Lake Union Homes

Prices of Seattle home sales rose in April for the first time in a year.  From March to April, real estate prices rose just 0.23 percent in the greater Seattle metropolitan area.  The increase is miniscule, but it halts a trend of losses and is likely due to the seasonal uptick of spring and summer home [...]

We’ve had a large number of Canadian buyers in the Seattle area over the past couple of years.  Many of our Canadian clients come down from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, to buy second homes and investment properties in the Puget Sound region.  According to the National Association of REALTORS, this phenomenon has carried across the [...]

The number of bank-owned waterfront condos in Seattle and King County is surprisingly low, keeping in line with the scarce waterfront single-family homes in foreclosure.  As of today, there are only two condos in the entire county that are listed as bank-owned waterfront, and just one of those is actually sitting on the waterfront line.
The first condo is [...]

Waterfront home owners, on average, have more equity in their homes than other home owners, and their homes hold their value better.  That hasn’t stopped some waterfront homes in the Seattle area from going on the auction block, and reverting back to being bank-owned.
To be honest, the number of foreclosures on waterfront homes in the Seattle metro is [...]

Bringing more data to the public is in the best interest of real estate professionals.  I don’t buy the old mindset that we, in the real estate community, are the gatekeepers to home information.  Our job is to provide service and to be educated and experienced in real estate contracts, real estate law, and transactions.  Witholding data about [...]

Water views are some of the most difficult factors to value when pricing a home.  There are so many contributing attributes to a water view’s value, it’s hard to know where to start.  Everything from the body of water, direction, angle of view, fullness of view, proximity to water, obstructions, reflection, which rooms have view/which don’t, [...]

Freddie Mac has released some improvements to the Relief Refinance Mortgage terms.  This program is part of the Making Home Affordable plan from the federal government which was intended to help struggling home owners to refinance their mortgage to lower interest rates.
FHMC (Freddie Mac/Federal Home Mortgage Corporation), will allow home owners with a mortgage that [...]

Jumping into the Seattle real estate world can be daunting for a first-time home buyer.  You’ve never owned a home before, and now you’re supposed to learn about mortgages, down payments, credit scores, contracts, title, escrow, inspections, foreclosures, and many other topics all at once.

A great way to start is by attending a first-time home [...]

Forbes.com has ranked the top 10 cities in the U.S. poised for a quick economic recovery.  These rankings were based on employment data, housing data, and industry trends like technology advances.  The top 10 metropolitan areas were:
Austin-Roundrock, Texas
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.
Boulder, Colo.
Huntsville, Ala.
San Antonio, Texas
Mobile, Ala.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
Seattle’s economy was specifically highlighted for its emphasis on techonology [...]

Buying a foreclosure is already a more complicated transaction than most consumers realize.  As new regulations come into place, another hurdle is being added for investors attempting to gain occupancy of the home.
Effective immediately, federal law mandates that any residential tenant who resides in a property that is secured by a federally-related mortgage can retain [...]