About Seattle's Capitol Hill

Volunteer Park is one of my favorite parks in Seattle - I love the wide variety of activities there and it is a great place just to take a stroll around on a nice day.

Curious what you will see if you venture to climb to the top of the water tower in Seattle's Volunteer Park? Look at this gorgeous view!

Seattle is filled with parks, but if you get a chance to visit Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, do take advantage of it! Make sure to drive through and see the gorgeous historic homes in this area as well.

This is one of Seattle's original neighborhoods and it is worth a look!

Portage Bay Homes

Capitol Hill Homes

Seattle real estate

How Mortgage Rates Work

blog by: Erin Oertli, Member Services at Active Rain, Seattle WA

How Mortgage Rates Work is a question that every consumer is faced with when purchasing a home, refinancing, or just plain inquiring. How many times have you asked yourself ‘Where do banks and mortgage companies get these rates? Out of the sky, depending on their mood or time of day?!?’ Every time someone sees that the Fed cut rates, they call their mortgage representative and ask what rate they could get, assuming that Mortgages Rates Work that way. Trying to explain to a consumer that mortgage rates are higher than the Fed, especially when the Fed is practically 0% can be a disheartening task.

That brings me to my next point--does a Fed rate cut really mean that mortgage rates will follow? The answer is bound to shock the majority of consumers. The Fed only controls the Discount Rate and the Fed Funds Rate. These rates are very different than the mortgage rates and how they work. Keep in mind that a mortgage rate can be in effect for 30 years and the rate set by the Fed changes from one day to another.

Another common mistake is thinking that the 30 year Treasury bonds or 10-year Treasury notes directly correlate with mortgage rates. Ok, so now we went over the most common myths, let’s get to the bottom of how mortgages work.

So what are they based on, you’re screaming?! Mortgage rates are based upon Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS). These bonds are issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the trading potential they have will determine the direction the mortgage rates go.

What does that mean for me, you may be asking--this means that inflation will always affect any long-term bond negatively because of the future returns. They will end up paying a less valuable set amount over time because of the inevitability of inflation rising. The only thing that may offset this would be the more broader stock market such as Nasdaq.

Try to think of it like a balancing act; if bond prices rise, mortgage rates fall and as bond prices fall, mortgage rates rise. In summary, it would appear that mortgage rates will improve if the Nasdaq sells off and will ultimately worsen if the Nasdaq does well. So, it’s not necessarily what the Fed does that directly affects mortgage rates, it has more to do with the broader stock market which interprets the Fed’s action that will then influence the direction of mortgage rates.

Ok, now you can call up your mortgage representative and tell them what you know; you will blow their minds!

Cal Anderson Park Capitol Hill Seattle WA - very cool!

Well I had a great day yesterday - a little showing, some paperwork, and then a couple great walks and play time around Seattle neighborhood Capitol Hill. It was a perfect Seattle summer day! I wanted to go to Cal Anderson Park (corner of 11th and E Pine) because I had seen the feature on Evening Magazine on it. After visiting the park, I also read about it in a great article on HA Seattle, because I was seriously confused while my children played in the texture fountain. I thought it was the wading pool! I was not alone as there were a ton of kids playing in it and dogs swimming in what must be the "reflection" pool. I was pretty sure Evening Magazine specifically said a "series of toddler wading pools", but I will have to go back and review the segment. So I brought my little ones along and we joined in with all the other people walking in the "wading pool" - or at least what I thought was a funky wading pool.

Cal Anderson Park Fountain: Not a Wading pool, but a fountain...You see, I have been to wading pools around Seattle - this is one of the most fun things for a two year old boy, but I did think this one was a bit odd looking. Turns out there were posted notices all over to keep people and dogs out, but everyone was in it anyway. I did think the odd bumps in the fountain would really do a number on my little guy's head if he clunked it on them, but I stayed close and kept him semi tame. The fact is that the gorgeous fountain is just that - a fountain and the wading pool is not part of the fountain at all. So legally speaking, stay out of it, but wow, it was fun!

Cal Anderson Park in Seattle's great Capitol Hill neighborhood is worth a visit and another great reason to find a Seattle home in this wonderful neighborhood! Interested in Capitol Hill real estate?

It has been at least four years since I have had an eye exam and well over due for new glasses. A very good thing is that I can see a little better farther away--the doctor says "that sometimes comes with age."

The first thing I told the Optician was that I wanted "to look like Sarah Palin" (no matter what your political leanings are, you have to admit she looks pretty good in those glasses of hers). Well, I tried her glasses on and there was just no big transformation.

Next I told him that red is my best color (not thinking the red glasses would be an option). I did ask what glasses a REALTOR should wear to help them sell more houses. He pointed out some with quite bold frames that made me look very serious--and many others going for that "professional" look. I tried on some frames that wrapped around my face that he said were for "skaters and bikers." I just looked like a big bug!

