Sellers had a 16.5% chance of selling a home in Kirkland in June, 2008.
(Click on the link above to see a chart with Kirkland’s real estate trends for the last few years. The chart shows trends for Kirkland, south of NE 116th St.)
June, 2008 491 homes for sale, 81 sales, 16.6% chance of selling.
May, 2008 530 homes for sale, 51 sales, 9.6% chance of selling.
June, 2007 383 homes for sale, 90 sales, 23.5% chance of selling.
The chance of getting a home sold was much better in Kirkland, WA in June than any of the previous months this year. Inventory, the number of available homes, was up by 28% and the sales dropped this year from last year by about 10%. It will be interesting to see how July plays out and if a trend is happening here.
For a complete update on Eastside real estate, check out my eastside blog post.
Were you able to attend Wednesday night’s Port of Seattle Open House at City Hall?
If so, what were your thoughts?
If you weren’t able to make it, you can check on my KIrkland Views post in which I summarized the meeting from my point of view.
Kirkland, Washington rocks! According to the July issue of Seattle magazine, Kirkland is just behind Queen Anne as the best overall neighborhood in the Seattle area. According to the magazine, we are Seattle’s Sausalito, a suburb with great access to the water. Kirkland has:
- great Lake Washington access
- good schools
- compact, walkable downtown
- restaurants
- outdoor public pool
- parks, some right on the water
- reasonable access to Seattle
Seattle magazine picked the Top Ten Best Neighborhoods and Kirkland came out #7. The ratings are based on a study of 5 issues: housing affordability, WASL scores, minutes to downtown, crime rates and % of home appreciation.
All of these are great considerations, but what are your favorite reasons for living in Kirkland?
Sometimes It’s The Simple Solutions
July 7, 2008
Here’s a copy of a recent article I wrote for the Reporter about neighborhoods and carpools. It’s important to think out of the box to solve our local issues and concerns.
DEBRA SINICK, Community columnist
debra@debrasinick.com
I’ve covered a variety of issues since I started writing this column for the Reporter. Looking back at what I’ve written, the underlying theme becomes obvious: community and community involvement. It takes a neighborhood or a village or a city to solve many of the issues a community faces.
It’s become abundantly clear to me how we need to step out of our busy, hectic lives and work together as a community to solve issues and improve our quality of life.
Sometimes it’s the simplest of ideas that make the most sense. As a society, we struggle to solve so many of our problems. We commission expensive studies and spend considerable time evaluating options, when the right solution can often be the simplest, least expensive option.
The solution to area traffic woes is an issue for many of us. As the Eastside has grown, so has the traffic. With the increasing cost of gas and the longer commute time because of traffic, people are re-thinking transportation options.
Recently, a Highlands neighbor suggested people in the neighborhood get together to carpool. What a simple, straightforward and wonderful idea. We’re looking at these costly, and sometimes nonsensical, ways to improve traffic without looking at simple solutions right in front of us. How ironic it would be if neighbors three blocks apart drove to locations in Seattle that were also only a few blocks apart.
We have the means to make this happen. Kirkland is a city of neighborhoods and neighborhood associations. The associations do a fine job of informing and rallying neighbors around a variety of issues.
Perhaps each neighborhood could develop a carpool component on the neighborhood Web site? People in each of the Kirkland neighborhoods could find others who commute to the same place.
Perhaps this idea could spread to other cities in the area. Ride share/commuting programs could be endorsed by cities and become part of a city’s Web site.
In the Seattle area, some options are already available to commuters. Check online with www.rideshare.com or www.pickuppal.com. For privacy reasons, you can give only the information you deem necessary. For example, you can meet someone at an intersection and not in front of your home.
The reality is neighborhoods can do more to work together. There’s a variety of issues to tackle, whether it’s schools, parks, disaster awareness, commuting or neighborhood picnics. The bottom line for us in today’s world is to use the power of the internet and combine it with the people in a neighborhood to make changes and get things done. Carpooling/ride sharing seems a great place to start.
A member of the Kirkland Senior Council, long-time resident Debra Sinick runs local blog http://kirklandhighlandsrealestatebuzz.com from her Windermere Real Estate’s Yarrow Bay office. Reach her at debra@debrasinick.com.
Kirkland Reporter Community columnist Debra Sinick can be reached at debra@debrasinick.com.
I have trail envy. I’m envious of Redmond’s new and improved Sammamish River Trail. My husband, my dog, my Dad, and I stepped out on the Sammamish River Trail today and enjoyed a good hour strolling along the paved path. It was exciting to see people biking, walking, and skating on by. People of all ages were out in force and it wasn’t even sunny out! It was a relaxing chance to connect with nature. We saw ducks, herons, geese, and all kinds of two and four legged critters.
Imagine stepping our your door in Kirkland and hopping on a trail that runs through Kirkland. Imagine having a chance to enjoy the park views and the views of the lake and mountains. We have a world class trail possibility here in the city of Kirkland. On Wednesday, you’ll have a chance to hear from The Port of Seattle Commissioners about their proposed plans for the BNSF tracks. The Port will make the decision as to whether the tracks will be rail-banked and kept for future use as a train and used as a trail now or if the train tracks will become a commuter line. Come listen, learn, and give your opinion, this may be your last chance.
The Port of Seattle is holding an open house this Wednesday at 7 PM in the Peter Kirk Room of Kirkland’s City Hall, 123 Fifth Avenue in downtown KIrkland. Come on down and give your opinion to the Port commissioners.
I posted this article on Kirkland Views in which I gave my opinion about BNSF rail line.
