Eastside Bubble

New Luxury Apartment Community in Woodinville Announces an Evening of Wine & Food Tasting!

In celebration of spring’s arrival and the wonderful bounty of new spring release wines produced in Woodinville, Beaumont will host a special complimentary wine tasting party on Thursday, March 26th from 6:00-8:00pm.

Bellevue Loan Officer Sentenced to 7 Years for Mortgage Fraud

Bellevue loan officer Christopher Brooks, whose own attorney said he could be a “poster child” for the nation’s mortgage mess, was sentenced Friday to seven years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million in restitution for running what prosecutors say was one of the largest home-mortgage-fraud cases brought so far in Western [...]

Bellevue City Council Picks Preferred Light Rail Route

After nearly two years of effort, including a unique best practices project, the City Council Monday selected a preferred light rail route through Bellevue, part of a regional transit system expected to serve Puget Sound for the next century.

Bellevue Towers - A “Shot in the Arm” for Bellevue

Last Thursday evening, Bellevue Towers hosted their Grand Opening celebration for current and future buyers - and what a celebration it was! Since the completion of many of the actual homes along with the gracious and impressive common areas, the buzz has been growing steadily louder about what an amazing project Bellevue Towers has become.
Despite [...]

Economic Stimulus Projects in Washington

Below is  a link to the “shovel-ready” projects the mayors of Washington State submitted in the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report. You can click on a project to read (and add to) its description. You can also discuss the project and vote on whether you believe it is critical or not. For a more [...]

Realtors: Do Not Install Internet Explorer 8!

The latest test version of Internet Explorer 8, IE 8, is now available from Microsoft. This version is not compatible with Locator. All of NWMLS’s applications will be compatible with the final version due later in 2009. IE 7 is the only compatible browser for NWMLS’s applications, so Until NWMLS announces compatibility with IE8 please [...]

Storm Causes Challenges for Renton as New Solid Waste Service is Rolled Out

Renton residential customers are encouraged to call Waste Management at 1-800-592-9995 and watch for a notice in their mailbox.
December’s perfect storm of rain, wind and snow created challenges for Waste Management, the company that provides Renton area residents with solid waste collection services. As the company delivered over 34,000 carts to Renton customers, the [...]

SR 522 Improvement Project Update

The look of the SR 522 corridor is changing, and there are several major construction activities taking place in the next few months. Below is a list of work that is planned for this winter.
Planning for SR 522 Paving
Early in 2009 crews will complete substantial paving on SR 522 in the vicinity of 68th Ave. [...]

Lennox Scott Says: It’s Time To Make Your Move!

With the news that interest rates on a 30-year fixed *conforming loan have dropped below 5%, J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate, feels compelled to alert consumers to the fact that now is an opportune time for them to make their move on a home purchase or refinance.
“Even with [...]

Creative Thinking to Make Deals

In today’s market, clients and real estate agents must be creative.  To bring the parties together and reach mutual acceptance, the parties must think outside the box.
In the strong sellers’ market of 2005-6, financing the transactions was relatively simple:  the buyer got a loan or paid cash.  In that strong sellers’ market with low inventory [...]

High schools named top in country by U.S. News & World Report

Bellevue, International School and Newport were named “gold medal schools” by U.S. News & World Report on the basis of AP/IB tests, WASL scores and “equity and excellence” scores.  Interlake was a “silver medalist.”  Gold medal schools are in the top 100 in the U.S.  Washington State has 4 gold medal and 12 silver medal [...]

City of Woodinville Bond Increased

City’s Bond Rating is Increased:  Standard and Poor’s (S & P’s), a leader in global credit ratings and credit risk analysis, recently raised the bond credit rating for the City of Woodinville’s debt from AA- to AA+.  A bond credit rating reflects the financial strength of an entity and its ability to re-pay debt on [...]

I Love my Job… But Sometimes I Hate My Industry

Don’t get me wrong: I love my job. I love helping people find their dream home, even (especially!) when it takes a lot of searching to get there. I love, love, LOVE marketing homes. And to top it all off, I get to constantly meet new and interesting people and be involved in a very important, very exciting time in their lives. It’s a pretty cool gig, I shouldn’t complain.

Trends in Luxury Home Improvement

Even though the current housing market in general is experiencing a readjustment, the luxury home market is still moving. Many owners of high end properties see their homes as long term investments as well as a great place to live, and they are putting their money into improvements. Harvard University’s Housing Studies Center estimated that $160 billion was spent on home improvements last year, and much of that went for the latest in luxury upgrades.

What Headquarters Can Provide to Franchised Real Estate Offices

Several real estate companies in our State operate with “franchisees.” There is a main service company and then there are the independently owned offices. The individual offices carry the common brand and find advantage in the advertising and reputation that the mother company generates for that brand. Other than brand, there are other services the mother company can and does provide: e.g., education, bridge loan programs, web sites, marketing, a common charitable foundation.

Federal Reserve announces it will initiate a program to purchase the direct obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises and mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae

The Federal Reserve announced on Tuesday that it will initiate a program to purchase the direct obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)–Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks–and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. Spreads of rates on GSE debt and on GSE-guaranteed mortgages have widened appreciably of late.

Selling Your Home for the Holidays

If you want to sell (or buy) a home, conventional wisdom dictates that you should wait until the holiday season is over. It’s generally assumed that people are too busy shopping for gifts and won’t shop for real estate. However, while home sales usually slow down between November and January, they certainly do not stop!

Forbes Names Seattle Real Estate Market Most Likely to Rebound

Here is some good news for our Seattle Real Estate Market. Forbes.com listed Seattle the best city to invest in real estate.

NWMLS Report - Waiting for a Sign

The Norwest Multiple Listing Service issued its report on November 6, 2008, giving the state of the market.  Here’s a summary.

Sales off. October’s pending sales fell more than 27 percent from the same month a year ago, and dropped nearly 26 percent from September. All counties reported double-digit drops.
Buyers in stays. A unique and historic [...]

King County Median Home Price - Now Under $400k

Housing activity for Northwest Multiple Listing Service members was disappointing last month, but not surprising, according to one industry executive. He and other representatives of the Northwest’s largest MLS believe the situation is improving.