Blog
Cash Buyers are King in the Luxury Market
Got some cash? You’re going to need it to compete. According to the Seattle Business Journal two-thirds of home buyers purchasing high-end homes in 2014 paid cash. Out of that number, 39% of buyers were from overseas and primarily China. Many...
Eastside’s New Construction on the Rise
Construction is already underway in Issaquah on a more than $15 million single-family home development. Jazz Run, is the newest development on Seattle’s Eastside, hopefully easing the strain for the low inventory throughout the Puget Sound re...
Puget Sound Home Buyers Could Break Even on a Home Purchase
According to a new report in the Seattle business Journal, Seattle homebuyers could break even on a home purchase in less than two years. According to the “ Breakeven Horizon” a study published by the Seattle online real estate com...
19 Puget Sound High Schools Ranked Among Top 1500 in U.S.
The U.S. News & World Report recently came out with the rankings of the top high schools in the country and the Puget Sound had 19 on this last. Schools are ranked based on how well he prepare students for college and how academically students ...
Homes Sales in Washington Now Higher Than Record Highs
2007 was the year of aggressive home sales but in 2015, those highs are no longer relevant. Last year alone there were over 88,000 homes sold resulting in an over 14% gain over 2014. According the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for the Puge...
Bellevue Project to Include 176 New Homes
The old Haggen store located next to the Crossroads shopping center will be the site of a new 176 residential home development. The lack of new homes and developments is especially prominent on Seattle’s Eastside neighborhood in cities like B...
Bothell Apartments Increase 57% in Just Three Years
Avana 522, acquired by Greystar in 2012 for $91.3 million has recently been sold for $143.3 million, a 57% increase in just over three years. The property was acquired by Chicago-based LivCor Multifamily Asset Management from Greystar, currentl...
Silicon Refugees are Fueling Seattle’s Real Estate Increases
According to Zillow, one of the nations largest real estate analysts, Seattle homeowners should be prepared for a jump in their home values this year. With so many tech employees jumping ship in Silicon Valley, primarily dues to new satellite b...
The Seattle Area Boasts More Software Engineers Than San Francisco
According to Washington state’s top tech trade group, the Seattle and Puget Sound area as more software engineers than the San Francisco bay area. The Madrona Venture Group in addition to the Washington Technology Industry Association has rel...Seattle Looks to Have a Boring 2016
The coming year will be very similar to the previous one, and that’s a good thing. Economists from Russell investments, Zillow Group and Community Attributes Inc. spoke at the annual Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County’s...
More Homes Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Lower Prices for Seattle Market
The good news in the Puget Sound real estate market is that buyers now have more homes and condominiums to choose from however the bad news is they may be competing against more buyers. Prices are continuing to climb which is surprising since w...
King County is Top Place to Sell Your Home for Big Profit
In a recent article of the Puget Sound Business Journal, homeowners who sold their home in King County (Seattle) received an average of 48% gain over the original purchase price as of October 2015. This puts King County near the top of the ...
Bidding Wars Are Rampant in Seattle – How You Can Compete
Bidding wars are back and Seattle is seeing a healthy portion of many of these wars due to low inventory and soaring home prices. According to local real estate agents and the MLS, 75% of homeowners received multiple offers on their listing...Facebook is Looking for More Space in Downtown Seattle
Seattle’s South Lake Union district is already busting at the seams with major headquarters and satellite sites from Amazon, Expedia, and Facebook, but now, Facebook is looking at even more office space in the Seattle area. According to a ...
The Best-Educated Neighborhoods in Washington State
Based on ZIP Codes and the percentage of people with advanced degrees, the Puget Sound Business Journal has ranked the best-educated neighborhoods in Seattle, and they’re not all of the Seattle area either. Based on this criteria, Pullman act...
