Debra Sinick

Archive for February, 2010|Monthly archive page

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Kirkland, WA Home Sales, The Hot Price Range 2-24-10

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, Real estate, sellers, Weekly market update on February 26, 2010 at 12:34 pm

Kirkland home sales, hot price range of the week:   under $299,999, $300-499,999, and $500-599,999.

  • Most number of home sales in Kirkland: Under $299,999, $300-499,999, and $500-599,999  9 sales each
  • Most number of homes for sale:  $1,000,000-1,499,999   40 homes for sale (same as last week)
  • There were 320 homes for sale in Kirkland and 20 homes sold last week.  This was a great week.
  • Most number of homes for sale in the last 7 weeks:  2-17-10,  325 homes for sale.
  • Highest number of homes sold in Kirkland in the last 7 weeks:  1-20-10,  with 24 homes sold.

  • Peak  of homes and condos for sale in King County in 2009?
  • July 27th marked a high of 13,861 homes and condos for sale in King County.
  • 1-4-10 9726
  • 2-22-10   11,583  Average  weekly increase of 200 homes for sale in King County
  • Sixty five days and counting to use the home buyer’s tax credit. Buyers benefit from the 2010 home buyer tax credit and great interest rates. Kirkland home sellers can take advantage of increased  buyer activity.  Kirkland is a now a more balanced real estate market, which means its advantageous to both Kirkland home buyers and sellers.
Kirkland Home Sales

Kirkland Real Estate Sales 2-24-10

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc., using MLS data) to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.  Here’s how it’s set up:The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

  • Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
  • Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
  • Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.
Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.
Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in Kirkland.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take an average of 2.1 months to sell all the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.  The last section shows the 7 week average of each category, the number of homes for sale, the number sold, and the months supply.

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Hot Price Range of The Week for Kirkland Home Sales, 2-17-10

In buyers, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers on February 19, 2010 at 2:48 pm

The hot price range of the week in Kirkland?   $700-799,999

  • Most number of home sales in Kirkland: $700-799,999  5 sales
  • Most number of homes for sale:  $1,000,000-1,499,999   40 homes for sale
  • There were 325 homes for sale in Kirkland and 13 homes sold last week.
  • Most number of homes for sale in the last 7 weeks:  2-17-10,  325 homes for sale.
  • Highest number of homes sold in Kirkland in the last 7 weeks:  1-20-10,  with 24 homes sold.

  • Peak  of homes and condos for sale in King County in 2009?
  • July 27th marked a high of 13,861 homes and condos for sale in King County.
  • Week of 2-16-10   11,333   The numbers are creeping up, following the yearly typical pattern.

Remember, there are less than 70 days left to use the home buyer’s tax credit. Most buyers who purchase a home for less than $800,000 are eligible for the tax credit, not just first time home buyers.  Since Kirkland home sales are up, if you’re going to sell your home, do it soon, so you can take advantage of the increase in buyer activity.

Buyers will benefit from the 2010 home buyer tax credit and great interest rates. Home buyers and sellers both can benefit in this real estate market, something which is rare in the last few years.

Kirkland WA Real Estate

Kirkland Real Estate WA Sales 2-17-10

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc., using MLS data) to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.  Here’s how it’s set up:The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

  • Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
  • Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
  • Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.
Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.
Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in Kirkland.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take an average of 1.9 months to sell all the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.  The last section shows the 7 week average of each category, the number of homes for sale, the number sold, and the months supply.

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Latest Real Estate Buzz in The Kirkland Highlands, 2-16-10

In buyers, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, Real estate, sellers on February 17, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Homes are selling in The Kirkland Highlands. There’s been great real estate activity recently.  Homes receiving offers this week were priced from the $400s to the high 600′s.  This is the fewest number of homes for sale in The Kirkland Highlands in a long time.  We dropped to having 22 or 23 homes on the market at the beginning and end of 2009, but not just 20 homes for sale as there is now. If you’re thinking of selling your Kirkland Highlands home, now is a better time to do so.

Median pricing has dropped because there was a Kirkland Highlands home priced for over a million dollars that has received an offer and is no longer listed for sale.  This brought the median price in the neighborhood down.

The real estate statistics below reflect the activity in The Kirkland Highlands for the past two weeks. All data is taken from the NWMLS through Tuesday this week, because of the holiday.  


View Larger Map

The 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.

