Sweet Digs: Pre-forecloser Fixer

Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
Northwest Seattle: Sunny Side Up
Green Lake: Not Selling Near the Water
Wallingford: Townhouse Prices Drop
Fremont: Maybe They Do Want Condos

The listing remarks say “bring your gloves on this one” but you’ll probably need a forklift! Today’s most clicked property is a pre-foreclosure and something tells me more than just the appliances are staying. What a deal! Buy the house and get all the previous owners trash to boot.

STATS:
Price: $399,999
Location: 827 25th Ave S Seattle, WA 98144
Last sale price: $428,000 (2005)
MLS: 27049449

Northwest Seattle: Sunny Side Up

Staying true to the sales history of houses in this area that are priced under $500K, this sunny yellow home was bid up. Not as much as some I’ve seen, but bid up none the less.

4403 4TH AVE NW has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 1450 square feet.
Asking Price: $497,500
Sales Price: $506,100
Percentage: 101.7%

Other properties didn’t get as much interest

130 NW 56TH ST has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and 1380 square feet.
Asking Price: $675,000
Sales Price: $630,500
Percentage: 93.4%

1545 NW 57th St #318 has 1 bedroom, 1 bath, and 816 square feet.
Asking Price: $339,950
Sales Price: $320,000
Percentage: 94.1%

Note: All information from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Green Lake: Not Selling Near the Water

Folks seem to be saying that this remodeled Green Lake home is overpriced since it’s been on the market for more than four months – long enough so that the seller made a second price cut. It’s come down $95,005 overall.

7215 W GREEN LAKE DR N cut to $799,995. It’s a 4 bedroom, 2.75 bath single-family home, with 2500 square feet. I love the color of the cabinets in the kitchen; not so crazy about the mix of stainless and white appliances, though.

Here are some other properties that have dropped in price recently:

6816 OSWEGO PL NE cut from $482,900 to $459,900. It’s a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse, with 1096 square feet.

432 NE Ravenna Blvd #304 cut from $319,950 to $314,950. It’s a 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo on the third floor, with 694 square feet.

All these places are pretty close to the lake, near the north end of the park.

Note: All information from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Wallingford: Townhouse Prices Drop

In this neighborhood, anything less than half a mill receives a lot of attention. But amidst the quick sales and bidding up of properties in this price range, this Wallingford townhouse received a cut.

4306 WINSLOW PL N cut from $439,950 to $429,950. It’s a 2 bedroom, 2.25 bath townhouse built this year.

It’s not the only one. This pair of townhomes also dropped in price.

3829 ASHWORTH AVE N cut from $649,000 to $599,000. It’s a 3 bedroom, 3.25 bath townhouse, with 2100 square feet.

3827 ASHWORTH AVE N cut from $629,000 to $599,000. It’s a 3 bedroom, 3.25 bath townhouse, with 2005 square feet.

What I find interesting is that the new asking prices erased the $20,000 difference between the two units.

Note: All information from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Fremont: Maybe They Do Want Condos

My review of this townhouse generated some comments-section debate about the crossover appeal of zero-lot-lines among more upscale buyers. From the lack of action on this place, the appeal seems to be minimal. Perhaps the low-maintenance aspects of condos are more desirable, as one person suggested.

506 N 44TH ST cut from $599,000 to $579,000. It’s a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath townhouse, with approximately 1803 square feet. A blog reader thinks that the listed square footage might include the garage.

Here are some other properties that have dropped in price recently:

Today this single-family home hit 250 days on Redfin. 631 NW 50TH ST cut from $679,000 to $649,000. It’s got 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, and 2830 square feet.

812 N 42nd St #102 cut from $369,950 to $349,950. It’s a 2 bedroom, 1.75 bath condo a block from Aurora, with 1275 square feet.

Note: All information from sources deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Sweet Digs: Mansions and Shacks

Weekend posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:
South Seattle: Price Reduced in Hillman City
Bainbridge Island: Wall Flower with Inner Beauty
Bellevue: Price Check….Reality Check
Open House: Sammamish Townhouse with Room to Spare
South Seattle: Small but Plucky

There’s something fishy about last week’s most expensive home listed, a one acre Medina waterfront estate. The listing remarks claim “this property is total perfection”. Well if that’s the case, why is it on the market just five months after it was purchased? The home was last sold in August of last year and it does look pretty magnificent. We have had quite a grey winter so maybe the owners decided they’ve had enough of the Seattle rain and are taking their millions down to California.

STATS:
Price: $11,800,000
Location: 3248 78th Pl NE Medina, WA 98039
Last sale price: $11,000,000 (2006)
MLS: 27045239

The least expensive property listed last week was a double-wide in a retirement community on the Kitsap Peninsula. The home needs some work and is selling for about the price of a new car.

