Medina, WA

Sales of waterfront homes in 2009 were slow on the Eastside, just as they were in Seattle. Waterfront real estate picked up in the fall, though.

Median Eastside/Bellevue waterfront home statistics for 2009:

4 beds, 2.75 baths, 3300 sq ft, $1.4 million and less than 3 months on the market.

Top sales for 2009 on the waterfront:

A 6300 sq ft home on Meydenbauer Bay, just off downtown Bellevue, this classic mid-century home sold in June. With 4 beds, 3.25 baths, and and .63 acres, it's an unbelievable parcel near downtown the went for $5.5 million

The other major sale was in Medina. A 5 bed, 7.5 bath, 8000 sq ft home sold in August for $6.1 million. This home on Medina's Gold Coast has views of the Seattle skyline and westerly sunsets. Built in 2003, it's modern luxury on the Seattle metro's most coveted waterfront.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
SeattleHome.com - Washington State Realty - (206) 658-3225
Real Estate Brokers, Realtors, Green Certified Pros

Electronic tolling on the 520 bridge crossing Lake Washington between Seattle, WA and Medina/Bellevue is likely to begin in 2011 according to the Seattle Times. The company contracted to manage the project has said the timeline was moved back from previously-planned 2010 tolling on Evergreen Point.

Seattle area drivers will use a Good To Go pass and pay automatically, or will be mailed a bill (must be more Medina cameras on the way). The tolls will also be adjusted based on peak traffic times in an effort to reduce traffic.

The reports thus far have estimated tolls around $2-$3, but said people wouldn't balk at paying up to $7. While this may be true for the tech population, it seems a bit harsh to apply that rate to everyone. There are plenty of students, blue-collar workers, and seniors on fixed incomes who would really be hurt by a $5+ toll every day. Let's hope that the state eases into these tolls at the lower levels.

Seattle Times article

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
SeattleHome.com - Brokers, Realtors

Seattle Homes For Sale

Medina Homes For Sale

I was doing a BPO (broker’s price opinion) on a short sale in Medina. Medina is considered very exclusive and also has many water front and water view homes. Here is a satellite view:
View Larger Map

For the BPO, and my own education, I did some research on the local sales history according to MLS records. I thought I’d share them with you.

Here are the sales states, for each six month period since the last half of 2007.

(December 2009 sales are only through 27^th)

Sales really slowed down in 2008 and the first half of 2009. The last half of 2009 really picked up, though you’ll notice that times are market are even longer. If the prices were lower, you might attribute this to the tax rebate, but I doubt that it affects sales in these price points that much (though it doesn’t hurt). Perhaps the difference is in the willingness of sellers to ‘deal’. Over the last two years, there has been a steady decline in the percentage of asking price that a property sales for. In 2007, it was close to 98%. In late 2009, the average was 88%, with the highest priced homes having the largest discounts. This suggests to me that sellers were more willing to take the lower offers that buyers expected to be able to make. The long market times suggests that they may have done so reluctantly

In general, it appears that prices are steadying. In fact, the price/SF has come back up some, along with the number of sales. Prices are now down enough to be attractive and folks purchasing in this area are looking for the right home and right features more than just a low price (still expect some bargaining!).

I’d love to get your thoughts about the Medina market. Please email me or provide feedback on my blog or via Twitter (@PlumCrazyRE)

Medina has had just a handful of home sales recorded on the NWMLS in the past couple of months. Ranging from half a million to over $3 million, these sales really show the range of Medina's homes. From simple, mid-century ramblers to towering waterfront mansions, Medina is really a picture of the old and new Seattle. Many families have lived here for 50 years and watched the change from working-class, logger Seattle to high-tech, latte-sipping Seattle.

Medina has some of the best West-facing waterfront on Lake Washington, and home buyers pay a healthy sum to scoop it up when it's available.

Medina homes for sale

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

Statistics not compiled or published by the NWMLS. Full street addresses removed for owners' privacy.

Three high-end waterfront homes sold in the month of August on the Eastside of the Greater Seattle metro. Two of these sales were in Medina, and the third was on Lake Sammamish in East Bellevue.

Bellevue Waterfront Homes: The Lake Sammamish home was the least expensive, with a 2/3 acre lot and a small beach house, selling for $1.14 million. The house is under 800 sq ft, so it's likely to be someone's weekend getaway or to be razed and rebuilt. This was an estate sale, and the property sat on the market almost a full year, starting out at a $1.8 million listing price.

Medina Waterfront Homes: On the Northeast side of Evergreen Point in Medina, a 4000 sq ft home sold for $2 million, which is a fairly rock-bottom price for Medina waterfront. The lot was nearly half an acre, and the home was built in 1987. The water is very calm in this area (Fairweather Bay), and there are close-in views of Hunts Point and Kirkland. Prices on the East-facing waterfront of Medina are many times less expensive than the West-facing homes, although the moorage facing East can be better.

On Medina's Gold Coast, a West-facing home sold for $6.1 million mid-month. This is North of Highway 520, facing the University of Washington and Laurelhurst, across Lake Washington. With 5 bedrooms, 8 baths, and 8000 sq ft of living space, this home built in 2003 is an exquisite piece of design and construction. The home was on the market for about 16 months, dropping all the way down from $7.9 million.

Sam DeBord and Brian Wiegand
http://SeattleHome.com