Not able to see last night’s Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Washington in downtown Kirkland? Here’s a few minutes of the great show. It was the first time I had seen the show from the water and it was terrific. My friends came by and picked us up on their boat and we had a front row seat. Out on the lake, you could see some of the fireworks from the other shows over in Seattle on Lake Union, the WaMU Family Fourth and theJul-Ivars Fourth in its 44th year over Elliot Bay.
Congressman Jay Inslee stopped by last night’s Kirkland City Council meeting and had some interesting thoughts to share with The Council and the audience. Promoting sustainability and pedestrian friendly areas were high on his list. He had kudos for the City of Kirkland with regard to these issues.
The Congressman is working towards a clean energy economy for the nation. Hes sees technology creating a revolution in energy and decarbonized energy as an important source in our future. He sited a Northwest pioneering company who is combining energy with technology. Sapphire Energy on Bainbridge Island is working with algae, sunlight and carbon dioxide to create a renewable energy source. He applauded the company’s efforts to change our energy sources.
Congressman Inslee recognized many people are going through hard times, but in talking with his peers from all over the country, the Kirkland area is in a much stronger position than most. Issues facing us here are difficult, but not nearly as daunting as parts of the Midwest.
Council member Jessica Greenway asked Congressman Inslee not to forget those in Kirkland who still are in need.
The country’s problems, according to the Congressman, are three fold:
- The cost of the war in Iraq
- The tax cuts implemnted by the Bush administration earlier in the decade.
- Baby boomers tapping into social security
This “triple whammy” has created huge financial burdens affecting the services offered to those in need all over the nation. Congressman Inslee stated two of the above issues will need to change in order for the country to be fiscally sound. The Congressman is looking forward to next year when we have a fresh start with a new administration.
Seattle’s Seafair Marathon Was In The Kirkland Highlands
June 30, 2008
A world class marathon, The Seafair Marathon, took place this past Sunday on Seattle’s Eastside. For the first time ever, the route ran through the Kirkland Highlands and down through Bellevue to the finish line at the Bellevue Downtown Park. In a previous post, I mentioned I was volunteering, as part of The Kirkland Senior Council
to help monitor driveways that crossed the race course. I wan’t able to watch the race from The Highlands for that reason, but got to see the accoutrements of a marathon in place in The Highlands before I had to show up at my volunteer post along Lake Washington Boulevard. When I pulled out of my street onto 112th, orange cones lined the way. A port-o-potty was there along with tables for a water station. (By the way, I posted a post about the marathon last week and referenced a map which labeled the route through the Highlands as going along 116th when, in fact, it was along 112th. Sorry for the error, but I was quoting from the information on the map.)
I posted an article on my eastside blog about the marathon. I have photos of the winners as they came by mile 22. It was exciting to see some strength, stamina, humor, and good will among all who participated. I’m glad I had the opportunity to volunteer and cheer the runners on to the finish line.
Congratulations to all who participated as a runner, volunteer or paid staffer.
The Seafair Marathon is Coming to The Kirkland Highlands
June 27, 2008
The Seafair Marathon is coming to The KIrkland Highlands this Sunday, June 29th. The Seafair marathon is coming to the Eastside with 9 miles of the run along the lake. The race starts at Husky Stadium and will run into Bellevue as far south as Enatai up through Bridle Trails and Rose Hill, crossing into the Highlands at the overpass at NE 100th ST, down 116th in The Kirkland Highlands and ending in downtown Bellevue at the Bellevue downtown park. When the runners come into Kirkland’s Highlands, they will be at mile 18-19. If you look at the link for the official site above, you can check out the route on the map provided. The race starts at 7 AM on Sunday morning and we should expect to see runners in Kirkland before 9 AM.
World class runners will be present and it should be pretty exciting to have an important world class marathon running through the neighborhood. Give a special cheer to the Team in Training members, those runners in purple T-shirts,who are running to raise money for blood borne cancers and The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I participated in a 1/2 marathon for Team in Training in Alaska a few years back and it was a wonderful experience.
I’m volunteering along Lake Washington Boulevard with other members of the Kirkland Senior Council to be a course marshal, making sure any issues affecting the runners are attended to. I’ll be between mile 22 and mile 23, so it ought to be pretty exciting to see some of the top runners coming on by. I’ll take some photos and post them on this blog.
The numbers reflect totals compiled from Thursday’s data. This will help get the data to you before the weekend whenever possible. This weekend in the Seattle area may actually feel like summer!
(Numbers in parentheses are for last week’s data. This week’s data is reported through Thursday.)
Active Listings: 29 (25)
New listings: 2(4)
Re-listed properties: 0(0)
Pending inspection: 0 (1)
Pending: 0 (3)
Closed Sales: 1(1)
Contingent sale: 0(0)
Number of Price Reductions: 3 (3)
Cancelled listings 0(0)
Expired Listings: 0(0)
Temporarily Off Market: 0(0)
Price increase: 0(0)
Back on market: 0 (1)
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0-$349,999: 0(0)
$350,000-$499,999: 5 (4)
$500,000-$749,999: 6 (5)
$750,000-$999,999: 9 (9)
$1,000,000- $1,499,999: 5 (4)
$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 4 (4)
———————————–
Average Price: $921,364 ($918,247)
Median Price: $869,000($869,000)
Average Days on Market: 88(88)
Highest Priced Listing: $2,299,000($2,299,000)
Lowest Priced Listing: $399,500 ($389,500)
The “sold subject to inspection” category is now listed as the “pending inspection” category as the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) has changed the name of the category to more accurately reflect the sales status of a home.
The listing numbers are up a bit in the Kirkland Highlands this week. The closed sale of the week is a two bedroom home in Edwards Place. This home was on the market for 34 days. The asking price was $424,900 and the final sales price was $403,000, about 5% below the asking price.
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Town homes/condos:
7 Active, with one town home re-listed on the market.
Kirkland Highlands Real Estate Buzz
