Debra Sinick

Archive for January, 2008|Monthly archive page

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Kirkland Googlers, If You Lived In Kirkland, WA’s Highlands, You’d Be Home Right Now!

In buyers, Kirkland News, Real estate on January 14, 2008 at 11:37 am

 Google sign in Kirkland

Kirkland was both in the Seattle Times for our “warm” Starbucks and also talked about on National Public Radio, NPR, last week.  I was in NYC for Inman News Real Estate Connect and a Highlands neighbor emailed me about the NPR story.   Kirkland weblog also referenced the story.

Google is helping to change the fabric of downtown Kirkland.  Kirkland has changed dramatically over the years, exploding in the last decade with new condominiums, a hotel, and lots of great restaurants.  The Google  employees located here contribute to our city’s economy in a big way.  Restaurants at Parkplace are often filled at lunch because Googlers are just a few minutes from Parkplace.   I’ve noticed the stoplight by the Post Office turns red quite a bit these days as the Googlers are trying to cross 6th St. from the Google office to Parkplace.  Before Google, this light rarely changed.

 Google’s Kirkland office is just about a half mile from Kirkland’s Highlands. (So Googlers, if you lived here in The Highlands, you could walk to work!) We have all kinds of wonderful homes in The Highlands, big ones, small ones, older ones, and new ones.  Town homes, condos, single family homes, contemporary, traditional, bungalow style, private lots, big lots, small lots, view lots, and more. The Highlands has parks with playgrounds and tennis courts. 

Forbes Creek Tennis Courts

The neighborhood has a terrific walk score as compared to many suburban neighborhoods.

There’s easy access to Peter Kirk Elementary and Kirkland Jr. High. Our schools are part of the Lake Washington School District, one of the best in the area.

Kirkland Jr. High

 Prices range from the 400′s up to the two million dollar range. We are right off the highway and just seconds, 1/2 mile to Parkplace.  So Googlers, come on up to The Highlands, you can find some great choices and great homes here.  After all, you have a great location, great housing selection, parks, easy highway access, water, beaches, galleries, and restaurants.  What more could you ask for! Check out our neighborhood website, www.kirklandhighlands.org.

Highlands homeOlder charming Highlands homeHighlands home

(Photos are homes I have sold in the past and are not currently for sale, but are examples of homes in The Highlands.)

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands through January11th, 2008

In buyers, market statistics, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on January 11, 2008 at 7:23 pm

Real Estate Update Post-It
Active Listings:   28(28)

New listings:  0(1) plus one re-listed property
Sold subject to inspection:  0(1) 

Pending:  2(0)plus one town home

Closed Sales:   0(1)

Contingent sale: 0(0)

Number of Price Reductions:  1(0)

Cancelled listings 1(0)

Expired Listings 0 (0)

———————————–
Number of homes available:    28(28)

0-$349,999:   0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:   3(2)

$500,000-$749,999:    6(6)

$750,000-$999,999:   11(12)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999:   5(6)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999:   3(3)
———————————–
Average Price: $954,317($974,804)
Median Price:   $871,050 ($873,550)

Average Days on Market: 93(85)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,299,950 ($2,299,950)

Lowest Priced Listing: $424,900($460,000)

(data from NWMLS)

My analysis of this week’s real estate buzz:

Average market time in The Highlands took a jump from 85 to 93 days, adding about a week to total market time. 

Two listings are now pending after spending a number of months on the market.  The home in Kirkwood Manor for $545,000 is one of the pending listings.  The other is a home in Forbes Creek, Waterwheel Park to be exact.  It had been on the market 155 days with an original asking price of $519,950.  The price was dropped to $498,950 before the home sold.  The neighborhood was built by Panterra Homes, a builder who was very active in Kirkland in the 1980′s.

The cancelled listing was in Altezza, the newer neighborhood off 112th, built by Grainger Construction.  The home, a large view property, had been priced at $1,499,000. 

The re-listed home is a rambler in Hidden Hills that has been beautifully updated.  It’s original price was $750,000 and it has come back on the market as a new listing with a reduced price of $712,000.

There are still 5 active town home listings in the Highlands.  The town home that was sold subject to inspection has completed the inspection process and is now pending.  (my listing)

I had an opportunity to go to NYC for Inman News Real Estate Connect and I’ll share some of what I learned about the real estate market, the economy, and technology on some of my other blogs.  I’ll provide links to these reports and  keep you in the loop. 

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A little coffee and a little warmth at the Kirkland Parkplace Starbucks

In Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland News on January 11, 2008 at 5:29 am

kirkparkplace-starbucksbest.jpg

Our local Starbucks is “famous,” not only for coffee, but for warmth.  Parkplace’s Starbucks was written up in The Seattle Times as one of the favorite places to linger and keep warm. 