Chinese Developer to Invest in New Seattle Apartment Building
China’s largest home developer recently invested in a 43 story residential tower that is proposed near the Seattle space needle. Located at 600 Wall St. in downtown Seattle, the California-based company Laconia Development proposed to...The 98105 Seattle Zip Code is Country’s Hottest
Homes in 98105 usually sell within 21 days, which is 15 days faster than King County’s average and 9 days faster than the Seattle Metro average. The median price is $1,015,898, which is 243 percent higher than the Greater Seattle median price...The First 2-Story Whole Foods Market Coming to Capitol Hill
Starting mid 2016, a new 16 story Seattle apartment tower will feature the regions first to story Whole Foods Market. The project will feature over 265 apartment units on a half block lot on the border between First Hill and Capitol Hill, at th...
The US Remains Top Choice for Chinese Property Investors
According to a recent article in Juwai.com, Chinese property investors are still finding the American dream alive and well. Many of these investors are focusing on California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Washington state as these are the ...Washington’s Most Expensive Cities to Buy a Home
Washington state may not be the most expensive state in the US but we do have one city that tops the list Of 25 Highest Priced Homes in the US. That city is Mercer Island. Research was collected on the average listing price of a four bedroom an...
Seattle’s Dexter Horton Building Sells to Hong Kong Company for $124.4M
The Dexter Horton Building, a landmark icon located in downtown Seattle was recently sold to Great Eagle Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong for just over $124.4 million. Named for the founder of the first bank in Seattle, this 15-story building located...
Facebook’s Seattle Headquarters Move to Larger South Union Facility
With Facebook’s new move to South Lake Union it will more than quadruple its current Seattle office space. Facebook has agreed to rent 8 out of the 10 floors in the new Dexter Station building located at 1101 Dexter Ave. N. With over 280,00...
King County Median Home Price Up 7%
According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, King County’s median price of a single-family home was $480,000 for October 2015, which was 7.3% higher than just a year ago. Tight inventory, slow new home construction, and demand are ...Puget Sound’s Most Expensive Neighborhoods
The word is about the same across the country that home prices are increasing but some markets more predominant than others. In the Puget Sound region the median home value is more than $500,000, however, still lower than many tech-centric ci...
Regardless of Talks, Seattle is a Hot Real Estate Market
According to the S&P Case-Schiller 20 City Index, Seattle home prices rose faster than the national average in August 2015. The Seattle average increase .7% compared to the national average of just .1% across 20 major cities in the US and .4% n...The Cost of Living Near Top Seattle Companies
How Much Does it Cost to Live Near Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing in Seattle? The Puget Sound region is exploding with new businesses, company relocations and the housing market. Capitol Hill has been one of the most popular areas to rent an a...Seattle Magazine on Foreign Investments
The greater Seattle area is attractive to Chinese urbanites because it offers some things that can’t be bought in Beijing or Shanghai at any price: clean air and the room to breathe it—as well as land that you actually own. “Here in Wa...
Seattle and the Eastside Surge to Record Highs
Only in places like Mercer Island, South Seattle and remote parts of Kirkland has the median home prices been stagnant, everywhere else around the Puget Sound region has increased tremendously and in some places 18% or more. Places like Bellevu...The Co-Working Company WeWork to Set up Office in Bellevue
WeWork, the global company which provides shared workspace and community for entrepreneurs and small businesses, has recently confirmed opening a large facility in Lincoln Square, Bellevue’s office high-rise. When it opens in 2017, this w...
U Place at Union Bay – New condos at U Village
A new development is currently underway by University Village called U Place at Union Bay. This is a mixed-use condominium project comprised of small studio condominium units, a food court and restaurants on the first floor. This meets the need...
