Moving Day at Eastside Real Estate Buzz

I am moving from the eblogger platform to wordpress over the next couple of days. Wordpress gives me the option to categorize my blog posts so you can search for the information that interests to you. You will be able to find all of the statistics, school information, etc. all under separate tag headings in the sidebar.


If you are accessing this blog via http://www.eastsiderealestatebuzz.com/, then your access should switch over automatically when we switch the domain name to the new blog. If your RSS feeds don't pickup the new blog site in a few days, you may need to resubscribe with the URL above.


Stay tuned!

Grab a Copy Of This Sunday's New York Times to Read an Article About the Economy, Mortgages, and Housing by Financial Expert, Roger Lowenstein

This morning on National Public Radio, Steve Inskeep interviewed Roger Lowenstein about the economy and the housing market. Roger Lowenstein, the author of The Origins of The Crash: The Great Bubble, a book about the Wall Street crash of the 1990's, has written an article which will be in Sunday's New York Times magazine about the housing market. In today's interview, he brought up some interesting points about the history of mortgages in this country. According to Mr. Lowenstein, in the 1950's local banks gave people mortgages. Investment accounts earned 3% and bankers used this money to provide 6% mortgages. People dealt with the local bank as, obviously, today's myriad of lending institutions did not exist.

In the 1970's Wall Street got into the mortgage lending act and created new securities from mortgage money, which were then sold to investors. Bankers would get paid to originate the loan and then would sell the loan to investors. Local mortgages were no longer the only source for money. All kinds of options for lending were created. Through the 80's and 90's, more "new style" loan programs were created. These new loan packages contributed to the problems we are seeing today.

I am sure Mr. Lowenstein's article will be an interesting and informative read. I will add my thoughts to this blog after I read his article.

However, it is important to remember there is both a national and a local economy. Our local economy is still amongst the strongest in the country and will continue to be so because of our strong job market.

Two Seattle Times articles, an article from the 30th and the headline story in today's paper, report Washington State led the nation with the most number of cities, 5, in the top 20 cities for appreciation so far this year. Prices in Wenatchee were up 23.54% , Longview saw a 13.6% increase, and the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area experienced a 9.89% increase. Appreciation in the state as a whole ranked third in the nation with 9.12% growth.

It is clear the increase in appreciation happened earlier this year, however, economist Stanley Duobinis states the key to Washington states's economy, "It always comes down to the local economy. Washington's has been an above average performer because of the monster companies there, and their business is pretty solid."

His other comment, "A lot of growth restrictions are basically driving up the price of land, and therefore changing the nature of the house you can build on the land and causing prices to rise quite rapidly," echoes remarks I made in earlier posts this year. The two issues, the great economy and growth management issues will continue to help our real estate market over the long haul.

Please let me know if you have any comments about this article or after you read The New York Times this weekend.

Enjoy the Last Days of Summer on Seattle's Eastside at Snoqualmie Falls

The Puget Sound area is hopping this weekend with events ranging from Bumbershoot to a Jazz Festival in Anacortes to the Barnum and Bailey Circus in Everett.

If you are looking for something a little less hectic to do, you can play "tourist," and check out Snoqualmie Falls. The falls are quite spectacular. I was out there a couple of weeks ago with some family visiting from the east coast. It's funny easy it is to take things like the falls for granted. I hadn't been to the falls for years. Visitors tend to get us locals out to see the great stuff this area has to offer.

Although clearly not as massive as Niagara Falls, Snoqualmie Falls, at 270 feet, is actually about 100 feet higher. The falls are beautiful, but do not have the volume of water this time of year that can be found in the spring with the snow melt from the Cascades. I've been there then and the spray coming from the falls can drench you! If you click on the above link, you can see a photo of the falls when there is a huge volume of water. November tends to be the wettest month in the Puget Sound area, so the falls can run pretty strongly then.

There's a large observation deck that overlooks the falls and is a great viewing spot. However, if you head down the path there is even a better spot for viewing the falls which is less crowded than the main observation deck. You can get a more panoramic view of the falls from here.

There are picnic tables and a nice grassy area to stretch out, relax, and enjoy a picnic.

A path leads you down to the river, which is a good hike, but worth it!

Don't forget to stop in and see the Salish Lodge, one of the premier luxury lodges in the Northwest. The Lodge offers fine dining, luxurious rooms, and a wonderful spa.

The Future of Real Estate Marketing, My Views From Connect SF

For my last thoughts on the Real Estate Connect conference, Connect SF, here are some of the trends we should expect to see in real estate. Many of these trends are already here and becoming part of the very social fabric of our lives, not just in real estate. A case in point: In the August 27, 2007 issue of Newsweek, the cover story was about Facebook and how it jumped from a venue for college students to a site for everyone and anyone to connect. Turning to the section called, "My Turn", the Dean of Admissions at Pomona College, Bruce Poch, wrote about looking for authenticity when reviewing college applicant's information. Frank Rich of The New York Times said in the August 19th edition, "The rise of YouTube certifies the passing of Mr. Rove's (Karl Rove) era, a cultural changing of the guard in the digital age". Open information, connectivity, and authenticity on the internet, web 2.0, is everywhere, including real estate.

Here is what we should see in the world of real estate:

A national multiple listing service - every home everywhere in one database.

Video presentations for homes on the internet - real people talking about real homes.

Real time video tours of a home with viewer interaction.

Mapping will no longer be "flat maps", but will show homes at different angles. Layers of maps with different information regarding a specific property will be superimposed onto each other.

Web 2.0 is a place for collaboration and conversation. Think Craig's List, think Facebook, these sites are just the tip of the iceberg. Everything will be open and available on the internet.

Localism - This is huge! People crave information about the area, the neighborhood, the street and it will all be open and out there for buyers to review. Buyers are demanding more detailed information about schools, commutes, shopping, a particular street, the neighbors, and neighborhood activities. Finding out the local school's test scores is no longer enough.