STATS:
Price: $39,000
Location: 542 NW Silver Meadow Ln Bremerton, WA 98311
Last sale price: NA
MLS: 27048114

South Seattle: Price Reduced in Hillman City

Here’s a price reduction that caught my eye. I reviewed it in January, and it’s still around on the market, but for $20,000 less. I’m still a bit skeptical about the price tag, given the layout and lot size, so we’ll see if a spring sale will do the trick.

Price: $429,000. Last sold in 1998 for $75,000. 1,442 square feet. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths.

Bainbridge Island: Wall Flower with Inner Beauty

On the market for over 275 days, this house located in the Fletcher Bay area–a bucolic setting six or so minutes to town by car dropped from $659,000 to $639,000 in February, and to $625,000 today.

Though the exterior of the house gives me an I’m-just-standing-here-drinking-punch-hoping-no-one-asks-me-to-dance impression, the interior has an open yet secluded feeling. Wood-wrapped windows showcase the pretty trees beyond the house from a lot of the rooms.

The kitchen has an herb window–one of those great nineties concepts that I haven’t seen in more recently constructed houses.

The comfortable, spacious family room next to the kitchen has a river rock fireplace and access to a large deck.

The entire lower level has a home office, and the rest of it stands ready to finish out, with a space framed and plumbed for a bathroom

I’m particluarly drawn to the sense of privacy and pretty country setting this house offers.

Bellevue: Price Check….Reality Check

As Spring drizzles into town, seems like a good time to take a look at current home prices. To simplify things, I’ve divided the map into three sections: West Bellevue, Central Bellevue, and East Bellevue. These aren’t necessarily official real estate terms for these areas, but it’s how I see it.

Bellevue (the whole area)
First, the cold, hard truth. According to Redfin map data of current available houses and condos in Bellevue:
Average price of a home is $892,500.
Average stats are $508 per square foot, 3 bedrooms and approximately 2.5 baths. That does include condos.

Same area minus the condos?
Average price is a whopping $1,695,000.
The price per square foot doesn’t go up that much ($557) because neither did the average numbers of bedrooms (3.3) and baths (3.3).

Flipping it around, to evaluate just condos, the average drops considerably:
$402,400.
But size decreases, too, with an average of 1.7 bedrooms and 1.6 baths. Price per square foot is $419.

West Bellevue
Why such high housing costs in Bellevue? West Bellevue’s home prices drive up the average. In West Bellevue, with the pricey communities of Medina and Clyde Hill weighing in, the average house price is $1,795,000.

East Bellevue
Does that mean it’s impossible to find a house for under $500,000 in Bellevue? Not necessarily, although your choices will tend to be limited to certain locations. Take a look at the map below.

It goes green with listings towards the east, in the Lake Hills and Microsoft areas. 14 properties turned up under $500K, with an average price of $479,450. With approximately 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths, the houses average out to be larger, in number of rooms, than average condo sizes, too. Price per square foot average is $307.

Open House: Sammamish Townhouse with Room to Spare

Open House Date and Time:
Saturday, March 24th, 2007, 11am-7pm
900 233rd Ave NE #949
Sammamish, WA 98074

Seller Comments

Favorite Restaurant in the Area: Golden Wok Chinese Restaurant (excellent fried rice).

Favorite Places to Go: We like that the house is right where all the action on the Sammamish Plateau is. Lake Sammamish Park is less than 10 minutes away. The supermarket is only a 2 minute walk for those last minute ingredient shopping runs. Schools, both elementary and high school, are less than a 5 minute walk as well.

Best Features of the Home: We really like the cathedral ceilings and open space this house provides. The natural light that comes in makes for great afternoon reading. The open loft is an excellent room for hanging out with friends and watching movies. Love the hardwood floors.

Favorite Room: This is a difficult question to answer. My choice would be either the living room or the loft above it. The high cathedral ceilings give that area a spacious and airy feel. The downstairs bathroom is really, really cute. Every time a new guest uses it, they can’t keep themselves from commenting about it.

Any Remodeling Since Last Sale Price: Yes, the house has been wired in-wall for home theater speakers. The first floor was upgraded with hardwood floors.

Most Romantic Spot: On a full moon, the moonlight fills the loft entirely through the cathedral ceiling windows.

What’s in the Neighborhood: Lake Sammamish is close by. Local restaurant choices run the gamut from Thai to Chinese, American, Mexican, Mongolian and others.

What I Will Miss the Most: I’ll miss the quiet neighborhood and driving by the lake everyday. It was nice to use the iPod speakers in the living room to listen to music across the whole house.