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WW Stats – Up +10.5% – Median Price!
My office, Windermere Wedgwood, publishes statistics for the transactions that we represent each month.
These statistics dive deeper than the basic info you get from online sources.
The pack below shows transaction details like type of financing, cash offers, # of offers and the one I find most interesting this month, median sold price.
The median sold price for the 16 transactions completed by my office in December 2018 was $839k vs. $759k from Dec. 2017 or +10.5%
Even with the Seattle Times headlines about Seattle’s rapid decrease in prices, the numbers don’t lie, +10% vs last year!
https://1drv.ms/b/s!AlaUpVIy4kt9ge4Fxw5kVih5A4RrJA
Increased Loan Limits mean Increased Buying Power
Has your lender told you about the upcoming changes for conforming loans in 2019?
Make sure you’re working with a knowledgeable lender that keeps you informed on the latest and the greatest.
Thank you Matt for always keeping me up to date.
New conforming loan limits for King/Pierce/Snohomish county – all the way up to $726,525.
Gives you more purchasing power and reach.
A $725,000 home purchase will now qualify for a conforming loan with as little as 5% down payment of $36,250.
You’ll be able to afford more home and still be competitive in the changing Seattle area market!
It’s Seasonal, really, plus a few other things…
It’s seasonal, really, we’re going through a slow down in the Seattle market but it’s also seasonal.
What you want to pay attention to in the attached eye chart of a graph is the bottom graph and how every winter (December) for the last 10 years, we see a dramatic slow down in sales.
So yes, the rate of appreciation has slowed in the Seattle area since May 2018.
But, we also see a slow down in transactional sales every winter.
Put them together and it seems more dramatic and remember we had quite a run up of prices over the last 5 years.
Where’s Robert…Neighborhood Series – Capitol Hill story
Home buyers need to hurry, here’s why – in Seattle –
My list for what’s driving the Seattle housing market:
* Mortgage Rates will climb when Fed raises prime rate early 2019.
* Amazon announces HQ2 location(s), will Amazonians move? Not likely, Seattle is still one of the most desirable cities in US for tech workers.
* Facebook just announced, increasing office space in Bellevue + S. Lake Union.
* We have 34 Fortune 500 companies in Seattle, was only 7 in 2010!
* Seattle will still be hiring moving into 2019. We’re more than just Amazon.
* Home Prices will continue to increase at new slower rate but Still Increasing.
Because of all of these reasons, I think the Seattle housing market will continue to grow and appreciate.
So, waiting for prices to drop is a long shot and the wild card of increasing Interest Rates will lower buyer’s purchasing power next Spring.
We know where we are now, the future is a gamble with so many variables.
This is why buyer’s should purchase this winter in Seattle.
RBJ.
Seattle’s Rental Cost #3 in nation…
Seattle still at the top for Rental cost, #3.
We’ve had a big runup for Rents over the last few years because of a lot of population growth and a shortage of rental units.
While Seattle is the 3rd most expensive city in the US to rent, median is now $2600/month, our rents are not increasing as quickly anymore.
This is good intel to have for investors and potential buyers waiting on the sidelines to buy in Seattle.
Most economist point to all of the building cranes around Seattle that are flooding the market with new rentals.
This is true but these new rentals are coming on in the upper end of the market so there is and will still be a shortage in Seattle of affordable rentals.
As with our housing prices, things are still rising just not as much as the last few years.
This fact along with the uncertainty of interest rates rising as well, this winter could be the best time to get into the Seattle real estate market.
If you’re waiting for prices to actually decline, for renting or purchasing, it doesn’t look like that will be happening in 2019.
But the slowdown in price appreciation this summer and fall has created a good opportunity to enter the hot Seattle market during a “pause” in the frenzy.
Goto SeattlePI for the complete list/story.
Where’s Robert…Neighborhood Series – Perfect Seattle Day
My neighborhood series today starts with an idea I heard about years ago:
What would you do in your city, as part of your perfect day?
