Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker

In a bit of Valentine's Day pseudo-science (don't shoot the messenger), Trulia surveyed men and women on their preferences in homeownership, styles of homes, amenities, and those same qualities they find attractive in potential dates.

The number of women stating that they preferred a man who owned a home was more than 15 times the number that preferred a renter. For men, the number who preferred a female homeowner was about six times the number who preferred a renter.

The study also found that although men and women had only slightly different preferences in home attributes, women had far more opinions. Female respondents chose far more home features as "important" to them as men did.

From the recap on the RealtorMag site:

"Home owners trump renters when it comes to finding someone to date, according to a new survey of 1,000 single people. More than a third of women and 18 percent of men would rather date a home owner than a renter, according to the survey, which was conducted on behalf of Trulia.

On the other hand, only 2 percent of women said they’d prefer to date a renter, while 3 percent of men said they’d prefer a renter.

Not only do both sexes prefer home owners, but they also prefer you live alone. Sixty-two percent of the singles surveyed said they prefer to date others who live alone and have no roommates.

And while the number of young adults who have moved back in with their parents has skyrocketed in recent months due to economic hardships, less than 5 percent of the singles surveyed said they would date someone living in their parents' home.

What home qualities are the many singles who prefer ownership to renting most drawn to? The top vote-getters were the master bath, walk-in closets, and gourmet kitchens. They also gave high ranks to hardwood floors, outdoor decks, and home theaters."

I'll skip the obligatory better dating/buy home today plug. Happy Valentine's Day.

Rent prices for housing and office space are expected to rise in 2012, as demand remains high. The lack of building of residential and commercial spaces in the past five years is beginning to put a strain on available space.

Seattle residents know the various "holes in the ground" around the city that were slated at one point to be new condo and apartment buildings. While many of those projects have been shuttered, some have been built up with other uses. In general, the availability of rental properties has continued to shrink yearly since the peak of the Seattle real estate market in the summer of 2007.

At the same time, home affordability will likely encourage many who feel squeezed-out by competition and out-priced to look into buying Seattle homes.

From Realtor Magazine: According to the consumer price index, rents have risent 2.5% in one year, while home prices in most of the country have dropped. According to Trulia, in 74 percent of U.S. cities, owning a home is more affordable than renting.

Amazon's effect on Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood has been well-documented. From businesses and apartments to a bevy of new restaurants, the neighborhood has taken on an entirely new look in under a decade. Much of South Lake Union has retrofitted its outward image to attract the burgeoning crop of Amazon employees.

The real estate market for South Lake Union condos has been affected greatly by the influx of Amazon's employees. There have been very few home sales in the past few months, but not for the reasons that sales lag in other markets. In South Lake Union, the few condos that do come on the market sell quickly, leaving a vacuum of available properties.

[Parts of South Lake Union are sometimes referred to as Cascade, a historic neighborhood name. The SLU neighborhood boundaries aren't officially defined, but generally, we use Aurora Ave to the West, Denny Way to the South, I-5 to the East, and Lake Union to the North. Statistics for South Lake Union condo sales are pulled from within these boundaries.]

Every single condo listed during the past six months under $1 million sold, and most sold quickly. In the past six months, there have only been three condos sold in South Lake Union. The inventory is scarce.

Only one condo on the market in South Lake Union has been listed for more than a month, and that happens to be a full-floor, $2 million condo. For the entire neighborhood, just three condos are available: the other two are at Veer Lofts on 9th Ave N. One is new construction being sold by the developer, and the third is a top-floor resale loft. Neither have been on the market over one month.

Clearly, most of the quality condo inventory in South Lake Union has been scooped up by Amazon employees as it has come on the market. Price stabilization in this neighborhood is certainly only the way. Some of the condos sold here have actually sold at higher prices than when they were originally purchased 2-3 years ago, bucking the downward pricing trend of the rest of the market. Low inventory, strong relocation numbers, and well-qualified buyers have put South Lake Union in position to be one of the first neighborhoods in Seattle to show price increases in 2012.

Sold Condos in South Lake Union, Past Six Months:
Veer Lofts:
MLS # 294360 - 401 9th Ave N #402, Seattle WA 98109 - $275,000
MLS # 250847 - 401 9th Ave N #616, Seattle WA 98109 - $405,000
Art Stable
MLS # 214417 - 516 Yale Ave N #600, Seattle WA 98109 - $1,565,000

Active Condos For Sale in South Lake Union:
Veer Lofts:
MLS # 313635 - 401 9th Ave N #212, Seattle WA 98109 - $289,950
MLS # 316769 - 401 9th Ave N #603, Seattle WA 98109 - $419,000
Art Stable
MLS # 290859 - 516 Yale Ave N #400, Seattle WA 98109 - $1,995,000

Redmond's waterfront home sales are marching in tune with the rising tide of waterfront real estate sales around the Puget Sound. Sales of waterfront homes in 2011 were up 9.7% compared to the previous year.

Of the 34 homes sold in Redmond in 2011, most were moderately price waterfront homes. A small portion of Redmond's southern shoreline on Lake Sammamish usually encompasses the highest-priced homes, and this year was no exception. The top sale in Redmond was a waterfront home on W Lake Sammamish Pkwy, closing at $2,500,000. The NWMLS includes waterfront homes on lakes, rivers, Sound, and many other bodies of water within the waterfront homes calculations.

Sales on Sammamish's waterfront in 2011 were just another notch in the belt of Greater Seattle's waterfront resurgence. Homes sold on Sammish's lakefront properties increased from 19 in 2010 to 32 in 2011, one of the most-significant increases in the Puget Sound region.

In particular, sales of more-affordable Sammamish waterfront homes were up significantly. The total increase of 58% was bolstered by 32 waterfront sales under $1 million, up from just 19 in 2010. Million dollar-plus sales, at the same time, stood at 15, up from 12 in the previous year. Overall, while prices were down somewhat, the strengthening sales should create further support for the market and prices in general going in to 2012.

Sammamish Waterfront Homes Sold, 2011