Real estate - real time. Mobile real estate. Picture yourself walking by a home for sale and checking all the information, including video tours and photos on your phone.

Blogs will be the future of Realtor advertising. A blog will give the public insight into the writer, the Realtor. Authenticity will be the key to success. Buyers and sellers will first "interview" prospective Realtors by getting to know them online. Buyers and sellers will contact the Realtor with whom they feel most comfortable.

More of an online presence for traditional media.

The beauty of web 2.0 is the amount of valuable information out there for the public. It's refreshing to see buyers and sellers become more educated.

When You Are Selling Your Home-The First 6 Hours Are Critical

You have worked for weeks getting your home ready. You've had your garage sale and you've been packing up and decluttering your home. It's been painted, recarpeted. It looks so great, you wonder why you never did all these things before. You wonder why you are moving, except commuting to NYC for work from Seattle can be a bit difficult.

Your home is posted for sale and the phone does not ring. No one comes to see your new home when it's fresh on the market. You wonder why. You look on your Realtor's company website to see your home. Your home is posted, the description is right on, but it says:

NO PHOTO AVAILABLE

Your Realtor posted your home on the internet but missed the most critical marketing piece. There are no professional photos showing your home. It's not a particularly exciting presentation for your home. Your home is at the party, but is not dressed for it!

First marketing mistake: listing your home before marketing materials and websites have been created by your Realtor with professional photos. Most of us know that buyers use a prospecting tool to download new listings. Buyers learn about new listings within minutes.

Your home gets one first impression. Your Realtor must make that great first impression for your home with fabulous photos immediately online and professional quality marketing materials in your home. If buyers are not interested when they see your listing pop up, they may not be back. Remember, there are lots of other homes dressed for the party right now.

So when you interview a Realtor, ask about professional photography and how quickly the photos are online. This is a such a critical question and most home owners never ask it. Do yourself a favor and ask your Realtor the right questions.

What were the chances of selling a condo on Seattle's Eastside in July, 2007?

Sellers had a 36% chance of selling a condo on Seattle's Eastside in July of 2007.
(information obtained from MLS and Windermere charts)

• July, 2007 918 condos for sale, 332 sales, 36% chance of selling a condo.
• June, 2007 840 condos for sale, 382 sales, 45% chance of selling a condo.
• July, 2006 554 condos for sale, 393 sales, 70% chance of selling a condo.

The increase in inventory is the big news this year. Since the start of the year, inventory has climbed from 507 to 918 condos for sale. Inventory is up by 55% since January! There were 288 sales in January and 332 this past month. Sales have only increased by 14% this year.

Although sales increased from January to now, sales numbers decreased from last July, from 393 to 332 sales. The decrease in sales is not so dramatic, particularly when compared to the increase in inventory.

The condo market has undergone a huge shift from last year when 70% of the listings were selling. Everything sold last year with multiple offers. Now we are seeing more price reductions and longer market times. Last month we saw a more level playing field between buyers and sellers. This month we have gone from a strong seller's market to a buyer's market.

Your neighborhood skinny: what were the chances of a home selling in your neighborhood in July,2007?

The chances of selling a home on the Eastside in July of July 2007 ranged from a low of 18% to a high of 33%. All of the areas experienced a decline in the chances of selling a home.

The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend and Fall City

Sellers had a 21% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 25% last month and DOWN from 42% last year.
Median home prices dropped by about 5% to $569,800 from $602,475.
Inventory is up by 51.7% and sales have declined by 21.7% from last year.

I repeat my words from last month. If you are looking for a home on the plateau, now is the time to grab it! As a buyer, you have more choices than have been available for three years.


West Redmond/East Bellevue

Sellers had a 33% chance of getting a home sold, DOWN from 42% last month and DOWN last year.
Median sales price increased to $599,000 from $524,950 last year, 1 14.1% change.
Inventory is also up by 51.9%

The neighborhoods close to Microsoft are still the best performing area on the Eastside. However, we are seeing slowing down there also.

South Bellevue

Sellers had a 22% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 25% last month and DOWN from 36% last year.
Median price climbed to $749,975 from $679,000, a 10.5% increase.
Inventory jumped up by 35%.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 26% last month and DOWN from 36% last year.
Median price was up from $476,000 to $550,000, a 15.5% increase.
Inventory is up a whopping 56.2%

Kirkland

Sellers had a 22% chance of selling a home, DOWN slightly from 23% last month and DOWN slightly from 25% last year.
Median price climbed by 15.8% to $757,475 from $654,250.
Inventory is up by about 21%

The percentage of sales as compared to inventory has changed the least of all the Eastside areas.

West Bellevue

Sellers had an 18% chance of selling a home, DOWN significantly from 33% last month, and UP from 14% last year.
Median pricing rose by 23.2% to $1,354,975 from $1,100,000.
Inventory climbed by 20%.

The sales drop translates to 21 less sales this past month.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation

Sellers had a 21% chance of selling a home, DOWN from 25% last month, and DOWN from 31% last year.
Median pricing was up from $624,900 to $644,435, a 3.1% increase.
Inventory doubled and was up by 53.2%

Last month appreciation was down because the appreciation reported was a reflection of last month's sales, which were lower in price.

What were the chances of a home selling on Seattle's Eastside in July, 2007

Sellers had a 25% chance of getting their homes sold.

Here are the numbers for single family residences:

For complete year-to-date data, you can review these charts.

