What’s Selling South of I-90?

We are officially past spring and into summer, so how did the Bellevue real estate market fare during the last month of spring home shopping? From the nearly 200 homes currently still for sale South of I-90 from Factoria to Lakemont Park, five homes sold in June. More than 50 homes sold in the same area from March to May this year. Any commonalities with the June hotties? Besides, a roof, pleasant neighborhoods and Bellevue zip codes, not really. Sale prices ranged from high $400’s to $1.2 million. 

One four bedroom, three bathroom home had the same owner for 25 years! It was built in 1985 and sold the same year for $173, 537. That was a lot in 1985. On June 5, 2008, the home sold for $742,000—a 6.6 percent year to year appreciation rate.   

Own real estate in south Bellevue and interested in how your neighbors’ homes are selling? Check below for the most recent sales.   

13801 SE Allen Rd #13815
Sold for $480,000 

16119 SE 42nd St
Sold for $560,000 

15611 SE 45th Pl
Sold for $742,000
Note: The home’s direct facing to a protected park had to have helped the sale. Comparable homes nearby don’t have the luxury of a view and have significantly lower sale prices.  

14810 SE 50th St
Sold for $825,000 

4735 134th Pl SE
Sold for $1,228,800
Note: Better have a fat pre-approved loan before strolling into this pricey Somerset neighborhood – homes nearby don’t dip below $700,000.

Where Microsofties Live and How They Get to Work

If you’re up in our greater Seattle area, to join the notorious Microsoft family, and you’re looking for a place to settle down, you’ll be interested in a few facts that I’ve run across. Data from late 2007 shows that Microsoft employees live in the following areas:

• Redmond (21%)
• Seattle (17%)
• Bellevue (8%)
• Sammamish (8%)
• Kirkland (7%)
• Bothell/Kenmore/Woodinville (7%)
• Issaquah (4%)
• Other (22%)

(Source: Microsoft from the Seattle P-I)

It’s interesting that about one-fifth of Seattle area employees live and work in the Redmond area, which is probably about a 15 minute commute in from most parts of Redmond. Almost as many make the great commute over the 520 bridge, which is about a 30 minute commute in no traffic (like on a Sunday morning), or closer to an hour or significantly longer, if you’re very unlucky.  Slightly more than one third (36%) live in surrounding Eastside areas, including Bellevue, Sammamish, Kirkland, Woodinville, and Issaquah, which are all about 30 minutes out. 

In the fall of 2007, Microsoft gave birth to the Connector bus, its own bus service to provide employees with transportation from these various population hubs into the Redmond campus. Surely you must have seen one of these cushy, Wi-Fi enabled buses whiz past you on the road! Though the program started with 14 shuttle buses running, the program has been so successsful that Microsoft just extended its service, now providing transportation to even more areas. According to Microsoft:

• Of the 1,900 unique riders in November 2007, 61 percent said their previous commuting method was single-occupancy vehicle (SOV). That’s 1,159 SOVs off the road!
• Each employee riding the Connector will reduce about 30 pounds of carbon emissions each day and nearly 5.5 tons annually.
• Greenhouse-gas emissions are reduced as a result of employees taking 800 fewer car trips and driving 32,200 fewer miles each day, or 200,000 fewer car trips and more than eight million vehicle miles annually.

It’s a brilliant idea, I think! Aside from the green benefits of the Connector bus, Microsoft has figured out a way to get an extra 2 hours of work time out of its employees!

Bellevue Fixers

Fixer-upper, handyman’s special…whatever you call it, these homes are in need of some serious work, and these sellers know it! The really cool part about these listings is that the Zillow, eppraisal and CyberHome value ranges are all listed right on the page, along with current comps and recent solds. Check ‘em out and see if there’s a deal in here for you!

3309 166 Pl SE
3 br/2 ba, 2,300 sq.ft.
Price: $469,900
MLS 28098183

3419 166th Ave SE
3 br/1.75 ba, 1,900 sq.ft.
Price: $464,950
MLS 27172755

6507 126th Ave SE
3 br.2.5 ba, 1,810 sq.ft.
Price: $445,000
MLS 28061935

15543 SE 24 St
3 br/1.5 ba, 1,280 sq.ft.
Price: $425,000
MLS 28042676

321 Bellevue Way SE #104
2 br/2 ba, 973 sq.ft.
Price: $279,000
MLS 28088181

May NWMLS Statistics Still Down

The May statistics were just released a couple of days ago from the NWMLS, and there weren’t too many surprises here. Seattle Bubble gives an in-depth analysis on King County stats, along with the following King County SFH market summary:

May 2008
Active Listings: up 42% YOY
Pending Sales: down 39% YOY (new record)
Median Closed Price*: $440,000 – down 6.2% YOY (new record)

On the Eastside, active listings of SFHs are up 54% from last year, with pending sales down 40%. Median price also closed down by 6%. The strongest Eastside SFH area reporting in during May was area 550 (Redmond/Carnation), where number of closed sales and median price were neck in neck with the same time, last year. Also consistently a strong performer, area 520 (Bellevue, west of 405 ) reported a 19% increase in median sales price, though the % change in number of closed sales was significantly down as well.  The largest decline in median price of SFH occured in area 500 (Issaquah/South Bellevue), where median price slipped by over 23%, and the number of closed sales was down by half.

