Nice View Condo Just Listed for only $245,000!

Rooftop hot tub with a city, lake & mountain view!

I just listed this great view condo in the heart of it all! Just steps to South Lake Union, Fremont, Queen Anne, Belltown & more! This 1-bed, 1-bath unit is bright with east-facing views of the city skyline, Lake Union & Cascade Mountains, plus it's surprisingly quiet! Beautiful updated bath with marble tile & designer fixtures. Fantastic sunrise view from the bedroom. Secure garage parking and a large rooftop deck complete with a hot tub and more amazing views!

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A Sense of Urgency in the Seattle Home Market

It seems today's home buyers are feeling a very strong sense of urgency in the greater Seattle area.  With the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage expected to rise to above 4 percent some time this year, and home prices rising, Buyers are wanting to get into something now to take advantage of the lower rates and prices.  The only problem with this plan is that with our extremely limited inventory it is causing quite the frenzy and crazy bidding wars!  Buyers are feeling the stress of potentially getting priced out of the market as it seems home prices are rising weekly right now!

I'm experiencing this first-hand in the entire Seattle metro area in pretty much all but the highest price points.  Some agents are recommending very large earnest money deposits ($50,000+) and waiving all contingencies, including financing.  I can't in good faith support this practice, especially if the buyer is indeed planning to finance the purchase.  It is just too risky, and with how rapidly our prices seem to be increasing there is a high likelihood that the appraisal on the home (selling for substantially over the asking price) will not come back high enough to justify this price. This would mean the Buyer may need to bring in cash to make up the difference, or risk losing both the home and their earnest money since their loan will not be approved with the low appraisal.  There are other ways to make your offer strong and to give a Seller good reason to accept your offer that includes a financing contingency.  If you are needing to obtain a loan to purchase a home, you should really never waive the financing contingency.  There is no reason to if your agent is familiar with how the standard NWMLS financing contingency works and can explain to a Seller how it can benefit them as well.

Every transaction and offer I have been involved with this year has been a multiple offer situation, even when you're the very first buyer (submitting an offer within 30 min. of the home being listed in the MLS), it seems you will likely still be dealing with competition.  Please make sure you've got an agent that knows all the ins and outs of how to best structure your offer to make it as strong as possible but still keep you protected.  And if you're a home seller, please make sure your agent knows exactly what is happening in your local market week-to-week and is experienced in dealing with these multiple offer situations.  It's really not the kind of market you want to hire a rookie or part-time agent in, regardless of whether you're buying or selling.

To all the people in the greater Seattle area trying to purchase a home right now....Hang in there!  It is a tough market and it's easy to feel discouraged or beaten up, but the right home is out there for you!  It might just take a little longer than you originally expected! 
And to all the homeowners who have been considering selling - We have not seen a better time to sell since prices began to fall in 2007, and we have never seen such a discrepancy in supply and demand!  You may be very surprised at how much your home may sell for in today's market in just a few days!  I'm happy to provide a free, no-obligation market analysis to anyone who's curious. 

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Beacon Food Forest

I'm still very much in love with this "food forest" idea!  I wish there were more in Seattle!  What a fantastic move towards permaculture and community sustainability!  Personally I think all of those grassy/weedy abandoned city alley ways throughout Seattle residential neighborhoods should be turned into P-Patches, food forests or some other form of community edible gardens!

Way to go Beacon Hill!  I was driving by last weekend and checked it out and there was a large neighborhood work crew getting it ready!   Yay for community!

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Green Lake Pathway of Lights - Dec. 8th

Don't miss this year's Pathway of Lights at Green Lake this Saturday, Dec. 8th from 5-8pm.  This is always a fun community event for the whole family with music, hot chocolate, and of course lights! Dress warm and bring your kids and furry kids!  Costumes and glow-sticks encouraged!

Please visit https://www.facebook.com/GreenLakePathwayofLights for more information!

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Community Food Forests coming soon to a neighborhood near you!

Seattle's moving forward with the nation's first "food forest" - an urban food oasis open and free to anyone and everyone.  A seven-acre plot in the Beacon Hill neighborhood will be planted with hundreds of different edibles: fruit and nut trees, blueberry & raspberry bushes, pineapple, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, lingonberries, herbs, and much more.  

I'm sure there will be some kinks to work out as far as having people/volunteers on site to help guide people on "how" and "when" to harvest food so as to not damage the plants, but what a grand idea!  We really need to have more urban agriculture and hopefully it will only get more people involved in permaculture and growing their own foods locally, organically and sustainably.  Read more about Seattle's first food forest here:

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Perfect Sunset Hill Cape Cod - Just Listed!

