Seattle Property News

Hanging it up, for now

2005-10-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Back when I started this blog, Dustin remarked on the excellent Rain City Guide, "The problem with most real estate blogs is that after an initial flurry of activity, the bloggers quit making regular updates."

You can probably tell from the lack of posts that he was right in my case. Unfortunately, I'm not finding nearly the time that I had hoped to keep it going. I'll leave it online, for now, but I don't expect to be making any more posts for the time being.

At the very least, I hope this blog showed the value of reporting news about specific properties. Part of my inspiration for starting was that a lot of real estate blogs deal too heavily in big trends and news without also looking at how those developments play out on individual sites in their regions. While those broad issues are important, and I tried to explore them here, they can become too abstract unless you also show what's happening at the house across the street or the building downtown.

In my absence, be sure to check out the links to the right for a variety of real estate sites and blogs about Seattle and other cities.

Thanks for reading.

Big money for Harbor Steps

2005-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Back when the agreement was announced to sell the huge Harbor Steps apartment complex in downtown Seattle, the price wasn't disclosed. (See Seattle Times story at the time for background.) The deal was completed last week, according to county tax records, and the purchase price was a whopping $172 million, rounded up, or $171,788,831, to be more precise. Chicago-based real estate company Equity Residential Properties bought the complex from Seattle-based developer Harbor Properties.

Update: The Seattle P-I reports this morning that the total purchase price was more than $191 million. Looking at the tax records in more detail, that is, in fact, the gross sale price, before subtracting about $20 million in intangibles not included in the amount ($172 million) taxed by the county. Either way you look at it, it's a lot of money.

Home Tracker: Asking vs. Selling

2005-09-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

OK, call me a real estate nerd, but I think this is pretty cool. One of the main reasons I started the Home Tracker feature on this site (see archives in right sidebar) was to follow up and see how much the homes end up selling for. This gets into what may be my only major complaint about the generally very good online property records in the Seattle area: By the time the sale of any given home is completed, making the selling price available for anyone to see by looking at the excise tax records, the original listing -- and therefore the original listing price -- is no longer available (or at least not easily accesible to a layperson like me) in the public version of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service listings.

With the Home Tracker feature, I figured it would be interesting to watch selected homes to see whether they end up selling for more or less than the asking price. Not a scientific sample, by any stretch of the imagination, but interesting, since one of the signs of the strength of a market is whether high demand is causing people to bid prices above the original amount the seller seeks.

The reason for this post: One of the first Home Tracker homes, in West Seattle, has now sold -- for $590,000, compared with the $619,000 asking price. See this updated chart for the details:

Maybe after several other Home Tracker homes are sold, we'll see a trend. Unfortunately, even then, all it will do is whet the appetite for an actual, comprehensive measure or index of list price vs. closing price in the region. Or maybe I'm missing something: Is anything like that already available to real estate agents or anyone else?

Update: In an admirable display of real estate geekiness, Dustin has a great post on the Rain City Guide that builds on this theme, including a graphic that shows list price vs. selling price in his neighborhood. See my thoughts in the comments section below his post.

Katrina and real estate

2005-09-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

In this interesting story today, the New York Times looks at the wide range of effects -- positive and negative -- that Hurricane Katrina could have on real estate and home-building across the nation.

2200 Westlake filling up

2005-09-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Whole Foods, one of the company's other new stores is slated for 2200 Westlake, the big mixed-use development that Paul Allen's company, Vulcan, is putting up in the Denny Triangle area, on the southern border of the South Lake Union neighborhood.

That development, in turn, is proving to be an interesting measure of demand for condos in that part of the city. And apparently the demand is high. This recent Seattle Times story, about Vulcan buying out its development partner, noted that sales agreements have been reached for more than 95 percent of the condos in the project.

Interbay Whole Foods proceeding

2005-09-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Developers of a retail project to be anchored by a Whole Foods store in the Interbay neighborhood have begun the process of seeking land-use permits from the city. It's one of three new Whole Foods stores planned in the region, according to this page on the company's Web site. At about 60,000 square feet, the proposed Interbay store looks to be a relatively typical size for Whole Foods. Plans for the store were originally unveiled in the spring, causing some understandable lament over the businesses that the project will replace.

At the same time, it's far from the only development envisioned in the neighborhood. See some of the planning documents on the Interbay Neighborhood Association site for more information about potential development in that area of the city. This recent Seattle P-I story reports on the group's efforts to turn the industrial neighborhood into more of a mixed-use community. Meanwhile, this Seattle Times story notes that the Whole Foods project doesn't depend on the monorail construction.

WaMu Center not as painful

2005-09-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

On the subject of the new Washington Mutual Center (see previous post), the Puget Sound Business Journal reports:

Landlords in downtown Seattle won't be feeling anywhere near the pain they once anticipated when Washington Mutual moves into its huge new headquarters office tower late next year. A strengthening local economy, aggressive leasing to new tenants, and the thrift's own growth are combining to considerably soften the blow, local real estate executives said.

Most expensive homes in West

2005-09-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

The Mercer Island mansion previously mentioned here has come in at number seven on Forbes magazine's annual list of the most expensive homes in the West. See the Forbes page about the home here. The magazine says it's "practically a palace." The Seattle P-I reported on the home's ranking earlier this week.

Another new Seattle site

2005-09-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

The trend continues: Seattle Condos.

New Seattle real estate sites

2005-08-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

This online real estate stuff is booming, apparently. Here are three new Seattle-focused real estate sites.

Seattle Bubble: "News and discussion about the real estate/housing bubble, specifically as it pertains to the Seattle area." Lots of interesting links and commentary. (Via the Rain City Real Estate Guide and Seattle Real Estate Talk's links page.)
MLS Maps Online: MLS search via aerial map. Dustin on the Rain City Guide has a good review here. As a Firefox user, I also ran into trouble, as Dustin did, and had to switch over to IE to see this site. (Via an e-mail tipster.)
ShackPrices.com: Interactive maps showing regional home sales data. As someone who like to troll through the King County property records, which provide the basis for this site, I'm very intrigued by this concept. (See Seattle Real Estate Talk's assessment here.)

The last two lead to a funny question: Is there a regional bubble in online real estate sites?

I don't mean news and informational sites like mine and others. As far as I'm concerned, it's good to have as many people as possible monitoring developments and offering commentary. That's one of the core ideas behind online communities -- collaborating, linking to one another, and engaging in a broader conversation. And for most of us, this is a hobby, not a business in itself, so the more the merrier.

Instead, I'm thinking of these MLS and property data mapping sites. The emergence of things like Google Maps and MSN Virtual Earth is encouraging a proliferation of sites that apply data to maps in a useful way. It's great to see. But added to the existing Redfin, and basic search sites from residential agents themselves, it seems like there may be more services coming online than the demand will sustain in the long run -- at least if these services are aiming to operate as profitable businesses.

In the meantime, it's fun to see all the ideas everyone is turning out.

Watching the new WaMu building

2005-08-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

The facade is taking shape on the lower portions of the new Washington Mutual Center/Seattle Art Museum expansion building in downtown Seattle, giving passersby a sense for what the 42-story tower will look like when it's finished. The Web site Emporis has a good summary of the project, including an illustration conceptualizing the completed building. Emporis also points to a very cool aerial web cam where you can track the progress on the building pretty much in real time.

Seattle rental rates rising

2005-08-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

One of the unanswered questions in this earlier post was the average rental rate for housing in the Seattle region. This story in Friday's Seattle P-I clarified the picture, showing rental rates rising in the region but remaining below the national average. According to the story, which cites data from Global Real Analytics, the average rent for a high-quality, 1,000-square-foot apartment in the region is $1,043 per month, compared with the $1,121 average nationally.

New Washington beach town

2005-08-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

When it comes to beach towns, Washington's coast has traditionally paled in comparison to the Oregon coast. Could that change? If it does, is it a good thing? In Sunday's newspaper, the Seattle Times has an interesting look at a new beach town taking shape on the Washington coast, near Ocean Shores, and the young developer behind the project.

Downtown apartment tower planned

2005-08-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

An interesting twist for Seattle's downtown business area: The Seattle P-I reports that Beacon Capital Partners is planning a 21-story apartment tower next to the existing Union Bank of California Center, at Fifth Avenue and Madison Street.

It's interesting in part because of the recent discussion about increasing downtown residential life. What types of amenities would be available to someone living in an apartment tower in that location? This Lost in Seattle map gives you a sense. The proximity to the library would be a big selling point, but otherwise it's not exactly Capitol Hill or Belltown, at least as it currently stands.

Here's the public notice of the permit application for the project. The "on the boards" section of the Web site for the architect, Ruffcorn, Mott, Hinthorne & Stine, indicates that the office tower also will be renovated. Looks like the whole property will be renamed 909 Fifth Avenue.

Mixed signals in housing market

2005-08-25T06:19:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post (via today's Seattle Times) reports that conflicting housing statistics released this week haven't helped bring any resolution to the debate over whether or not there's a housing market bubble.

