It continues to be a seller’s market in Northwest Seattle including Ballard, Fremont, Greenwood, Phinney and Wallingford neighborhoods where there is a little over one a month supply of single-family home inventory. If you are a fortunate home seller expect to see a lot of open house traffic, buyer “love letters” and possibly multiple offers if your home is located in a popular neighborhood and is competitively priced.

And what to do if you are a home buyer? First, get your financial ducks in-a-row by getting pre-approved by a local lender who is available in the evenings and on weekends. Second, try to get out to see homes before the weekend which will give you more time to line-up pre-inspections if offers aren’t being reviewed for a few days. Third, reduce the number of contingencies within your comfort level. Finally, write that love letter even if it’s just a short paragraph in addition to a summary of your offers terms. Don’t go overboard but in this market it just may help you stand out from the pack.

More info on other Seattle neighborhoods can be found by clicking here.

John Madrid is a Managing Broker with John L. Scott Real Estate – University Village and is a 2005-2012 Seattle Magazine “Five Star” Agent. His clients include both home buyers and sellers. He can be reached at 206-498-1880, john@live20

“A house, a house, my kingdom for a house”. If you are in the market for a new home you can probably empathize with Shakespeare’s King Richard III. Single-family homes, townhomes, and even condos are all in short supply throughout most of the city.

For Northwest Seattle (including Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, Phinney and Wallingford) there is now less than a 1 month supply of single-family home inventory which is definitely favoring home sellers with the result that homes are really hard to come by. We will continue to see more pre-inspections, multiple offers, and bidding wars on the fewer listings hitting the market.

Why the shortage of homes for sale? First, some home owners simply can’t sell since they have negative equity (they owe more than their home would sell for). Second, are home owners who can’t find a new home to upsize or downsize into that would allow them to put their existing home on the market. Third, is that some home owners are either unaware of the improved market for sellers or they are content to stay in their current home rather than over extend themselves. Fourth, are owners betting on continued prices gains over the coming months and years. A final factor has been the significant slowdown in new construction, up until last year, that typically helps alleviate the demand for more housing stock.

In addition to a reduced supply, demand has picked up with the influx of new hires (Amazon, Microsoft, etc). There is also a general belief that home prices and interest rates have only one direction to move and that is up. Many renters have concluded that, with big jumps in rent, buying a home may be the wiser long term investment especially if they are able to lock in these historically low interest rates.

Home prices will continue to rise until there is more of supply/demand equilibrium. If you are looking for a home there are a couple potential silver linings over the coming weeks and months. First, is that we are entering the historically seasonal high point for new inventory. Second, is that interest rates aren’t expected to move significantly upward until the end of the year at the earliest.

More stats on other Seattle neighborhoods can be found at by clicking here.

Tip: The fewer contingencies (i.e. finance, inspection) a home buyer has, the more attractive they are to a home seller, especially in multiple offer situations. Believe it or not, buyer “love letters” to sellers can swing things into a buyer’s favor, just don’t overdo it.

John Madrid is a Managing Broker with John L. Scott Real Estate – University Village and is a 2005-2012 Seattle Magazine “Five Star” Agent. His clients include both home buyers and sellers. He can be reached at 206-498-1880, john@live206.com or www.live206.com.

Statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed. All information should be verified to the users own satisfaction.

The campaign is an effort to make solar PV (photo-voltaic) systems more accessible through group-buying programs. They’re currently operating in several northwest Seattle zip codes, including north of the Ship Canal and west of I-5. There are also tax and production incentives to help lower the cost; a sales tax exemption allows for a 10 percent savings right off the bat, but that will expire June 30. However, a 30 percent federal tax credit will be available until 2016. The group-buying opportunity can save more money; click here for a rundown of how that works.

For more on Solarize Seattle and the upcoming workshops, click here.

What a difference a year makes … sale prices continue their climb and time on market continues to drop. It is definitely turning into a seller’s market.

For the 11th consecutive month the median sale price for single-family homes sold in Northwest Seattle, including Ballard, Fremont, Green Lake, Phinney and Wallingford, met or exceeded the sale price for the same period a year prior. Much of this trend can be attributed to a decrease in the supply of homes for sale in 2012 compared to 2011.

In addition to a shortage of inventory, record low interest rates, continued strong hiring by Amazon, Microsoft and a slew of smaller to midsize companies and a general belief that the market has hit bottom has resulted in strong appreciation for most Seattle home owners and sellers in 2012.

The median sale price for single-family homes sold in 2012 in NW Seattle was $425,000 compared to $399,000 for 2011, a 6.5% increase. The average time on market decreased to 32 days in 2012 from 42 days in 2011.

