Traffic, traffic everywhere!

One of our favorite topics, traffic!

With the good, there is the bad. The previous posting talks about the "Gold of Seattle Real Estate". The good: our great job market and great real estate appreciation. Our bad: the traffic!

Everywhere you go on the Eastside right now roads are being torn up. It’s all for a good cause and will improve our commuting over the long run.

Quite a bit is being done to mitigate our woeful traffic issues.

Here is some of what is going to be new, exciting, and different. Some of this is ongoing and some is planned for the future.

For all you plateau home owners relief is in sight!

Highway 520 from 202, Redmond-Fall City Road, flyover is being built by Fred Meyer to take traffic from 202 over to 520. Traffic will no longer have to stop at the lights and wait to get onto 520.

Highway 202 will be widened from East Lake Sammamish Parkway to Sahalee Way with a new lane in each direction.

Both changes should help cut commute time by 15-20 minutes from the plateau.


For the downtown Bellevue crunch:

Trying to get from 405 North in Bellevue to 520?


The off ramp from 405 to 520 is going to be widened to make the transition faster and smoother.

There will be new overpass on NE 10th over 405. Group Health will have a new facility on one side of the street and Overlake Hospital will be on the other side.

Beginning now: New lanes will be added to 405 between SE 8th and 112th Ave.

SEhttp://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=glance17e&date=20070517.

Ground breaking ceremonies happened last week and the 405 expansion north will be open in 2008.

Light Rail:

For all you Microsofties, the train should be by to pick you up around 2026.

Seattle Gold

Less new construction + job growth=higher real estate appreciation.

Seattle is still one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. This is no big surprise to me as I see this on a daily basis. In my monthly market update postings, you can see which areas on the Eastside are hotter than hot. Of course, we still have months or areas that perform better or worse. But the overall message of the article from Inman News attached below is we are still on a real estate rise in values. When we end 2007, homes will be worth more than now. This article mirrors what I have seen and predict for this year in Seattle/Eastside real estate. Furthermore, when you look at other parts of the country as described in this article, you can see the strength of our real estate market.


The attached article mentions the all important reasons for our booming market: the economy and the growth management policies in the area. Thanks to Microsoft (the gift that keeps on giving) and all the other companies that are growing and hiring in the area, our job market is one of the best in the country.


The growth management act, which has some very good points, has placed lots of controls on development. It is harder and harder for developers to build in this area. The Eastside runs into water and mountains, so our supply of good land is very limited. Wetlands, native growth protection, salmon streams, traffic flow, etc all contribute to the cost of development and translate to higher mitigation fees for builders. Ever wonder why building lots have become smaller and smaller? The cost of construction has much to do with the diminishing lot sizes.


The good news for current home owners: we do not have the runaway development found in places like Las Vegas or Phoenix.


Read the attached article to find out more about the gold and the cold areas in real estate. It will be no surprise that some of the areas with the greatest declines are those that recently had huge spikes in appreciation, such as Sarasota, Florida.


http://www.inman.com/hstory.aspx?ID=63271

What were the chances of selling an Eastside home in April, 2007?

Sellers had a 36% chance of getting a home sold in April, 2007.

(Don’t forget to look at the attached charts on my website, http://www.debrasinick.com/. (Click on statistical reports for April 2007 and the statistics-year to date charts.)

Bottom line for April?

There was an increase in inventory of 14% for both single family homes and condos, an increase of 404 properties. In April there were a total of 3065 properties for sale. This is the largest inventory for sale since October of last year, when 3168 homes/condos were for sale. Because of this jump in inventory and a slight decline of about 100 sales, the chances of selling a home in April were 36%, down 10% from March to April.

Below you will see how each Eastside market is performing. Sellers in most areas had less of a chance of selling this past month because the inventory increased. Is the real estate market beginning to decline? NO. We are just experiencing the typical spring increase in inventory.

The median price is now is $655,946, UP from $587,545 in April 2006 and DOWN from $671,385 in March, 2007. Do not worry! The median price is a result of what actually sold that month, so there will be slight peaks and valleys in the median price throughout the year. At the end of 2007, I believe prices will still be up. The year began with the median price below $600,000, so we are already on a rise.


