Local Market Update – March 2018
The local real estate market set new home price records in many parts of the region in February. Prices here have grown faster than anywhere else in the country for the last 16 months in a row. Demand remains high and inventory very low. Brokers are hoping the normal seasonal increase in listings this spring will help give buyers some relief.
Eastside
With home prices soaring on the Eastside, it’s not a matter of whether the median price will exceed a million dollar, but when. February brought the market very close to that milestone. The median price of a single-family home increased 14 percent to a record $950,000 on the Eastside, surpassing the previous peak recorded in December.
King County
The red-hot job market in King County continues to outpace nearly every area in the nation. Well-paid workers looking to buy close to city centers have fueled a growing competition for a shrinking number of homes. That demand boosted the median price of a single-family home up 16 percent over a year ago to $649,950.
Seattle
The median price of a single-family home in Seattle hit a new high of $777,000 in February, $20,000 more than the previous record set in January and up 14 percent from the same time last year. Despite the sharp increase in prices, multiple offers have become the norm for most properties. It remains to be seen if recent interest rate hikes will have a moderating effect on home values.
Snohomish County
After several months of moderating growth, Snohomish County set a new record for home prices in February. The median price of a single-family homes jumped 18 percent to an all-time high of $485,000. Inventory is down from a year ago, with less than a month’s supply of homes available for sale.
If you are considering buying a home in today’s market, here are three things to consider:
- Make sure you can afford the payments.
- Choose a location that will appeal to you long-term.
- Be committed to living there for a minimum of five to seven years.
This post originally appeared on the WindermereEastside.com blog.
Windermere’s Winter Drive Collects over 3,000 Items for Homeless Youth
As part of Windermere’s #tacklehomelessness campaign with the Seattle Seahawks, 37 Windermere offices* in King and Snohomish Counties collected new hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, and warm socks for Windermere’s “We’ve Got You Covered” winter drive. The recipient of these donations was YouthCare, a Seattle-based non-profit that provides critical services and support to homeless youth throughout the Puget Sound area.
Over 3,000 items were collected during the four-week drive, which included some 737 pairs of socks, 391 hats, 467 pairs of gloves/mittens, 111 scarves, and an assortment of other accessories and cash donations. Two agents out of the Mill Creek, WA office even made 32 scarves by hand for the Winter Drive. We are thankful for these generous donations which will go a long way towards helping keep homeless youth warmer this winter season.
The folks at YouthCare were all very thankful to receive the delivery of eight bins full of donated items. And to make the day even more exciting, Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, was on site to oversee the delivery of the items to YouthCare!
Brittny Nielsen, Communications and New Media Specialist said, “We were thrilled to see our friends from Windermere and Gentle Giant dropping off a semi-truck full of donations for homeless youth this season. Having Blitz from the Seahawks show up to help us celebrate was icing on the cake! This crucial donation from Windermere brightens the holidays for youth in need. We’re so grateful!”
All of us at Windermere are very grateful to Gentle Giant Moving Company, who partnered with us on this drive, and generously donated their time and trucks to pick up all of the donated items from our offices and deliver them to YouthCare.
Thank you to our participating offices, the Seahawks, and all those who donated, for making Windermere’s Winter Drive a success!
*Participating Windermere offices
Bellevue, Bellevue Commons, Bellevue South, Bellevue West, Burien, Chelan, Issaquah, Kirkland Central, Kirkland Yarrow Bay, Lynnwood, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Mill Creek, Monroe, Property Management – Bellevue, Property Management – Edmonds, Property Management – South, Redmond, Seattle-Ballard, Seattle-Capitol Hill, Seattle-Eastlake, Seattle-Green Lake, Seattle-Greenwood, Seattle-Lakeview, Seattle-Madison Park, Seattle-Magnolia, Seattle-Mount Baker, Seattle-Northgate, Seattle-Northwest, Seattle-Queen Anne, Seattle-Sand Point, Seattle-Wall Street, Seattle-Wedgwood, Seattle-West Seattle, Services-Marketing, Snohomish, Woodinville
This article originally appeared on the Windermere.com blog.
Schedule Your Early Donation to GiveBIG to the Windermere Foundation!
On Wednesday, May 10, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time, the Windermere Foundation is participating in Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG, a one-day online giving event to raise funds for nonprofit organizations serving the greater Seattle area.
Advanced giving has already begun. You can schedule your donation at any point between now and before midnight on May 10. (Your donation won’t be processed until May 10.) For early giving only, donors will need to create a simple profile that includes their name, email and a password. Click here to GiveBIG for the Windermere Foundation!
All the money raised through the GiveBIG program will benefit nonprofits in the King County region, specifically providing emergency services for low-income and homeless families through our grant program and some of our nonprofit partners.
No matter what you give, it will make a BIG difference in the lives of low-income and homeless families in your communities!
We hope you will support us on May 10. Thank you for your generosity and support!
This post originally appeared on Windermere Weekly.