Numbers in parentheses are from the last report:

Active Listings: 20 (21)

New listings: 0 (3)

Pending inspection: 2 (4)

Pending: 4 (1)

Closed Sales: 2 (1)

Number of Price Reductions: 2  (1)

Price increase: 0(0)

Homes off the market that did not sell: 2 (1)

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0-$349,999: 3 (0)

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

$500,000-$749,999:  7 (8)

$750,000-$999,999: 5 (5)

$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 0 (0)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 0 (0)
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Average Price of homes for sale: $591,460 ($619,410)

Median Price of homes for sale: $679,970 ($679,970)

Average Days on Market:  61  (65)

Highest Priced Listing: $881,550 ($881,550)

Lowest Priced Listing: $299,000 ($359,950)

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Closed Sales:

Sold: $260,000 Last asking price: $285,000, starting price: $355,000, sold in 321 days for 27% below the original price

Sold: $429,000 Last asking price: $449,000, starting price: $449,000, sold in 20 days for 5% below the original price.

Peak in the number of homes for sale in 2009:

7-27-09  13,861

Start of 2010:

9,726

Now:

2-13-10  11,333

King County Homes for Sale, 2-16-10

Number of King County Properties for Sale, 2-16-10

Number of King County Properties for Sale, 2-01-10

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5 Town homes are on the market

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Hmm..Could We Have Our Very Own Corner Barista in The Kirkland Highlands?

In Kirkland News on February 16, 2010 at 1:10 pm

Kirkland Highlands 112th AVE NE entrance

The 112th Ave NE entrance to the Kirkland Highlands is looking good!  It got a makeover this past Saturday by about 10 hardy souls from the Highlands neighborhood.  Given that it was pretty gray and damp, I think it was great to have our neighbors out there.  I stopped by to say hello and thank everyone for cleaning up the entrance for all of us.

One neighbor mentioned installing a park bench so people could sit and enjoy the views of the lake and mountains.  (The sunsets from that spot are fabulous. )  Talk of the park bench lead to talk of a picnic table with an umbrella for people to  enjoy their coffee.  Then that led to having our very own Highlands barista on the corner.  You could stop in the morning and get coffee on the way to work.

Sounds good to me, what do you think?  What else could we do on that corner for the neighborhood?

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What Were The Odds of Selling Your Kirkland Home in January, 2010?

In buyers, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers on February 15, 2010 at 11:25 am
Kirkland Home Sales in January, 2010

Kirkland Real Estate Sales, Jan 2010

January, 2010         316 homes for sale,        72 home sales                      23% odds of selling a home.

December, 2009    321 homes for sale         49 (now 44)  home sales     15 (now 14)% odds of selling a home.

January, 2009        373 homes for sale         35 home sales      (now )% odds of selling a home.*

*(Reflects the revised percentage of homes sold because some home sales failed.)

The odds of selling is another way to characterize the “absorption rate” in which we take the number of homes sold in a particular month and divide it by the number of homes on the market. This number tells us what the odds are that a home will sell.

If you click on this link, you’ll see the MLS charts which show the real estate trends, including median price, for the past five years in Kirkland.

Real estate is back on track in Kirkland!  The absorption rate is the highest I’ve in years.  Not only did Kirkland real estate end 2009 on a positive note, the beginning of 2010 is off to a great start. Fewer homes are on the market and more homes are now selling.   Prices are not going up, which is true just about anywhere these days, except in some neighborhoods of Seattle.  Median pricing is down to $499,950, while the number of sales increased by 90%.

I am hopeful the 2010 home buyer tax credit, which now includes most buyers, will continue the positive trend in Kirkland real estate sales, particularly through the first quarter of 2010.

For the complete picture of home sales on Seattle’s eastside, check out my eastside blog post.

The Seattle Times talked about the uptick in real estate sales in January, 2010

What do you see happening with real estate in Kirkland?


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Hot Sales Price of the Week for Kirkland Homes, 2-10-10

In buyers, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers on February 12, 2010 at 2:34 pm

The hot price range of the week in Kirkland?   $400-499,999

  • Most number of home sales in Kirkland: $400-499,999  6 sales
  • Most number of homes for sale:  $1,000,000-1,499,999   37 homes for sale
  • There were 319 homes for sale in Kirkland and 18 homes sold last week.  Again, the solid real estate activity in Kirkland continues.
  • Most number of homes for sale in the last 7 weeks:  12-30-09,  321 homes for sale.
  • Highest number of homes sold in Kirkland in the last 7 weeks:  1-20-10,  with 24 homes sold.

  • Peak  of homes and condos for sale in King County in 2009?
  • July 27th marked a high of 13,861 homes and condos for sale in King County.
  • Week of 2-8-10   11,102   There are 1376 more properties for sale in King County than on January 1, 2010.