Wonder Bread site going residential

2005-08-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

Looks like redevelopment plans are proceeding on the old Interstate Bakeries site in Seattle's Central Area, best known for the neon Wonder Bread sign on top of the building. According to this notice published by the city this week, a developer has submitted plans for a six-story, 253-unit residential building on the site, with ground-floor retail space.

See this earlier Seattle P-I story for details on the debate over what to do with that iconic sign. Seems like it would be a good landmark to distinguish the building -- the "Wonder Bread Apartments," maybe? -- but an executive with the developer, Fairfield Residential LLC, told the paper that the company doesn't plan to incorporate the sign into the project.

Assessing the Monorail properties

2005-08-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

What happens to the properties acquired by the Seattle Monorail Project if the project doesn't proceed? An interesting story in the current issue of the Puget Sound Business Journal acknowledges that the project could very well still go forward but reports that "real estate professionals throughout the region are beginning to take stock of the monorail authority's real estate portfolio in anticipation of a potentially unprecedented sell-off of publicly owned land stretching across Seattle."

The PSBJ's reporting included a public records request to determine exactly what the Seattle Monorail Project owns in the way of real estate: 34 properties, some of them apparently acquired for significantly less than current market value.

Hey, wait a second, says the UptownSeattle blog: "It's a little premature to be carving up the cadaver, we hope, so we'll chalk the pondering portion of the article up to the dollar-sign-bespotted daydreams of Seattle's business class."

Meanwhile, Dustin on the Rain City Real Estate Guide asks this question: "I have no numbers to back this up whatsoever, but wouldn’t be ironic if the Seattle Monorail Project was able to close up shop having made a profit from all the properties that they bought at appraised values?"

Stadium-area site on market

2005-08-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

The owner of a property near Safeco Field and Qwest Field put it on the market this past week at an asking price of $7 million. (Click image for larger view of location.) The former Romac Industries site was once slated for a major redevelopment, to be called Stadium Place. (Archive site may take a few moments to load.) But that was before the dot-com collapse and the economic recession, and back when the Mariners were still doing well.

The site's proximity to the sports fields might make it an interesting place for an apartment or condo project, but the listing on the Commercial Brokers Association site (link above) says the property is slated for office, retail, research-and-development or industrial uses under the current zoning. There are no residential uses listed, although in some cases, a developer works out an exception to incorporate some artists' lofts.

See also this Puget Sound Business Journal report, which has more details about the offering of the property for sale.

One interesting question: Will the Mariners' difficult season affect the demand for the property from a retail standpoint? There are fewer people walking by that intersection this summer than in years past. But since it just went on the market, any project on the site obviously wouldn't be completed until some season in the future. In that way, someone who buys the property for retail development will be wagering, at least in part, that subsequent Mariners teams will be better, and that the Seahawks will continue last year's resurgence -- although the fewer number of football games makes them a smaller factor in that regard.

Aerial image from King County iMap.

$25m for First Hill block

2005-08-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Virginia Mason Medical Center is paying $25 million for a site at Madison Street and Boren Avenue on Seattle' First Hill, according to the Seattle Times, which cites the price as evidence of the booming real estate market. The article describes the site and its potential uses:

The property, at the northwest corner of Boren Avenue and Madison Street, includes the Chasselton Court Apartments, neighborhood shops and eateries and a parking lot. It's zoned to permit high-rise residential or commercial development, and located on a hillside near I-5 that would afford great views for the top floors.

July '05 Seattle housing charts

2005-08-18T07:11:00.000-07:00

The New York Times had an interesting story over the weekend offering ways to detect whether your region is in the midst of a real estate bubble at risk of popping. Here are some key excerpts from the story, along with charts illustrating the latest King County home-sales data:

Inventory: Some of the most crucial pieces of information are held closely by real estate agents. The number of houses on the market is one of them. ... When it grows, there is trouble coming.

There has been a month-to-month increase in listings in the Seattle area over the past three months, but that can be attributed in part to seasonal factors. Listings remain well below the levels seen last year in the region.

Market Activity: How many homes are sold compared with the month before is the earliest indicator, but it is notorious for false positives. But if the number of homes sold starts to drop, perk up.

Here's a case where the Seattle area does match the warning sign, at least in a small way during the past two months. At the same time, it would seem to be a natural result of the decline in listings reflected above.

Prices: It's what you care about most. But month-to-month comparisons are nearly useless as an indicator because sales of a few houses on either end of the market can skew the figures.

That said, the trend in the Seattle area has been a steady increase in median prices, although not at the super-fast clip seen in some other parts of the country, such as the San Francisco Bay Area.

Time on the market: Agents control access to this information, and be warned: they know how to manipulate it. A house that has been languishing can be taken off and put back to look like a fresh listing. But you'll still be able to see the average time stretching as a clear signal of cooling.

The opposite is happening in the Seattle area. The average amount of time needed to sell a home has been dropping year-over-year in each month so far this year.

The New York Times story offered a number of additional measures, including the price-to-rent ratio, but I'm not sure where to find those for the Seattle region. If anyone has any advice on how to track down some of that additional data, such as the average rental rate, feel free to let me know. (I couldn't find specific Seattle data among the public information on the site that was mentioned in the story, realfacts.com.)

Home Tracker: 6700 39th Ave. SW

2005-08-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: This regular feature examines the numbers behind a home for sale in the Seattle area, selected at random, providing a snapshot of the real estate market. The post will be updated when the property sells, to reflect the closing price.

Address: 6700 39th Ave. SW
Neighborhood: West Seattle
Asking price: $619,000
Previous price: $495,000, 2004
Assessed value: $355,000
Home size: Three bedrooms, one bath, 2,248 square feet
Lot size: .14 acres
Price per square foot:
2004: $220;
2005 asking: $275
Renovation: "Updated kitchen & baths. Fully remodeled lower level."

Background documents and links: Transaction records; Property report; NWMLS summary; Satellite Map.

See Sept. 26 update.

Queen Anne apartments going condo

2005-08-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

More examples in the condo conversion trend: The Seattle Times reports that the former Queen Anne High School, currently apartment units, will be sold off as condos in a deal that raises questions about the school district's cut of the proceeds. (Link via UptownSeattle.)

Meanwhile, Mastro Properties plans to convert the 91-unit Athena Apartments in Lower Queen Anne into luxury condos, according to an item in today's Seattle P-I Business Briefing column and a story in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce (subscription required). Mastro bought the property for $21 million last week and will team with Gamel Real Estate & Investment on the project. See detailed information about the property here. And here's a map of the site:

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

Virtual tour: Mercer Island mansion

2005-08-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

One of the compelling things about online real estate listings is the chance, through the photo galleries, to glimpse inside some extremely expensive homes -- the kind that many of us wouldn't otherwise get a chance to see in real life, let alone consider buying.

Here's a great example: a Mercer Island mansion on the market at an asking price of $40 million. The photos are like something out of a movie. Even the descriptions ("... evocative of the palaces of fairy tales ...") are wonderfully over-the-top. Of course, if you feel the need to bring yourself back to reality, just try out the mortgage-payment calculator in the upper-left-hand corner of the listing page.

Found that link via Beau Betts. Also see this earlier post on the Highlands for some additional examples of luxurious virtual tours. And while we're fantasizing about high-end homes, the Seattle Times yesterday had a wrap-up of this year's Seattle Street of Dreams, including details on how to buy furnishings and accessories from the homes.

Downtown: Upscale vs. livability

2005-08-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

On the subject of boosting residential life in downtown Seattle, the UptownSeattle blog endorses the concept heartily but also points out what's not going to work:

Case in point are projects like the new Cristalla complex that emphasize upscale over livability. Sure, you can build em taller -- but if you fill the place with a few million-dollar fancy-pants condos and then chop the rest of the building into little tiny studios, all you're going going to have living downtown are retired bank executives and single male bond traders. No offense to the MBA set, but we're going to need buildings with living spaces that a) are large enough and b) affordable enough for a family without a corporate lawyer at the table.

Along the same lines, the Seattlest blog comments on the downtown development plan in this post: "Where Do the Children Play?"

Downtown housing: New example

2005-08-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

With Seattle's leaders looking at ways to encourage more downtown residential development, here's one instance where it's already happening. Kauri Investments this week completed its purchase of the 15-story Alaska Building downtown from the city of Seattle. The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the company and a partner, Ariel Development, plan to convert the building into 100 apartments ultimately to be sold as condos. (There will be four floors of office and retail space at the bottom.) Here's how the Business Journal story describes the planned renovations:

Kauri and Ariel plan to restore the Alaska Building's white Carrara marble staircase and wrought-iron railing as well as any marble or hardwood floors. The building's windows, and aging, inefficient heating and air conditioning systems will be replaced and the entire structure will undergo a seismic retrofit. Additionally, Kauri will restore the original high ceilings in the residential units by removing the dropped ceilings installed when the building was renovated in the mid-1980s.

