Tag Archives: Bellevue

Open Houses: Saturday, 4/27 & Sunday, 4/28

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Hello! Happy Friday!! What a wonderful week of sunshine! Spring is here and summer is right around the corner. Lots of garage sales going on as people are spring cleaning!!!

We have 5 beautiful Windermere R.E. / Mercer Island listings being held open over the weekend. 

Details about the open houses is below. Enjoy!

Seattle

$860,000 l 2721 Warren Ave N l 470145 l Bonnie Sanborn l Sunday, 4/28 1-4PM

$950,000 l 2040 43rd Ave E #510 l 475531 l Nancy LaVallee l Sunday, 4/28 1-4 PM

Mercer Island

$779,000 l 5053 88th Ave SE l 476988 l hosted by Michelle Rubin l Sunday, 4/28 1-4PM

$1,375,000 l 5331 Forest Ave SE l 470311 l hosted by Kathryn Lerner l Sunday, 4/28 1-4PM

$1,449,000 l 7850 SE 52nd St l 470676 l Erin Ewing l Saturday, 4/27, 11-2 PM

“The Mercer Island Open House List is ready to conveniently print from this blog post!  5 home are available to preview Saturday, April 27th, and 22 will be open Sunday, April 28th. The list prices range from $4698,000 to $10,885,000. The prominent features of the homes being held open over the weekend include recent price reductions, new to the market, outdoor entertaining spaces and walk-in pantries.”

Open House List

Good News in the Mercer Island Housing Market

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Hot off the press! Our second quarter reports are out for Mercer Island, the Eastside and Seattle…for homeowners who have been beaten down by bad news over the past few years, these numbers should come as a breath of fresh air!

Mercer Island

Mercer Island enjoyed healthy sales activity during the second quarter of 2012, with both the number of sales and average sales prices showing gains over last quarter.  Condominiums saw the strongest surge, with sales up 100% over last year.  We are continuing to see a low supply of homes for sale combined with increased buyer demand, with homes selling twice as fast on average as we saw last quarter.  With interest rates currently at new all-time lows, buyer demand is expected to remain strong and keep prices stable even as banks continue to sell off their inventory of distressed properties.

Click here for the full report and neighborhood-by-neighborhood statistics.

Full Mercer Island Report

The Eastside

The Eastside housing market fared well in the second quarter of 2012 with a healthy 21% boost in home sales compared to this time last year.  While average prices were down slightly from last year, both condo and home prices posted increases over last quarter.

Our record-low interest rates and continued buyer demand are expected to keep home values stable and overcome the downward price pressure we’ve seen from foreclosures and short sales.

Click here for the full report and area-by-area statistics.

Seattle

The Seattle housing market showed strong momentum in the second quarter of 2012, with the number of single-family home sales up 13.6% from this time last year. Condo sales also saw a huge 32% boost in sales compared to Q2 of 2011. Prices remained stable and even increased modestly compared to last quarter.

We are continuing to see a low supply of homes for sale combined with increased buyer demand. With interest rates currently at new all-time lows, buyer demand is expected to remain strong and keep prices stable even as banks continue to sell off their inventory of distressed properties.

Click here for the full report and neighborhood-by-neighborhood statistics.

Full Seattle Report

January 2012 Statistical Reports for Mercer Island, Seattle, Eastside and King County

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Absorption rate, the leading indicator of trending market activity, is up remarkably in January 2012. This tells us that of all of the homes available for sale, a larger and larger chuck are being sold (absorbed) by the buying public. With absorption rates this high, buyers will find themselves competing for the more-desirable homes on the market. The laws of supply and demand would indicate this is an ideal time for home sellers to come to market if they have a home they need to sell this year.

Footnote: The Mercer Island stats are very skewed by a significant number of lower end sales. This happens because with only 13 sales any few sales can create the appearance of a trend.