• This month, July, 2007: 3235 homes available, 773 homes sold, 25% chance of selling.
• Last month, June, 2007: 3107 homes available, 841 homes sold, 27% chance of selling.
• July 2006: 2281 homes for sale, 803 homes sold, 34% chance of selling.
  (Numbers are from derived from MLS data and for pending sales of single family homes, not closed sales)

Inventory increased this July by about 1000 homes from last July, a significant jump in available homes. With each passing month, inventory has increased this year, so our numbers are much higher than January (1895 homes in January vs. 3235 in July). However, the number of new listings coming on the market is less than previous months. The addition of 128 homes for sale in July is one of the smallest monthly increases this year. Below is a list the number of new listings added to to the market each month:

• January - 1895 homes available
• February - 1910 homes available, 15 new listings
• March - 2126 homes available, 216 new listings
• April - 2444 homes available, 318 new listings
• May - 2823 homes available, 379 new listings
• June - 3107 homes available, 284 new listings
• July - 3235 homes available, 128 new listings

Overall, the number of properties, homes and condos, on the market increased by 224 properties this month, an increase of 96 condos along with 128 single family listings. (I will be reporting about the Eastside condo market in a separate article. )

How have sellers been fairing? Our median sale price is up, but not every month. The median price each month is a function of what's sold that month, so we are seeing some monthly fluctuation. However, I believe, barring any complete meltdown of the mortgage industry, there will be some good appreciation come December. Competition, however, has increased as the overall gap between the number of listings and the number of sales became greater. When selling your home, it should be priced against the current competition, not just the past sales. If you are a seller, expect to have your home in pristine condition when going on the market. Your home must be perfect and positioned with professional marketing the first moment your listing hits the internet, not a day later. Your Realtor should have all of the marketing complete and ready to go before you are listed.

Is there a silver lining for sellers? With less new listings coming to market, is the amount of new inventory slowing down? We shall see in the next few months.

How are buyers fairing? Buyers should be out buying right now. The choices are just great. In many areas there's a softening of prices. If sellers are in tune with the current market, sellers are more negotiable. I have seen some price reductions in some communities where homes sold with multiple offers just a few months ago. If you are a buyer with impeccable credit, this is a time for you to be out looking and buying. You may also have less competition with other buyers.

Can homes still sell in a day in this market? Yes, I just had a closing on a home in central Bellevue that sold in one day for just over $700,000. My buyers were able to see the home within hours of its listing. We presented the offer that night and it was accepted first thing in the morning. That day many other buyers were scrambling on that house, but too late. My buyers were able to react quickly because they had seen a lot of homes. When they walked into this home, it was clear it was the one and it was worth the full asking price.

Check out the charts listed above and let me know if there is other data you would like to see. I will comment each month with some different things I see happening in the market. Your thoughts are welcome! Stay tuned for my condo report and eastside neighborhood report.

Viral marketing, Thinking Outside of the Box, What Your Realtor Should Do When Marketing Your Home

Back to a few more articles on Connect SF, Real Estate Connect in San Francisco. Connect SF was great, but nothing was more fun and interesting than the keynote speaker, Hugh MacLeod. Hugh is a cartoonist, humorist, and viral marketer extraordinaire. He has a website called gapingvoid.com. One of his jobs is marketing wine for a South African winery, Stormhoek.

(This is my photo of the Blue Monster cartoon taken during Hugh's talk at Connect SF. Great copies of the cartoon can be found on the attached Gaping Void links.)

His sense of humor and creativity resulted in a marketing campaign that greatly increased the number of cases of wine sold. Here is how he did it. Hugh created this cartoon which he passed onto a friend who worked at Microsoft and the cartoon took off. Microsofties have gotten a big kick out of it, downloaded the cartoon, and put it on computers and T shirts, you name it. There is even a group on Facebook called Friends of the Blue Monster.

Part of the beauty of this cartoon is the website for the winery, Stormhoek, is listed at the bottom of the cartoon, along with Hugh's gapingvoid.com website. This, of course, piqued a whole lot of people's interest, resulting in a new segment of the market finding out about Stormhoek and buying the wine. Hugh sent complimentary bottles of wine to bloggers who subsequently blogged about the wine, helping again to increase wine sales dramatically.

The message here: The job description for Realtors includes marketing properties. Realtors need to think outside of the box. It is even more important now when the market is tougher.

When you hire a Realtor to market your home, your Realtor should use creative internet and web 2.0 marketing to showcase and sell your home. There are new and great sites for putting homes and information out in front of buyers. The old marketing strategies of newspaper ads and open houses is not enough. A dynamic web presence is the key to maximum exposure and maximum dollars to home sellers. As I mentioned on a previous post, Street Advisor is just one example. This site gives neighbors a chance to comment on the nature of the neighborhood. For example, does everyone get together for an Easter egg hunt or a summer picnic. The internet is the portal to community information. What about Craigs List? This is a "community based" website which is the perfect vehicle for advertising a home. Try using Zillow. Realtors can advertise homes on the site. Expolive, Microsoft's website is another great marketing tool.


Bottom line, there are great marketing tools out there to reach a vast number of people. Make sure your home gets full advantage of these marketing sites.

Thanks to The Seattle Humane Society for Our New Family Member, Henry the Dog

Meet Henry...... and think about adopting a dog.

(Okay, I admit this article has nothing to do with real estate and I swore I would only write articles about real estate statistics, information and trends, area information, etc. But it has been a long day at the computer looking at July stats so I thought I would digress.... )

It had been a while since my husband and I had been without a dog. Between the two of us, dogs have been a part of our lives since 1975. We lost our most recent dog in the fall of last year to kidney failure. Zippy was with us for 15 years. We had rescued her from the pound in 1991 and were fortunate to have her until the fall of 2006. We vowed we would get another dog, but waited until we were not traveling so much.

We, or I, started our search online this time. There is a great website for locating dogs from all over the country. I spent a fair amount of time online looking at all the dogs in need of a home. Pretty heartbreaking stories. It makes you want to take them all home. There were dogs who were blind, without a limb or had socialization problems. By the way, a word of warning, do not start looking at these sites until you are truly ready to get a dog!

A couple of weeks ago, we saw a little Yorkie, named Curtis, on The Seattle Humane Society website. He looked cute and very much like our Silky Terrier, Zippy. He is ten years old and has some health issues. Apparently, he had been found by King County animal control and had been shipped off to The Humane Society for treatment. He had had a flea problem and subsequent skin issues. Some of his fur had been shaved off so he could heal. His back end was not a pretty sight! His face, however, was just adorable.

