Debra Sinick

Archive for April, 2009|Monthly archive page

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands Through April 23rd, 2009

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on April 24, 2009 at 1:14 pm

The real estate statistics below reflect the real estate activity in The Kirkland Highlands for the past week and all data is taken from the NWMLS through Thursday morning each week.


View Larger MapThe map shows most of the outline of Kirkland’s Highlands neighborhood. The map address is simply for a street corner in the middle of the Kirkland Highlands. For those not familiar with the neighborhood, it’s a pocket of unique homes close to downtown Kirkland. In some ways it feels like an island, because it’s separated on the east by 405, the south by Central Way (the main route to downtown) and the west and north by the BNSF railroad tracks. The neighborhood has the best of both worlds, a little isolation without any through traffic, but just seconds from everything.

Active Listings: 28 (27)

New listings: 2 (2)

Re-listed properties:  1 (0)

Pending inspection: 0 (0)

Pending: 1 (1)

Closed Sales: 0 (1)

Contingent sale: 0 (0)

Number of Price Reductions: 3 (5)

Canceled listings 1 (0)

Expired Listings: 0 (1)

Temporarily Off Market: 0 (0)

Price increase: 0(0)

Back on market: 0 (0)

Rented: 0 (0)

Sale Fail: 0 (0)

———————————–

0-$349,999: 2 (3)

$350,000-$499,999: 7 (5)

$500,000-$749,999: 8 (5)

$750,000-$999,999: 9 10)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 1 (1)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 1 (1)
———————————–
Average Price of homes for sale: $676,916 ($697,169)

Median Price of homes for sale: $652,500 ($749,000)

Average Days on Market: 96 (94)

Highest Priced Listing: $1,795,000 ($1,795,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $269,000 ($269,950)

Townhomes/condos

3  town homes listed

One is now pending and has an offer

The median and average price for homes in the Kirkland Highlands continues to drop as the number of  high end homes for sale has also dropped over the last few months. If there aren’t as many expensive homes on the market, the median price drops.    This trend is also a result of more Highlands homes for sale  priced under the $500,000 mark.

One home has come back on the market as a new listing with a new $30,000 price drop from the previous listing.  The pending sale this week is for a home priced below $1 million.  It was originally priced in the $1.5 million range.

Closed Kirkland Highlands home sale of the week:

None this week.

On another note, the number of sales in all of King County this past week reached 532, the largest number of sales since July, 2008. The good news is more buyers are getting off the fence and using the $8000 tax credit to buy a home.  The Washington State legislature is considering a plan to use the $8000 tax credit towards a buyer’ down payment. It will be interesting to see if this happens as it will open up more possibilities for buyers.  Still will prices head up any time soon?  Most economists think not.

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The City of Kirkland Tree Care and Removal Policy

In Kirkland News, Kirkland WA on April 22, 2009 at 1:56 pm

Tree Care and Removal In KirklandKari Page, Neighborhood Coordinator in Kirkland, asked me to post this memo on this blog. This is a sure sign spring is here!

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Local Icon,Yarrow Bay Grill, Is Closing

In Dining in Kirkland, Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland WA on April 20, 2009 at 7:47 pm

Run, don’t walk down to Yarrow Bay Grill on Carillon Point before it closes.

Yarrow Bay Grill

Yarrow Bay Grill

The restaurant is closing at the end of the month after a 20 year tenure on the Kirkland waterfront. It’s a great restaurant and I’ll truly miss it.  It’s been a wonderful place to get a terrific dinner in a nice, quite setting. I find there are few restaurants that fit that bill.  Rarely can I go out for a good meal and find a quiet, elegant, but not stuffy, atmosphere combined with good food.

I will miss the sunsets from the patio. It was always fun when I could snag a patio table in the summer.

Sunset View From Kirkland's Yarrow Bay Grill

Sunset View From Kirkland's Yarrow Bay Grill

Here’s what some of the staff from the restaurant told me to expect as the “new kid” on the block:  Bin Vivant, which opened last summer in the Woodmark Hotel, will take over the space after a remodel.  It’s name will be ” Bin on the Lake”. The space Bin Vivant now occupies in the Woodmark will become a special events venue.

Yarrow Bay Cafe, the more casual downstairs restaurant, shall remain with an expanded outdoor seating area.  I’m glad for that!  I do love those summer nights out on the patio by the lake.  It makes me realize how lucky I am to live in Kirkland.

