Lake Washington Homes

Seattle Luxury Real Estate Finishing Up Strong Summer Sales

September 2nd, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

Sales of luxury real estate in Seattle have been strong all summer long, and continue to outpace 2009’s sales of luxury homes in a big way. July had 31 sales of homes over $1 million and 5 home sales over $2 million. This is in comparison to last July’s sales of 23 and 2 homes, respectively. Sales in the summer of 2010 have repeatedly outperformed 2009 by 30%-50% in the $1 million-and-up range.

Sales in the $2 million and up range are up 200% vs. last year, with 18 home sales reported in this range between April and July. While prices have taken a hit on many high-end homes, many sellers of luxury real estate have made realistic price adjustments on their listings and have gotten this market moving back in the right direction.

With the expiration of the tax credit, we’ve seen a large dip in total sales nationwide, but that affects the luxury real estate market much less than other market segments, as the tax credits are very small inducements at these prices. The greater economy and employment markets will continue to weigh on the luxury market, but it seems that luxury bargain hunters are starting to come out of the woodwork.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about a specific home, or real estate in general? Give me a call or send me an email any time:

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Washington State Realty, LLC
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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Seattle Home Prices To Rise 25.5% by 2014: Report

August 27th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

Moody’s and Fiserv (Case-Shiller Indices) recently studied the most likely housing markets to lead the real estate recovery in the U.S. Washington state came out number 1, with particular attention to the Puget Sound region. Seattle was forecast to have a bullish 25.5% increase in prices over the next 4 years.

The group estimates that housing prices will rise significantly through 2014, and Washington’s real estate market will be the strongest in the nation. Despite some recent dreary real estate news, Fiserv’s chief economist sees the future as bright for Washington and the greater Seattle metro:

A housing market rebound seems tenuous following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, and consumer confidence remains weak due to lackluster employment, but David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, says the bottom is near. Home prices in the U.S. have declined 29.5 percent over the past four years, according to the Fiserv Case-Shiller Indexes. Stiff says prices should form a trough early next year, when median prices will be down an estimated 32.9 percent from the 2006 peak.

…

Top 10 Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014

1. Washington
Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Bremerton-Silverdale metro

Forecast 4-year price increase: 44.7 percent
Current median price: $245,000
Prices to reach trough in: 2010 Q1
Median family income: $69,900
Population: 240,860

The Bremerton-Silverdale area, on Puget Sound’s Kitsap Peninsula, has the highest growth forecast of all MSAs in the country, with prices expected to jump 44.7 percent by 2014, according to Fiserv. Cathy Doney, general manger for Reid Real Estate in Silverdale, says the waterfront community has benefited from government employment, which has helped sustain the job market, and attracted buyers looking to live close to Seattle at a lower cost. Washington’s second-strongest market is Tacoma, with a growth rate expected to be 33.1 percent. Prices in the Seattle area are expected to grow 25.5 percent by 2014.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller

Full Article

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Sam DeBord is a Realtor and Managing Real Estate Broker with SeattleHome.com, a division of Washington State Realty, LLC. He is a member of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors and a Green-Certified Pro. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Waterfront Home Sales on The Eastside Surge, Then Slow a Bit

August 24th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

Waterfront real estate sales this summer on the Eastside have been far stronger than in 2009. June sales were particularly outstanding, with July showing a slight downturn which wasn’t unexpected after the early summer burst, matching the rest of the market in Greate Seattle.

Thirteen significant Eastside waterfront home sales on Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish closed in June, and four more lakefront sales closed this July. Compare that to 2009 which had just 7 similar sales in June and 3 in July. So far, the summer of 2010 is turning out to be a boon to waterfront buyers, as a portion of the selling market is getting realistic about the correction in luxury and real estate prices. Many waterfront homes have now been priced at a level that fits the current market, and transactions are moving forward at a better pace than the past two years.