I have two clients who emailed me about these stats this past month. One asked that I put together a simple chart and one asked for the stats to show single family homes only, so here is my simple chart comparing single family home sales on the Eastside:


________________________________________________________________________
This month April 2007: 2444 homes available, 734 sold. 31% chance of selling.
Last month March 2007: 2126 homes available, 826 sold 38% chance of selling.
Last year April 2006: 1838 homes available, 835 sold 45% chance of selling.
________________________________________________________________________



What were the chances of selling a home in your area?

The plateau area with Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
Sellers had a 30% chance of selling, DOWN from the 40% in March and DOWN from 52% last April.

This area wins for the most number of homes for sale and the most number of sales.


The West Redmond/East Bellevue
Sellers had a 45% chance of selling, DOWN from 58% in March, and DOWN from 65% last April.

This area still wins for the highest absorption rate on the Eastside.


Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall

Sellers had a 37% of selling, UP from 35% in March, and DOWN from 55% last April.


Kirkland
Sellers had the SAME change of selling this past month as last month, with a 29-30% chance, DOWN from 34% last April.


South Bellevue
Sellers had a 25% chance of selling, DOWN from 40% in March, DOWN from 39% last April.

West Bellevue
Sellers had a 28% chance of selling, DOWN from 35% in March, and DOWN from 33% last April.


Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation
Sellers had a 35% chance of selling, DOWN from 48% in March, and DOWN from 41% last April.


News for condo sellers and buyers: Good news, inventory is on the rise!

There was an almost 40% increase in the number of condos for sale this year as opposed to April of last year. The chances of a seller selling a condo this April is 60%, DOWN from last year at this time when there was a 90% chance of selling. A 60% chance for sellers to sell is still wonderful.

Debra’s monthly tip: Start thinking about exterior maintenance on your home. Line up the painters, roofers, etc as their busy season is fast approaching. For a list of contractors, click on the service referral button on my website.

Opening Day 2007

I am now a true Seattelite! I attended Opening Day of the boating season last Saturday. Windermere has sponsored the Windermere Cup, crew races, for the last 21 years. I was invited by a colleague to go on the Royal Argosy to watch the events. As many of you know, boaters tie up to the log boom starting the Friday before Opening Day. It was pretty amazing to see all those boats lined up. Just before the races began, about a half a dozen boats from the Seattle Yacht Club lined up across the channel from the Royal Argosy. A little bit of pomp and circumstance, the yacht club members were in blue blazers and white pants.

The crew races happened next. There were about 20 different races culminating in the race between Purdue, New Zealand, and the University of Washington. UDub won the Cup!

After this all happened, the parade of boats began with the police, fire, and the Coast Guard at the beginning. Gorgeous wooden boats, beautiful sailing yachts and many more boats followed. It was quite an experience.

Multigenerational Living, a New Way for the Future?

I have some clients right now that have a need that is hard to fill on the Eastside. I'm looking for a home for them which would accommodate 2 adults with 3 young children, plus grandma. Their hope is to find a home with 4 bedrooms for themselves with a separate 2 bedroom mother -in- law suite.

This is very difficult to find on the Eastside. But it should not be. With our aging population and a desire for many to maintain independence with some family ties, it's a style of living that will become more and more important in the future. So many boomers are taking care of aging parents or having to change their living arrangements to include parents. Our homes need to offer options to accommodate these different generational and family needs.

If you check on this link below, you will find that many architects see the multigenerational style of living as an important change for the future. The demand will be for housing with multiple master suites and more flexible floor plans.

I have been involved with these issues myself over the last couple of years, both personally and professionally. There is a whole host of information which speaks to some of the above issues. As time goes on, I will comment on some of these issues in this blog. My goal is to keep you informed with some of the changes and trends we may see in housing in the future.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2003684239_generations29.html

The Hottest Trends in Outdoor Spaces

Gorgeous stuff! Dream a little with these choices:

Outdoor TV's to watch all your favorite things

Outdoor kitchens

Meditation spaces

Privacy benches

Perennial borders

Outdoor showers (this one could be interesting in the Northwest!)



http://www.realtor.org/rmo/landscape_slideshow/landscape_slideshow_may07.html