So my perfect day, or morning as I did it today, included coffee in my favorite neighborhood spot, Zoka, while reading an actual newspaper.
A haircut at a new neighborhood barber, Steele Barber and then a trip downtown for a shoe shine; it’s getting harder to find a shoe shine in Seattle. Nordstrom is one of the few places left with a stand?
And then an early lunch at one of my favorite spots in the South End of Lake Union, Re:public.
South Lake Union , SLU, has gone through a complete transformation and is now the hub not only for tech and biotech but also many of Seattle’s best restaurants and cocktail bars.
So many Seattle neighborhoods have great restaurants and not to diminish any of these but SLU is attracting some of the cities most talented chefs. From established spots like Wild Ginger, Serious Pie, Flying Fish and Cactus to new places on the rise like Revel, LOCAL and Henry’s Tavern.
The walkable vibe of this neighborhood with its connection to downtown Seattle on the South Lake Union Trolley (come up with your own acronym) is opening up the area to so many people. And the trolley will eventually link to the Capitol Hill trolley for more regional public transportation.
Click on the map for homes for sale in South Lake Union + Eastlake. Townhouses and condos dominate this area but there are some great old Seattle homes with amazing views of Lake Union scattered around the lake as well.
Hope you can make it out here soon for your Perfect Seattle Day!
South Lake Union + Eastlake Neighborhoods
Farro w/seasonal veggies at re:public
Home Inspections – What to know
As your realtor for life, my job is to inform, educate and protect my clients during the buying or selling process.
One of the most confusing times for a buyer is what to do with the avalanche of information from a Home Inspection.
The group of articles below from the NAR, Nat’l Assn. of Realtors, is a good resource to help you follow along as we go through the inspection together after walking through the prospective home with the inspector.
The walk-through step is important and often skipped in a hot market where buyers are waiving the home inspection or accepting a home inspection report that was procured by the seller.
By procuring your own inspection, the buyer gets to walk through the home and ask questions of the inspector as they’re preparing their report; very valuable.
Home Inspection – What to know
Work with a friend.
Where’s Robert…Neighborhood Series – Phinney Ridge
My latest neighborhood series – Phinney Ridge in North Seattle just west of Greenlake.
Get the scoop on this super popular Seattle neighborhood in my video and in person.
I’ll be hosting an Open just off Phinney Ridge (Greenwood Ave) this Saturday from 11-2pm.
https://robertbjohnson.com/listing/87675551
Neighborhood Series – Phinney Ridge from Robert Johnson on Vimeo.
On tour in Phinney Ridge by Greenlake in Seattle.
Open House, Saturday, 10-20-18, 11-2p.
326 N 78th St.
Thank you Amy Hyden, Windermere Mt. Baker, (listing agent) for the great Phinney Ridge video below!
326 N 78th St, Seattle. from Amy Hyden on Vimeo.
Where’s Robert…Neighborhood Series – Bryant
This weekend I’ll be in the Bryant neighborhood in NE Seattle. 
This quiet destination neighborhood is just northeast of the UW campus with easy access to so many great things – Link station @ UW, Children’s Hospital, University Village shops & restaurants, I-5 + Downtown Seattle.
Boasting some of the best schools in the city, Bryant is a top destination for anyone looking for a peaceful, vibrant and connected neighborhood.
I have to claim bias because I live in NE Seattle too, View Ridge, having moved here just before I married my wife in 2006.
We love the convenience to downtown Seattle but feel we have everything we need right here in the NE.
Our girls love hitting a UW Tennis match or a UW Women’s Softball game; all only minutes from our home.
Go Dawg’s!!!
To hear more about this incredible neighborhood and to see how our real estate market is doing, come see me this Sunday 3-5pm at this great Bryant craftsman.
Cheers, RBJ. – Work with a Friend.
https://robertbjohnson.com/listing/86309998