Have you had a chance to sit by the indoor/outdoor fireplace?  It’s a great place to run into Highlands people. I always see some of my Highlands’ neighbors when I stop by for a latte.

Do you have another great local place to linger and relax?  What’s your favorite place?

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands through January 4th, 2008

In buyers, market statistics, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on January 6, 2008 at 12:12 pm

update-post-it.png

Here’s the Kirkland Highlands at 2008′s starting gate!

Numbers in red reflect last week’s totals. This week’s totals are through mid-afternoon on Friday and are collected from NWMLS  data.

Active Listings:   29(28)

New listings:  1(1) plus one re-listed property
Sold subject to inspection:  1(0)  Plus one sale of a town home listed below.

Pending:  0(0)

Closed Sales:   1(1)

Contingent sale: 0(0)

Number of Price Reductions:  0(0)

Cancelled listings 0(0)

Expired Listings 0 (0)

———————————–
Number of homes available:    29(28)

0-$349,999:   0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:   2(1)

$500,000-$749,999:    6(6)

$750,000-$999,999:   12(11)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999:   6(6)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999:   3(3)
———————————–
Average Price: $974,804 ($975,011)
Median Price:   $873,550 ($875,443)

Average Days on Market: 85(84)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,299,950 ($2,299,950)

Lowest Priced Listing: $424,900($460,000)

(data from NWMLS)

My analysis of this week’s real estate buzz:

Two new listings are on the market in Highland Creste, although one is a re-listed property.  There are now three homes on the same street for sale, ranging in price from $749,000 to $765,000.  These homes are located on a quiet street that ends in a cul-de-sac up at the north end of the neighborhood.

A Kirkwood Manor home received an offer this week and ts listing price was $545,000.  I will let you know the final sales price when it closes.

The closed sale of the week was $767,500, 7% below the original asking price of $824,900.  The home was a remodeled daylight rambler with 2350 square feet.

There are now 5 active town home listings in the Highlands.  Two of these homes are re-listed properties.  One has been re-listed at significantly less than its original asking price of $774,950 and is now $689,900. A town home in Kirkland Highpointe was also re-listed at a new price of $599,000.  Another Kirkland Highpointe town home sold for $600,000, down by 8% from the original list price of $649,950.

Ironically, activity in Kirkland is not as dramatically different than last year at this time.  It is much slower going, but Kirkland is not experiencing as big a change from last year’s activity as some other Eastside neighborhoods.  We are seeing less than a 10% change in activity in all of Kirkland, whereas in some other neighborhoods the drop in market performance  is as much as 20-25%.   

I will continue to report on the market performance for all of Kirkland in my “What are the chances of selling” updates and on The Highland’s weekly performance in my “Weekly Real Estate Buzz.”  Thanks for reading and have a great 2008!

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KDOG Just Wants Kirkland’s Dogs to have fun in Kirkland.

In Kirkland News on January 4, 2008 at 11:25 pm

marymoor-park-dogsplllllayingbest.jpgWhen I stopped at Dooley’s Dog House the other day to pick up dog food for my Yorkie, I found out there is a grass roots effort to develop a dog park in Kirkland, a place for our four legged friends and their owners to meet and greet. 

Dog parks are high on the list of amenities home owners appreciate having in their community. I wrote about the latest ”hot” amenities in a previous posting on my eastside blog. Kirkland is noted for its beaches and access to the lake, its great restaurants, parks, and galleries. All these things contribute to higher home values in Kirkland.

When we Realtors look for homes for our buyers, we look at all the location offers.  Homes with great streets, good commutes, access to shopping, good schools, parks and dog parks add value to daily living and dollars to home prices.  From a real estate point of view, a city/neighborhood dog park can only add value to living in Kirkland for everyone. 

 Think of all the people (and dogs) you know who would love to have a dog park.  A dog park gives people, and their dogs, a safe place to enjoy each other and the outdoors.  Marymoor Park has one of the best dog parks anywhere and is a boon to the City of Redmond and King County.

S.OD.A., a group founded in the 1990’s to keep open space for dogs, has been helping a local group in Kirkland lobby for a dog park. The Kirkland group is called KDOG, Kirkland Dog Off Leash Group. The group made a presentation to the Parks Board in November.   

If you are interested and want to support the effort, you can sign up for the next meeting,which is this Tuesday evening at the Starbuck’s in Juanita at 7 PM. The next step for the dog park is to develop by-laws and to register a non-profit group with the state. Let the City Council know of your interest by showing your support either by signing the petition, volunteering or donating a few dollars.

Hope to see you at the dog park.

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