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West Seattle real estate market sales report 2011

Bellevue, Kirkland, Seattle Real Estate Freddy Delgadillo with Realty Executives: Real Estate Agent in Bellevue, WA

Here is West Seattle real estate market sales report for 2011. Majority of the sales in West Seattle were non-distressed properties, with a sales percentage of 69% compared to Forelcosures at 19% and Short Sales being 12%.

I noticed that non-distressed properties were fetching higher sales prices and were on the market less than distressed properties. I believe its due to Buyers not wanting to wait for a short sale to get approved in 90-120 days and the foreclosures that were selling needed work, therefore forcing Buyers to think twice about fixing a home and being cash poor.

Here is more information on short sales and foreclosures in West Seattle.

See the numbers below and compare the three in market time, price-per-sqft, and median sales price.

West Seattle Market Sales Report-2011 (Sold Prices)

The median sales price for non-distressed properties was $472,420 a 32.5% higher than short sales and 54.12% higher than foreclosures.

west seattle market sales report- Sold Price- judah realty

West Seattle Market Sales Report-2011 (Avg. Days on Market)

Again, this report shows how non-distressed properties sale much faster and are off the market compared to short sales and foreclosures.

west seattle home sales chart judah realty

Search for homes for sale in West Seattle that are NOT distressed properties

search non-distressed homes in west seattle alki beach judah realty

Search for homes that are Short Sales and Foreclosures in West Seattle.

Search short sales and foreclosures in west seattle judah realty

***Information Deemed Reliable But Cannot Be Guaranteed. Courtesy on NWMLS***

Snow-mageddon? More like Ice-mageddon in West Seattle.

Roger Steiner & Dale Wampler, Brokers West Seattle Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Seattle, WA

Ice Daisies

Smooth Snowman

I must confess I rather enjoy it when the weather basically forces us all to stop, take a deep breath, and engage with our thoughts rather than rush through our daily routine. After a few inches of snow that actually stuck yesterday (a relatively rare occurrence in Seattle), the city appears largely shut down today, as drops of freezing rain/ snow/ not sure exactly what to call it continue to keep everything covered with a layer of ice. Although it makes walking around West Seattle a bit treacherous, it's very pretty.

Our neighbors on 45th Ave SW between Findlay and Juneau have the smoothest-skinned snowman I've ever seen in their front yard.

Fallen Branches 1Of course, keep in mind it's also incredibly treacherous for driving, and there are other hazards to keep in mind as well: Just up the street from us, the weight of the ice caused two HUGE branches to break off this tree. If you are street parked under a large evergreen, you might want to move.Fallen Branches 2 Not to mention, you may want to walk quickly under any large evergreens.

The roads are a mess. After snowing yesterday, it appears to have warmed up just enough for the snow to begin to melt, and then it got cold again at night, and now it's snowing again. What this means, is that most side streets in West Seattle are literally sheets of ice, and will soon have a few inches of fresh snow on top of them. As my West Seattle-ite readers know, we have more than our fair share of hills over here, so my advice would be to walk anywhere you need to go. If you have a pair of cross country skis, that's also a great way to get around.

Another thing you may want to check before it warms up tomorrow, is that your gutters and downspouts are functioning properly, and draining away from your house. It's supposed to get in to the 40's by tomorrow afternoon, and there's definitely potential for water infiltrating your basement or garage with all this snow melting rapidly.

The dogs don't mind the snow one bit!

The West Seattle Blog has excellent coverage and more information about the forecast, local businesses which are remaining open or closed, et cetera. Cheers!

Ice on willow branchesDogs

2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington

The Phil Leng Team, Bank Owned  Property Experts 206-409-6600: Real Estate Agent in Kirkland, WA
2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington

2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington

West Seattle is a very distinctive area of Seattle, with 14 different neighborhoods and a little bit of everything. Wide beaches, Puget Sound views, several local shopping neighborhoods that feel like little towns all by themselves.

I would characterize West Seattle real estate activity as brisk and picking up based on the experience of the Phil Leng Team. Both of our recent listings had multiple offers shortly after listing them. One sold for full price, and the other sold for $20,000 over full price.