The most recent sales were a $1.6 million home on Lake Sammamish waterfront in Sammamish, a $1.782 million protected waterfront home on South Bellevue’s canals in Newport Shores, a $1.8 million West of Market lakefront home in Kirkland, and a $5.5 million waterfront estate in exclusive Hunts Point.

Address City Price Beds Baths Sq Ft
July 2010 Sales
2029 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE Sammamish $1,600,000 3 2.5 4,299
26 Columbia Key Bellevue $1,782,000 4 2.5 3,970
1433 10th St W Kirkland $1,800,000 3 1.5 1,610
4224 Hunts Point Rd Hunts Point $5,500,000 4 3.5 4,030

June 2010 Sales
4011 E Lk. Sammamish Shore Lane SE Sammamish $815,000 2 2.25 1,770
1727 E Beaver Lake Drive SE Sammamish $950,000 4 2.5 3,380
3268 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE Bellevue $1,245,000 4 3.5 4,090
2120 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE Redmond $1,395,000 3 2.75 3,720
13253 Holmes Point Dr NE Kirkland $1,700,000 4 2.5 2,520
273 E Lake Sammamish Shore Lane NE Sammamish $1,795,000 4 3.25 3,950
161 E Lake Sammamish Shore Lane NE Sammamish $1,950,000 5 3.25 3,750
1721 E Lake Sammamish Place SE Sammamish $2,000,000 4 4 4,800
4129 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE Sammamish $2,305,000 3 3.75 4,183
2401 Killarney Wy SE Bellevue $3,266,050 3 3.75 3,380
3257 Hunts Point Rd Hunts Point $3,900,000 4 3.25 5,022
9455 Lake Washington Blvd NE Bellevue $4,283,000 5 3.5 4,600
9010 NE 47 St Yarrow Point $4,600,000 3 4 3,670
9441 Lake Washington Blvd NE Bellevue $4,900,000 3 3.5 6,590

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Strong Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Sales Continue In July

August 18th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

Waterfront real estate sales in Seattle maintained an even keel in July, as the general real estate market continued to push along through a slow economy. July waterfront home sales in Seattle matched the eight homes sold in June, with two sales being high-end floating homes and the remainder of the sales being traditional single family homes. These numbers are a large increase over the same period last year.

The least expensive waterfront home sales in July were at the extreme ends of Seattle, with a Bryn Mawr home on the South end of the city selling for $650k, and a Cedar Park home on the North end that sold for $700k. Our Lake Union floating home sales closed at $740k in Westlake, and $1.242 million in Eastlake.

At the top end of the waterfront real estate sales were a home in Denny Blaine that sold for $2.15 million, and a waterfront estate in Leschi that closed at $2.625 million.

Overall, the waterfront real estate market continues to outpace 2009’s sales numbers by leaps and bounds. July of 2009 had just two waterfront home sales, part of a dismal year of waterfront and luxury home purchases. While sales of these homes are often at discounted prices, the total number of sales month after month continue to strengthen the base of the luxury market and increase confidence for buyers.

June 2010 Seattle Waterfront Home Sales
Address City Sold Price Beds Baths Sq Ft
2401 N Northlake Wy #9-E Seattle $249,138 1 1.5 620
2915 Harris Place S Seattle $400,000 3 2.5 1,910
3415 Sound View Dr W Seattle $575,000 4 3 2,800
9645 50th Ave SW Seattle $1,100,000 3 1.5 2,490
3736 W Commodore Way Seattle $1,350,000 5 2.75 3,930
2481 Perkins Lane W Seattle $1,600,000 2 1.75 2,520
11045 Arroyo Beach Place SW Seattle $2,200,000 3 3.5 3,050
4408 55th Ave NE Seattle $2,500,000 6 3.75 5,450