Here is how it works at The Humane Society:

When you go to The Humane Society, they let you look at all the dogs in the kennels. If you are interested in meeting one of the dogs or cats, you take the animal's information to one of the volunteers. After meeting with the volunteer about the dog or cat, you are then able to meet the animal. We met our Yorkie prospect in one of the "private" fenced-in areas. At first, it did not go well. This dog was completely distracted by all the other dogs and people walking by. Even though the area in which you "meet and greet" the dogs is mostly private, there are still spots in the fence in which a dog can see everything else going on. The dog across the way, who was "meeting" with some other people, was having the same problem. He also was unable to focus on the people who were trying to meet him.

We spent about 40 minutes with "Curtis" and barely connected. We were just about to give up when I asked if there was a private space in which we could meet with the dog. Fortunately, we were able to use their kitchen/workroom for about 10 minutes. At that point, we got a few minutes in which "Curtis" actually focused on us. We went outside with him and he allowed us to hold him while he still "supervised" all the action. It was at that moment we decided we might have a chance to win his affection and we chose to adopt him.

I have to say, he's been just great. He's kind of quiet, which is okay as he is an old guy. He is really sweet, and, after a just a few weeks with us, he is appearing to be very comfortable. He has found all of the furniture to be quite to his liking! I am pretty impressed with how comfortable he seems to be. No one knows how long he was out on the street.

If you are thinking of getting a dog or cat, think about adopting. There are so many wonderful animals in need of a home you will have a lot of choices. Contrary to what many people think, adopting an older dog does not always mean you will find a dog with lots of issues. Just remember, if you go to The Humane Society in Bellevue, ask to have a private space even for a few minutes if your dog is really distracted. If we had not done that, we would probably have left without our dog.

By the way, the dogs are given names if they are strays and no one knows the dog's name. Our dog was called Curtis, but never responded to this name. There is already a new "Curtis" on the society's website.

We spent a lot of time going through names for a while. Radar was our first choice since the dog was so on alert when we were trying to meet him, but we soon tired of that. We went through a lot of possibilities. I loved Laptop, since he is clearly a lap dog, but knew that was a just a joke. After, Jake, Buster, Scottie, Scooter, etc. we settle on Henry. Henry is not a typical dog's name, but it fits our older guy.

It's very expensive to live in Seattle or on The Eastside, But It's Really Expensive to Live in the Suburbs of London.

We all know the Seattle/Eastside market is and continues to be a very expensive place to live, however, it is all relative. I met my client today who is moving back to London for a good-bye lunch. We had lunch at Yarrow Bay Cafe on Lake Washington for her "last meal" in The States. She picked a fabulous day for it. The weather was absolutely perfect. We were able to get a table outside and had a wonderful time. Seaplanes were flying by. The Argosy ship was doing its afternoon cruise. The Olympic Mountains were out. It could not have been a better day.












I wanted to learn a bit about the London area real estate market. Sue is moving back to Horsham, where she grew up. Horsham is 20-30 miles outside of London in West Sussex. Sue estimates the size of the town to be similar to Redmond, WA. There is a train that goes directly from Horsham to London and is about an 1 1/2 hour commute.

Housing prices are quite high in Horsham, about double the home prices here. An expected home purchase for Jack and Sue will be an end unit row house from the Victorian era, possibly similar to these row houses pictured to the right. The new home will have three second floor bedrooms with a first floor bath and be about 1200 square feet. Their home in Redmond was a 2200 square foot, four bedroom home with 2 1/2 baths.
Sue estimates the cost will be about $600,000 US, the same price as her two story Redmond home, which is on a 10,000 square foot lot. (US. Copyright freefoto.com)




The financing in England is handled very differently from here. According to Sue, all mortgages are variable rates and can be held for as long as 60 years. She's not quite sure what current interest rates are in the UK, but the interest rate for savings accounts is higher than here. Typically, if the interest rate on savings is higher, mortgage rates are higher.



Why is she moving back? So many people move to the Eastside for a high tech position, often at Microsoft, but decide to go back "home" to be close to family.

Going to be Out of the United States When You Are Closing on the Sale of Your Home or When is Blue Ink Important in a Real Estate Transaction?

A break from my articles about Connect SF, the Real Estate Connect Conference in San Francisco, and back to the real world of selling real estate:

Here is a tale about closing when out of the country, Power of Attorney forms, and the color of the ink.

I have clients moving back to the UK after several years in the US. The husband left in early July and had no plans to come back for the closing of the home sale. I had the escrow company send him a Power of Attorney (POA) form to sign prior to leaving the country. In the State of Washington, there are specific Power of Attorney forms for the sale of real estate. POA forms must be completed by an attorney or an escrow company. Realtors cannot complete the form.

Escrow instructed the seller to have the form notarized and to return the original to escrow to be recorded on title before closing. The notary was instructed to complete the form in blue ink. The seller appointed his wife to represent him since she would be present in the US for closing. All seemed to be handled, the home went on the market, and off they both went to the UK. The sellers had given me a copy of the POA, but had kept the original. (We shall refer to the husband as Jack and the wife as Sue.)

Just before Sue returned to the US, I reminded her to bring the original POA so it could be recorded on title. Sue thought she had a copy of the POA with her in the UK and the original document was in her home in the US. When Sue returned to the US, she couldn't seem to locate the original POA.

I had visions of Jack standing in line for hours at the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square in London to get a new POA form notarized. Only US notaries can sign a POA and they can be found at embassies or consulates. Typically, there are hundreds of people per day at an embassy looking for some assistance from the US government. It can be a real hassle to try to get something notarized at an embassy. Then the form would have to be sent immediately back to the escrow company via Fedex or some other service so the closing of the sale would not be delayed.

