The property is a a Built-Green 4 Star & Energy Star certified home.  Very modern, sleek and simply gorgeous.

5239 39th Ave S, Unit A, Seattle, WA 98118 (MLS # 316120)

This Built-Green 4 Star & Energy Star certified home offers energy efficiency, improved indoor air quality & water conserving features. The floor is lined w/strand woven bamboo stretching across the functional open spaces encasing the in-floor hydronic radiant heat fed by the 98% efficiency tank-less hot water system. The sleek design is accentuated with Ann Sack Tile, chroma slab counter tops, oak flat paneled cabinets with easy glide hardware. Short walk to Columbia City shops and restaurants

Property Type(s): Residential

Last Updated	2/20/2012	Tract	3011684
Year Built	2011	Community	Seattle
Garage Spaces	1.0	County	King
Total Parking	1	Walk Score ®	91

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Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with Coldwell Banker Bain

(view all details for MLS #316120)

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NWMLS KIRKLAND, WA. (Jan. 4, 2012) – Home sales finished the year much stronger than they started, with pending sales for the fourth quarter outgaining the first quarter by more than 3,000 transactions for a 21 percent increase, according to new figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

A year-over-year comparison shows December’s pending sales (mutually accepted offers) rose more than 20 percent from a year ago. Northwest MLS brokers reported 5,237 pending sales last month, up from the previous year when they recorded 4,359 transactions.

Last month’s pending volume exceeded the number of new listings (4,604) for the second consecutive month. The last time such an imbalance occurred was November 2006.

Closed sales also outgained year-ago totals. December’s completed transactions were up 7 percent from twelve months ago, rising from 4,430 closings to 4,741. Six counties registered double-digit gains (Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, and Snohomish).

Continue reading the NWMLS December 2011 housing news release – click to download (pdf)

When a tree falls

Your neighbor is responsible when a tree falls over your shared property line only if you can prove he was aware that his tree was a hazard and refused to remedy the problem. Regardless, your insurance company restores your property first, and later decides whether or not to pursue reimbursement from the neighbor or his insurer if the neighbor was negligent in maintaining the tree.

Continue reading this article via HouseLogic.

NWMLS KIRKLAND, WA. (Dec. 5, 2011) – Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported 6,103 pending sales during November, marking the seventh straight month of double-digit year-over-year increases.

Last month’s total number of mutually accepted offers was 22.4 percent higher than the same month a year ago. It also marked the first month since December 2006 that the number of pending sales surpassed the number of new listings (6,043), prompting discussions of possible inventory shortages.

“As we head toward the end of the year, it’s certainly good to see a healthy number of buyers relative to the available inventory for sale,” said Mike Grady, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Bain. “In fact,” he noted, “there are some desirable neighborhoods in urban core areas where the case could be made there are too few homes currently for sale.”

At month end, there were 30,650 residential listings in the MLS inventory across 21 counties, down nearly 17 percent from a year ago. For the listing service map areas covering Seattle, the database shows a year-over-year drop of about 32 percent.

Continue reading the NWMLS November 2011 housing news release – click to download (pdf)

KIRKLAND, WA, November 3, 2011. Befitting October and Halloween, last month’s housing activity had both tricks and treats. Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported solid gains in pending sales (up almost 21 percent from a year ago), consistent demand in many price ranges, a shortage of homes in a few categories, and some resurgence of move-up buyers.

Despite those encouraging indicators, prices were down almost 11 percent area-wide compared to a year ago and brokers say there is persistent “hesitancy” in the market.

“All the pieces (for a recovery) exist — low interest rates, lots of choices, increasing loan availability as well as purchasing programs, yet as a whole the housing market has stalled in many places,” said Northwest MLS director Frank Wilson.

“What is holding back the housing market has little to do with houses,” Wilson stated, pointing to uncertainty in the stock market and volatile global economies, along with a more complicated, prolonged transaction process and lack of job creation.

Continue reading the NWMLS October housing news release – click to download (pdf)

With inventory at its lowest level since May, members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service report “stiff competition for move-in ready homes” in some neighborhoods. Other key indicators in the latest statistical report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show upticks in sales and some leveling off on prices.

Pending sales for the Northwest MLS service area, which encompasses 21 counties, are up more than 20 percent from a year ago. Following typical August-to-September patterns, the volume of pending sales (mutually accepted offers) tapered off last month (down 9.6 percent) compared to the previous month.