July 2010 Seattle Waterfront Home Sales
Address City Sold Price Beds Baths Sq Ft
11016 Rainier Ave S Seattle $650,000 2 1.75 1,600
12322 Riviera Place NE Seattle $700,000 4 1.5 1,970
2770 Westlake Ave N #6 Seattle $740,000 2 1.75 1,151
8452 Island Dr S Seattle $810,000 3 2.5 2,390
2600 Fairview Ave E #8 Seattle $1,242,500 3 2.25 2,000
2444 NW Blue Ridge Dr Seattle $1,335,000 4 2.25 3,800
1616 Lake Washington Blvd. Seattle $2,150,000 2 2.5 2,730
1108 Lakeside Ave S Seattle $2,625,000 4 3.25 3,680

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about a waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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New Home Sales Rise 24% in June

July 27th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

While the real estate market took a dip after the home buyer tax credits expired a couple of months ago, it appears that the summer boost is coming back.

After May’s disappointing numbers, we saw an increase of 24% in new home sales for June, according to the U.S. Commerce department. Sales of new homes rose to an annual rate of 330,000, an encouraging sign for builders and home sellers nationwide.

The home buyer tax credits have propped up the real estate market in the U.S. for at least a year. Their expiration caused a rush at the finish line, and a stall in new transactions immediately after. The big question for the real estate industry was how big the stall would be. Although the new numbers aren’t monumental, we are seeing an easing of buyers back into the market and encouraging signals moving into late summer.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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The Debate Over the “Real Estate Tax” in the New Health Care Law

July 22nd, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

There has been much (uninformed) debate on the web about the possible existence of a tax on real estate sales within the new health care bill passed by Congress and the President this year. It’s been called a “sales tax”, “transfer tax”, “income tax”, and some have even said it doesn’t exist at all.

Let’s set the record straight-no politics, just facts. This is a tax that affects a very small number of Americans directly. It is, however, particularly significant for waterfront and luxury real estate owners. It could also be significant to builders, contractors, tradesmen, and others in the real estate industry who are dependent on real estate sales for their employment. (Thanks to Lane Bailey over at ActiveRain for the thorough analysis of the subject-some of his research points synopsized here).

There is indeed a tax that affects the sale of real estate in the new health care law passed this year.

Starting in 2013, individuals with incomes over $200,000 will have to pay a 3.8% tax on profit from the sale of their primary residence or investment properties over a certain profit threshold. The exact amount will be based on a formula that includes the profit from the property and the income above $200,000. The tax is not an income tax, but rather it is a “payroll tax”… officially it is a Medicare Tax.

This new tax applies to investment income, dividends, real estate profits- all “unearned income”.

Here’s the gist of it:
A person with an income of $200,000+ purchased an investment property for $400,000.
The home is now sold for $1,000,000, a $600,000 profit.
The full $600,000 profit is applied to the new tax rate of 3.8% ($22,800 new tax) plus the usual income tax rate.
-or-
A person with an income of $200,000+ purchased a primary home for $400,000.
The home is now sold for $1,000,000, for a $600,000 profit.
The first $250,000 profit is tax-free.
The additional $350,000 is subject to the new 3.8% tax, costing $13,300 (plus the applicable income tax).
-or-
A married couple with an income of $250,000+ purchased a primary home for $400,000.
The home is now sold for $1,000,000, a $600,000 profit.
The first $500,000 profit is tax-free.
The additional $100,000 is subject to the new 3.8% tax, costing $3,800 (plus the applicable income tax).

A married couple who makes less than $500k profit on their primary home will pay no extra tax, and a single person who makes less than $250k profit on their primary home will pay no extra tax.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Waterfront Real Estate on the Eastside Continues Surge

July 13th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

While Seattle’s waterfront real estate market stayed healthy but flat in June, sales of waterfront homes on the Eastside continued to make a big splash.

There were 13 homes sold on Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish last month, including a dozen sales over $1 million and 5 sales over $3 million. That more than doubles the sales numbers in June of ‘09 when just 6 waterfront homes in this category were sold.

Sales of waterfront homes in Bellevue, Kirkland, Kenmore, Renton, Redmond, Sammamish, and “the Points” have shown healthy growth since late 2009 and are continuing to strengthen the base of the waterfront market. While multi-million dollar transactions were few and far between last year, they’re becoming the norm in 2010’s market.