The purchase price was $8.5 million. See this page for the details on the building. See this previous post for information on the earlier sale of the Arctic Building. This Seattle P-I story last year reported on the planned sale of the two buildings. Also see the city's news release.

Map: King County Parcel Viewer; Image: National Park Service

Insights from first-time buyer

2005-08-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Donna Amoranto, 28, recently bought her own home outside Kent. In this interesting story in today's Seattle Times, she shares her experience and offers advice to others contemplating doing the same thing.

Northgate apartment proposal

2005-08-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

A meeting is scheduled for Monday night on a developer's proposal for a big apartment and retail project in the urban area across the street from Northgate Mall in Seattle. See this public notice for details on the meeting and the project.

The Seattle P-I reported on the proposal in this story earlier this week, explaining that the complex could include as many as 400 apartment units and 100,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space in buildings as tall as five stories. The development would be part of a building boom in the neighborhood, with the Northgate Mall planning its own big expansion project nearby.

Seattle Weekly on downtown plan

2005-08-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

The cover story in this week's Seattle Weekly is an in-depth exploration of Mayor Greg Nickels' downtown density plan. (See previous post for background.) Among other subjects, the story by Philip Dawdy explains the differences of opinion on the issue between Nickels and City Council member Peter Steinbrueck:

Steinbrueck looks at downtown and the Denny Triangle differently than developers. He sees downtown as a missed opportunity over the last generation—filled with office towers and tens of thousands of workers, but a place where few live, despite the fact that there have been few restrictions on building residences.

"There's just one thing we need now—it's a downtown where families can live and people can find things where they live," he says. "Whatever we do, we can't do that just by raising building heights." ...

Steinbrueck says the way to do that is by encouraging livability and constructing an appealing downtown and Denny Triangle that will create a market for urban living that will be a magnet for families, not just singles and well-to-do empty-nester couples dashing between high-paying office jobs and the symphony or theater.

Downtown Seattle: Vancouver's advice

2005-08-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Two planners from Vancouver, B.C., submitted a report this week (PDF) on Mayor Greg Nickels' plan to increase building height and density in downtown Seattle to, among other things, make it possible for more people to live downtown. The planners endorsed the concept but wrote that it "goes only part way to achieving the goals and objectives Seattle has adopted" for downtown. One of their recommendations:

[S]imilar to Vancouver, the demographics of Seattle make it probable that there will be demand for Downtown housing. Downtown living can be accommodated in primarily residential settings or in diverse mixed-use settings. In either situation, residents have similar needs -- they are looking for a community (albeit a highly energetic urban one in contrast to suburban options) not just a housing unit. They want public and private amenities to serve their day-to-day needs. They want an ambiance conducive to living. They want connections to preferred destinations. From this perspective, the height/density bonus system must also include parallel provisions to achieve the support and quality that people will expect. Otherwise, the City will achieve height and density in commercial use and the key goal of drawing people back to the city will remain unfulfilled.

See related coverage by the Seattle Times and the Seattle P-I. The Times diagrams the proposed zoning changes on this page. Seattle Real Estate Talk weighs in on the news here and gives details for the upcoming community meeting on the subject.

Seattle's sell-it-yourselfers

2005-08-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

Seattle is 10th in the nation on ForSaleByOwner.com's list of cities where do-it-yourself home-selling is most prevalent, according to BusinessWeek's Hot Property weblog.

Deal of the Week: First & Stewart

2005-08-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Deal: The 12-story First & Stewart office building in downtown Seattle is sold to a Texas-based real estate investment company.

Price: $23.6 million
Seller: First & Stewart LLC (DRA Advisors, New York)
Buyer: REP FSB Real Estate LLC (Archon Group, Texas)
Address: 101 Stewart St.

Background: The building was originally put up for sale back in May 2001, before the recession took hold, at an asking price of $25 million. (See this Puget Sound Business Journal story from that time for more details.) In reporting on this week's sale, this Seattle Times story described First & Stewart as "a nondescript, red-brick building." That's true, but one feature that makes the building unique is the unobstructed view of nearby Elliott Bay from the top floors. The property previously sold for $13 million in 1999, as this Business Journal story noted at the time.

Documents: Transaction record, property report, satellite map.

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

Digest: July '05 Home Sales

2005-08-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

July was another strong month for home sales in the Seattle region, for the most part, according to the latest Northwest Multiple Listing Service data. See this NWMLS summary for the underlying home-sales data.

One continued challenge for buyers: A significant decrease in the total number of homes on the market. As noted here in the past, that may be a good sign for the overall health of the market, because one indication of a real estate bubble is a sharp increase in listings, as home owners look to cash in on the booming market. Dustin explores that topic further in this post on the Rain City Real Estate Guide.

Here's a look at how the region's newspapers reported on the July home sales figures in their Saturday editions:

Seattle Times: "Central Puget Sound-area home sales continue to struggle because in many places, too few homes are available to meet strong buyer demand. ... Fear of finding a replacement home is keeping some from listing, agents say. Remodeling also is keeping many homes off the market because owners have decided that redoing and staying put makes the most financial sense."
Seattle P-I:"While single-family home sales in King County were flat last month, condominium sales soared by nearly 6 percent, as Seattle-area buyers looked for lower prices, urban locations and good investments."
Everett Herald: "Home sales in Snohomish and Island counties remained flat in July, affected by a continued drop in choices and a dramatic rise in price. Listings, the number of homes available, dropped by 21 percent in Snohomish County and 31 percent on the islands, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported Friday."
King County Journal: "The median price for all of King County rose to $340,000 in July, establishing a new record high for the third month in a row, despite a slight decline in the median price for homes and condos sold in Seattle last month: $366,500, down from the record high $372,000 set in June."
Tacoma News Tribune: "This year’s hot real estate market might finally be taking a breather, say local real estate experts, as rising interest rates and rising thermometers are steering buyers away from bidding wars."

I'll follow up soon with updated versions of these earlier charts of regional housing statistics, adding the July data.

Seattle's real estate cousin

2005-08-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

Silicon Valley real estate often sees some of the same trends as Seattle does, with some of the same economic underpinnings, although the market down there tends to experience those trends in the extreme. Along those lines, USA Today had an interesting examination of the Silicon Valley real estate market yesterday, including this assessment of whether or not there's a real estate bubble:

"A bubble is when prices inflate and there's a price correction of 20%," says Richard Calhoun, head of Creekside Realty in Silicon Valley and publisher of the Bay Area Real Estate Market Newsletter. "I don't believe that's going to happen. The market is a very good self-regulator where supply-and-demand rule."

Home prices: Seattle vs. other cities

2005-08-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

The nice thing about looking at the data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (see previous posts) is that it provides an apple-to-apples comparison of trends in home prices in different cities. The down side is that it's an index, so it doesn't give you a sense for the dollar value of homes in the different markets.

That's where this data from the National Association of Realtors comes in. Here's a sampling of median home prices drawn from the NAR's latest Metropolitan Area Existing-Home Prices report. You can see that Seattle is about in the middle of the pack. Take it with a grain of salt, of course, because measures such as cost of living and median income vary widely across the different areas. But it's interesting nonetheless.

$13.5m for downtown hotel

2005-07-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Found this while perusing through the latest King County real-estate sales documents this morning: The Executive Pacific Plaza Hotel, a nine-story boutique hotel in downtown Seattle, was sold this week for $13.5 million. See this page for the notation of the sale and a link to an image of the transaction record.

According to the property characteristics report, the building was last sold in 1986 for $1.05 million. The buyer in this week's transaction is listed as Executive Hotel Seattle LLC, with no further identification yet available. The property recently went through a $4 million renovation, according to the hotel reservations page. See a map of the property here.

UPDATE: The buyer is "a Seattle based partnership led by the Executive Group," according to this news release announcing the sale of the building. Management of the hotel will be handled by Executive Hotels & Resorts, of Vancouver, B.C.

The news release says the new owner plans further renovations to "reposition an under performing property back into one of Seattle's premier business hotels," in the words of Executive's CEO. The release explains how the company plans to do that:

"Executive will immediately commence a major renovation of the hotel's guestrooms and public areas, which in addition to work already completed this year, is anticipated to cost $4.5 million. Upon completion, expected to occur in early 2006, the property will be re-named the Executive Hotel Pacific."

Seattle real estate risk declines

2005-07-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

A new report from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (download the PDF here) puts the Seattle region among the 10 least risky markets in its ranking of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The report says Seattle "has seen its risk decline considerably." It explains:

It is now the only West Coast MSA among the ranking's bottom 10. Employment in the metropolitan division is still down by 80,000, or more than 5%, from its peak in late 2000, but the labor market is gaining momentum with a growing service sector and information industry. The area's homes have gained 11% in market value over the last four quarters, while its Market Risk Index value has dropped from 84 to 64.