2012-01 Seattle Metro

2012-01 Mercer Island

2012-01 Eastside

2012-01 King County

2012-01 Summary

December 2011 Stats Are Out

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The most notable aspect of the December 2011 stats is the continued trend toward high pending sales volume despite the softening of sales prices. Listing inventory is down markedly compared to inventory levels for the past three years in the month of December. With interest rates below 4% buyer interest has remained very strong and multiple offers are not unheard of–albeit at much more modest prices than in years past. Having been burned once, buyers are cautious of overpaying and are negotiating for a fail-safe price.

2011-12 Summary

2011-12 Mercer Island

2011-12 Eastside

2011-12 Seattle Metro

2011-12 King County

Announced Today: 520 Toll Kicks In Bright & Early On Dec. 29th, 2011

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The much-anticipated– and much dreaded– 520 toll goes into effect at 5 am on Dec. 29th, 2011. Today’s announcement about the effective toll date is only 8 months behind schedule. Apparently the city of Bellevue spoke to state officials to encourage them to delay the tolls until the holiday shopping season was over, thus the Dec. 29th start date. I guess we can view it as a holiday gift to the Eastside from the city of Bellevue.

Twitter is abuzz about the 520 toll announcement. The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) is keeping track of all the replies and RTs of their announcement article by favoriting them. So far, most of the replies include the phrases, “Merry Christmas Seattle,” and “Happy New Year, Seattle.” Local economist Matthew Gardner (@SeattleEcon) tweets, “Tolling starts on the 520 bridge on 12/29. Get used to I-90 turning into a parking lot!”

What are the basics you need to know about the 520 toll? First, there will be no toll booths on this state route. You’ll need to purchase a Good to Go transponder and set up a Good to Go account. Transponders are available to purchase at Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC, Costco and a Good to Go customer service center located at 13107 NE 20th Street, Suites 3 & 4, in Bellevue. Second, if you don’t have a transponder and you drive on 520, a photo will be snapped of your license plate so a bill can be mailed to you. That bill will also include a $1.50 handling fee. Third, the toll rates will vary depending on the time of day. Take a look at the a toll rate chart published by the Seattle Times.

Now it’s your turn. Do you think that come the New Year that I-90 will turn into a parking lot during commuting hours? Will you change your routes to avoid 520?

Island Book Event

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MIHS PTSA invites you to An Evening at Island Books

Join friends and neighbors to browse through Island Books’ outstanding selection of books, calendars, music, toys, stationary and more.  This is a great opportunity to start your holiday shopping and, thanks to the generosity of Island Books,  MIHS students will benefit as well!  Twenty percent of sales will be donated back to the school.

Enjoy refreshments, mix, mingle and support one of Mercer Island’s true partners in education, Island Books.

 

You can also shop the day of the event…just be sure you tell them you’re there to support MIHS!

October is Mixed Bag for the Island

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October’s stats contain the good, the bad and the ugly!

The good: inventory is down 58% from the same time last year, the Average Sale Price is higher, $/sq ft is higher, and the absorption rate is holding steady.

The bad: Pending sales are down 20% from a year ago, the gap between original list price and sale price is larger (83% as compared to 88%) and the # of months inventory on the market has grown to 10.3 months.

The ugly; Closed sales totaled out at a meager 11 as compared to 26 in October 2010.

September Real Estate Statistics

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September turned out to be another solid month for real estate on Mercer Island and in the surrounding communities–continuing the trend for 2011.

Update: I-405 Closure in Downtown Bellevue Cancelled

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Here is an article discussing the cancellation of scheduled construction on I-405 through down town Bellevue.

Stay tuned for more information from the WSDOT regarding the rescheduling of this closure.

Summer Bodes Well for Residential Real Estate

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Mercer Island, Seattle, the Eastside and King County all posted strong gains in number of units sold over those of the prior year. In fact, residential sales met, or in most cases, far exceeded the volume of any July over the last four years.

While unit sales have risen dramatically, sales prices continue to be badgered by local short sales, foreclosures and bank-owned properties, many of which are coming to market in reasonably good condition. We continue to see signs that our market is in the early stages of recovery and are reminded that we are faring much better than most markets across the country. We expect to enjoy a robust Fall market across the Northwest this year.