Deborah Burns ~ Seattle Real Estate Agent

Zillow released its' Seattle Real Estate Trends yesterday for the third quarter (July, August, September) of 2008. Their calculations show that Seattle home values have decreased -7.53% compared to the third quarter of 2007. As a point of comparison, home values Nationally decreased -9.7% for the same quarter.

If you click through the links to Click for Seattle values you will find on the left under Seattle, the Excel icon . When you click there, you will find 5 tabs at the bottom of the page; "Summary", "Metro Area & County", "City", "Neighborhood", and "Glossary". I found the information shown under City and Neighborhood to be the most interesting, as the value data that Zillow has compiled is broken down to what most Seattle home buyers and Seattle home sellers will find the most interesting; their particular neighborhood or city.

These numbers are "Year over Year" of the "% change for the Zillow Home Value Index or "Zindex" over the last year (12 months)". In other words, Zillows "Zestimate", the median value for homes for in that area, and the percent less value compared to last years' Zestimate median value.

Unlike the Northwest MLS which only uses actual sales data of homes sold through the NWMLS, the Zillow figures use all home sales, then calculates values to all homes, assigns their Zestimates and determines the median value for an area. Which makes this a useful tool for looking at values and comparing them to get an idea of how values increase or decrease over time. However, these percents are not a good way to look at the value of a particular home, just a rough tool for understanding an idea of an areas value relative to last year.

Here are a few cities and neighborhoods of current interest to me as well as my current and recent clients:

• Beacon Hill -8.0%
• Clyde Hill -4.4%
• Columbia City -12.7%
• Magnolia -8.3% (Magnolia is shown twice)
• Magnolia -6.5%
• Mercer Island -6.3%
• Montlake -7.0%
• Normandy Park -5.8%
• Queen Anne -4.7%
• West Seattle -7.4%

Have fun following the links to find the City or neighborhood that interests you!

This weekend marks the 25th Annual Seattle Goodwill Glitter Sale !

All year long the good folks at the Seattle Goodwill set aside fabulous donated fashion items and save them up for a weekend event called the Glitter Sale ! This event has become a weekend "must do" for "Budget Fashionistas" to score some fabulous fashion finds.

To kick off this years Glitter Sale, Goodwill launched its' 1st Annual Glitter Gala on Thursday November 13th, 2008 in the Metropolitan Ballroom at the Sheraton Hotel. This years' Glitter Sale is Saturday and Sunday, November 15th & 16th from 9am to 6pm and there will be a line of dedicated Glitter Shoppers!

There will be designer, retro, vintage, dresses, gowns, jackets, tops, handbags, belts, shoes, jewelry and more! "Stuff" will often be sparkly, sequined, gold, silver, beaded, fringed, silky, velvet, leather, feathered, brocaded, embroidered, embellished....and will absolutely satisfy your inner "Dress-up Girl" with Fun Fashion and Glamour Galore!

A few years ago I went to the Glitter Sale with some friends and we had fun in the fashion frenzy finding a few new favorites to add to our collections. So, if this seems like your kind of fun....check out the Glitter Blog for shopping tips and enjoying Betsy McFeely's posts on some of the finds she has highlighted and more. While the Glitter Sale is a wonderful event everyone attending, there is a purpose to all that Glitters...helping people through Goodwill's job training and education programs .

Today, Betsy took me on a Pre-view tour of all the wondrous LOOT that will make up the Seattle Goodwill Glitter Sale and I have put together a slide show of what I saw...and ooooh how I would have loved to have been able to shop right then and there! Many thanks to Betsy and all the people at Goodwill who have worked so hard to organize and merchandise all the wonderful things that kind, and thoughtful people have donated to help fund Goodwill's job training and education programs.

The First Thursday Art Walk in Downtown Seattle's Pioneer Square is always an interesting "Things-to-do-in-Seattle" activity, with all the Galleries , craft booths, sometimes live music and of course all the special shops , restaurants , cafes, bars that are found in Pioneer Square .   

This month was extra exciting since the friend I was with wanted to see a customer, Fred Lisaius of hers (she's the Manager at the Bellevue Daniel Smith Art Supply Store ) who was showing at the Linda Hodges Gallery.  Meeting, and talking to Fred Lisaius was fun, it made it all the more interesting to see his beautiful paintings!  

We also met up with two more people to do the Art Walk with.  While walking around, we also unexpectedly wandered into the Greg Kucera Gallery and the opening for some work by a sculptor whose beautiful Horses I have always want to see and experience in person, Deborah Butterfield.  

We began our Art Walk in Occidental Park visiting the many artists at their booths.  At one booth, a beautiful necklace by Joy Gonyea-Robertson (Jewelry by Joy ) caught my eye as well as my interest when I heard it's story...I bought it, and wore the necklace the rest of the evening!    

More of the Galleries and Studios we visited were, Grover/Thurston Gallery (we really enjoyed the art by Julie Paschkis ) , Davidson Galleries (both), and the Tashiro Kaplan All Arts Building.  There were others, but I kind of lost track.  Some of the Artists' work that I really enjoyed seeing, and Artists I enjoyed talking with were:  Kim McCarthy, Ariel Brady, Michael Baehr, and Kerrie Carbary  

There is always so much to see at the Seattle First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square , it's a great way to enjoy Downtown Seattle, and buying some Original Artwork for your home is a wonderful way to enhance your home!

Well, it's that time of the year again and it's The Georgetown Art & Garden Walk !  This year is the 13th year that the Georgetown neighborhood in Seattle has shown off it's unique and very individual styles of Gardening.  From the front yard, the side yard, the backyard, and even the "Hell Strip" that exists between the sidewalk and the street there are sure to be surprises and delights to enjoy! 

The Georgetown Art & Garden Walk is this Sunday, July 13th from 10am to 5pm.  The Georgetown Neighborhood website has this to say about it" 

"So much to see! Colorful gardens, artist studios, food and drink, plus tours of the Georgetown Powerplant Museum and the Museum of Communication. Free and no registration required. Maps available on the day of the walk at the Bank of America parking lot, 1112 South Bailey Street." 

I did not get to attend last year's Georgetown Art & Garden Walk, (I met with clients to see a house in the morning and had an Open House in the afternoon) but I'll be there this year early with a friend to take an adventurous walk through Georgetown in Seattle!

Enjoy this slide show of my walk in Georgetown in 2006....

It's gray, drizzly and the first Saturday in May which means it's the Opening Day of Boating season in Seattle! The Seattle Yacht Club in Montlake, is celebrating their 87th year of kicking off the Opening Day of Boating in Seattle.

A few days ago the boats began tying up to the log boom just outside of the Montlake Cut outlining where the Parade of Boats will travel and the rowing regatta for the Windermere Cup will race. While driving back to Seattle from my office in Bellevue, I stopped near the Museum of History and Industry to take a look at the boats lining up and mooring at the log boom to take some photos.

For more about the Opening Day of Boating in Seattle....please click here