New Listing!  Offered for $450,000

Bright light-filled spaces welcome you to this classic Cape Cod on a large corner lot in sought after Sunset Hill location.  It’s just a few short blocks to shops, restaurants, and all that Ballard has to offer. Built in 1945, this home has been well cared for and includes some fabulous updates. The main floor offers a convenient circular floorplan with fireplace, large picture window, beautiful hardwood floors, gas range, 1 bedroom and a full bath.  You’ll find 2 more spacious bedrooms upstairs and a fantastic new rec room and new bath in the fully finished basement.  Updated systems include plumbing, electrical, appliances, windows and a new high efficiency furnace.  A large yard with gardening space, fully fenced area including a patio and an oversized garage complete this very solid home.

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Starbucks Opens Recycled Shipping Container Coffee Shop

While recycling old shipping containers is not a new idea, I love that a company as large and corporate as Starbucks has created such a shop!  Love the design of this!  Hopefully more and more business will follow suit with reusing and recycling to reduce our carbon footprint.

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Sweet Greenwood Listing! Only $449,950!

The location in Greenwood is fantastic -- across from Greenwood Park and just mere steps to anything you could ever want: grocery stores, pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, theater, antique stores, and the other eclectic fun shops in the thriving Greenwood community.
This classic turn-of-the-century Craftsman sits high off the street offering private front porch Olympic Mountain & sunset views. Built in 1911, the owner has taken meticulous care of this home with lots of updates and improvements while leaving the old-world charm and character in tact. Features include original hardwood floors, coved ceilings, fireplace, skylights, period moldings & built-ins. Classic floor plan with 2 bedrooms & brand new full bath upstairs along with a 3rd bedroom/den & full bath on the main floor. The basement has a large finished media room that could be used as a 4th bedroom, rec room, or even a home theater!
Extra unfinished basement space is very clean and currently used as storage but could easily be expanded for additional living space. The immaculate backyard is fully fenced and includes a deck perfect for barbecuing or sipping your morning coffee. A private alley leads to off-street parking for 3+ cars.
All of the systems have been updated and the interior was just freshly painted with designer colors. There is nothing for you to do but move in and enjoy your charming new home!

Click HERE for more photos or for a FLYER!

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Flash Mob Alert!

An estimated 1,000 people took part in this fun Glee flash mob on Saturday in downtown Seattle. How fun is that?!!

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New Seattle School Maps

Seattle Public Schools has released their recommended attendance maps. These maps show the schools to which students will receive an initial assignment, based on their address. You can look up your school's boundary map here.

For more information about the new Student Enrollment Plan for Seattle Public Schools, you can find the complete plan here.

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Backyard Cottages Citywide!

The Seattle City Council unanimously voted yesterday to allow backyard cottages on all eligible lots in the city. The backyard "cottage" was originally restricted to just Southeast Seattle where it was approved in 2006.
Council member Sally Clark said "This is a smart and modest step to create affordable housing options, help someone pay their mortgage, get older on their property, or to make room for a son or daughter moving back home."

The backyard cottages are limited to 800 square feet in size and are prohibited on lots smaller than 4,000 square feet or in a Shoreline District. The owner must live at the property for at least 6 months out of the year. The 5-foot setbacks are still in effect and the total lot coverage of structures is limited to 35%. Also, homes that currently have an attached ADU (accessory dwelling unit) are not eligible for a backyard cottage.

For more information the entire bill can be found here.

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More Condos Slated for Auction

Three more Seattle area condominium projects just announced they'll be selling units at an auction on Dec. 5th. Seattle Property Auction will be handling the sale taking place at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle at 1:00pm on December 5th.

The three communities will be available to tour daily from 11am - 5pm starting today until the day before the auction.

Avaview Condominium - 9056 Mary Avenue NW
Six of the eleven 1 & 2 bedroom homes with minimum bids will begin at $150,000.
More Auction Info.

Sunrise on the Lake - 13426 Greenwood Avenue N
Sixteen of the thirty-nine homes at Sunrise on the Lake will be up for Auction with minimum bids starting at $125,000.
More Auction Info.

The Summit - 900 Summit Ave E
All 14 homes at this newly remodeled complex in Capital Hill will be up for auction. Mimimun bids for these 1 and 2 bedroom homes will begin at $140,000.
More Auction Info.

*****Again, all three communites are open and available to tour daily from 11am - 5pm starting today through Dec. 4th. The auction is scheduled to take place at 1pm on Saturday, Dec. 5th, 2009 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle.

More information can be found here: www.SeattlePropertyAuction.com

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Halloween Safe Trick-or-Treat in Greenwood

Please come visit us on Halloween (Sat, Oct. 31) from noon until 3pm! We'll be at our Greenwood office handing out treats as part of the neighborhood safe trick-or-treating. We also still have some fantastic art on the walls from Jamie Farage that is available for sale and is very fitting for this time of year! Hope to see you there!