The report also has interesting charts and analysis of home price trends across the country. Definitely worth a read. (Link via Navy Times.)

Snohomish Co. housing boom

2005-07-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

In this package of stories this week, the Seattle Times looks at the booming Snohomish County real estate market through the eyes of recent home buyers in one neighborhood.

The Zillow mystery

2005-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Dustin at the Rain City Real Estate Guide has some good background and interesting links on Zillow, the mysterious real estate start-up backed by some heavy hitters in the technology biz, including Expedia founder Richard Barton. Among other items, he points to a post in which David Chase says the recent appointment of a real estate professional to the Zillow board is an important step. As Dustin's headline notes, however, the question remains: What is Zillow up to?

Seattle parking rates rise

2005-07-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's getting more expensive to occupy that piece of real estate between the white lines in the parking garage. An annual survey by Colliers International, released this week, shows a continued increase in Seattle parking rates, to a median price of $250 for a monthly unreserved spot. That's up from the $220 cited in the survey last year. The Colliers news release explains the underlying trend, which is evident across the country:

The monthly rate increase reflects parking facility owners' and operators' response to a healthier business climate coupled with rising employment -- enabling them to charge more for monthly parking. Similarly, daily rates, which are more a function of the general economy and consumer spending, moved significantly higher -- consistent with strong retail sales and amplified consumer confidence.

Real estate start-up forges ahead

2005-07-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

One of the most mysterious Seattle real estate stories in recent months has involved not a property but rather a company: Zillow, a Seattle-based start-up whose executives include Expedia founder Richard Barton and other veterans of such companies as Microsoft and Amazon. The company acknowledges that it plans some sort of Internet-based real estate service, but it has been highly secretive about exactly what that service will be. This April story from the Seattle P-I is the most detailed description that has emerged.

Today, the situation got a little more intriguing, as Zillow announced it had attracted some heavy-hitters from the tech industry, in addition to a real estate executive, to serve on its corporate board. The new board members:

Greg Maffei, Oracle president and chief financial officer, and former Microsoft CFO.
Erik Blachford, former Expedia executive and former CEO of IAC/InterActive Corp.'s travel division.
Gordon Stephenson, co-founder and managing broker of Real Property Associates, with past experience at such firms as Prudential MacPhersons and Windermere Real Estate.

It's notable when people with those types of credentials agree to serve on a start-up board. Should be interesting to see what the company comes out with, and how it compares to existing services, such as Redfin. Inman News, reporting on the board appointments, points to patent filings by Zillow that give clues about its direction:

Specifically, one record at the Patent Office is for providing an online computer database and online searchable database featuring information and listings for real estate, and to provide real estate research services. The record also notes the design of computer software, and providing online computer services for real estate, consumer goods and consumer services. Another patent and trademark record drops hints of plans for an Internet auction business for real estate and online services featuring tours of residential and commercial real estate.

Paul Allen's island for sale

2005-07-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Paul Allen -- Microsoft co-founder, Seahawks owner, EMP founder, etc. -- has put his 292-acre, private island near Anacortes on the market at an asking price of $25 million. The island is named Allan Island, confusingly enough. Here's the listing with Gudgell Properties LLC, which offers this description:

Accessible by private plane, boat, or float plane with a partial breakwater and dock plus a grass airstrip. Enjoy outstanding building sites with beaches overlooking Rosario Strait, the Olympic Mountains, and the wild Strait of Juan De Fuca. Log-style home suitable for caretakers quarters located near the dock with water, septic, and generator. Comprised of 25 tax lots with potential for 25 separate homes.

The Skagit Valley Herald has more on the island offering in this story, including what has to be one of the most hilariously obvious sentences ever published in a newspaper: "Marketing an island is tougher than selling a single-family home, [listing agent Sam] Buck said."

The Herald story doesn't explain why Allen has put the property up for sale, but it gives some background on another island holding of Allen's, Sperry Peninsula on Orcas Island. That purchase by Allen, for a family compound, was controversial because it displaced a beloved camp, known as Camp Nor'wester. (See this Seattle P-I story for additional background on that situation.) At one point, Allen offered to have the camp relocate to Allan Island, but the a study determined the island to be unsuitable, for a variety of reasons, according to this document:

Its exposure to the unprotected waters of Rosario Strait would necessarily eliminate the Camp’s small boat outcamp trip program, a substantial and obvious part of any island location. Data provided by the Allen’s representative indicated that drinking water availability and salt water intrusion would likely be negative factors. Lack of ferry service impeded food delivery, and inaccessibility in bad weather made emergency medical attention unlikely.

Based on that description, maybe CBS could buy the island and make it the setting for the next season of "Survivor."

In any event, Allen would realize a nice little gain on his investment if he's able to find a buyer at anything close to the $25 million asking price. According to this 1994 story in the Seattle Times (registration required), Allen paid $7.4 million for the island in 1992.

UPDATE: For more details, the Seattle Times reported on the property listing in Monday's paper, with a map of the island's location.

Pirillo goes house hunting

2005-07-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

Chris Pirillo, the "geek entrepreneur" of Lockergnome and Gnomedex fame, is hunting for a house in the Seattle area. He and his fiancee, Ponzi, are discovering that it's not an easy process, as he explains in this post on his blog. Should be interesting to follow along as they go through the process. Already, his post is attracting some good observations and helpful hints about the Seattle market. For example, one of his readers, Stumax, suggests checking out these neighborhoods:Highland Park (West Seattle) - near some dodgy neighborhoods, but Highland Park itself is quite nice, and there are good values to be found.

Central District / Columbia City - well on the way to being gentrified; still lots of good values

South Ranier Beach - this was a hot market last season; convenient to downtown; very competitive prices

Shorewood & Burien - all the agents are buying here. What does that tell you?
Seattle's daily newspapers both have good resources for home hunters trying to get a feel for different neighborhoods in the area: Seattle Times Home Values and Seattle P-I Webtowns.

$27 million for Jefferson Square

2005-07-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

A look through the King County excise tax records this morning shows that Pan Pacific Retail Properties added to its collection of neighborhood shopping centers in the Seattle area yesterday, paying $27 million for the Jefferson Square retail complex in West Seattle's Genesse neighborhood. The deal doesn't appear to include the associated apartment complex.

Interesting note: The Jefferson Square complex is near the proposed location of the West Seattle Junction monorail station. Community planners at one point were looking at ways to connect Jefferson Square with the station, perhaps using a pedestrian bridge. (See this PDF, or this one, for more details.) That's the type of thing that could improve the value of the shopping center, by boosting foot traffic, but the monorail project is on shaky ground at this point. Granted, construction of the transit system would be years away regardless, but by purchasing the property, is Pan Pacific taking a gamble that the monorail project will eventually go forward?

Jefferson Square, which includes a Bartell Drugs and a Safeway as tenants, last sold for $20.1 million in 2003. For more background, see the property report on the shopping center and this map on Lost in Seattle (lower right quadrant) that gives more details about the property. And here's the map from the King County Parcel Viewer.

Pan Pacific owns 15 additional properties in the state, according to this page on its Web site. (The other properties are in Auburn, Bellingham, Blaine, Everett, Kent, Lake Stevens, Mill Creek, Olympia, Silverdale, Spanaway, Tacoma and Vancouver.) Here's the company's profile.

UPDATE: The Puget Sound Business Journal reported on this sale on Monday. Also see this press release (PDF) issued by Triple Net Properties LLC, which represented the sellers.

Solace for the overpriced

2005-07-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, Seattle has been ranked the most overpriced city in the nation two years running, but Josh on Metroblogging Seattle reminds everyone that it's also the nation's "most livable large city."

Bremerton downtown living

2005-07-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

A Seattle Times editorial today considers the construction boom in Bremerton, including a 78-unit waterfront condo project expected to begin going up soon. Concludes the Times: "While not the first project of Bremerton's building boom, the condominiums might be the most important. If Bremerton is going to be the urban core of Kitsap County, there must be people living downtown."

Home Tracker: 408 W. Galer St.

2005-07-20T06:02:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: This regular feature examines the numbers behind a home for sale in the Seattle area, selected at random, providing a snapshot of the real estate market. The post will be updated when the property sells, to reflect the closing price.

Address: 408 W. Galer St.
Neighborhood: Queen Anne
Asking price: $1.5 million
Previous price $540,000, April 2001
Assessed value: $777,000
Home size: Three bedrooms, 3.5 baths, two stories, 4,010 square feet
Lot size: .17 acres
Price per square foot:
2001: $162.65;
2005 asking: $374
Renovation details: Renovated in 2004. (Interior remodel, rewiring.)

Background documents and links: Transaction records; Property report; NWMLS summary; Satellite Map. (Note: Some numbers in property report (including square footage) differ from those in MLS listing, possibly reflecting pre-renovation details.)

