We took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island yesterday. First thing we did was walk along the beach and got this picture of the ferry returning to Seattle With Mt Rainier in the distance. Yesterday may have been the best, last, nice day for the northwest this year. We cherish days like this.

Later, just before we returned to catch the ferry home the sky lit up just so.

DON'T BUY anything today, until you've seen this Ballard Open House. I could go on and on about the features and the location and that it is the best value under $450,000 in all of north Seattle, but no one ever bought a house because of an eating nook or French doors, or a fenced backyard. No one ever turned down a house because the master bedroom was in the basement.

People don't buy houses because they don't feel like home...to them. Come by my Ballard Open House today and sit a spell. See if this house doesn't feel just like home to you. Here are the picures and the facts, but they don't tell the whole story.

BALLARD OPEN HOUSE 1:00-4:00 TODAY 9/26/2010

MLS #130977

Ravenna Homes for Sale: Market Report

There are currently 38 single family homes for sale in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. There are 7 homes now under contract with an astonishing average listing price of $579,000. The average market time for these 7 homes is less than 30 days. There seems to be a renaissance in the move up market in this area. I mentioned my findings to my broker yesterday and he said that he is seeing fast sales on well-prepared, well-priced properties in the $600-900K range all across north Seattle.

There have been 5 properties in Ravenna which have closed since September 1st, and the highest of these was for $500,000. Three of the closed properties sold for less than $400,000.

I have a client who is going to be selling a home in a Seattle suburb  for about a $300,000 loss in perceived value. He wants to buy in Seattle and hopes to find a property taking a similar loss. Hopefully we can find something soon as this current trend may push into the higher end as well.

Seattle has seen excellent job growth and the potential for more recently. Facebook is opening a Seattle office. A new biotech firm is moving to South Lake Union. Paul Allen has many of his properties in SLU under construction with leases or sales negotiated with other companies expanding here. All of that bodes well for the near north neighborhoods or Bryant, Ravenna, Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Fremont and Ballard.

If you are interested in purchasing a home in Ravenna or any of the north Seattle neighborhoods, let's talk.

Many properties in Ballard go pending in September

  

This home will be held open Sunday, 9/26/2010 from 1:00-4:00. If you are looking to for a home in beautiful Ballard, please stop by and say hello. I'll be happy to see you. 

The Fall Season of Change: Getting to the Top, A Fall Season Contest

As any mountain hiker knows, the path to the top is not always a journey upward. Not all mountains are made with Mt Fuji as a pattern. I moved west twenty five years ago and in that first year was drawn to the Cascades in a way similar to the way the  flat "Lakes" area of Minnesota had held my attention for most of my life. The change brought about by moving west held challenges as well as pleasures. Each year's journey has provided me with many ups and downs.

The real estate market for the past 4 years has challenged everyone. Home values have decreased, the number of sales has fallen, and many people employed by the industry have left, hopefully to find employment in other lines of work.

One of the best mountain hikes I have ever enjoyed was a day hike with four friends to Three Fingers Lookout in the north Cascades. The trail had plenty of ups and downs. We'd planned our route, balanced our packs, and adjusted to the varying terrain as we came to it. And we were rewarded with a perfect day and fabulous views.

THREE FINGERS LOOKOUT HIKE PROFILE
15.8 MILES  5000 FEET OF ELEVATION GAIN  12 HOURS ROUND TRIP

With the rapid and continuing development of electronic media, with the incredible collapse of the economy and the housing market the challenge for Realtors® is to learn, to adjust, to adapt, and to persist. While keeping up with technology is relatively easy for those under thirty, it is possible for the older generations to grasp what is need to be current in this market.  Being aware and accepting the new conditions in the market is paramount to the Realtors® success.

After 25 years in the business I was starting to think that I knew it all. So, for me, change means to make a conscious effort to learn something new everyday, and apply it for the benefit of my clients. And to enjoy the ever changing journey one step at a time.

This is one of Seattle's best locations for economical living. Walk Score is 86 and biking is friendly. This 1941 three bedroom two bath home will be open Sunday 9/19/10 from 1:00-4:00. Stop by for a visit if you're in the neighborhood.

NWMLS # 130977

The living room has a unique and beautiful tile fireplace plus the usual hardwood floors and coved ceiling.

The remodeled kitchen has a ceramic tile floor and  eating bar that overlooks the nicely planted front yard.

There are two bedrooms on the main floor with hardwood floors. One of them has French doors leading to the back deck and yard.

The young man I sold this home to eight years ago got married a while back and his wife insisted that they remodel the basement. What an exquisite job. Besides the cosmetics, they've upgraded the mechanical systems as well.

Stop by and see me. Inventory is good and interest rates are low. Is now the time for you to move into a home of your own?

Ballard Roadside Raingardens

The Federal Recovery Act has provided funds and Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood, has received them with a goal of naturally pre-treating yard run-off from roofs and driveways by filtering it through densely vegetated rain gardens. This will keep keep many pollutants out of the ship canal waterway and Puget Sound.

At present the areas between NW 65th Street and NW 80th Street and from 28th Avenue to 31st Avenue are a part of the project. These are relatively wide streets. Twenty-eighth Avenue used to have a trolley running from the Ballard center out to Golden Gardens Park.

At present, construction is underway. From the city's website "The rain gardens are designed with soils and densely planted vegetation to infiltrate and filter storm water flowing from the roadway, while providing attractive landscaping. Rain gardens will be located within existing planting strips, and in some cases may extend slightly into roadways, providing a secondary benefit of traffic calming."

Not only will these rain gardens help with storm water control, they will slow down traffic through the residential streets and improve the standard of living in the neighborhoods.

Read more about rain gardens and about the city project. Let me know if you have any questions. Perhaps you'd like to live in an area such as this. I can help you with that too.

New Ballard Listing: Charming 1941 2+ bedroom home priced at $440,000.

The owner bought this home 8 years ago as a single man. Since then he's married, remodeled parts of the home (with her influence) and it is now time for them to move on.

Enter the living room and enjoy the fireplace with period tile work, and hardwood floors. The kitchen has been redone and includes a breakfast bar.

One of the two bedrooms in this new Ballard listing has French doors leading to the back patio and fenced yard.

The downstairs is fully finished including a new gas furnace and tankless water heater, a new tiled three-quarter bath and a large room adaptable to any purpose.

Let me know when you'd like to see this Ballard home. It's available now and will be open on Sunday, Sept. 19th from 1:00-4:00 PM.

Photograpy by Josh Phoenix of HD Estates.

We recently spent 9 days in Glacier National Park and encountered several of the wild animals one hopes to see on a vacation such as this. Alphabetically we saw bears four times; once from a boat and twice across lakes. The one pictured below ambled past us about 100 feet off trail while we were sitting on a log enjoying a snack.

The Bison were easy to see as before entering the park we took a drive through the National Bison Range a few miles to the south.

These geese seemed to be teaching the young ones how to fly in formation.

Mergansers had time for nothing but play.

The moose is the largest land animal in America. The bull was behind the island and wouldn't come out for a picture, and I wasn't fast enough with the camera when we arrived at this lake.

Mountain Goats can put all four feet on a ledge no bigger than a paper back book.

This young mule deer was following a hiker down the trail from Sperry Chalet.

This pronghorn wasn't the least bit concerned by our presence.

We also saw 4 Big Horn Sheep about 15 feet from the road at Logan Pass. But the road construction had us in a stream of cars with no time or place to stop.

For some reason, I had a difficult time getting any of the wildlife to pose for me and mostly I got butt shots, which is the preferred side of a close-by bear sighting, for sure.