Seattle to Have the Fastest Rising Rents in 2017
Predictions state the Seattle will have the fastest rising rents in the nation in 2017 According to a recent Zillow forecast, rents for apartment buildings are rising faster in Seattle than anywhere else in the country. According to predicti...57 Point Home-Moving Checklist
Tip #7: Clearly Label as You Pack It is hard enough to pack and transport everything you own from one home to another. Doing all of that and remembering what box everything is packed in is next to impossible. Clearly labeling your boxes a...Woodinville’s Newest Development
Construction is currently underway in Woodinville with a brand-new warehouse project at 15902 Woodinville Redmond Rd. located in the West Valley winery district. Panattoni Development has broke ground on a new development for the first time ...
Seattle’s 5 Hottest Neighborhoods for 2017
As 2016 comes to a close and we look towards 2017, there are some big changes on the Seattle skyline and throughout Seattle neighborhoods. Just this year alone there were over 65 major buildings under construction across the downtown Metro area...
Park 12 – Bellevue’s Newest Townhouse Community
Bellevue’s newest condominium complex, Park 12, is already open for presales as of November, 2016. This new townhouse community is located near the highly anticipated Spring District neighborhood and is adjacent to a private, protected Park s...
Seattle is Now the Hottest Real Estate Market in the Country
Fueled by the same thing that has run our area for the last 20 year, the tech industry is causing Seattle to be one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Due to the tech boom and numerous technology-based businesses moving headquar...Out of State Buyers Snatching Up Bellevue Property
For the second time in a week, out-of-state buyers have purchased large, downtown office buildings in Bellevue. The Houston-based Lionstone Investments partnered with the Seattle-based business Talon Private Capital to purchase a seven-story at...Lots of New Apartments in Seattle But No Space for Parking
More and more new apartment buildings are featuring homes that do not include a parking space. Only about half of new rentals in downtown offer a parking stall. It used to be that each apartment featured one parking space per unit but now, ...Rising Interest Rates Prompt Seattlites to Buy
There was a 30% rise in home sales across the Puget Sound region in November 2016 as many homebuyers quickly hurry to lock in their interest rates before the new year. We have enjoyed historically low-interest rates for the last several years, ...2017 Could Be the Best Year to Invest in Real Estate
If you have been on the fence about investing in real estate, 2017 could be your year. Diversifying your portfolio while creating passive income is one of the top reasons people get into real estate investing. According to a report from the Joi...Buyers Frustration Over Low Inventory and High Prices
Pending sales are up but new listings are down across the Puget Sound area. Listings with mutually accepted offers (pending) reach their highest levels in January 2017 since back in 2005. This continues to repeat the same story that we’ve ...What Are the Largest Tech Employers in Washington State?
Tech companies are a dime a dozen in the Puget Sound region and many have more than 100 employees but only one has plans to add an additional 100,000 jobs by 2018. Amazon has plans to increase its workforce by 30% by mid-2018. Jeff Bezos, Amazo...Financial Benefits of Home Ownership
There are many benefits to home ownership. Many of the benefits of home ownership are tied into finances even benefitting owners at tax time. Here are some of the financial benefits home ownership can bring. Ownership Makes You Money ...
Zillow May Be Overestimating the Value of Your Home
Zillow May Be Overestimating the Value of Your Home and the Accuracy of the “Zestimate” Buying and selling a home is arguably one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make. Find the right home then sell and hope you gain more at the sa...Amazon May Have Plans for a 5th Building in Downtown Seattle
Amazon paid $19.2 million for two adjacent properties in the Denny Triangle neighborhood with potential plans of building a fifth downtown high-rise tower. These two properties take up one-half block on the west side of seventh Avenue between B...
How to Choose Between Two Perfect Homes
So you’ve been to some open houses, gone on some tours, and now find yourself in an unusual dilemma: two houses that seem perfect for you. In a way, it’s a good problem to have — better to have multiple options than none, right? But it ca...
Benefits of a Traditional Broker Over a Discount One
Everyone wants a discount. Obviously. But is cheaper always better? If you’ve lived long enough to know that that is not the case you might be doing a little more savvy shopping these days, especially when it comes to looking for a real estat...