Remember, there are less than 80 days left to use the home buyer’s tax credit. Almost all buyers who purchase a home for less than $800,000 are eligible for the tax credit, not just first time home buyers.  Since Kirkland home sales are up, if you’re going to sell your home, do it soon, so you can take advantage of the increase in buyer activity. Buyers will benefit from the 2010 home buyer tax credit and great interest rates. Home buyers and sellers both can benefit in this real estate market, something which is rare in the Seattle area.

This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc., using MLS data) to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.  Here’s how it’s set up:The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

  • Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
  • Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
  • Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.
Kirkland Real Estate, 2-10-10

Kirkland Home Sales, 2-10-10

Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.
Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in Kirkland.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take an average of 1.9 months to sell all the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.  The last section shows the 7 week average of each category, the number of homes for sale, the number sold, and the months supply.

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Help Spruce Up the 112th Ave NE Entrance to The Kirkland Highlands

In Kirkland WA on February 11, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Clean up 112th Ave NE in Kirkland Highlands

112th Ave NE Entrance to The Kirkland Highlands

Please come to a weeding work party to spiff up the 112th entrance
to our neighborhood:
112th Ave NE and NE 87th St (by the railroad tracks and kiosk)
Saturday, Feb. 13
10am – noon
Please bring weeding tools and buckets
No weedeaters due to safety and liability concerns

Help clean up the entrance so it looks like it did last summer. (see above)

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Kirkland Bluetooth Employees, If You Lived in The Highlands, You’d Be Home In 7 Minutes!

In Exploring Kirkland, Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate on February 10, 2010 at 2:45 pm

Welcome  Bluetooth.  I hear the company has moved from Bellevue to Kirkland. According to Kirkland Views, Bluetooth’s move to Kirkland is because:

Reasons for choosing Kirkland include location, amenities promoting a healthy lifestyle within a new building, competitive market pricing, and a larger space that allows for future growth.

Their new office is located on Lake Washington Blvd NE, just down the road from my Windermere Real Estate office.  We’re neighbors. The Windermere office overlooks the wetlands, which are beautiful, but the Bluetooth office looks out over Lake Washington, the Olympic Mountains, and sunsets.

Views of Lake Washington and Olymic Mts

Lake Washington and Mt. Olympus Views

This view is similar to the view from Bluetooth’s new office, but from a different point on the lakeshore.

Kirkland is a wonderful place to live because of its great parks, the lake, and the vibrant downtown.  So living anywhere in Kirkland would make a Blutoother’s(sp?) commute just a matter of minutes.

I live in the Kirkland Highlands and can speak for what a great, active community it is.  The Highlands is located close to downtown and has easy access to buses and the highway.  We’re just 1/2 mile to Parkplace and a little over one mile to downtown.

View Larger Map

Our neighborhood is made up of a variety of homes.  There are homes from traditional to contemporary, homes that are close to a century old and brand new.  Homes range from condos/planned unit development homes in the $200,000 range to single family homes over one million dollars.  There’s a home to fit every style and budget.

Kirkland Highlands Home

Almost a century old home

Kirkland Highlands Contemporary Home

(These photos are of actual homes in the Kirkland Highlands, although some of these homes have been changed by the current home owners.)

We have wonderful parks in our community and an active group of Kirklanders, who have taken on the stewardship of Cotton Hill Park, a park that has been reclaimed from invasive plants.

Reclaiming Kirkland's Cotton Hill Park

Working In Kirkland's Cotton Hill Park

Homes in the Kirkland Highlands are located blocks from Peter Kirk Elementary and Kirkland Junior High Schools, both part of the highly rated Lake Washington Schools.

There are many other reasons to live in Kirkland.  Anyone want to share some of their favorite reasons to live in Kirkland?

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What’s Really Going On With The Eastside’s BNSF Rail Line?

In Kirkland WA, rails to trails on February 5, 2010 at 2:30 pm

The following is a copy of my post on Kirkland Views regarding the most recent information to come to light about the rail corridor that runs through many eastside cities. The big question we are all facing right now:  “Will a private rail group try to buy or take over the line for commuter rail without going through the proper public process?’  Check out the link below to The Seattle Times article which reports on the active effort to put a train on the line in 6 months to a year.

It seemed like a done deal, the news media reported the sale of the BNSF line to The Port of Seattle at the close of 2009 with plans to sell the line to King County in 2010.

Seattle-Eastside BNSF Rail Line

Keith Ervin of the Seattle Times said,

After acquiring the rail line (which the Port has now done), the Port would sell the southern portion to King County and other buyers.

According to the news media, King County had planned to use funds from The Conservation Futures Fund to pay for the purchase. All was well and good on Seattle’s eastside.  The rail line might be developed as a trail with the possibility of future rail, if needed.