Two words: Manufactured wood

2005-07-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

More ripple effects from the housing boom: Puget Sound Business Journal: Hot home market lifts a mill: "Record housing starts, and new home styles with larger rooms and open spans, are creating such a hot market for manufactured wood that Pacific Woodtech Corp. is doubling its capacity. The Burlington, Wash., mill, the only one of its type in the state, makes laminated veneer lumber, dubbed "LVL" by the construction industry." (Via Your Seattle Real Estate)

Deal of the Week: Needle View Apartments

2005-07-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

Deal: A San Francisco real estate company plans a 195-unit apartment building at Taylor Avenue and Denny Way, near the Space Needle, on property previously owned by the Teamsters union.
Project Value: $47.9 million
Land Price: $8.1 million
Seller: Teamsters Building Association of Seattle
Buyer: BRE Properties Inc.
Address: 552 Denny Way

Background: The Teamsters, which sold the property to BRE last year, are moving their local headquarters to Tukwila. BRE made preliminary plans for the site public last week. In a regulatory filing, BRE Properties referred to the project by the name Denny Way Apartments. See this Seattle P-I story for more details.

Documents: Transaction record, property report, satellite map.

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

June '05 Seattle housing charts

2005-07-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a closer graphical look at the key Northwest Multiple Listing Service data for the Seattle area through June. (See this NWMLS page for the underlying June data.) There have been consistent trends in most of the measures, providing a clear picture of what appears to be a relatively healthy market.

ACTIVE LISTINGS: The volume of listings has been consistently down. That's a good indication for the market, because one sign of a bubble is an irrational increase in the number of listings, as people try to cash in on the booming market.

MEDIAN PRICES: With the lower volume of listings, prices have increased, consistent with basic laws of supply and demand. The monthly increases have generally been in the range of 12 percent year-over-year -- enough to give sellers a nice return, but apparently not enough to cause sellers to flood the market, judging from the chart above.

NUMBER OF SALES COMPLETED: The number of closed sales is one measure that has fluctuated in comparison to the statistics last year. Not sure what conclusions, if any, to draw from this particular result. If anyone out there has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

TIME ON THE MARKET: Homes are spending less time on the market, on average, than in the previous year. That's also a good sign, because another indication of a bubble is when homes sit on the market for longer periods of time than normal, as the wave of people trying to cash in on the market boosts the available supply.

I've also put all of these graphics onto a single page for easier reference.

Inside Seattle's hidden neighborhood

2005-07-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just came across this interesting post from a couple months ago, in which Tom Harpel explains how to use Redfin, and the incorporated MLS listings, to take a peek inside Seattle's otherwise hidden Highlands neighborhood -- an exclusive, affluent and gated community on the city's northern border. For example, check out the photos in this listing for a Highlands home. Here's another. Click the image above for one more.

Writes Harpel: "This is too good to be true; the Highlands is an otherwise unknowable enigma on the Seattle cultural and real estate landscape ... Someone really needs to put out a book on the Highlands."

He's right -- it would be a great subject for a book, and there is relatively little information available about the Highlands online. See this previous post for an explanation of how Harpel first became intrigued by the Highlands. Among other things, that post links to this fascinating article on the Highlands and Broadmoor neighborhoods by Charles Mudede, better known for his work in the Stranger. Here's Mudede's description of what it's like to go inside the Highlands:

I arrived at the guarded gate at around 3:30 p.m. An old man with silver hair raised it without a word. ... Though the day was still alive for the rest of the city, here because of the thick and towering firs and hemlocks, the dusk was deep. The little roads which led me further and further into this damp neighborhood boasted cheerful names like White Huckleberry, Spring Drive, Cherry Loop. Hemmed in by the massive evergreens, most of the homes were invisible. ... Suddenly breaking from the trees appeared a massive palace, whose large easterly windows reflected the golden light of the dying sun. Then the palace vanished, consumed by the woods which now seemed darker and thicker than before.

Google Maps does give an aerial overview of the area, including the wooded landscape. But the map doesn't zoom in close enough to give you a good sense for the individual properties.

Home prices: Seattle vs. Denver

2005-07-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has an interesting story today on Denver's housing market: Housing Goes Frothy to Flat in Denver Area. This is the key statistical paragraph:

Even as prices for homes in frothy markets like Las Vegas; Riverside, Calif.; Miami; and Washington are still jumping by more than 20 percent a year, Denver's homeowners are learning the hard way about living through the real estate doldrums. Five years ago, median house prices were rising at an annual clip of nearly 17 percent. By the first quarter of 2005 the increase had slipped to 3 percent, according to an analysis by Economy.com, a research firm.

Reading the story, I realized it provided a good opportunity to check the numbers I've been using from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to assess trends in Seattle's home prices. (For more background, see my original post on the subject, and this subsequent post on Seattle and Silicon Valley price fluctuations.) So I went back to the OFHEO numbers and added Denver's statistics to the chart:

As you can see, Denver's trend, as reflected in those numbers, pretty much matches what the New York Times story describes, beginning with the steep increase in prices in the late 1990s. Based on the OFHEO numbers, it looks like Denver prices climbed faster than Seattle's did, but not as much as in Silicon Valley, which experienced more than 25 percent annual growth at its peak. As in Silicon Valley, prices in Denver flattened out when the recession began. However, unlike Silicon Valley, which has rebounded since then, the housing market in Denver has remained relatively flat in recent years -- as documented in today's Times story.

All of which further supports the validity of using the OFHEO numbers to compare home price trends across the country. Given that, it's worth noting that Seattle is looking relatively healthy and stable, compared to other metropolitan areas, through all of these examples so far. While Seattle home prices didn't rise as much as in some other markets during the boom, they also didn't bottom out during the crash, and they've stayed essentially in line with the strong U.S. average since then.

Documenting Seattle's best parks

2005-07-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

Seattle Real Estate Talk's list of links points to a new series of descriptive essays on Seattle's "gemstone" parks by Chas Redmond. Writes Redmond in his introduction: "The residents of Seattle city can thank a periodically inspired local leadership and the efforts of the Olmsted Brothers to map out and plan a series of parks and connecting boulevards in the city. Seattle has one of the finest parks and recreation systems of any city in North America."

In fact, the creation of the parks system early in the last century may be the most notable example of Seattle successfully avoiding the types of delays in infrastucture development (viaduct, monorail, etc.) that have become common 100 years later. (Pictured above: The view on the trail through Seward Park, one of the parks on Redmond's list.)

Good real estate listening

2005-07-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

There has been a good run of real estate news and information on National Public Radio lately. In the past week, a variety of NPR programs have aired some interesting reports and commentary on the housing market. Here's a collection of links to the online audio:

Morning Edition Commentary: Don't Count on a Real Estate Crash
Morning Edition: Gambling on Las Vegas Real Estate
All Things Considered: Housing Market is Crowding Rural Edens
Talk of the Nation: U.S. Housing: Time to Buy, Sell or Rent?
Morning Edition: Home Owners Increasingly Betting on Interest-Only Loans

The Conversation, a program produced by NPR station KUOW in Seattle, also had a good program on the real estate market in the Seattle area last month. Here's the audio of that program.

Reshaping Seattle's skyline

2005-07-16T07:42:00.000-07:00

A story in today's Seattle Times looks at two condominium towers proposed for the area around Second Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle: "Two Seattle developers with deep downtown roots have each proposed to build a condominium tower on Second Avenue that would be among the city's tallest residential buildings — and, at 400 feet high, nearly two-thirds taller than what the city currently allows."

Seattle Magazine ranks the 'hoods

2005-07-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

Seattle Magazine is out with its annual ranking of the region's neighborhoods. The list isn't available online, but here's an excerpt that focuses on Rainier Beach's emergence as an option for many home buyers who might not have looked there previously:

Sweeping lake views, bargain houses (still to be found by the determined), quiet streets, roads into the city that bypass clogged freeways: These things are balm to the soul of today’s ragged, questing home buyer. So welcome to Rainier Beach, christened one of Seattle’s newly hot neighborhoods thanks to the Puget Sound housing boom, which continues unabated. Sure, Rainier Beach was once viewed by many as an unacceptably distant drive from the downtown core—14 minutes!—and as more working-class than fashionable. No longer. Far from being the unappreciated stepsister it once was, Rainier Beach, the southernmost neighborhood in Seattle, is ascending (just check out how often it leads the Windermere ads in the Sunday newspaper real estate sections) and house values there have risen more than 18 percent in the last year.

The Kitsap Sun (registration required) notes that Bremerton's Manette neighborhood ranked 9th on the magazine's list, outdoing well-known Seattle neighborhoods including Fremont, Capitol Hill and Queen Anne.

The Google effect on real estate

2005-07-16T07:25:00.000-07:00

This Wall Street Journal story isn't about Seattle, but it's interesting and reminiscent of the 1990s Microsoft stock-option boom: "Searching for a home in Atherton, Calif.? Watch out for Googlers."

Link via Good Morning Silicon Valley.