Waterfront sales usually peak in late summer, so there’s a good chance we haven’t seen the best of the sales numbers yet for the year. The greater Seattle real estate market in general seems to be in a bit of a lull right now, but as we saw in Seattle’s waterfront sales numbers last month, the top end seems to still be finding some buyers.

Waterfront Real Estate Sales on the Eastside, June 2010

Address
Beds Baths Sq Ft Sold Price

4011 E Lk. Sammamish Shore Lane SE Sammamish
2 2.25 1,770 $815,000

3268 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE Bellevue
4 3.5 4,090 $1,245,000

2120 W Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE Redmond
3 2.75 3,720 $1,395,000

13253 Holmes Point Dr NE Kirkland
4 2.5 2,520 $1,700,000

273 E Lake Sammamish Shore Lane NE Sammamish
4 3.25 3,950 $1,795,000

161 E Lake Sammamish Shore Lane NE Sammamish
5 3.25 3,750 $1,950,000

1721 E Lake Sammamish Place SE Sammamish
4 4 4,800 $2,000,000

4129 E Lake Sammamish Pkwy SE Sammamish
3 3.75 4,183 $2,305,000

2401 Killarney Wy SE Bellevue
3 3.75 3,380 $3,266,050

3257 Hunts Point Rd Hunts Point
4 3.25 5,022 $3,900,000

9455 Lake Washington Blvd NE Bellevue
5 3.5 4,600 $4,283,000

9010 NE 47 St Yarrow Point
3 4 3,670 $4,600,000

9441 Lake Washington Blvd NE Bellevue
3 3.5 6,590 $4,900,000

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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June Sales of Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Up Vs. ‘09

July 12th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

The waterfront real estate market in Seattle continued to top 2009’s sales numbers with 6 waterfront home sales in June and 5 of those being traditional houses. While the total sales are down slightly from the 8 sales in May, we’re still significantly higher every month this year than we were in 2009.

In May of ‘09 we had a half dozen waterfront home sales in Seattle. All but one of those sales, however, were houseboats and floating homes, which average much lower sale prices than traditional waterfront houses. This June there was just one houseboat included in our numbers and all of the houses were $1 million+, which made the median sold price fairly high at $1.6 million.

While the general Seattle real estate market seems to be in a bit of a lull, waterfront sales seem to have slowed from their breakneck pace in Spring to a healthy trot this summer. There area clearly still a lot of buyers with the ability to purchase waterfront real estate in this market, and they’re negotiating for the best prices possible.

Waterfront home sellers may take these price discounts as a bad sign, but the overall market has really benefitted from the past 6 months’ activity and established a new pricing model for them to follow. We really had very little guide in 2009 with the dearth of quality sales data, so the current sales are giving everyone a bit of a meridian for the next six months of waterfront real estate pricing.

Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Sales, June 2009

Address
Beds, Baths, Sq Ft, Sold Price

11045 Arroyo Beach Place SW
3 3.5 3,050 $2,200,000

2915 Harris Place S
3 2.5 1,910 $400,000

3736 W Commodore Way
5 2.75 3,930 $1,350,000

2481 Perkins Lane W
2 1.75 2,520 $1,600,000

2401 N Northlake Wy #9-E
1 1.5 620 $249,138

357 NW 113th Place
3 2.5 2,626 $540,000

10305 Bedford Ct NW
4 2.5 3,136 $1,100,000

4408 55th Ave NE
6 3.75 5,450 $2,500,000

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about a waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Lake Washington Waterfront Home– Bryn Mawr, Sea

July 7th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

Car Enthusiast’s Dream Home on Lake Washington Waterfront – Bryn Mawr, Seattle

There are a thousands of homes on the shores of Seattle’s lakes and Puget Sound. Finding the right house for a waterfront home buyer always entails researching their need for boat moorage, privacy of location, and waterfront footage desired. Sometimes, though, a rare characteristic of a home makes it uniquely suited to a particular buyer’s needs.

