Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Realtor - SeattleHome.com

Residents of Seattle's Lake Union neighborhoods, especially those living near the waterfront, should take note of the proposed community center planned for the north shore of the lake near Gasworks Park in Wallingford. In my opinion, this is a much-needed improvement for such a beautiful area with so little community development. The Lake Union waterfront on the north end has plenty of unused potential. From Jake Beattie of the CWB:

There is an effort underway to create a maritime community center on the north shore of Lake Union adjacent to Gasworks Park. The Northlake Community Wharf will serve several functions.

1. Interpretive shipyard where the community can get involved and learn about historic ships undergoing restoration.

2. A place to extend the activity of the park on to the water of Lake Union via a hand-launch site or programs through The Center for Wooden Boats.

3. Serve needs for community meeting space at the water's edge.

Northlake Community Wharf is a public/private partnership that will use non-profit led community engagement to activate public land to create a park-like experience without tax dollars for operations.

For more information on the project and how you can get involved, visit the project website at northlakewharf.wordpress.com

The Floating Homes Association has written a letter endorsing the project.

-Jake Beattie, Deputy Director for the Center For Wooden Boats

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

The jumbo mortgate market has been rough for more than a year. Interest rates on larger mortgages have remained very high, as banks are reluctant to make large investments in individual borrowers. This has caused a real lag in sales of luxury homes and waterfront homes.

There may finally be some relief on the way. It seems that some banks have finally turned the corner and are starting to invest again without the fear of massive losses on the horizon. Whether or not this comes to fruition, we'll see. There are still clearly a lot of foreclosures on the horizon, but apparently some banks feel that they have planned for those losses are are ready to begin investing again. For Seattle waterfront real estate owners, this could signal a chance to get the market moving again and get a home sold in a reasonable amount of time.

Jumbo Loans May Be On A Comback

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

Many economists are predicting that the real estate market has stabilized and will be steady for the near future:

All the leading indicators say housing is definitely on the mend, economists reported in advance of the official release of several pieces of good news expected this week.

Bloomberg News surveyed 53 economists and asked them where they expected the numbers to fall. Here are their predictions:

• Construction starts in September are expected to hit a 610,000 annual rate, the most since last November.
• Sales of existing homes likely rose to a two-year high.
• Because of fear of a relapse, the Federal Reserve is predicted to leave interest rates low for a few more months.
• Building permits, a sign of future growth, probably rose to a 590,000 annual pace, also the highest level since November, the Commerce Department is likely to announce.
• The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index is expected to rise to 20 from 19, the economists say.

Google Inc. plans to resume hiring and acquisitions after its third-quarter sales beat analysts' estimates. CFO Patrick Pichette says: "We weathered what is an incredible recession. If you have all this behind you, the only outcome you should have as management is: ‘OK, let's build now.'"

Source: Bloomberg, Courtney Schlisserman (10/18/2009)

A few interesting points about Seattle, for prospective buyers of Seattle homes, tourists, or trivia nuts:

The name Seattle came from a Native American, Chief Sealth, whose tribe inhabited the area. The pronunciation, "See-AL-tuh-huh", eventually became Seattle.

The U.S. Census Bureau lists Seattle as the most educated city in the US with more than half of residents over 25 yrs old having a bachelor's degree.

Seattle also regularly ranks as one of the most fit cities in the U.S., with large numbers of outdoor enthusiasts (even in the rain).

Most East Coast cities actually have more yearly rainfall than Seattle. The total number of gray, drizzly days in Seattle are high, which give it the reputation as a rainy city.

Seattle sells more sunglasses per-capita than any other major city in the U.S. (we lose them every winter).

The Space Needle, Seattle's most iconic building, was built for the 1962 World's Fair. It now houses a rotating restaurant which makes one full rotation per hour.

Seattle is home to some of the longest floating bridges in the world: Evergreen Point (520) Bridge at 7578 ft, and Murrow (I-90) Bridge at 6620 ft, both which cross Lake Washington.

Boeing, UPS, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, are just some of the major U.S. companies founded in Seattle.

If you can stand a few gray, cloudy days, Seattle is one of the most interesting and vibrant cities in the world.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
Seattle Real Estate Brokers
Seattle Waterfront Homes
(206) 552-8820

SeattleHome.com

Here are last month's Seattle waterfront homes sold in the greater Seattle area:

On the North end of Medina, a 4 bed, 4.25 bath home was sold for around $3.3 million. Listed at nearly $4 million, this was a big discount for the buyer. The home is on almost half an acre, which is somewhat deceiving considering Medina's long, sloping, switchback driveways.

On Lake Sammamish in East Bellevue, a 4 bedroom waterfront house sold for $1.8 million. It's a newer home, built in 1995 with 3300 sq ft, a 4 car garage, and 3.5 baths. A nice dock and covered boat moorage highlight the waterfront footage.

In Renton's Kennydale neighborhood (just south of Bellevue), a 3300 sq ft waterfront home sold for $1.8 million. This was a mid-century home, 3300 sq ft with 4 bedrooms. With 55 feet of Lake washington waterfront footgage, it's a nice piece of real estate.

Across Lake Washington in Madison Park/Seattle, a similar-sized home on a small lot sold around $1.7 million. This is a 2600 sq ft home on 5700 sq ft of land. The lot has a nice dock and big decks to enjoy the water views.

In Kenmore, just North of St. Edward State Park, another Lake Washington waterfront home was sold for $1.5 million. This was a very large home at 6 beds, 4.5 baths, and 4500 square feet of living space. The mid-century home has a lot with no-bank, deep water moorage for a 45+ ft boat.

Back on Lake Sammamish, another Bellevue home sold at just under $1 million. This was a beach house and cottage, both sold on the same parcel. The 1960s home needs some updating, but the dock and boat lift are ready to go.

Houseboats!

We had a wide range between the two houseboats sold in September on Lake Union/Portage Bay. One sold for $50k, the other for $650k.

The Portage Bay floating home was a full-sized home with cathedral ceilings, etc. With no HOA dues, it's a beautiful waterfront home. The Lake Union/Canal/Queen Anne houseboat was a little bungalow on the water. It's a "house barge", basically a floating cabin. At $50k, it's as cheap as you can find Seattle waterfront homes.