Seattle Condo Prices Still Below Market Peak

*Synced from Seattle and Real Estate Blog
Seattle condo prices are taking their time to bounce back from the housing bubble in comparison to single family home prices. With condo prices down, the market has presented a unique opportunity for renters who haven’t been able to save for a down-payment to purchase a single family home. In some of the suburbs around Seattle, condo listing prices are still well below recovery prices, and low prices paired with low interest rates means more and more renters have the opportunity to be new homeowners.
According to the Seattle Times, out of the 30 suburbs throughout King County listed by the NWMLS, all but 3 (Bellevue, Kirkland, and downtown Seattle) have not seen the median home price surpass the 2007 market peak. In 19 of the 36 markets listed in King and Snohomish County, median home prices are still 20% below the market peak. Seattle has seen the cost in rent and single family homes continuously rise, while condo prices have stayed consistent, or even dropped in some areas. While there are a number of reasons that a condo market can suffer during a market recession, many singles, small families and people looking to downsize are turning to condos for an affordable option towards homeownership. If you’re interested in learning more about the Seattle condo market, contact your local real estate agent today.

Walkability Score- What is it and why does it matter?

*Synced from Seattle Luxury Rental

Walkability- it’s a word that some of you may be familiar with already, and one that real estate marketing often uses. But what exactly does it mean?
Used by Walkscore.com, it’s intended definition is to indicate how easily and readily connected a property is to the neighborhood and community around it. For instance, is the nearest grocery store within easy walking distance? Or would it be necessary to drive there?
The higher a property’s Walk Score (or Transit Score or Bike Score) on a scale of 1-100, the more connected the neighborhood is with the property. Take this chart example. But what makes a community walkable?

• A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a center, whether it’s a main street or a public space.
• People: Enough people for businesses to flourish and for public transit to run frequently.
• Mixed income, mixed use: Affordable housing located near businesses.
• Parks and public space: Plenty of public places to gather and play.
• Pedestrian design: Buildings are close to the street, parking lots are relegated to the back.
• Schools and workplaces: Close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.
• Complete streets: Streets designed for bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit.

Now, why is this score important? It’s generally known that those who walk more, whether it’s just a few steps or hundreds of steps a day are generally healthier than those who don’t. By walking more, not only do you get outside, but you also use your car less, and thereby reduce your carbon footprint. If you were able to find a property in a highly walkable area, you might be able to forgo the car altogether!
And here’s some great news: Seattle is rated as one of the most walkable cities in the U.S.! With a Walk Score of 71, a Transit Score of 57, and a Bike Score of 64, Seattle is the 8th most walkable city, with it’s most walkable neighborhoods being Downtown, the Denny Triangle, and Pioneer Square.
How important is the walkability of the neighborhood to you when looking for a new property?

Buying A Home In Seattle is 34% Cheaper Than Renting

High rent and high home prices in Seattle can often make it feel like the decision between buying and renting isn’t so cut and dry – either way you’re paying a premium for housing. But a new report from Trulia makes a strong case for home ownership, reporting that it is 34% cheaper to own a home than to rent in Seattle at today’s 4.5% mortgage rate. According to the report, mortgage rates would have to hit 9.3% before renting would be cheaper than buying in Seattle.
Nationally, home ownership is 38% cheaper than renting in all of the 100 largest metro areas, but in some extreme markets small changes in mortgage rates could tip the scales in favor of renting. For example, in Honolulu, a mortgage rate of 5% would make renting a better value, and a rate of 5.8% would make renting cheaper than owning in San Francisco.
Try Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy calculator to see how the numbers work out for you. If you’re interested in buying a home in the Seattle area, contact your local real estate agent.

Tips to Organize Your Tiny Kitchen

Is your tiny kitchen cramping your style? We often drool over beautiful pictures of expansive kitchens in Pottery Barn catalogs with huge dining rooms, and enough counter space to prepare a meal for the Seahawks defensive line, but most of us come home every night to cook our meals in kitchens a small portion of that size. Small kitchens can easily become disorganized, and not enjoyable to cook in, so here are a few tips from Zillow to clearing out the clutter, and redesigning your kitchen to better suit your lifestyle. Be careful not to crowd your small kitchen with huge appliances- work around the refrigerator, there are several companies that make smaller sized equipment such as slender microwaves that can save counter space.
Efficient use of storage is also essential to keeping things tidy in a smaller kitchen, such as the use of recycle bins, spice drawers, and open shelving can also do wonders for aesthetic purposes. If you’re given the option to paint in your rental, painting the walls and ceiling the same light color can make the room appear larger than it actually is. Don’t have enough counter space for everything? Look into purchasing a rolling cart with a flat counter top and shelving below, that can be handy for cooking and extra storage, but can also be moved out of the kitchen when it is crowded. For more information on redesigning your kitchen space, visit Zillow.