After much searching, Sue found another copy of the two page POA. Jack's initials were in blue ink, so she knew the first page of the POA form was an original. The second page had the notary's signature and seal on it. It looked like a copy because it was in black ink. My trusty escrow officer suggested trying to smudge the notary stamp with a slightly damp finger. In her experience, if a notary stamp smudges, it's an original document. If it doesn't smudge, it's a copy. We had a smudge, we had an original!

A couple of things to keep in mind when getting a Power of Attorney form completed:

Escrow had instructed both the seller and the notary to sign the POA in blue ink. With signatures in blue ink, original forms are easily identified. The notary at Jack's bank had not read the escrow company's instructions properly and signed her signature in black ink. The notary signature in black, not blue ink, was the problem. Jack and Sue had an original document the whole time, but because it had been completed by the notary in black ink, it was almost impossible to tell the difference between a copy and the original.


Another tip: There is a specific power of attorney form for a seller and a different form for a buyer. Please talk with your attorney or the escrow company to get the correct form.

#3 Connect SF, So What is Up With Zillow and is Real Estate Print Advertising on its Death Bed or Should It Be?

In San Francisco, I had the good fortune to sit with Drew Meyers, who is a Community Relations Specialist for Zillow, during one of the main events. However, I think Drew's title should be Zillow's blogger extraordinaire.

I mentioned to Drew that I liked to advertise my listings on Zillow, but was concerned because "zestimates" were often much lower than market values and listing prices. If the "zestimate" for a home was much less than the sales price for the home, I would not advertise the home on Zillow. Drew let me know that Zillow is very aware of the issue and is working on new algorithms which should give more accurate "zestimates" of value. By the way, I am sure many of you know that as a home owner, you can log onto the site and update your home information to get a more accurate "zestimate" of value. Zillow has no way of knowing if you have done some major updating of your home unless you add that data.

It's also free for Realtors to advertise listings on Zillow. Your home should be advertised on the local MLS, but your Realtor should be advertising in all the right places. Your home should be advertised where buyers are searching for homes, which (no big surprise here) is now on the internet. In today's world, your home should be listed on many real estate sites, not in the newspaper.

Besides Zillow, another great tool that your Realtor can use is vflyer. This is an internet flyer service that will post your home sale on Trulia, Oodle, Edgeio, Vast, and Craig's List. The beauty of internet advertsing is you can track the hits or views your home receives online. You know if buyers are looking at your home. It's so much more meaningful than the newspaper.

I am excited about this, because for so many years Realtors would advertise homes in newspapers and get little or no results. Sellers would always want their homes advertised in the Sunday paper, but rarely did it generate any activity and hardly ever resulted in the sale of a home.

There was talk at the conference that many of the large real estate companies might cut back on their newspaper advertising in the near future. (Ironically, the New York Times just switched to smaller sized pages in a cost savings measure) Do I hear the sound of the death knell for real estate print ads?

On another note, Drew had also been a presenter in the first Blogger Connect seminar in which the participants spoke about "Finding Your Voice" as a blogger. His panel consisted of two other great Seattle bloggers, Marlow Harris of 360Digest and Ardell DellaLoggia of Rain City Guide. Dustin Luther, the founder of Rain City Guide, presented during another of the Blogger Connect meetings. Seattle is again out there in the forefront of real estate information and technology with these interesting people.

Article #2, Connect SF: Things I Learned About What's New, Exciting and Different in Real Estate

Okay, so I am now back from Connect SF, Real Estate Connect, in San Francisco. It was pretty intense with long days, great speakers, and great information. I'm going to write a series of articles about what I learned while at the conference. First, I thought I'd tell you what Turn Here, Street Advisor, Sellsius, and Live Deal are all about, since I mentioned them in my first article. This is innovative stuff that will be available to all, if not already.

One of the key issues at this conference, all of which I will detail in another article, is the advent of videos on the internet. Turn Here is a company that produces videos for all kinds of venues, including real estate. Their videos of homes are professionally made, but with the home owners or Realtors speaking, not a professional. Their videos encompass views of the home for sale with shots of the surrounding neighborhood. Their video demonstration at the conference depicted a woman who was walking through her neighborhood with her dog, showing all the parks and restaurants, etc., that were located nearby her home. Videos are a great opportunity to showcase the area around homes. Buyers want to know what is available nearby and what the community is like.


What do your neighbors think about your street? Soon all of this will be on the web at Street Advisor. This website has been created by an Australian group who presented at the conference. Anyone who lives on a particular street can post reviews on the street, the neighborhood, you name it. People who live on the street can communicate with each other. This website represents another of the growing trend on the internet: to bring all information out on the table and give people an opportunity to connect, share, and have conversations. I truly liked this company as they must have been thinking of me when they created their logo and T-shirts. My favorite color scheme of black, red, with a dash of white!

Do you want to get to know your neighbors even better? Fat Door is coming to a neighborhood near you! One of the founders of this website is an ex-Microsoftie who moved down to Palo Alto to start this company. The company is out of beta and live in the Palo Alto area. The Seattle area of the site should be up and running in a few months. This site is an opportunity for you to get to know your neighbors even better. People who are neighbors will be able to introduce themselves to each other via email. I have a few ideas for these people based on my volunteer work for the Kirkland Senior Council in Kirkland. I have already talked with the founder and will be contacting him about some ideas.

Live Deal is a bit like Craig's List in that you can post all kinds of things for sale, including real estate.

By the way, Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig's List, was a featured speaker and winner of an Inman News innovative award. His site won for the Craig's List community as a whole for the spirit of community the website supports.

Last, but not least, is Sellsius, a real estate blog that has been around for a bit. The two writers of the blog, Joe Ferrara and Rudy Bachraty, III, did a road trip across the United States from NYC to the conference at in San Francisco, meeting bloggers along the way.


More on the latest trends and Connect SF in upcoming blogs....