Brokers reported 4,988 closed sales during September, beating the year-ago volume by 991 transactions for a gain of almost 25 percent. The number of completed transactions in the four-county Puget Sound region (King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap) jumped 32 percent from twelve months ago.

>> Continue reading the current month article at nwrealestate.com

KIRKLAND, WA, September 6, 2011. August now ranks as this year’s best month for both pending and closed sales around Washington state, according to the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Last month’s volume of pending sales was the highest number of mutually accepted offers since April 2010 when the homebuyer tax incentive expired.

Northwest MLS brokers reported 7,632 pending sales during August, a gain of more than 26 percent from the same month a year ago when they notched 6,037 pending sales. Last month’s total for the 21 counties in the MLS service area surpassed July by 450 transactions.

Thirteen counties had double-digit gains from a year ago, led by Snohomish County where pending sales jumped more than 46 percent.

>> Continue reading the current month article at nwrealestate.com

Unfortunately, whenever those housing report are mentioned, they cover a rather large geographic area. Generally, most of the reports include stats from the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area…meaning King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.

The problem with using such an expansive geographic area is that real estate, namely housing trends, are localized. The housing market in Seattle is quite different from Everett, or Bellevue, or Tacoma or Puyallup. And, even within Seattle, it can vary widely by neighborhood, pricing tiers and property type (single family houses vs. condos).

When we look specifically at Seattle’s housing market – the results are striking. The overall market (SFH & condos) is in a balanced market climate based on the absorption rate, and for single family homes, it’s a borderline seller’s market. Absorption rate (inventory supply rate), is the rate at which the inventory will sell out at the current rate of demand (sales). It is used as an indicator to gauge the market environment.

Seattle Absorption Rate (SFH & condos), expressed in months:

Based on the current rate of closed sales, Seattle has a 5.1 month inventory supply rate. Roughly, 20% of the inventory is being absorbed every month. As the graph indicates, Seattle has been in a balanced real estate market for most of 2011.

Seattle Single Family Absorption Rate, expressed in months:

Seattle’s single family properties have a 4.1 month inventory supply rate. Over the past several months, the market has been indicative of a balanced to seller’s market environment. Approximately 24% of the inventory is being absorbed every month.

Seattle Condo Absorption Rate, expressed in months:

Seattle’s condo market is another story. The absorption rate rose to 8.6 months of supply based on the number of July closings. For the most part, condos have exhibited a buyer’s market climate with about 12% of the inventory being absorbed. It’ll take the condo market a bit longer to recover. Fortunately, there won’t be any new units delivered for at least 4 years, which will allow the current inventory to dissipate over time.

So, what’s the story behind Seattle’ relatively normal real estate market?

There are several factors that are attributable to our local housing market, such as:

• Employment. Buoyed by the tech sector educated, well-paid professionals are moving into Seattle with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook hiring thousands. The Gates Foundation is also expanding.
• Cheap money. Recently, mortgage interest rates clocked in a 50-year historic low, making it incredibly inexpensive to borrow money for home purchases. This past week, even FHA mortgage rates were down to 4.25% for a 30-year fixed.
• Affordable home prices. The economic slow down, uncertainty, the bursted housing bubble and distressed home sales have deflated housing prices in Seattle over the past several years. While that may be a heartbreak for sellers, it’s been a boon for buyers, particularly when combined with low mortgage rates.
• Shrinking inventory. Geographically, Seattle is confined by water; there isn’t a lot of available land to build massive developments like you’d find on the Eastside or South King County. When it comes to single family homes, Seattle can’t be over built. Additionally, loan modifications and government intervention have slowed the rate of foreclosures, cutting back on on the number of short sale and bank-owned properties. As such, Seattle’s available inventory is down 31% from a year ago (see chart below).

Data source: TrendGraphix

The Nationwide Open House Weekend event is coming up this weekend, June 4th & 5th, across the country. In Washington state, it’s estimated that up to 7,000 properties will be participating in the event.

Most open houses will be easy to identify — they’ll have blue Realtor balloons.

Did you know you can search for open houses on Living Northwest? Just click on the open house search panel and select “This Weekend”. The search map will automatically update with open house listings (zoom out to expand and view more properties).

Search for Seattle area open houses