What $500k will get you

2005-07-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Seattle Real Estate Talk points to an interesting article on MSNBC.com that compares homes available for $500,000 in different markets, including Seattle. The article is pegged to the fact that the median home price is more than $500,000 in California. (The median price in the Seattle area, by comparison, is less than $350,000.)

Forbes: Seattle overpriced, again

2005-07-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

This isn't the kind of victory a city celebrates. For the second straight year, Forbes magazine has named Seattle the most overpriced city in the United States. Read the details in the official story, which appears to have just posted this evening. Here's a slide presentation with data about Seattle and the other "winners." Explains the Seattle summary:

For the second year in a row, Seattle takes the top spot in our study. Why? The city does poorly on all counts, but was at the bottom when it comes to job growth, and the cost of living is very high. "It's true the housing prices here have just gone through the stratosphere," says Charles Knutson, spokesman for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. The city got hit hard by the tech bubble, and took a big employment dive. "We're coming out of that, but if you're looking at a line chart, there's a huge gap between income and housing costs." Still, Seattle may become easier to afford should big local employers such as Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks stay healthy.

Bainbridge among 'top places'

2005-07-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

None other than our own Bainbridge Island has come in second in Money Magazine's newly released ranking of the best places to live in the United States. Among other factors, the magazine cites the community's support for education: "Residents have never failed to pass an education-related tax levy, and they typically make extra contributions that increase the school budget by another 5 percent."

In its coverage of the result, the Kitsap Sun (registration required) clarifies that statement, explaining that it was "mostly true until May, when island voters resoundingly dumped the school district's request for technology spending."

Given the sudden national exposure, it will be interesting to see if any Seattle-area locals, or even people from outside the region, attempt to quickly jump in and speculate on the Bainbridge real estate market.

But is this the kind of attention Bainbridge residents want? See this Seattle P-I story from this spring to get a sense for how growth is already affecting the island. The Kitsap Sun story, cited above, notes that not all Bainbridge Islanders were pleased with the ranking.

"We're doomed," said Lois Andrus, who's lived on Bainbridge since 1966. "It's the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned."

Andrus said the community is moving away from being a place where people recognize each other in the store. Instead, it's becoming a place where status and wealth are becoming too important.

Seattle itself didn't make the top 100 in this year's ranking, although it was labeled a "contender" by the magazine. Redmond and Vancouver, Wash., did make it onto the list, at 27th and 91st, respectively. See the Washington state results here.

In this story, the Associated Press profiles the winner, Moorestown, N.J.

Assessing Seattle's NewHolly

2005-07-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

An article in the new edition of Seattle Weekly looks at the NewHolly development in Southeast Seattle, which arose from a federal program called Hope VI, designed to create communities with a mix of public housing and middle-income residents.

The experiment seems to be working there, something the article attributes in part to the fact that the hot real estate market has boosted demand among those middle-income buyers. Writes Seattle Weekly's Nina Shapiro: "What NewHolly has revealed is that the presence of public-housing residents doesn't matter a damn to home buyers in Seattle's crazy real-estate bubble."

See also past coverage in the Seattle P-I and the Seattle Times.

Home prices: Seattle vs. Silicon Valley

2005-07-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

After this previous post, comparing the trend in Seattle home prices to the national average, I started thinking that it might be interesting to compare the Seattle trend to home prices in specific metropolitan areas. Silicon Valley came to mind almost immediately as a potentially intriguing comparison. So I went back to the data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, calculated the trend for the San Jose metropolitan area, and added it to the original chart.

As you can see, the Silicon Valley home market has been much more volatile than Seattle's market in recent years. As reflected in the index, there was a much bigger increase in prices in Silicon Valley during the technology boom, peaking in 2000. When the tech bubble burst, the market there deflated to the point that it became essentially stagnant in 2002, with less than 1 percent growth. But keep in mind that anything above 0 percent on the chart is still growth. In other words, on average, home values in the Silicon Valley didn't decrease in absolute terms after the tech bust, at least as reflected in the index. Granted, anyone expecting the earlier rate of growth to continue would have been sorely disappointed. Maybe it goes without saying, but anyone who sold a Silicon Valley home right around February 2000 (and didn't quickly buy another) should feel very good.

In the past couple years, prices there have started to rise again, to the point where the Silicon Valley market, like Seattle, is now right in line with the national average.

If you'd like to see the underlying data, you can download the chart from this OFHEO page. (The chart to use is "1Q 2005 manipulatable data for the Metropolitan Statistical Areas.")

I'm thinking Portland, Boston or Atlanta might also make for interesting comparisons, so I'll put those on my list of things to do. If anyone has a request for a particular city, let me know and I'd be happy to crunch the numbers and chart that one, as well.

Your neighbor, the troll

2005-07-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

Another only-in-Seattle classified ad: "Fremont Apartment Close to the Troll." (See also the earlier tugboat home listing.)

Update: A news development that fits this theme: Seattle Times: Street may be rechristened for Fremont Troll. (Via Rain City Real Estate Guide.)

Eminent domain in Washington

2005-07-09T21:16:00.001-07:00

There has been lots of debate nationally following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Kelo v. New London. The decision upheld the right of a local government to acquire property by eminent domain, against the wishes of the homeowners, for a commercial project considered in the "public use," as part of an economic development plan.

But what about the ruling's effect in Washington state? On the City Comforts weblog, David Sucher has been closely tracking developments in the case, and he points to a detailed article by lawyers from Preston Gates & Ellis that addresses that very question. Here's the bottom line:

At present, Washington constitutional and decisional law appear to present significant barriers to the use of eminent domain to acquire property for economic redevelopment, even carefully-crafted redevelopment plans.

The Seattle P-I editorial board recently acknowledged as much but opined that the state's residents should still be concerned about the decision:

Anyone confident that private property in Washington state cannot be taken through eminent domain only to be sold to another private owner has forgotten the case of Lovie Nichols. Five years ago, the then 75-year-old Bremerton grandmother was forced out of her home by the city, even though she protested that her property was going to be sold to a local car dealer as part of a real estate package designed to raise revenue for the city. Both the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court declined to review her case.

At the same time, there were nuances in that case that made it unique, including the fact that Nichols agreed at one point, in court, to the deal offered by the city, before changing her mind. See this December 1999 P-I story for more background.

What's the public sentiment after the recent Supreme Court ruling? This isn't scientific, by any means, but the online poll at the bottom of the P-I editorial asks, "Should local government be allowed to confiscate property from one person and give it to another, on the grounds that it serves a public use'? " Pollsters would probably debate the validity of that phrasing, but as of this writing, more than 95 percent say no.

More evidence against bubble

2005-07-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

The statistical approach used by the Bubble Meter blogger, outlined in this previous post, inspired me to try analyzing the trend in Seattle home prices by crunching some of the data from the source he used, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

As it turns out, the results are pretty interesting.

The chart below is based on the House Price Index, a quarterly measure from the OFHEO that provides a detailed overview of home prices in regions across the country. The two lines reflect the annual percentage change in the price index for the Seattle area and for the United States as a whole. This isn't an exact science, and there are a lot of additional measures that could come into play. But one way to judge whether prices in any given region are rising irrationally -- creating a bubble at risk of bursting -- is to compare the regional statistics to the national average.

As you can see, in the late 1990s, home prices in the Seattle area did rise at a faster rate than those in the nation as a whole. Look at that trend line separating from the national average starting around 1997. That makes sense, given the disproportionate effect of the high-tech boom in the local region. Since then, Seattle-area prices have continued to increase -- but at a slower pace than the national average. That would seem to be a positive sign for anyone worried about the possibility of a Seattle-area home price bubble.

Keep in mind that a downward trend in any given year means not that prices decreased but rather that they increased at a slower rate. For more background, this page offers an explanation of the House Price Index.

Former smelter site for sale

2005-07-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Tacoma News Tribune: Asarco puts Ruston smelter site on the market: "Just listed: 67-acre waterfront property with stunning, unobstructed view of Commencement Bay. Approximately 5,000 feet of waterfront. Easy access to Ruston or Tacoma. Lots of potential for buyer willing to finish cleaning the remnants of 100 years of arsenic and lead contamination from this charming old Superfund site."

Additional coverage: Associated Press, Puget Sound Business Journal.

Home Tracker: 902 E. Boston St.

2005-07-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: This regular feature examines the numbers behind a home for sale in the Seattle area, selected at random, providing a snapshot of the real estate market. The post will be updated when the property sells, to reflect the closing price.

Address: 902 E. Boston St.
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill
Asking price: $1,035,000
Previous sale price $517,000, May 2001
Appraised value: $656,000
Home size: Four bedrooms, 3.5 bath, two stories, 3,120 square feet
Lot size: .08 acres
Price per square foot: 2001: $165.71;
2005 asking: $331.73
Renovation details: None on record
Background documents and links: Transaction records; Satellite map; Property report; NWMLS summary

Seattle and the 'Bubble Meter'

2005-07-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

On the Bubble Meter blog ("dedicated to the premise that there is a housing bubble in many locales in the USA") a recent post listed the cities that the author views as most likely to see the biggest housing price declines. The list is based on a study of price appreciation by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Seattle was noticeably absent from the list -- a good thing, obviously.