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands through April 16th, 2009

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on April 17, 2009 at 12:30 pm

The real estate statistics below reflect the real estate activity in The Kirkland Highlands for the past week and all data is taken from the NWMLS through Thursday morning each week.


View Larger MapThe map shows most of the outline of Kirkland’s Highlands neighborhood. The map address is simply for a street corner in the middle of the Kirkland Highlands. For those not familiar with the neighborhood, it’s a pocket of unique homes close to downtown Kirkland. In some ways it feels like an island, because it’s separated on the east by 405, the south by Central Way (the main route to downtown) and the west and north by the BNSF railroad tracks. The neighborhood has the best of both worlds, a little isolation without any through traffic, but just seconds from everything.

Active Listings: 27 (26)

New listings: 2 (1)

Re-listed properties:  0 (0)

Pending inspection: 0 (0)

Pending: 1 (0)

Closed Sales: 1 (1)

Contingent sale: 0 (0)

Number of Price Reductions: 5 (4)

Canceled listings 0 (1)

Expired Listings: 1 (0)

Temporarily Off Market: 0 (0)

Price increase: 0(0)

Back on market: 0 (0)

Rented: 0 (0)

Sale Fail: 0 (0)

———————————–

0-$349,999: 3 (2)

$350,000-$499,999: 5 (6)

$500,000-$749,999: 5 (7)

$750,000-$999,999: 10 10)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 1 (1)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 1 (1)
———————————–
Average Price of homes for sale: $697,169 ($725,140)

Median Price of homes for sale: $749,000 ($749,475)

Average Days on Market: 94 (98)

Highest Priced Listing: $1,795,000 ($1,795,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $269,950 ($269,950)

Townhomes/condos

4 Active town homes listed

One price reduction

The average price of the homes for sale has dropped some this week as more homes have reduced their asking prices.  Is the bottom here for pricing? It may be , if not soon, as more people are out making offers on homes on the eastside.  More offers in general are happening, but we still don’t see prices heading up anytime soon.  We do, however, anticipate more homes selling on Seattle’s eastside and in Kirkland.  NuWire Investor had an article expressing more postive thoughts about the economy. The article has a link to an article from Housing Wire with more specific information about the housing market.

Closed Kirkland Highlands home sale of the week:

$804,950 New construction with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths.  It was on the market for 469 days (remember, it was advertised for sale before it was actually built) with an original asking price of $908,000, and final asking price of $849,000.  The home sold for 12% below the original asking price.

For a look at the March 2009 Seattle eastside  real estate data, check out my blog post on the March real estate statistics.

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Safety Alert: Suspicious Van Seen In Kirkland

In Kirkland News, Kirkland WA on April 16, 2009 at 1:23 pm

Kirkland should be on the lookout for a suspicious van which has been seen in the Kirkland Highlands recently.

Here’s a copy of the two emails I received from the Kirkland Highlands Association president, Karen Story:

“On Tuesday afternoon I was sitting at home hanging out with my friend and her son when we saw a man wearing a “health inspector” vest and a “safety inspection” hat walking through our back patio and towards our yard. He saw us and immediately turned around, and when I went outside to try to talk to him he was already going around the corner and ignored me. I went around to the front door and saw him pulling out of the driveway in a white truck with a canopy (I think) and a “health inspector” sticker and driving away. The back of our house is all windows and, having just read your mail, I had a feeling he might have been checking out our house or planning to break in but saw that we were home and went away.

I called the police and of course they can’t be sure what his intention was but said that it was certainly possible. If it had been a legitimate inspector he would have likely gone to the front door and introduced himself to explain what he was doing. I just thought I’d pass it along in case anyone else in the neighborhood sees this person

- they should call the police as well and see if we can get to the bottom of it.”

And the second email regarding the van/ safety situation in Kirkland:

More people have seen this person in the Highlands today, and the police are now patrolling the area. Please try to get the license number if you see the truck! The police case number is 3100. Call 911, as this is considered a crime in progress.

The health department says:

All Public Health Seattle King County’s health inspectors have photo IDs, that they should have on their person whenever out in the field.

They are required to identify themselves and show their ID – and they always go to the front door and knock first. The inspectors do drive white vehicles, some trucks with canopies, but they have a logo/ insignia on the doors clearly indicating Public Health Seattle King County. And other than investigating a solid waste complaint, there really isn’t any reason they’d be in the highlands, residential area (as we have no onsite septic systems.)