However the overall statistics for West Seattle are sobering. Which of these two categories do you want to be in? The red category, or the green category?
2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington
The trend of median sold prices in West Seattle is also rather sobering. The median price fell by 9% over 2011.
2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington
Perhaps the good news in West Seattle is that the number of new properties going for sale every month has been dropping over the last year. If you like your house, and do not need to sell it in the next 5-10 years, why put it up for sale? It is just an aggravation for you.
2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington
The average Days on Market in West Seattle has also been going down slightly, but this graph would not convince me there is a very strong trend.

My pitch? If you are a serious seller and need to sell this next year in West Seattle, hire the Phil Leng Team.
2011 Market Report for West Seattle, Washington
Disclaimer in regular size print: All data is from the NWMLS and is their property. Accuracy has not been independently verified. Statistics are a bit like humans. If you torture them long enough you can make them say anything you want them to say!

West Seattle's biggest & smallest sales for 2011!

Roger Steiner & Dale Wampler, Brokers West Seattle Real Estate: Real Estate Agent in Seattle, WA

O.k. I'm just going to come out and say it: I'm a total sucker for all that "year in review" propaganda that we'll be calendar dayseeing on TV this week. One minute I'll be diligently writing a blog post, and the next I'm entranced by something as horrendous as "The 100 Biggest Celebrity Oopses of 2011!"

With that in mind, I also think it's interesting to go back through the MLS and see what happened on our lovely little peninsula over the last year. We'll be doing a detailed "year in review" post next week with statistics for the West Seattle market at large, but for today we just wanted to share a couple of sales you may find interesting. Notably, who got the most bang for their buck, and who laid out the most bucks for a home in West Seattle in 2011.

Congratulations are definitely in order to the smart shopper who swooped in on this bank-owned townhome on 8th Ave SW, across from Westcrest Park. Originally listed in 2010 for $149,000, this 762 square foot, 1 bedroom/ 1 bath townhome had a series of price drops until being canceled when the list price was down to 70K. My guess is that's when it became a bank owned property (the seller of record is U.S. Bank). It was re-listed at a paltry $44,900, and the buyer scored it for 38K! I also gleaned from the tax records that the buyer put down between 20-25%, and has a mortgage of $28,500.

8th Ave SW

This was a downright brilliant move if you ask me. If this buyer took out a 30 year fixed and got, say, a 4% interest rate, the principal & interest payment is $336 bucks a month! Even with taxes & insurance it's probably still under $600- you can't rent a shack within 10 miles of downtown Seattle for that. And, if the buyer doesn't stay there, it's a guaranteed income-generator as a rental, and someday the market's going to go back up. . . someday.

Arroyo Beach Home

At the complete other end of the spectrum: It appears West Seattle's highest sale for 2011 was this gorgeous waterfront home on Arroyo Beach Place SW. Listed for 1.795M, the sale closed on September first, and the sale price was a little over 90% of the list price at 1.625M. Given the market, this was actually a quick sale for this price range, as we've seen lots of million+ homes sitting on the market for months. . . like, lots and lots of months. We toured this home when it was listed, and while I found the interior a little boring, it's really all about the location. Sixty feet of low-bank waterfront with a bulkhead and "covered parking" for your boat, a nearly 18,000 square foot lot. . . you would never know you were 20 minutes from downtown Seattle here, it feels like you're up in the San Juans.

Just for fun I thought I'd calculate these buyers' mortgage and compare it with our smart shopper above: they took out a mortgage for 1.3M, which would indicate they put 20% down (325K) in order to avoid private mortgage insurance (=good move). The property taxes are currently $14,844 dollars a year (ouch!), and insurance on a property like this will not be inexpensive, I'd ballpark it somewhere around 6K annually. If they opted for a 30 year fixed and got about a 4% rate, their principal & interest would be $6,406 per month, with an additional $1750-ish for taxes & insurance, for a monthly housing expense around $8,150. Of course, these are educated guesses, and it's certainly possible these owners will pay off their home when they sell one they may already own, or many other scenarios could be in play, but right now they're coughing up over eight grand a month for housing. . . wow.

If you'd like us to send you the MLS reports for either of these properties so you can see the photos and complete information, drop us a note at iheartwsrealestate@gmail.com. Cheers!

The Game is over-who the Winner

Ricky  D Sadler: Property Manager in Seattle, WA

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