Rockwell Realty
8315 Greenwood Ave N
Sat, Oct. 31st, 12-3pm

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Viaduct Earthquake Simulation

I find the timing of the release of this video to be a bit questionable. With just a week to go before we go to the polls to cast our votes for Seattle's new mayor, this video might be accused of being political propaganda since the two candidates differ greatly on the big decision of rebuilding the viaduct or replacing it with a massive tunnel.



The general public may also be a bit misled since this video shows a good portion of downtown completely unscathed by such a massive earthquake (with the exception of a few broken windows), which we should all know wouldn't be the exact outcome. I realize the point of the video is to simulate what would happen to the seawall and the viaduct, but if you're not going to accurately depict what would happen to other buildings and areas of downtown that are built on top of "fill", then perhaps they should be left out of the video all together?

I also wonder...how would the proposed tunnel fare in such a quake?

Either way, not something us Seattlelites like to think about! Especially since most of us do NOT have any earthquake insurance! :)

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Foreclosures by State - Are Things Really Improving?

The Associated Press has released a great interactive map that charts the home foreclosure rate in all 50 states, every month from July 2005 until Sept. 2009. Take a look here.

In looking at this, it makes me question all of the media and hype that keep saying things are back on the upswing. Really? As far as Seattle goes, I feel like we have some specific neighborhoods and price points that are doing well, some multiple offer situations even, but overall I still think we have a long ways to go to be truly "recovered". Although if you look at the breakdown by "city" for Sept. '09, Seattle is faring much better than other major cities at 1 foreclosure for every 799 homes. Vegas on the other hand is 1 in 50, and the median average is 1 in 595 homes for the cities listed.

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Rockwell Realty is gettin' a new look!

We've been hard at work for the last few months on a new "brand" and identity over here at Rockwell Realty. Thanks to the folks over at Horsepower Design for their patience with us and their creativity helping us come up with a top notch brand!

We'll be unveiling the new look very soon, but just know that when a lot of real estate companies are tightening their belts and cutting back in this tough economy, we are striving to provide the best experience possible for both agents and clients alike.

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New FHA Condo Guidelines Delayed

I just received news that the FHA condominium approval changes that was originally scheduled to go into effect on October 1st, but was then delayed to Nov. 7th, has once again been delayed until Dec. 7th?!

The letter from HUD states:

"Implementation of FHA’s new policy guidance for condominium project approval and condo unit financing will be delayed until December 7th 2009. The new guidance, to be issued within the next two weeks, will: 1) offer additional leniencies to address the difficult market conditions and 2) augment some portions of FHA Mortgagee Letter 2009-19, providing additional information and clarification."

This is very good news! It seems someone is finally realizing how these changes have the ability to kill an already struggling condo market.

Hopefully in 2 weeks I will have more details to report! Until then, let's just sit tight and cross our fingers that the changes will help enough! And for at least a little while longer...the "spot approval" still exists!

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"Girls on the Run" Needs Running Buddies

Puget Sound's chapter of "Girls on the Run" is looking for volunteers to serve as Running Buddies for this year's 5K.

I'm a volunteer coach at Greenwood Elementary School this year and it is a blast! Please come join us in this year's 5K on Saturday, Dec. 12th -- it's non-competitive and you'll be helping an 8-11 yr old girl learn to live healthy and have a positive self image as she completes her first 5K, and we bet you'll have just a little bit of fun doing it too!

If you'd like to learn more about the program or other volunteer opportunities, please feel free to contact me (Stephanie) or go to the website: www.girlsrun.org

Running Buddies Needed

Fun & Inspiring Volunteer Opportunity!

Inspire, empower and have fun! Running Buddies are female volunteers who are paired one-on-one with a girl from the program to run/walk with her during the practice 5k and the New Balance Girls on the Run 5k. This volunteer opportunity is a low time commitment and highly rewarding!!! More info and how to sign up is available here.

We are still looking for 13 Running Buddies at the following program sites:

• Hiawatha Community Center, W. Seattle - 5 spots
• Old Redmond Schoolhouse, Redmond - 1 spot
• Pathfinder School, W. Seattle - 6 spots
• Thorndyke Elementary, Tukwila - 1 spot

New Balance Girls on the Run 5k

Save the Date!

Saturday, December 12th 10:00am @ Seward Park

Come out to join GOTRPS for fun-filled community run/walk! This is the graduation event for our fall program participants and is open to community members. Men, women, girls, boys, small children in strollers and dogs on leashes are welcome to participate! For more event info and registration click here.

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