A less than a 3 month supply of homes is generally considered a Seller’s market. The overall supply of NW Seattle homes averaged around 1.4 months of inventory for 2012 compared to a little less than a 3 month supply for 2011.

Expected trends for 2013 include continued low interest rates and inventory as well as multiple offers situations for competitively priced homes in popular neighborhoods including most of NW Seattle with its great walkability, popular schools and proximity to downtown.

More stats on other Seattle neighborhoods can be found here.

Tip: Even in a strong home Seller’s market amazing photos and professional marketing materials (including a custom website and full color two sided flyers) can result in a quicker sale and the best sale price.

John Madrid is a Managing Broker with John L. Scott Real Estate – University Village and is a 2005-2012 Seattle Magazine “Five Star” Agent. His clients include both home buyers and sellers. He can be reached at 206-498-1880, john@live206.com or www.live206.com.

(Statistics are deemed reliable but are not guaranteed. All information should be verified to the users own satisfaction.)

Photo by Dale Unruh/Woodland Park Zoo

The event, sponsored by Chevron, is part of the zoo’s effort to, “help enrich the lives of the zoo’s animals. The activities help encourage natural animal behavior, keep animals mentally and physically stimulated and engage zoo visitors,” according to the zoo.

Here’s a schedule of the turkey feedings, all which take place between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.:

• Jaguar, 10:00
• Snow leopards, 10:00
• Arctic foxes, 11:00
• Ocelots, 11:00
• Colobus monkeys, 11:30
• Golden eagle, noon
• Grizzly bears, 1:00
• Kunekune pigs, 1:30
• Komodo dragons, 2:00
• Golden lion tamarin monkeys, 2:00
• Wolves 2:30

Learn more about upcoming zoo activities here.

Ayers says, “Each year Wallingford Center has opened its doors to the neighborhood for trick-or-treating. This year, the Wallingford Chamber is organizing the 45th Street business corridor, from Stone Way to I-5. 65 businesses (and counting) are inviting trick or treaters to stop by.” Businesses will be handing out candy from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and will have orange “Trick-or-Treats Here” signs.

The beginning of Wallingford Center’s 6th annual fall food drive starts on Oct. 31, and benefits the Family Work’s food bank. The drive lasts through Nov. 18, and donation bins will be located inside the east entrance of the Wallingford Center.

Woodland Park Zoo yesterday broke ground on its new, $19.6 million dollar tiger and sloth bear exhibit.

Photo by Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo.

The 2-acre multispecies complex will open in two phases: phase one will feature Asian small-clawed otters and a kids’ nature play area opening in May 2013, and phase two will showcase endangered Malayan tigers and sloth bears.

The complex will use sustainable design to provide tigers, sloth bears, Asian small-clawed otters and other species representing the biodiversity of tropical Asia with a naturalistic, enriching environment that evokes lush forests and encourages natural behaviors. Tigers will stalk “prey” as they chase a lure line, jostle trees to retrieve snacks, nap under the roots of a tropical tree, splash in a shallow pool and care for cubs in a spacious exhibit built to accommodate multiple generations.

To bring the behind-the-scenes care of these animals into the forefront for zoo visitors, the exhibit design includes specialized training stations where keepers will interact one-on-one with tigers and sloth bears. These training presentations will get visitors closer to live predators than at any other exhibit at the zoo, and provide insight into how the zoo safely cares for such large and dangerous animals.

An immersive play area for children will allow young explorers to learn about the forest through joyful, full-bodied nature play—balancing on logs, crossing a wobble bridge, flying along a mini-zipline—all safely designed to stimulate mental and motor skill development while setting the scene of a tropical field conservation site where boundaries between humans and wildlife collide.

From Seattle Tilth:

The Harvest Fair is a lively event with workshops, demonstrations, family activities and tasty food. See urban goats and chickens, talk to beekeepers and cheese makers, swap seeds and barter home made goods! Local organic farm stands will be abundant and overflowing with fresh produce at the height of harvest season. Stock-up on native and edible plants, local books, garden supplies, farm crafts and sustainable goods.

Workshops and demos include yoga for gardeners, fermenting foods, natural dyes, seed saving, making mozzarella cheese, edible mushrooms and cooking demonstrations. Food donations are being collected for the food bank at the BEET Hunger booth.

Activities include:

• Raffle to win a chicken coop, beekeeping starter kit or year’s supply of Organic Valley milk
• Seed swap
• Cider pressing
• Urban livestock area
• DIY herb crowns
• Barter hosted by Backyard Barter (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)
• Kids crafts in the children’s garden
• Organic farmer’s market
• Sustainable vendors
• Kids’ parade
• Live music from Slap and Tickle, Mostly Water, Creepin’ Critters, Holy Crows, Bucharest Drinking Team and Nyamuziwa Marimba

To learn more about the event, click here.