The health department has been notified.

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What Were The Chances of Selling Your Kirkland Home in March, 2009?

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers on April 15, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Kirkland real estate-March, 2009

Kirkland real estate-March, 2009

(pended homes are those that received an offer, but the sale has not closed yet)

March,    2009                 448 homes for sale       29 homes sold,     6.5% chance of selling a home.

****Kirkland real estate statistics are now in a new format.   As we all know, a picture or a graph paints a clear picture, and, in this case, it’s Kirkland real estate activity. The chart above shows the real estate activity for Kirkland single family homes from December, 2007 through February, 2009.

There was a 6.5% chance of selling a home in Kirkland in March, 2009.  If you click on the link, you’ll see the MLS charts I’ve been using in the past. There’s a slight difference in the actual numbers between the Trendgraphix chart above and the MLS statistics I receive from Windermere Real Estate, but the trends are the same in each chart.  (Actual numbers may vary slightly, depending on when the data is retrieved.)

The number of homes for sale is beginning to creep up, typical of our yearly cycle of real estate activity. So in this market, if you plan to sell, beat the competition with a competitive price and a professionally photographed and staged home.

The homes that meet these criteria are those that will fall into the percentage that sell each month.  Take heart, it can be done.  You can sell your home if you are way ahead of the competition.   If you are making a move to another home, you’ll make it up on the purchase.  Buyers are benefitting from the number of homes for sale out there, and the great interest rates. Of course, first time buyers have an added tax incentive to buy.   If you need to sell and you’ve been in your home since before 2005, you’ve still made the best appreciation ever seen in real estate.

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Green Kirkland Partnership and Kirkland’s Earth Day Event

In Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland News, Kirkland WA on April 15, 2009 at 4:47 pm

juanita-bay-park-map1

Juanita Bay Park-Kirklands's Earth Day Event

Did you know there are 372 acres of natural undeveloped areas in Kirkland? I found this out when I met with Sharon Rodman, who is Kirkland’s education and environmental outreach specialist.  Sharon is one of the leaders in the Green Kirkland Partnership and has organized  many of the past events at Cotton Hill and Watershed Parks, among others.

The Green Kirkland Partnership is helping to reforest much of these undeveloped acres with native plantings. This year’s Earth Day event, which is part of this program, will be at Juanita Bay Park, and there’s a lot of work to be done. Besides pushing a wheelbarrows or planting trees, the Green Kirkland Partnership needs volunteers for all kinds of things.  So dust off your volunteering skills and help at Earth Day on April 25th or at many of the other events throughout the year. You can get down in the dirt and plant, rake, and haul stuff off or:

  • Bring snacks or drinks.
  • Register people who attend the events
  • Assist with advertising efforts
  • Write articles about the events.
  • Put posters up advertising the events
  • Photograph events
  • Create a scrapbook of an event
  • Secure business sponsorships of events
  • General administrative work

These programs can only be a success if people volunteer. You can contact Sharon Rodman for more information or to volunteer your services at: srodman@ci.kirkland.wa.us.

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in the Kirkland Highlands Through April 9th, 2009

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, Real estate, sellers, Uncategorized, Weekly market update on April 10, 2009 at 2:43 pm

The real estate statistics below reflect the real estate activity in The Kirkland Highlands for the past week and all data is taken from the NWMLS through Thursday morning each week.


View Larger MapThe map shows most of the outline of Kirkland’s Highlands neighborhood. The map address is simply for a street corner in the middle of the Kirkland Highlands. For those not familiar with the neighborhood, it’s a pocket of unique homes close to downtown Kirkland. In some ways it feels like an island, because it’s separated on the east by 405, the south by Central Way (the main route to downtown) and the west and north by the BNSF railroad tracks. The neighborhood has the best of both worlds, a little isolation without any through traffic, but just seconds from everything.

