About King County, WA

Condo vs Co-op Pros and Cons

02-09-10

Sonny Kwan

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Mobile: (206) 819-8228

Condo vs Co-op Pros and Cons

Photos and graphics by Sonny Kwan Realtor® with John L Scott Real Estate Seattle, WA. All information is believed to be accurate, but is not warranted in any way. Visit my website www.mercerisland-homesforsale.info to search all homes on the internet.

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Foreign Investors Buying in the United States

02-09-10

Sonny Kwan

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Mobile: (206) 819-8228

Foreign Investors buying in the United States

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Buying a Condo vs a Co-op

02-09-10

Sonny Kwan

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Mobile: (206) 819-8228

Buying a Condo vs a Co-op

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Invest Wisely with Seattle Short Sale Realty

02-09-10

Karen Bellas

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Office: (480) 345-4069

If you are looking for a way to make a deal in the housing market in Seattle, then have a look at the Seattle WA short sale realty for sale. These houses represent the best bargain deals that you can get to reap gains in the future. Seattle is a lovely place to own a house in. Seattle is considerably one of the most beautiful cities in the world because of the lush greenery and constant rainfall. Seattle has a wonderful collection of neighborhoods like Georgetown, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Greenwood and many more.

Seattle for years has been the center for performing arts; there are several performances that take place at the Benaroya Hall, McCaw Hall, the 5th Avenue Theatre and many more. The mild weather of the city allows the residents to enjoy a range of outdoor fun. People love walking around the Green Lake and the Discovery Park, which is also the largest park in the city has some great facilities. You can also enjoy hiking and skiing in the nearby Cascade or Olympic Mountains.

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The State of Seattle's Waterfront Real Estate: 2009 Statistics

02-08-10

Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker

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Mobile: (206) 658-3225

2009 was an up-and-down year for Seattle's real estate market in general. Half of the year was slumping prices and slow sales, followed by surging demand of first time buyers and a flurry of sales to close out the year. The lowest-priced sale of the year was a $48,000 houseboat on Lake Union--the ultimate in cheap waterfront living. On the other end of the scale, we topped out just over $15 million for a Lake Washington home in Mercer Island's East Seattle neighborhood.

Seattle waterfront

Waterfront home sellers in the greater Seattle real estate market felt the pain of a recession which has put a drag on luxury market purchases in general. While things were looking up by the end of 2009, the overall waterfront market is still recovering from the hits it has taken since mid-2007. This has created some very attractive opportunities for home buyers.

Seattle Waterfront Home Sales

Median sale prices of waterfront homes in King County dropped 4% from $716,000 in 2007 to $690,000 in 2008. 2009 saw a much larger 20% drop with the median sale price being $550,000. While those numbers certainly show an increase in affordability, take them with a grain of salt. Waterfront homes did not lose 20% of their value in 2009, there were just very few high-end sales last year, pushing the median lower. The total sales numbers have been skewed much further toward lower-end homes in the past two years as consumers have tightened their belts--even luxury home buyers.

In the meantime, the marketing time required to sell a waterfront home has increased markedly. With fewer buyers in the market, marketing time went up from a median of 38 days in 2007 to 66 days in 2008 and 70 days in 2009. Sellers had to try quite a bit harder to entice buyers to make a large purchase, and many home buyers actually downsized to save costs.

Marketing Time For Seattle Waterfront Homes

One theory that persists in the high-end real estate market is that these home owners don't "have to sell". More than the average home owner, they have more discretionary funds, more ability to carry mortgages on multiple homes, or the financial confidence to sit on their current property until they get the price they want.

While there is certainly truth to that theory in some situations, we're also seeing some cracks in the foundation. Waterfront home owners can certainly ride out the slow market, but there is always a limit. There were some very significant price drops this year on $15 million and $20 million properties that didn't budge much at all during 2008. These home owners are still investors, and they understand when it's time to cut their losses and make a sale happen.

For home sellers in 2010, the good news is that things continue to stabilize in the overall market. On a monthly basis, total home sales are on the rebound. Prices seem to have found a bottom for now. When the base of the market improves, the luxury market gets a delayed bounce. That's a bounce that can't come too soon for some waterfront home owners who have waited patiently to sell these past two years. For waterfront home buyers--the deal is there for the taking.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
SeattleHome.com - Washington State Realty - (206) 658-3225
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