Survey Indicates Renters Are More Optimistic About Buying

Renters in today’s market may have seen the value of their parent’s homes sky rocket, then deplete, or they most likely know someone who’s home is up for foreclosure. According to a survey done by the PulteGroup, The hope of home ownership is still in the air for many who rent and want to buy. Survey results showed that 60% of renters who said they would like to buy a home in the future have increased their intent to buy a home in comparison to a year ago. 61% of those folks also said they planned to purchase a home within the next two years.
When asked if they thought buying a home was a good investment, 44% of those poled said yes. According to Builderonline.com, the PulteGroup’s responded to the overall survey results with “We are seeing a renewed sense of optimism, especially from young professionals and young families visiting our communities nationwide,” Deborah Meyer, PulteGroup senior vice president. Many factors went into this survey and interestingly enough the pole also found that just over 1/4 of those poled believe that renting is cheaper than buying, and a little shy of a quarter are still worried about a stable job. For more information on Rentals and For Sale listings in the area, visit Craigslist.

Seattle Rentals on the Rise

According to Bloomberg.com, U.S. apartment and rental vacancies have decreased over the last few months, which have allowed landlords and apartment buildings to increase their rental rates. There has been an increase in the number of families relocating to Seattle with companies such as Amazon, Fred Hutchinson, local hospitals, and other companies going through hiring frenzies. Many of these families aren't in a hurry to purchase, since they aren’t familiar with the Seattle neighborhoods, and aren't sure which would best suit their needs; almost all also have the luxury of temporary housing.  Larger companies tend to offer temporary housing which allows tenants the time to learn more about which neighborhoods they would prefer to live in, while simultaneously leading to a decrease in Seattle apartment vacancies. Owners of single family rental homes throughout the Puget Sound area have benefiting from those wishing to find their dream home, and opting for a house instead of an apartment. These owners benefit due to a lack of inventory and a large amount of people searching, which consequently has allowed landlords to obtain higher rental rates. To find more about Seattle Rentals, check out some current listings here.

New Program Has Building Owners Tracking Their Energy Consumption

The Seattle Department of Planning Development launched a new program this week to help commercial and multifamily residential business owners measure their building’s energy efficiency over long periods of time. Owners will use the U.S. Energy Star ratings and disclose these ratings to the city and other related parties like tenants, sellers and buyers annually and/or at request. The program is called the Seattle Building Energy Benchmarking and Reporting, and is aimed to reduce gas emissions and reduce energy consumption in Seattle’s buildings by 20%. Part of the program’s appeal is gaining results at a very low cost, and job creation in the green field. The “benchmarking” portion of the program calls for owners to calculate their rating based on actual utility bills, averaging them with number of tenants, building usage, etc. and comparing it with other local buildings. This process kind of reminds me of Microsofts Hohm website which I previously blogged about, encouraging homeowners to do the same sort of energy use tracking. This is a great way to expose owners to their building’s green footprint, and an easy thing to track. Although benchmarking for large buildings is considerably harder, utilities now have automatic applications to upload energy data to the EPA. All commercial buildings 50,000 sf or greater must comply with the program by October 3, 2011 and report annually every April 1st, and commercial buildings and multifamily building of 10,000 sf or greater must comply by April 1st of 2012, and annually report every April 1st. For more information on the Building Energy Benchmarking & Reporting program, please refer to the official website.

Seattle Real Estate News- March 18th

Seattle Commercial Real Estate News:

Office space leasing is picking up in Seattle, from the Dendreon deal in the Russell Investment Center to Amazon.com’s transaction of 460,000 sf in the 1918 Eighth office tower. The space leased by big tech companies in downtown Seattle has made for some of the biggest commercial lease transactions of 2011.

Seattle Real Estate News:

The owners of a Leschi home that was injected with tear gas canisters, after police mistakenly thought it to be the location of police-shooter Maurice Clemmons, is getting or over $900,000 in damages from the city of Seattle. About $250,000 of will be attributed to home repairs.

Rent demands are on the rise and the people of Seattle shall be heard. Some, like the Schuster Group hear loud and clear. The Schuster Group recently changed a condo building proposal to an apartment building proposal set for Belltown as a result.

Developer Avalon Bay Communities has proposed a new apartment complex to be in the U District near University Way N.E. The two buildins will have a combined 385 units and 12,000 sf of retail.