Forbes Magazine listed the 10 safest cities in America to live, with Seattle checking in at number 5 on the list. The list was based on a number of stats, including crime, workplace accidents, weather, and traffic accidents.
It's not a surprise to see Seattle on this list. Our crimes rates are unusually low for a large city. We don't see a lot of the natural disasters that affect some other cities. Our rare earthquakes have caused little damage, there's been only minor flooding in the city, no tornadoes, hurricanes, and snowstorms are scarce.
Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com (206) 552-8820
Home sales in the U.S. showed their fourth gain in five months by posting a 9% gain in existing home purchases as compared to 2008. At the same time, inventory of total homes was down 7.5%, signalling more good news for home sellers. There's no sure sign of recovery in the national real estate market, but this is another month of positive figures.
Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com (206) 552-8820
The total number of Seattle bank-owned homes on the MLS is strikingly low. Between Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Shoreline, I'm showing around 280 bank-owned homes for sale on the NWMLS. That being said, the number did take quite a jump since it was around 210 homes a month ago when I last pulled the statistics.
To keep this in perspective, there are probably 10,000 listings for sale in the Greater Seattle metro. These bank-owned homes make up only a tiny sliver of the homes for sale. It's an interesting trend to follow, but not a market-changer at this point.
Seattle foreclosures have been rising steadily for the past couple of years, but a new article from CNN Money puts the total numbers in perspective. While Seattle got hit with the real estate downturn much later than most cities, our foreclosures have been increasing while other cities have been slowing.
That being said, our total foreclosure numbers are less than half the national average. Most big cities have real issues with foreclosed homes and distressed properties. Seattle bank-owned homes constitute less than one quarter of one percent of the homes for sale on the market. This is miniscule, and doesn't affect the real estate market much at all at this point. From the article:
The housing market could rebound quickly... "It's down because of economic distress," .... Once job losses end, the city's very diverse and modern companies should drive a quick recovery.
Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com (206) 552-8820
Seattle Floating Homes and Seattle Houseboats - Part 5 - Locations
Seattle Floating Homes Listings - Seattle Houseboats For Sale
The floating homes and houseboats in the Seattle area are all centered around Lake Union. The Puget Sound waterfront is usually too rough for year-round moorage, and even Lake Washington with its great size can pick up a lot of wind and boat traffic, causing some rocky waters. Lake Union, on the other hand, has caps on boat speed and a smaller surface area to pick up bad weather. It's fairly calm year-round.
Eastlake - This is the home of the most magnificent floating homes. While you can find some smaller homes for around $400k, there are also high-end communities with $2 million+, two story modern floating homes. These are well-established communities and some newly-constructed communities. Eastlake is the most well-known neighborhood and houses a large number of homes.
Portage Bay - This area also has a large number of floating homes, and is well protected in its small cove. Many floating homes reside here, from small huts to full-sized traditional homes. Located off the Montlake neighborhood, just across from the Seattle yacht club, there's plenty of boat traffic to view from the decks.
Northlake - This shoreline on the South end of the Wallingford neighborhood has quite a few houseboat/liveaboard communities. You'll find everything from small sailboats to paddlewheel boats that are used as residences. Gasworks Park is on this shore along with some marine industrial properties.
Westlake - Welcome to Sleepless In Seattle. Tom Hanks' houseboat is here, along with a small outcropping of other floating homes. This area is not as well-known for houseboats, save the movie star residence. There are a lot of commercial/entertainment businesses in Westlake, which is separated by a steep slope from the East end of Queen Anne.
Canal/Queen Anne - Some of the least expensive houseboats/floating homes can be found here. The views aren't as good as on Lake Union, but it still has great access to the lake and to the Puget Sound. Most of the homes are located on the North shore of the Queen Anne neighborhood.
Searching for houseboats on the MLS can be difficult. Real Estate agents vary in how they identify the neighborhood of the homes. One houseboat could be listed 3 different ways--Lake Union, Northlake, or Wallingford. Here are some of the most common:
Although there have been other houseboats moved around to different parts of Seattle, the permanently established communities are all based within these neighborhoods and offshoots of the Lake Union waterfront.
Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
SeattleHome.com (206) 552-8820
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Seattle Real Estate Broker - RE/MAX Connected Dir. of Marketing, SeattleHome.com REALTOR, Green Certified Pro, Waterfront Real Estate
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