Helpfully enough, one of the first questions asked in the comments to the post was about how Seattle ranks on the bubble meter. Explained the author: "Seattle has appreciated 38% in the past 5 years according to the OFHEO government report. Does this make it a bubble city? Seattle prices could fall slightly (about 10%) if there is a recession. Otherwise I expect price stagnation there."

Digest: June '05 home sales

2005-07-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Seattle-area housing market remained strong in June, according to numbers released yesterday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Here's how newspapers around the region assessed the data:

Seattle Times: "Despite conjecture that the local housing market is a high-priced bubble ready to burst, key signs of weakening are nowhere to be seen, according to homes-sales figures released yesterday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. When a bubble bursts, prices decline; the number of homes for sale grows; and it takes longer to sell them. But here's what the Multiple Listing Service says happened in June: Compared with June 2004, prices jumped 13 percent in the 15-county region that the group covers. The number of homes and condominiums for sale fell 17.5 percent."
Seattle P-I: "Higher prices, less availability. It has become the rallying cry for Seattle's realtors, and it echoes throughout the Puget Sound region. Only 1.6 percent of the homes in King County are priced at less than $200,000. On the other hand, 19.5 percent of the single-family homes in King County are priced at $1 million or more."
King County Journal: "Driven by another month of low inventory and relatively low interest rates, Eastside home prices in June remained near an all-time high, while in southeast King County prices set another new record."
Tacoma News Tribune: "Low mortgage rates – ranging from 5.49 percent to 5.57 percent in Washington last month – and continued heavy demand, coupled with a scarcity of homes for sale, are pushing up prices, real estate officials say. But some believe they are seeing the first signs of a slowdown."
Everett Herald: "For single-family homes, the median price in Snohomish County in June was $299,000, a 19.6 percent rise from June 2004. For condos only, the median price was $184,990, an increase of 7.9 percent. Median means half sold for more and half sold for less."

Here's a look at King County median home sale prices, based on current and historical data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service Web site. See also the detailed Seattle Times graphics.

Controversial port land sold

2005-07-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

On the subject of flipping real estate, the Seattle P-I reports that the parent company of Charlie's Produce completed the sale of the second of two surplus properties it acquired last year from the Port of Seattle. The deals were controversial because Charlie's was able to sell the properties for considerably more than it paid for them -- raising questions over whether the port did all it could to receive the highest possible price. As the P-I explains:

After the deal was announced in March, critics questioned why the port had sold both buildings to the produce company last year for nearly $18.9 million. A smaller warehouse, a wooden one, was sold for $5 million during the same month. Both sales amounted to $28.5 million, or a profit of 51 percent.

Critics said the public agency, which appraised both buildings in 2003 for $23 million, could have earned a higher profit by selling both to an institutional real estate company. They also said the larger of the two warehouses could have been used to handle the rise in international cargo.

For more background, see earlier coverage by the P-I and the Seattle Times. This earlier Seattle Times editorial also questioned the port's handling of the original sale. View the documents for this week's sale here. A map of the property is below, via the King County Parcel Viewer.

Real Estate Reality TV

2005-07-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Forget the 16-week job interview -- why didn't real estate mogul Donald Trump think of this? Chris Palmeri of BusinessWeek's Hot Property blog reports that the Discovery Home channel is debuting a series called "Flip That House." Explains the show's Web site:

House flipping — buying and renovating a house to sell for profit — is currently the hottest trend spreading through the real estate industry. A "flip" occurs when an individual purchases a home, remodels the home in a short period of time (anywhere from 3 weeks to 4 months) and then re-sells the home for a profit. Flip That House is a new series for Discovery Home that dives into this very craze. Each episode is a fun, fast half hour that will document the entire flipping process of one house.

No word on whether the show is coming to the Seattle area, but it seems like the region would be ripe for opportunities. One of Palmeri's readers notes in the comments that TLC has a similar show, "Property Ladder."

Google Earth for real estate

2005-07-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

How long until one of Seattle's real estate agencies creates a local version of this? WebProNews reports that Prudential Preferred Properties has created a plug-in for the new Google Earth for Chicago-area real estate listings.

Explains the Unofficial Google Weblog:

Google Earth swings you over Chicago and a giant swarm of listings appears. Drill down in My Places to eliminate categories of listing and thin out the swarm. Clicking any single listing reveals a property description. Clicking More Info opens Google Earth’s built-in browser to display the listing page from the Prudential site. Now you’re suddenly looking at the actual house and neighborhood in the upper pane, and photos with descriptions in the lower pane.

Attorney Joel A. Schoenmeyer comments on the Prudential program on his blog: "Previously I wrote about how Craigslist + Google Maps represented the future of real estate, but I was wrong -- the future is still being written, and the next chapter has arrived."

Interbay area's 'role reversal'

2005-07-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

On a new Seattle real estate weblog, real estate professional Christopher Jensen has a good roundup of recent news that he calls NW Real Estate Soup.

Among the articles he points to is a story by Amy Jenniges of the Stranger, who reports on efforts by people in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood to increase density through new development. Jenniges reports that the mayor's office seems "lukewarm" to the Interbay plan, despite advocating new development in other parts of the city, where the concept of increased density often faces neighborhood opposition.

WSJ on Seattle real estate

2005-07-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday's edition of the Wall Street Journal has an extensive look at Seattle's real estate market. Among the key observations:

By far, the best-performing real-estate market in Seattle has been residential; high demand and incomes that are 26% above the national average have driven home and condo prices higher. The median price of single-family homes rose 13.7% in the first quarter to $321,100 from the year-earlier quarter, even outpacing the robust national rate of 9.7%, according to the National Association of Realtors. Homes are selling for a premium in some locations along proposed routes for two ambitious transportation projects: a light-rail link and a monorail line that would offer commuters alternatives to cars and buses. There are plans for a 36-story condo tower along the proposed monorail at the historic Pike Place Market.

The rising home prices may have a dark side. The cost of living in the Seattle area is 12% above the national average, which could constrain growth, PPR says, though it is still below other West Coast cities.

Also see this related online sidebar with additional information and statistics. On a similar note, updated data on the Seattle-area housing market will be available Wednesday, when the Northwest Multiple Listing Service is scheduled to release regional sales figures for June.

Deal of the Week: Arctic Building

2005-07-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

Deal: Development group buys Arctic Building in downtown Seattle.
Price: $5.1 million
Seller: City of Seattle
Buyer: Arctic Club Hotel LLC
Address: 700 3rd Ave.

Background: The 10-story historic building is known for the ring of walruses in its exterior, and the Dome Room reception hall. A partnership led by ConoverBond Development plans to convert the building into a boutique hotel. See coverage by the Puget Sound Business Journal and a previous story in the Seattle P-I. The city's expected sale of the nearby Alaska Building, to be converted into housing and offices, hasn't yet been completed, according to property records.

Documents: Property report, satellite map.

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

Lincoln Square luxuries

2005-07-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times reports today on Lincoln Square, the huge residential and commercial complex going up across the street from the Bellevue Square shopping mall in the city's downtown core. The previously stalled project was purchased two years ago by Kemper Freeman Jr, the Bellevue Square owner. Here's a notable excerpt from the Times story:

A couple of years from now, this is what the visionaries hope to see: A gleaming two-tower building, with ground-floor shops, restaurants and movie screens beckoning pedestrians. Hotel guests streaming in and out of an elegant lobby, corporate types riding elevators to some of the region's most important meetings.

And of course the residents, standing in their multimillion-dollar penthouses looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the tiny spots of humanity below.

No one — not the tower's real-estate agents, developer, builders or even city staffers in the know — will divulge specifics about who is moving in and what they're doing to their pricey new pads.

But some of them will give you dish on Bellevue's new downtown digs: Penthouse buyers who spent $4 million on a bare shell, then another $2 million on interiors. The woman whose cabinetry budget alone is $450,000. The owners who purchased one unit for themselves — and an adjacent one for household staff.

"If there was ever any doubt that there's some wealth in this community, let there be no doubt," said Freeman at a recent Bellevue Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

At home on a tugboat

2005-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a uniquely Seattle real estate listing:

"Consider living on a tugboat! This classic 1939 wooden tugboat was originally built in Ballard, worked the waters of the Columbia River and the Alaskan Coast for years, and is now gently retired, but still functional. I've been living on her for 5 years and am now selling her. The renovations I put in have made her very comfortable as a home, while preserving the essential tugboat qualities that make her unique."

See the full classified on craigslist.