We then went into green frames--my second favorite color and I was all set to purchase this pair that fit my face quite well...until he showed me the tomato red ones! Naturally they cost quite a bit more than the other ones but they made me feel spunky and full of fun (which is how I am on the inside).

I also needed a pair of sunglasses--yup, they are red!

The Optician said that people will always remember that I am the REALTOR with the red glasses! I must say that he did a great job--I liked his help and I would recommend him. In fact, he is Warren Ruby at Broadway Vision Source and I liked Dr. Riley F. Nakatsu (he conducted the exam). I went to him last week because I was seeing flashes of light and floaters. He was able to get me right in the day I called for a medical exam--and was very thorough. It looks like it is another "age thing" and I have spoken with several friends that have had the same thing--which seems to be insignificant this time. But, these can be symptoms of something very serious so do get checked if you have the same symptoms.

It will take six to ten days to get the glasses and I will need to get new pictures--maybe I will just get pictures of the glasses--it would be a lot cheaper!

LuvSeattle.com for your Seattle/Bellevue real estate needs.

Can you believe August is here already?

The question everyone seems to be asking right now, 'Has the market stabilized?' is certainly fair, and this newsletter is PACKED with information to help you decide. I have included Tables of Seattle inventory for Residential and Condos, along with Average and Median Sales prices. There is a Table of Bank owned homes for sale and a link to a map of these homes. I also have my first ever links to the latest homes to hit the market on Capitol Hill along with a link to homes on Capitol Hill that have had price reductions in the last three days, so you are the first to know about these homes available for sale.

But what I am really excited about this month is my first Consumer Real Estate Survey! Its just 4 questions and it is powered by you, the consumer, not some techie Economist or Real Estate Broker. I want to get your feel for what the market is doing. Go ahead and take the survey now, here is the link.

One thing we saw in July was an increase in the National Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the first time in three years. That bears repreating - The FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS. That tells us nationally that resale home prices ticked UP and the slide stopped, great news indeed.

Click this link for the newest listings with photos and all information and existing listings with price reductions in the Capitol Hill area. In the last three days there have been 26 new listings, and 25 price reductions.

Lets Take a look at Local Numbers for July in Seattle


There have now been 4 consecutive months of modest increase in average sales prices in the Seattle Area, and we didn't have a huge glut of homes hit the market this summer as anticipated / feared. Both of those items are good news for our local market. The homes that are priced well are selling quickly. Even homes that had previously been priced out of the market and had significant price reductions saw buyers through the doors. I had 26 client appointments in July!


Greater Capitol Hill is my bread and butter! It is the area I am most passionate about in Seattle and it is great to see the Capitol Hill area performing better than the Seattle Area as a whole!



There is a suspicion out there that all of the Bank Owned or Foreclosed homes are in just one area, certainly not in 'my neighborhood'! right? Well, HERE IS A MAP LINK THAT SHOWS YOU A PRETTY GOOD DISTRIBUTION OF ALL THE SINGLE FAMILY REO HOMES AVAILABLE IN SEATTLE.

Personal Note from Joseph

Orange is one of my favorite colors. We don't want to see it on too many walls of houses as that would just be way too much of a good thing, orange represents heat. I bring up a 'hot' color to draw a comparison to our local Best Buy Markets. That of course is the REO and Short Sale Market, they are HOT HOT HOT, bright orange one might say. Last month I became a Certified REO Property Specialist this means that I know the ins and outs of how to get my clients the best deal on a Bank Owned home, and to make sure the transaction is successful all the way to close. My Team of Certified REO Specialists does educational TOURS once a month for investors and owner-occupied buyers alike in the local REO/Bank Owned market. We would love to see you there! SIGN UP HERE FOR A TOUR!

When you hire me, it isn't just a one-man-band. I work with a team with decades of experience in the local Real Estate Market, everyone playing a critical part from lending, inspection, appraisal, staging, photography, marketing, transaction coordination, and post close follow-up. Keller Williams didn't get to be NUMBER ONE IN BUYER SATISFACTION for nothing, call me at 206.218.8448 and find out how we can help you today!


Enough said about all that, thank you as always for your support, have a fantastic August 2009 and I'll be in touch in September or before!

joseph
Best wishes,

joseph
Joseph R Hill
Professional Realtor; Metro Seattle Re-sale, New Construction, & North American Relocation
206.218.8448

My Core Values are to Always:
1 - Live by the Get by Giving Philosophy
2 - Make my Client's #1 Goal, my #1 Goal
3 - Live up to my Standards, Despite Temptations to Lower Them
4 - Be Willing to Work Toward a Common Good
5 - Do What I say I will do, Sometimes More Just Never Less!