue to be very attractive.

My two-cents worth is that we'll see a great buyer's market until next Spring. I can't exactly shout the "Quick! Buy now before it's too late!" mantra you may be hearing from other professionals just yet. But if you want to take advantage of up to $8,000 worth of the first time homebuyer tax credit, you should start your search now. That deal only lasts until the end of November and it usually takes about 3-4 months from start to finish when buying a home.

Plus, Washington State Housing Finance Commission has some great programs for first time homebuyers including Down Payment Assistance and good interest rates.

If you have questions about buying or selling your Seattle home in this current market please don't hesitate to ask! Email me!

- Jay

Did you know you can learn a new language online using Mango Languages if you log in through the Seattle Public Library's website?

Check it out here: http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_open_features&branchID=21&cid=1235331714073

You can either go into the library and use one of their computers or go learn from the comfort of your own home. Pretty cool!

If you are not on a Library computer, you will need to log in with your Library card number.

With Mango Languages, you can learn Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian and Mandarin Chinese. Also, Spanish speakers can use Mango Languages to learn English.

To begin using Mango Languages, just click on the language you want to learn and then select a lesson from the dropdown menu titled "Lesson Selection." The narrator will then lead you through your lessons.

- Jay Silver

Join the Burke Museum for this interactive game with familiar storybook characters, real museum specimens, puppets and prizes. For ages 10 and under.

It all happens on Tuesday, August 11th, from 2 - 3pm.

This event is free!

For more info, go to the Library/Community Center info page here:

http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_open&branchID=21

- Jay Silver