Seattle Real Estate Market

For those of you watching the Seattle real estate market, the increase in home prices is not a surprise. It's been in the news for many months and now has made notable headlines by being nearly double in increase of the next closet contender. Seattle is at +13.5% and Portland at +7.6% What are your thoughts? Is this good news or difficult news? I suppose it depends on if you're selling or buying a home or even just watching the property tax bill go up.  Let me know what you think.

If you want current information on what your home may be worth give me a call or get in touch. I'd love to have a conversation with you.

Home Tips, Selling and Buying

I just read an article that got me thinking about selling and buying. Now I think about these things each and every day as I'm actively helping buyers and sellers but this article made a couple of different observations.

One was that if you're thinking about buying home near the water, consider the recent natural disasters on the east coast and the south coast. FEMA flood map changes are aggressively expanding the flood zones, forcing owners to buy flood insurance for the first time and forcing others to pay thousands more annually. Some insurers are also imposing coverage caps so you might not recover as well as you thought.

Another thought for people selling homes in the future is to do an exterior photo shoot on your home this fall. You'll be able to show fall colors, flowers and things will look better than during the winter months if you take marketing photos now.

Also, remember that curb appeal can increase prices by 10% or more.  A few new plants, or native plantings can add that curb appeal easily and little expense.