On Being A Real Estate Innovator/Geek-San Francisco, Realtor and Blogger Connect SF

Turn here, Live Deal, Sellsius, StreetAdvisor, do you know these real estate websites? They are all here in San Francisco this week. I came to San Francisco for the Real Estate Connect conference put on by Inman News. I plan to come back to Seattle having learned quite a bit about blogging, the latest real estate trends and innovations. The real estate world is constantly changing. It's exciting and fun for me to keep up with all the new "stuff" and bring the latest data and marketing ideas to the table. Who knew this inner geek would come out! I'm here to find out more about how technology can help me provide the latest marketing tools to my clients.

We will hear from Dustin Luther of Move.com. the founder of RainCity.com, Rich Barton of Zillow, Glen Kelman of Redfin, J. Lennox Scott of John L. Scott, interesting that they are all people from Seattle. Seattle is a hub of new ideas and it is clear that we can see this by the Seattle companies at this conference. Competition for me? No problem, there is room for all of us out there in the real estate world. (Of course, it never hurts for me to find out what the competition is doing!)

Over 1700 people are here from all over the country, excuse me, the world, to learn about what is new and exciting and different. Actually there were people from all over the world in attendance. The man sitting behind me in the audience is from Perth, Australia! At a meeting later in the afternoon, there were even more people from Australia, New Zealand, and Romania.

This afternoon I heard about some great things with Zillow and The National Association of Realtors, but it is about 11 PM and it's been a long day of meetings. So, stay tuned. When I catch my breath, maybe after I return to Seattle, I will post several different blogs about what I learned at Blogger and Real Estate Connect.

Dream a Little at the Seattle Street of Dreams Show Homes in Woodinville, WA

It is that time of year again when the luxury home tours happens in the Seattle area. Actually, this year marks the 20th year of the Seattle Street of Dreams and it is happening in "Quinn's Crossing" in Woodinville, Washington. What is new and exciting and different at this year's show is the emphasis on Built-Green homes. The homes in the show all have a minimum of a 3 Star rating and have been built with environmentally "green" building materials. Home #5, The Urban Lodge, is the only 5 Star home in the show. The Seattle Master Builders Association is concerned with the built-green concept as I mentioned in a previous post

I went to the Street of Dreams on one of two Realtor Days. We Realtors get free admission to see the homes so we can then talk about the homes with our clients and maybe even sell one of the homes as a result! This year's "Street" is a cluster of 5 homes located around a cul-de-sac. The exterior styling is more craftsman, lodge-like, and prairie style home. The first home stands out on the "Street" as unique to the show with its very European, Tuscan feel.

Pictures and comments on the individual homes are below, but you might need to scroll down to see them due to Blogger formatting issues...

#1 – La Belle Fleur It definitely had the most formal street presence with its stucco style siding and European flavor. There's a lot of elegant ironwork, limestone, Venetian plastering, and wall murals. There's even a fish tank, but it was not operating when we were there.

The master suite was the best of the five homes, more elegant than my taste generally, but you could just imagine yourself relaxing in the sitting area which comes complete with a built-in fridge. There was a private balcony and a gorgeous, huge dual headed shower. The tub conjured up relaxing images of soaking and gazing out at the view. However, I think you might take your life in your hands trying to get out of the tub with wet feet. It looked a little dangerous to me.

#2 – Greenleaf Retreat This home was truly unique to the show. It had the cleanest, most contemporary lines of any of the homes. I would call the exterior style transitional, but the interior was very contemporary. It seemed far more contemporary than the exterior of the home. Some retro furnishings, glass topped tables with metal legs were used to decorate the home. There's a huge great room area with french doors that lead to the exterior and a unique outdoor metal fireplace, built-in grill, and fridge.

I loved the master bath with its see-through fireplace, gorgeous shower and interesting sinks. This master bath is more my style. Check out the tile work on the master bedroom side of the fireplace when you go to the show. I thought it was done well. Upstairs there was a huge bonus/media room that had a built-in coffee maker.

#3 – Copper Falls From the street, this is a classic craftsman style home. From the inside, it's a very formal house. Not something I expected at all from the exterior. Decorated with dark woods, lots of marble, and granite, the interior feels like a grand home one would find on Capitol Hill or Queen Anne.

The entry is graced by a beautiful waterfall, a beautiful touch.

The backyard was great, beautifully landscaped with some nice plantings. You could almost see the family dog running across this backyard. It was the best backyard of the five homes. There's an outdoor room with a fireplace that looked like a great place to relax and unwind.

#4 – Tamarack Tamarack is a name we hear used for several neighborhoods in the Seattle area, however, I just learned that it is also a tree from Montana. Since this wood was used to build the home, the home is called Tamarack.

This home is a well done re-creation of a Craftsman style home done in the Arts and Craft tradition, think of an updated version of the Greene and Green homes, such as the Gamble house in Pasadena. There's lots of wood paneling, built-in glass shelving, and great period style light fixtures.

In the kitchen, look for the countertops made of paper. They were really cool. When you look at them and touch them, you at first think they are granite. Then you realize it's not stone.

There is a beautiful yard, unfortunately, most of it was to the side of the house.

#5 – The Urban Lodge Designed by renowned Seattle architect Curtis Gelotte, the house had a fabulous feel. I thought the floorplan, design, and materials were great. Some people may think the kitchen is small when compared to the other homes, but it really is a well designed kitchen in a beautiful great room space.

I was surprised to learn that California Closets installed the furniture in one of the offices. It looked terrific. The majority of the wood used in the flooring and woodwork is reclaimed hickory. Much of the cabinetry throughout the home was sleek in appearance, a little surprising because of the heavier look of the hickory wood trimwork.

The "outdoor room" was by far the best patio in the show. It was covered, but skylit, and had a gorgeous fireplace. A terrific space for enjoying the outdoors most of the year in Seattle.

Again, this home is the only certified 5 Star Built-green home in the show. CMI builders completed the home and have built a number of 5 Star "Built-Green" homes in Suncadia.