The Bellevue Reporter stated in a November, 2009 article:

County Executive-elect Dow Constantine said the agreement will fulfill a promise to the region that the Eastside Rail Corridor will receive long-term protection from development and that it will be made available for recreational uses.

“By keeping this key transportation and recreational corridor in public ownership, we are making a major commitment to our shared future in King County,” Constantine said.

However, a King County official recently said the County Conservation Futures funds slated to purchase the line can only be used for dedicated green space, not if there’s the possibility of a future rail line.

Herein, lies the dilemma.  The line must be rail banked to meet federal requirements.  So the Conservation Futures Fund might not be the source of funds to buy the rail line.

Conservation Futures Tax (CFT) levy funds are collected from property taxes levied throughout King County and its cities for the purchase and permanent protection of open space lands.

Is there a private group working very hard to put a commuter line on the rail line? Most people do not realize there’s an active group out there hard at work, hoping to acquire the rights to put a commuter rail line on the existing tracks.  The talk is to put a commuter line on the tracks that currently exist, even though they are in poor repair.

So here are my questions:

  • Will King County close on the deal and buy the rail line?
  • How will this acquisition be funded?
  • Will the line become a trail, with the line rail banked for possible future motorized travel?
  • Will a private concern put Commuter rail, DMU’s, Diesel Motor Units, not light rail on the line?
  • Will the line become a dual use trail/train?
  • Will the proper public process be followed to determine the best use of the line?

How can you find out about the future of the BNSF rail line?

Join the Eastside Trail Advocates at:

The Houghton Fire Station

6602 108th Ave NE, Kirkland

February 10th at 7 PM

Join Eastside Trail Advocates on Facebook to be learn about the latest updates.

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Hot Price Range of the Week for Kirkland Home Sales, 2-3-10

In Kirkland WA, Kirkland, WA Real Estate, market statistics, Real estate, sellers on February 4, 2010 at 11:57 pm

The hot price range of the week in Kirkland?   $400-499,999

  • Most number of home sales in Kirkland: $400-499,999  5 sales.
  • Most number of homes for sale  $700-799,999 ( a new price range for this category)  39 homes, $400-499,999 is right behind it with 38 homes for sale.
  • There were 310 homes for sale in Kirkland and 20 homes sold last week.  There’s been great real estate sales activity each week of 2010.
  • Most number of homes for sale in the last 7 weeks:  12-23-09,  334 homes for sale.
  • Highest number of homes sold in Kirkland in the last 7 weeks:  1-20-10,  with 24 homes sold.

  • Peak  of homes and condos for sale in King County in 2009?
  • July 27th marked a high of 13,861 homes and condos for sale in King County.
  • Week of 1-18-10   10,735  A few less than last week, but 1000 more homes and condos for sale in King  County than the first week of the year.

There are only 84 days left to use the home buyer’s tax credit. If you’re going to sell your home, do it soon, so you can take advantage of more buyer activity.  For Kirkland home sellers, there’s less homes to compete with and more homes are selling.  The buyers benefit from the 2010 home buyer tax credit and great interest rates.  Is the best win-win situation we’ve seen in real estate for years.  Home buyers and sellers both benefit in this real estate market.

Buyers, if you want to buy, start looking soon, so you’re not rushed to buy a home during the last weeks of April.  If you start now, you’ll be able to learn the market and choose the home that works best for you.

Kirkland Home Sales 2-3-10

Kirkland Real Estate Sales, 2-3-10


This chart is updated weekly by (Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc., using MLS data) to show the price ranges of the homes sold each week.  Here’s how it’s set up:The colors show who has the advantage in a particular price range.

  • Green means the buyer has the advantage with many homes to choose from and not that many selling.
  • Yellow means the number of homes for sale and the number of sales in the price range is balanced between the buyer and the seller.
  • Red indicates a sellers’ market where the seller may have the advantage as more homes are selling when compared to what’s available.
Down the side of the chart, the home sales activity is broken down into a price bracket of $99,999. All the homes priced between $400,000-499,999, as an example, are put together in one price category in the chart.
Across the top, the chart is broken down into real estate activity by the week.If you take the $400-499,999 line and follow it across the chart, you’ll see what has happened each of the last seven weeks.  There are three columns under each week. On the left side of the column is the number of homes for sale in Kirkland.  The middle column shows how many homes sold that week, and the final column under the date shows the months supply of homes for sale.  In other words, if no other homes came up for sale, it would take an average of 2.0 months to sell all the homes in the $400-499,999 price range.The last section shows the 7 week average of each category, the number of homes for sale, the number sold, and the months supply.
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