Eastside condos weren’t exempt from the downfall either, with the May median price 10% below last May’s median price. The total number of condo sales closing during May were down 37%, and inventory remains nearly twice as high (+93%) over last year. However, only three Eastside regions submitted price declines compared to last year, including area 20 (Bellevue, west of 405), area 540 (Sammamish), and area 550 (Redmond/Carnation).

No suprise, we’re gonna have to hang on longer for any sign of a recovery.

New on Market, Near Microsoft and Open on Sunday

June’s arrived alright, though it just doesn’t feel like it! However, in case you’re wanting to get out this weekend, but still stay dry, these homes are all new on the market in the last week, and will be open on Sunday, June 8th. As an added bonus, these homes are all located close in to Microsoft, so click away and if something catches your eye, it’s worth a look!  

All homes scheduled to be open Sunday, June 8th, 1-4 pm.  

Bellevue

13427 NE 12 Pl.
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,520 sq.ft.
Price: $899,000
MLS 28097267

1912 164th Ave NE
4 br/2.25 ba
Price: $535,000
MLS 28090452

Redmond

16628 NE 118th Way
5 br/2.5 ba, 3,270 sq.ft.
Price: $749,500
MLS 28097201

18551 NE 57th St (Condo)
3 br/2.25 ba, 1,669 sq.ft.
Price:$430,000
MLS 28093942

Woodinville

21219 NE 132nd Ct.
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,100 sq.ft.
Price: $875,000
MLS 28093056

Recent Eastside Price Reductions

Price drops are certainly a sign of a motivated seller, but can we tell exactly how motivated a seller is from a price drop? I figure that there are probably two ways to find sellers who may be more willing to deal. The first is to find properties that have been on the market for a longer time and are now dropping in price. In this case, the longer a house has been on the market, the more likely it is that the list price is approaching the seller’s bottom line. The second is to find properties that have been on the market for a very short time and are now the subject of price drops. This may signal that the seller is in a hurry to get out, and consequently, there may be some significant bargaining room here.

For now, here are some Eastside properties that fall under the first category. They’ve all dropped in price in the last several days and they’ve all been listed on Redfin approaching 90 days or more (which isn’t terribly long for today’s market, but they were the longest market time for price reductions over the last several days).

BELLEVUE

15714 SE 26th St
4 br/2.5 ba, 2,460 sq.ft.
Reduced $20,000 to $479,950
MLS 28017860
On Redfin 113 days

ISSAQUAH

2042 16th Ct. NE
4 br/2.5 ba, 2,810 sq.ft.
Reduced $22,000 to $627,700
MLS 28037359
On Redfin 81 days

2495 NE Daphne St
4 br/2.5 ba, 3,423 sq.ft.
Reduced  $25,000 to $774,990
MLS 27155780
On Redfin 273 days

KIRKLAND

11631 NE 106th Ln
3 br/2.5 ba, 2,290 sq.ft.
Reduced $10,000 to $599,950
MLS 28034096
On Redfin 86 days

9039 NE Juanita Dr. #403
3 br/2 ba, 1,340 sq.ft.
Reduced $10,000 to $489,000
MLS 28030667
On Redfin 92 days

8106 NE 125th St
3 br/2.5 ba, 1,900 sq.ft.
Reduced $20,000 to $410,000
MLS 28009525
On Redfin 128 days

WOODINVILLE

14715 149 Ave NE
3 br/3 ba, 3,370 sq.ft.
Reduced $20,000 to $699,950
MLS 28027003
On Redfin 99 days

Bellevue High Schools Rank at the Top

 Newsweek released their official 2008 list of the top public high schools in America. Let’s hear it for Washington, which took 22 of the top 1300 spots, which represent the top 5% of all public schools.  In particular, this list is another reason why Bellevue continues to be a hot place to live. Top Bellevue schools, Newport (31), Interlake (45), Bellevue (62), and Sammamish (163) all ranked in the top 200, but Washington’s overall high marks went to International School, where over 98% of the students who took an AP or IB test in 2007 passed at least one of these tests.  

What makes a top high school? According to this research, rankings were based on a ratio, the total number of AP tests and International Baccalaureate tests taken in 2007, divided by the number of graduating seniors. Even more interesting is the E & E index number which shows the percentage of seniors who passed at least one of these tests. After all, taking the test is one thing, but passing the test is surely another.