Summary

Besides an emphasis on the "green building" for all of the homes, the show continues its traditional alliance with Make-A-Wish Foundation. A room in each home is decorated to mirror a wish that has been granted by the foundation. Drink up and eat at the show as a portion of the concession stand sales will be donated to help grant future foundation wishes.

My show favorites:

• Best home overall - #5 The Urban Lodge
• Best kitchen - #4 Tamarack
• Best master bedroom - #1 La Belle Fleur
• Best master bath - #2 Greenleaf Retreat
• Best backyard - #3 Copper Falls
• Best outdoor room - #5 The Urban Lodge

My Street of Dreams picks, tell me what you think! What were your favorites?

Some of the Best of Summer on the Eastside: Bellevue's Wonderful Arts Museum Fair

I moved to the Eastside from the east coast 21 summers ago. in July of 1986. One of the very first events we attended was the Bellevue Arts and Craft Fair, now the Bellevue Arts Museum Fair. Only in Bellevue would you see an art fair in a mall parking garage! But actually, it works.

The weather gods rarely allow it to rain the last weekend in July, hence this is the weekend of the art fair. At the same time, with the fair in the parking garage participants are out of the sun and that rare July rain. Artists from all over the country come to this fair. I saw a lot of the wonderful regulars I've come to enjoy over the years: Larry Halvorsen,

Ginny Conrow, Paddy McNeely. What would the fair be without the ceramic trumpets or the beautiful kites.

Each year there are some terrific new things. I was really impressed by some of the woodworking. Seth Rolland from Port Townsend uses one piece of wood and manipulates it into the supports for tables.

The fair continues this evening until 9:30 PM. Tomorrow the fair hours are from 9:30 to 6 PM. A KidsFair, food, and art demonstrations are also going on. This is a major fundraiser for the museum, so come on down and help support the local arts!

Feel free to comment on what you liked at the fair.

More Built-Green Ideas

"Built Green" is pretty exciting stuff especially if you read my last post in which I talked about taking a 100 trees to build one 2000 square foot home. I keep reading about all these great things that will help us all to have a smaller "footprint" on earth and I will continue to add these articles to my blog. There are lots of suggestions made in this article from Realtor Magazine. Some materials presented here are new on the market and some have been around for a while. Some of these items can cost more initially to install, but often will last a lot longer and cost less to use. The added benefit is that these materials will have less of an impact on the environment.

This article mentions copper roofs. I was not aware that copper roofs can last a century! (I know most of you are saying, who cares, I am not going to live that long.) Copper roofs can take all kinds of weather and the material can be recycled. Typical composition roofs have a life span of 20, 30 or 40 years.

Low-E glass, something that has been available for a while, is most cost effective when the winds are blowing in the winter or the summer sun streams in. These windows can have a dramatic impact on cooling and heating bills.


Induction cook tops channel the heat to directly to the pots and therefore, does not heat up a large part of a stove top surface. This is more efficient but also has the added benefit of minimizing burning anyone who accidentally touches the cook top.

Reclaimed wood is becoming increasingly popular in furniture and home building design. I mentioned in my post about The Seattle Street of Dreams that recycled paper was used in one home for counter top. Bamboo and reclaimed wood are also being used for counter top surfaces.


Timber construction is also becoming more popular, think large beam construction. The cost to install timbers is far less than it is to use finished boards from a tree.


Check out the full article to find out about more material and fixtures that are environmentally friendly.

How Many Trees Does it Take to Build a 2000 Square Foot Home and Other Amazing Facts

How many trees does it take to build a home? I had no idea that if you build a 2000 square foot home, it would require 26,700 board feet! This number just blew me away. One 20 inch, 42 foot long tree will produce about 260 board feet, a small fraction of what you would need to build one home. So if you are building this 2000 square foot home, it will take 102 trees.

This explains why you see these swaths of trees clear cut on the mountains around here when you take off on an airplane. Take a look the next time you take off from SeaTac. Many of these trees are going to be used to build homes all over the world.

A recent article in the Seattle Times talked about how much wood, concrete, glass, etc. it takes to build a standard home. It amazes me that we have not run out of natural materials thus far. It certainly puts building green way up there for consideration.

What sells in Peoria May Not Sell on Seattle's Eastside

I just had a past client call me to get my advice about making some changes to her home before she put it on the market. We have known each other since 1999, when she and her husband were referred to me to help them find a home on the Eastside. They purchased a home that they remodeled and sold after living in it for several years. At that time, they decided to move closer to family in the Midwest. Now, she and her family are heading back to the Northwest.

The home in the Midwest has a very 60's retro flavor. The light fixtures in the home are true period pieces. She emailed me photos of her home and asked what I thought about changing the light fixtures. I questioned her about the type of buyer who might be buying her home, the performance of the real estate market in the area, and if her home had competition from other listings. Finding the answers to these questions helped her to decide whether or not to change out the light fixtures. Her Realtor in Illinois was a fan of removing the fixtures, since she didn't think buyers would appreciate them. Her thought was to update the fixtures as this would appeal to more buyers.

Ironically, I know people in the Seattle area would kill for retro light fixtures, and this is my point. Different markets demand different styles and features. If this home was selling in the Seattle area, I would not recommend removal of the light fixtures. Here, retro fixtures would be an added plus.

It is important for both buyers and sellers to know what works in a particular market. What sells in Peoria does not always sell in Seattle. Your Realtor should be able to help you determine what "sells" in your area. Making choices that appeal to the local market when updating your home is critical for making the most money when you sell your home. It is a great way to make more money, and, also, not lose money because of a costly remodeling mistake.

But remember, ask a Realtor "what plays" in Seattle so you can make the most money out of any remodeling.

Your neighborhood skinny: What were the chances of selling a home in your Eastside neighborhood in June, 2007?

In June of 2007, the chances of selling a home mostly stood between 23-26%, with the exceptions being West Bellevue with a 33% chance and West Redmond/East Bellevue with a 42% chance.


The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City.