If I was searching for a Lake Washington home for a buyer who was a car collector, enthusiast, or just liked to have a stable of vehicles for variety, this home on Rainier Ave S. would be our first stop. The home has all of the features necessary for a beautiful lakefront estate, but its 5+ car garage with panoramic Lake Washington views is almost singularly unique in the vast number of homes I’ve visited around the lake.

Access from the street is easy, as the bank of garage doors opens the full length of the garage. The full-length windows on the water-side of the garage make for a perfect spot to show off your collection, tinker with the engine, or just house a handful of personal watercraft for the winter. The garage covers the full width of the street-side property, save for a gated walkway down to the home. This provides a nice privacy break from the street and a secure entry.

Walking down the stairway to the home, the 6000 sq ft lot provides plenty of space for a protected patio area, and a large lawn down near the water. The property feels like an amply-sized plot for a large outdoor gathering. The dock provides moorage for a fairly large vessel, and the nearby homes are all nicely-appointed, similarly-styled homes. It feels like this area has retained much of its style and charm since many of these homes were built in the mid-century.

Inside the home, the kitchen and baths have been remodeled extensively. Stylish tile work, clean hardwoods, and modern touches give a strong contemporary feel, while classic period pieces have remained untouched. Coved ceilings, built-ins, and glass doorknobs retain the war-era charm of the original structure.

As with most well-built waterfront homes, the views abound from every lake-facing room in the house (which includes almost every room). The South end of Mercer Island sits just across the water, and this end of the lake seems to catch the calmest waters of Lake Washington. The home was designed for comfortable living, and the modern updates have only enhanced that effect. This waterfront property would make almost any home buyer elated about their new residence, but if that buyer happened to have a thing for classic cars, they may have just found their needle in a haystack.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Have a question about this waterfront home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Seattle Foreclosures Stay Low: Bank-Owned Homes

June 28th, 2010, Author: Sam DeBord - Seattle Real Estate Broker, Categories: Lake Washington Waterfront Homes

While foreclosures have certainly increased in the greater Seattle real estate market over the past couple of years, REO or bank-owned homes have yet to make up a significant number of homes on the market.

Seattle ForeclosuresSeattle currently has 210 bank-owned homes on the NWMLS for sale. This is out of 4277 total active listings, or about 4.9% of all listings.

Bellevue Foreclosures
On the Eastside, Bellevue has just 32 REO homes listed on the NWMLS, out of 932 total Active listings. At 3.5% of the market, this is again a less-than-significant portion of homes for sale.

There’s even a nice waterfront bank-owned home in the Cedar Park neighborhood of NE Seattle, listed for $1.2 million.

We clearly have some REO inventory to shake out this year, but the greater Seattle market is functioning much more like a traditional real estate market for now than a lot of major cities in the U.S.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Houseboats and Floating Homes

Sam DeBord is a Realtor and real estate broker with SeattleHome.com, a division of Washington State Realty, LLC. He is a member of the Seattle-King County Association of Realtors and a Green-Certified Pro. Source: Individually compiled NWMLS statistics. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service did not compile or publish this information.

Have a question about a home, or Seattle real estate in general?
Sam can be contacted at (206) 658-3225 or Sam(at)SeattleHome.com.

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Seattle Luxury Real Estate Finishing Up Strong Summer Sales

Seattle Home Prices To Rise 25.5% by 2014: Report

Waterfront Home Sales on The Eastside Surge, Then Slow a Bit

Strong Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Sales Continue In July

New Home Sales Rise 24% in June

The Debate Over the “Real Estate Tax” in the New Health Care Law

Waterfront Real Estate on the Eastside Continues Surge

June Sales of Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Up Vs. ‘09

Lake Washington Waterfront Home– Bryn Mawr, Sea

Seattle Foreclosures Stay Low: Bank-Owned Homes

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