Lake Union Homes

Seattle foreclosures have been rising steadily for the past couple of years, but a new article from CNN Money puts the total numbers in perspective.  While Seattle got hit with the real estate downturn much later than most cities, our foreclosures have been increasing while other cities have been slowing.   This hasn’t affected the waterfront [...]

Seattle Floating Homes and Seattle Houseboats – Part 4 – Financing
Let’s reiterate again – Houseboats and Floating Homes are different.  Financing is one of the biggest differences.  Floating homes can be financed with regular 30 yr mortgages, traditional interest rates, and pay regular property taxes.  Insurance is a bit more expensive than a traditional home.
Financing a [...]

Seattle Floating Homes and Seattle Houseboats – Part 2 – Types of Homes
The term “houseboat” is used widely, and it is applied to many different types of residences.  You’ll find floating homes, house barges, and even sailboat vessels with bunks being called houseboats, and there’s a different usage of the term in different locales.  Here are [...]

This is an interesting article by Diana Forman with the Floating Homes Association.  The Shoreline Master Program (SMP) consists of regulations for the use of waterways in the Seattle area.  There is a committee that consists of land owners, businesses, developers, and recreation groups that all have a stake in the management of the floating [...]

Residents of Seattle’s Lake Union neighborhoods, especially those living near the waterfront, should take note of the proposed community center planned for the north shore of the lake near Gasworks Park in Wallingford.  In my opinion, this is a much-needed improvement for such a beautiful area with so little community development.  The Lake Union waterfront [...]

The jumbo mortgate market has been rough for more than a year.  Interest rates on larger mortgages have remained very high, as banks are reluctant to make large investments in individual borrowers.  This has caused a real lag in sales of luxury homes and waterfront homes on Lake Union.
There may finally be some relief on [...]

Here are last month’s Seattle waterfront homes sold in the greater Seattle area:
On the North end of Medina, a 4 bed, 4.25 bath home was sold for around $3.3 million.  Listed at nearly $4 million, this was a big discount for the buyer.  The home is on almost half an acre, which is somewhat deceiving [...]