Active Listings: 26 (26)

New listings: 1 (0)

Re-listed properties:  0 (0)

Pending inspection: 0 (1)

Pending: 0 (0)

Closed Sales: 0 (1)

Contingent sale: 0 (0)

Number of Price Reductions: 4 (2)

Canceled listings 1 (0)

Expired Listings: 0 (1)

Temporarily Off Market: 0 (0)

Price increase: 0(0)

Back on market: 0 (0)

Rented: 0 (0)

Sale Fail: 0 (0)

———————————–

0-$349,999: 2 (2)

$350,000-$499,999: 5 (6)

$500,000-$749,999: 7 (7)

$750,000-$999,999: 10 10)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 1 (1)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 1 (1)
———————————–
Average Price of homes for sale: $725,140 ($721,867)

Median Price of homes for sale: $749,475 ($749,475)

Average Days on Market: 98 (96)

Highest Priced Listing: $1,795,000 ($1,795,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $269,950 ($274,950)

Townhomes/condos

4 Active town homes listed

One of the new listings for sale this week was listed last year and has come back on the real estate market at a price $10,000 higher than last year’s asking price.

Closed Kirkland Highlands home sale of the week:

None this week.

The price reductions ranged from the least expensive home for sale to a mid-priced home and to a home that is a short sale. Activity  has picked up in general on Seattle’s Eastside.  I expect to see some of that activity spill over into sales in Kirkland’s Highlands.

The real estate statistics for Seattle’s Eastside, including Kirkland, will be published shortly.  I’ll be presenting the data in a different, easier to read graph format.  Have a nice holiday weekend.

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Flowers, Shorts, and Boats in Kirkland-Is Spring Here?

In Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland WA on April 8, 2009 at 3:19 pm

kirkland-highlands-springbest3kirkland-highlands-springbest2kirkland-highlands-springbest5kirkland-highlands-springbest6

This is what I love about the Seattle area and Kirkland.  The minute it’s warm and sunny, we don’t waste a second!

kirkland-people-springbest5kirkland-people-springbest3kirkland-people-springbest2kirkland-people-springbest1kirkland-people-springbest4

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Weekly Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands Through April 1st, 2009

In Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on April 2, 2009 at 5:11 pm

The real estate statistics below reflect the real estate activity in The Kirkland Highlands for the past week and all data is taken from the NWMLS through Thursday morning each week. (except this week’s data is through Wednesday, the 1st)


View Larger MapThe map shows most of the outline of Kirkland’s Highlands neighborhood. The map address is simply for a street corner in the middle of the Kirkland Highlands. For those not familiar with the neighborhood, it’s a pocket of unique homes close to downtown Kirkland. In some ways it feels like an island, because it’s separated on the east by 405, the south by Central Way (the main route to downtown) and the west and north by the BNSF railroad tracks. The neighborhood has the best of both worlds, a little isolation without any through traffic, but just seconds from everything.

Active Listings: 26 (28)

New listings: 0 (0)

Re-listed properties:  0 (1)

Pending inspection: 1 (0)

Pending: 0 (0)

Closed Sales: 1 (1)

Contingent sale: 0 (0)

Number of Price Reductions: 2 (0)

Canceled listings 0 (0)

Expired Listings: 1 (1)

Temporarily Off Market: 0 (0)

Price increase: 0(0)

Back on market: 0 (0)

Rented: 0 (0)

Sale Fail: 0 (0)

———————————–

0-$349,999: 2 (3)

$350,000-$499,999: 6 (6)

$500,000-$749,999: 6 (7)

$750,000-$999,999: 10 (9)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 1 (2)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 1 (1)
———————————–
Average Price of homes for sale: $721,867 ($714,464)

Median Price of homes for sale: $749,475 ($737,000)

Average Days on Market: 96 (93)

Highest Priced Listing: $1,795,000 ($1,795,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $274,950 ($274,950)

Townhomes/condos

2 Active town homes listed

One home is off the market and one home received an offer this week, so there are two less homes for sale in the Kirkland Highlands this week. The home that got an offer this week is priced under $300,000.

Closed Kirkland Highlands home sale of the week:

$870,000  New construction home with 3400+ square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 2.5 baths.  It took  597 days to sell and originally came on the market for $1,199,000.Clearly, the market was very different in 2007.  The final sales price was 28% below the original asking price.

One of the homes that was reduced this week is a short sale and is now priced far below its original asking price.  This home is over 5200 square feet and is now priced at $999,950. It was priced last year for over $1.5 million.

As I mentioned in last week’s post, there are many  relatively new homes for sale in Kirkland with similar square footage that are priced just above $1 million.  Competition is fierce in this price range and it’s even more important for these homes to be well priced in order to get the buyers’ attention.  Buyers have so many choices.  Between $1,000,000-1.2 million, there are 32 homes available to choose from and this does not include North Kirkland!

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