Would Gas Prices Affect Your House Decision?

$3.71 per gallon?! That’s the price I saw for unleaded gas this afternoon at Arco, a gas station generally known for having some of the lowest prices in the area. They said it would happen…that gas would reach $4.00/gallon by summer, but I didn’t believe. Now, I’m starting to believe it.

“I want a hybrid,” I told my husband. “No,” he said. “We’re not going to spend $30,000 so that you can save $10 bucks a week on gas.” End of conversation.

I thought about this, and I wondered about how gas prices would affect home buyers?  Would those of us who live on big lots a little further out on the Eastside, for example, be screwed? “No.” said, my wise-but-man-of-few-words hubby. “I wouldn’t give up our acre of land for $10 bucks a week either.”

You know, I think he’s right, but I’m not sure that other people think about it like that. You see, we didn’t make a pip about gas at $3.50, but we did start to grumble a bit at $3.65. However, when I saw that it went over $3.70, thoughts of pulling all the kids from after school activities and eating down our freezer before vipping over to the grocery store flooded my head.  But seriously, if you normally (or are willing to) go through your 20 gallon tank for a normal work week commute, the premium is really only about $0.50 per gallon, or $10 bucks per week.

$845,000 in Woodinville can get you “expansive park like grounds” with 4 br/3 ba and 3,530 square feet on a 1.16 acre lot, complete with cherry cabinets and a granite kitchen, or $848,000 can get you “value in the land,” with a 3 br/1 ba, 1,540 square foot home in West Bellevue.

Lay off two Starbucks during the week, and you’re golden. Buy yourself the big lot.

Sexy, Geek Bait To Attract Seattle Area Buyers

Traditional real estate-speak includes a carefully crafted lexicon of terms designed to appeal to the typical buyer.  Read through any ad and you’ll find key words like charming, luxury, granite, stainless steel, and gorgeous  interspersed throughout the home description. These words are strategically used to lure the reader into touring the home, as well as to instill a sense of confirmation bias in the potential buyer.  Hey, these are tried and true techniques, and the house description is often the seller’s first (and only) chance to attract potential buyers.

However, in the Seattle/Bellevue area, where high-tech geeks run amuck, is the traditional real estate lingo enough? Perhaps not, and especially in these times of housing surplus, sellers need another way to stand out from the crowd, which is best accomplished by knowing your market. To do this, simply look at the work demographic. For example, in Bellevue, four of the top 10 companies, or 60% of individual employees, are in the high tech geek fields. 

Largest Bellevue Area Private-Sector Employers (as projected through end of 2009):

1. Microsoft — 7,500
2. T-Mobile — 3,200
3. Boeing — 2,800
4. Overlake Hospital — 2,200
5. Expedia — 1,650
6. Verizon — 1,500
7. Safeway — 1,200
8. Nordstrom — 1,100
9. Puget Sound Energy — 1,100
10. Symetra Financial – 900
11. Eddie Bauer — 680

Source: Bellevue Economic Development Office

Consequently, if you have a home to sell, stand out from the crowd and market what’s unique to your home that might be interesting to the geek with a wallet. Wherever possible, drop a few alluring, geek-speak terms in a subtle, but not-too-revealing font, and you’ll leave them breathless for sure! 

East Bellevue Still Hot (Relatively Speaking, of Course)

According to the Seattle Times, “Home Buyers Gain Bargaining Power.” Is this really new information? Probably not to most of us whether you’re buying a home, selling a home, or just plain old not. Particularly now, as we hit the traditional house selling season, the For Sale signs are popping up like dandelions, blowing in the wind.

However, in addition to this news flash, “most areas of King County have turned from seller’s to buyer’s markets in recent months,” and writer Cohen points out that there are still places where the going’s not quite so bad, for example East Bellevue, where the April NWMLS stats came in strong; the number of closed SFH sales was about 2% higher than same time last year, though median price declined by just slightly over 8%. In this area, it takes about 4-6 months for a home to sell, which is on the low side of the spectrum in today’s market.

Here’s the lowdown on April closed sales below $500,000 in East Bellevue:

1234 147th Ave SE
3 br/2 ba, 1,120 sq.ft.
Listed at $396,000, SOLD (4/18) at $396,000

16032 NE 3rd Pl.
3 br/1 ba, 1,340 sq.ft.
Listed at $409,900, SOLD (4/16) at $400,000

16444 SE 39th Pl
3 br/2.5 ba, 1,600 sq.ft.
Listed at $469,950, SOLD (4/10) at $467,950

659 165th Ave NE
4 br/2.25 ba, 1,570 sq.ft.
Listed at $489,000, SOLD (4/10) at $479,500

805 146 Ave SE
3 br/1.75 ba, 1,400 sq.ft.
Listed at $489,500, SOLD (4/18) $480,000