Former Ballard library for sale

2005-07-01T23:38:00.000-07:00

Your own private library? The city of Seattle is offering the former Ballard branch library for sale, plus a nearby parcel: "The 20,000-square-foot old Ballard Branch property includes a one-story building with 7,819 square feet on the main level and 900 square feet in an unfinished basement. The 12,000-square-foot parcel was acquired as part of the land acquisition for the new library, and is surplus to the library’s needs."

The notice doesn't name an asking price.

Related coverage: Puget Sound Business Journal.

Office space in demand

2005-07-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Cushman and Wakefield has released its quarterly numbers for the Puget Sound region's commercial real estate market, showing growing demand for industrial and office space in the area. It's a positive sign for the regional economy in general. See reports from the Seattle Times and the Seattle P-I.

Home Tracker: 2507 27th Ave. W.

2005-06-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Editor's Note: This regular feature will examine the numbers behind homes on the market or recently sold in the Seattle area, selected at random, providing a snapshot of the regional real estate market through individual properties.

Address: 2507 27th Ave. W.
Neighborhood: Magnolia
Recent sale price: $849,950, June 2005
Previous sale price $739,000, July 2003
Appraised value: $696,000 (2004)
Home size: Three bedroom, four bath, two stories, 2546 square feet
Lot size: .09 acres
Price per square foot: 2003: $290.26; 2005: $333.84
Renovation details: 2002: CONSTRUCT 2ND FLOOR & 1ST FLOOR DECK, ALTER 1ST FLOOR AND REPAIR SOUTHEAST CORNER FOUNDATION TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE. ... COMPLETE REWIRE; BASEMENT REMODEL. (Via Seattle DPD.)
Related documents: Transaction records; Property report, and Satellite Map.

Notes: Judging from the available data, this property is a case study in the dual effect of the rising housing market and timely renovations. The market price more than tripled between 1997 and 2005, after a 2002 renovation.

Eastside corporate moves

2005-06-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

Two companies based on the Eastside are separately moving to new quarters, both as a result of corporate acquisitions. The King County Journal reports that Symetra Financial, formerly a unit of Safeco Corp., has begun its shift from the insurance company's Redmond campus to newly leased space in downtown Bellevue. And the Seattle P-I reports that the Attachmate part of the newly merged AttachmateWRQ will move from Bellevue to WRQ's headquarters on Seattle's Lake Union.

Tukwila apartment complex sold

2005-06-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

Puget Sound Business Journal: Tukwila apartment complex fetches $9.1M: "Security Properties Inc. has purchased the West Colonial Village Apartments in Tukwila for $9.1 million, or $75,883 per unit. Seattle-based Security Properties said it plans to merge the 120-unit West Colonial with the adjacent Southwicke Apartments, a 72-unit complex it purchased earlier this month for $5.2 million."

Seattle: Clean or dirty?

2005-06-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Seattle stands in the middle of the pack -- 27th, to be precise -- in this Reader's Digest report that ranks the nation's 50 largest metro areas from cleanest to dirtiest. The report, which took into account such factors as air, water and santitation, found Portland the cleanest. (Link via the Real Estate Blog.)

Downtown condos in demand

2005-06-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

Seattle's new Cristalla condominium tower, near Belltown's southern end, is nearly sold out, with the Web site noting that the only unit remaining is a penthouse, at an offering price around $2.6 million. But already there are a number of Cristalla condo owners offering their units for rent. The situation illustrates a strong market for condos in the area around downtown. See this Seattle Times story from earlier this monh for more on the broader subject. (Pictured: View inside one Cristalla unit from this craigslist posting.)

Mortgage rates staying low

2005-06-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

The New York Times explores the "perplexing" -- and persistent -- decline in long-term interest rates, and the effect on the real estate market:

On Thursday, the Fed is all but certain to raise the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks by another quarter point, to 3.25 percent. That would be the ninth increase in the last year, and the central bank is expected to signal that it will continue to raise overnight rates at a "measured" pace.

But the real debate at the meeting is expected to be about the unexpected decline of long-term interest rates, which have kept mortgage rates at their lowest level in decades and fueled what many analysts fear is a bubble in housing prices.

Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said in February that the low long-term rates were a "conundrum" but might simply be a "short-term aberration."

But Mr. Greenspan and other senior officials are now suggesting that the change is more enduring. The debate is over why the change has occurred, and different theories lead to sharply disparate conclusions about the best way to respond.

"My sense is that people think this could be the new reality, that this could be fundamental, that it could be long-lasting," said Laurence H. Meyer, a former Fed governor and now vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting firm.

Hunting for the perfect house

2005-06-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Does this qualify as some kind of world record? The Seattle P-I tells the story of a prospective home buyer who has visited more than 100 homes ... and is still looking.

Inside the building boom

2005-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

This Associated Press story describes the effect of the home construction boom on companies such as Lanz Cabinets of Eugene, Ore. Note especially this paragraph: "Lanz plans to add a third shift this year to help absorb the demand for custom-built kitchen and bathroom cabinets for new single-family homes, apartment buildings and condominiums. Much of the new construction is in Northern California, Portland and Seattle."

Behind the Harbor Steps sale

2005-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

The "Inside the Deal" feature in this week's Puget Sound Business Journal tells the story behind the pending sale of the big Harbor Steps residential towers on the downtown Seattle waterfront. Additional background: Seattle Times, Seattle P-I.

Seattle housing bubble? Maybe not

2005-06-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Seattle P-I's Insider column (third item) relates one executive's experience with the Seattle housing market:

Everywhere you turn it seems there's another story about the housing bubble. But Seattle still looks like a bargain to some, especially those who are moving here from places like New York and San Francisco. That was the case for Vertafore Chief Executive Euan Menzies -- who recently announced plans to move the headquarters of his Windsor, Conn., software company to Bothell. Menzies, who bought a $1.9 million home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood last month, said his dollar stretched a lot further in Seattle.

When to sell your home?

2005-06-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

This column in Sunday's Seattle Times outlines the factors to take into consideration in deciding when to sell a home.

Deal of the week: Ballard housing

2005-06-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Deal: A development partnership buys the former Wilson Ford showroom and lot in Ballard.
Price: $5.25 million
Seller: Jefferson at Ballard LP
Buyer: Ballard Landmark Inn LLC
Address: 5433 Leary Ave. NW

Background: The purchasing group has said it plans a $30 million senior housing project on the site. See this Puget Sound Business article from February and this item from January for more on the plans. It's not the only residential project planned in the immediate vicinity. See this city planning document for more on the building slated for the next block over.

Documents:Warranty deed, property report, satellite map.

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

South Lake Union streetcar roundup

2005-06-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Seattle City Council on Monday is slated to consider Mayor Greg Nickels' plan to build a South Lake Union streetcar. The proposal is considered key to efforts by Paul Allen and others to develop new housing, commercial and biotech space in the Seattle neighborhood. A roundup of related coverage, commentary and information:

Seattle city government's South Lake Union streetcar page.
Online audio: Streetcar on KUOW's Conversation
Seattle Times guest column: A holistic vision for Seattle's streetcars
The Stranger, Josh Feit: "Critics are likely correct. Nickels is servicing Paul Allen's neighborhood at the expense of the rest of the city. Exhibit A: Nickels's plan includes a $50 million streetcar for South Lake Union. To help pay for the streetcar, Nickels wants to effectively transfer money away from citywide bus service and dedicate funds to the South Lake Union trolley."
Seattle P-I: Allen's streetcar desire takes shape
Times: Streetcar gets OK by council committee
P-I editorial: Streetcar: Skeptics made it better

Deal of the Week: Bellevue Doubletree

2005-06-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

Deal: Dow Hotel Co. acquires Doubletree Hotel in Bellevue
Price: $48.5 million
Seller: Doubletree DTWC Corp.
Buyer: PD Bellevue Associates LLC
Address: 300 112th Ave. Southeast

Related news coverage: Puget Sound Business Journal: Dow Hotel buys Doubletree Bellevue for $48.5M: "The Dow Hotel Co. has acquired the Doubletree Hotel Bellevue from Hilton Hotels Corp. in a joint venture with unnamed investors for $48.5 million. Seattle-based Dow plans an extensive renovation before rebranding the 353-room Doubletree as a Hilton hotel."
News release: "Dow Hotel Company Purchases 353-Room Doubletree Bellevue Hotel from Hilton Hotels Corporation"

Documents: Property report.

Map source: King County Parcel Viewer

Renovating Officespace.com

2005-06-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Times reports on Seattle-based Officespace.com's revamped Web site: "The new search engine lets Internet visitors zoom in on a city or a neighborhood where they might want to locate a business and see what sort of space is available. Using the map, they can do a virtual walk around a block, pulling up information about each building."

About This Site

2005-06-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

I'm not a real estate professional, just a Seattle resident who enjoys tracking the world around me, in a literal sense, by watching real estate trends and discovering the stories behind different properties around the region. I started this site for myself, as an open notebook of the information I find interesting. I hope you find it useful, as well.

tomdozier@gmail.com