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling, DOWN from 29% last month, and DOWN from 40% last June.
Median home prices increased by 5% to $604,475.
Inventory is up by 53% and sales have declined by 4%.

Buyers, if you have been waiting to buy on the plateau, now is the time for a good value. This area wins for having the most homes to choose from on the Eastside. Inventory is near the all time high on the plateau and has not been this high since July of 2004. (Correction from last month: the chances of selling in May was 29%, not 39% as listed in last month's report).


West Redmond/East Bellevue

Sellers had a 42% of selling a home, DOWN from 63% in May, and DOWN from 70% last June.
Median home prices have increased by 12% from $555,000 to $624,500.
Inventory has increased by 51% and sales have declined by 8%.

West Redmond/East Bellevue wins as the area on the Eastside with the highest percentage of sales, although the chances were less than last month and last year. Even this area is coming back to earth a bit with more of a level playing field between buyers and sellers.

South Bellevue

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 29% in May, and DOWN from 42% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 7.5% from $649,970 to $699,000.
Inventory has increased by 42% and sales have declined by 16%.

Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 26% chance of selling in June, UP from 24% in May, and DOWN from 39% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 15% to $522,475 from $452,475.
Inventory has increased by 54% and sales have increased by 6%.

Kirkland

Sellers had a 23% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 31% in May, and DOWN from 30% last June.
Median pricing has increased by 15% from $600,000 to $694,000.
Inventory has increased by 32% and sales have only increased by 1%

South Bellevue

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 29% in May, and DOWN from 42% last June.
Median pricing increased by 7% from $649,970 to $699,000.
Inventory increased by 42% and sales declined by 16%.

West Bellevue

Sellers had a 33% chance of selling a home in June, UP from 29% in May, and DOWN from 38% last June.
Median pricing is up 20% from $1,245,000 to $1,500,000.
Inventory is up by 21% and sales are up slightly by 8%

West Bellevue wins for the area with the highest appreciation and the highest median price.

Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation

Sellers had a 25% chance of selling a home in June, DOWN from 33% in May, and DOWN from 44% last June.
Median pricing declined by 2% from $615,000 to $598,000.
Inventory increased by 36% and sales declined by 22%.

This area had the greatest decline in sales and is the only area that showed a decline in median pricing. I believe the decline in median pricing is an anomaly and not a reflection of a true decline in pricing in this area.

Buyers, this is more your market and it is a great time to find a great value.

What were the chances of selling a condo on Seattle's Eastside in June, 2007?

Sellers had a 45% of selling a condo on Seattle's Eastside in June, 2007

• June, 2007 840 condos for sale, 382 sales, 45% chance of selling a condo.
• May, 2007 761 condos for sale, 376 sales, 49% chance of selling a condo.
• June, 2006 543 condos for sale, 432 sales, 79% chance of selling a condo.

In many of my postings regarding the market, I have said "What a difference a year makes!" Condos are still hot and a great investment, however, if you were a seller last year, your condo probably sold in an hour with multiple offers. This year, sales are brisk, but less competitive because there is so much more to choose from. There is more of a level playing field between buyers and sellers. Buyers should be making a purchase at this time because the amount of inventory has not been this high since September of 2004. There are a lot of choices out there. Inventory has increased by almost 80 properties just since May of this year.

Again sellers,do not give up hope. Your condo has appreciated about 12% since last year. It was wise to make a purchase then and is wise to make a purchase now. Prices, especially in affordable price ranges, are not going to go down. If you are thinking of getting into the market, this is still a great time to buy. Next year at this time, you would be looking at how much your condo had appreciated.

For more information about the overall condo market, see my previous post.

For a review of the condo activity for the last few years, take a look at this chart.

What were the chances of selling a home on Seattle's Eastside in June, 2007?

Sellers had a 30% chance of getting a home sold on the Eastside.

Single family home activity:
________________________________________________________________________
This month, June 2007: 3107 homes available, 841 sold, 30% chance of selling
Last month, May 2007: 2823 homes available, 871 sold, 31% chance of selling
Last year, June 2006: 2168 homes available, 883 sold, 47% chance of selling
________________________________________________________________________

If you click on statistics, this will bring you to my webpage where you can find the latest sales charts on all the Eastside areas.

With summer in Seattle the tradition continues: more flowers and more “for sale” signs sprouting up in yards all over. Competition has increased dramatically since the first of the year when there were only 2402 properties, homes and condos, for sale. There are now 3947 homes and condos available, a 60% increase over the first of the year. We have hit a peak so far for the year.

What a difference a year makes! With 3100 single family homes on the market, there are almost 1000 more homes for sale than last June. The amount of inventory has increased, but the sales numbers have dropped a bit from last month and last year at this time.

Buyers have 43% more homes and condos to choose from this year than last year. It’s a great time for a buyer to buy. However, buyers must know how each neighborhood is selling based on the competition. When you look at my next posting regarding the specific areas around the Eastside, you will see that the neighborhood makes a difference. Some areas are far more competitive with many homes for sale. Other areas are still lacking in inventory. Knowing this information as a buyer will help to determine how to negotiate.

I just re-listed a home in the English Hill area for $10,000 less than we had priced it at in April. The increased competition in the marketplace and the fact that sales in the area have declined led me to recommend a price that was $10,000 less than a few months ago. The market is not dropping, just a bit more competitive right now.

For sellers, the average price of a home is still far above last year’s pricing. The average price of a single family home is up 10% from last year. This year the median price on the Eastside is $691,922 and last year it was $624,687. Condo pricing has increased by 12.7% from $303,285 to $341,725. (Please see my posting on June’s condo market which will follow)

The sellers who get an offer and sell their homes in this increasingly competitive market are fully informed regarding the market conditions and the competition. Pricing based on a sale from March is not the way to net the most money. March is already history. Pricing must be established just before going on the market by understanding the actual competition and pricing a home accordingly.

Stayed tuned and look at an upcoming entry for statistics about specific neighborhoods.