West Redmond Real Estate Buzz

Movie tickets for $35?  Reserved seats, drinks, appetizers, call buttons, valet parking, made to order meals, and only 40 seats per theater, will you pay $35?  Interesting, given all the economic news lately.  However, I keep hearing from different sectors of the economy, when things aren’t going well, merchants and services go upscale.  I’ve heard this from the boat sales industry and art gallery personnel. 

 Now the local movie theater in Redmond Town Center is going upscale. The new owners hope to capitalize on the strong economy in the Microsoft area.

 The Village Roadshow, LTD has partnered with some other companies and  started a company called Gold Class Cinemas.  If you live in Redmond, Gold Class Cinemas will be coming to the theater near you.

Cineplex Odeon is gone:

 This fall there will be a new movie experience.  Would you pay $35.00 for this kind of theater experience?

The Seattle Times reported on this story and took an online survey of whether people would pay for this service. The results:

  24% said they would try it

  41% said no

  35% said think DVD and big screen TV’s.

The area represented by the statistics posted below is Redmond, 98052, south of highway 908.  The neighborhoods are all within shouting distance of Microsoft. In real estate terms, we call this area 530.  The area on Education Hill is called area 550 and is not part of this report. The numbers in parentheses show last week’s totals. All numbers are gathered mid-day on Fridays from NWMLS information. This real estate activity report will be online no later than Sunday each week. 

 
Active Listings:  49(47) 

New listings:   4(4) 

Sold subject to inspection: 2(3)

Pending:  1(3)

Closed Sales:  4(1)

Sold Contingent: 1(0)

Rented: 0(0) 

Price Reductions:  2(2)

Price Increases:     0(0)

Expired Listings: 0(0)

Cancelled Listings: 0(0)

Temp Off Market:  0(1)

Back on Market: 1(0)
———————————

$0-$349,999:             0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:  4(3)

$500,000-$749,999:   21(20)

$750,000-$999,999: 9(9)

 $1,000,000- $1,499,999: 13(13)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 2(2)
———————————–
Average Price:    $921,728($934,297)

Median Price: $749,975($760,000)

Average Days on Market: 85(87)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,880,000 ($2,880,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $399,950($419,000)

My analysis of this week’s buzz: 

A total of 49 homes are on the market this week, with 4 new listings, two homes receiving offers, one new construction home is pending, two price reductions, and four closed sales.  One home is back on the market at the same price as its previous listing. New construction in Evergreen Lane is sold contingent.  This means the buyer made an offer, but still has to sell their home.  Builders will often accept a contingent offer on a home, especially since the home is not finished. Interestingly, the two homes that received offers this week recently reduced their asking price.  With a more competitive price, the homes caught the attention of buyers and received offers.  The closed sale prices ranged from 10% below the original asking price to 2% over full price, with two homes selling at just about full price.  Homes that stand out because they shine above the competition and are priced well, will sell.

New listings: 

$435,000 3 bedroom town home in the Meadows with 1730 square feet, built in the late 70’s.

$629,950 4 bedroom two story with a basement in Charlson Place with 2590 square feet.

$635,000 Tam O’Shanter mid-entry home.

$698,000 3 bedroom, 1993 square feet, built in 2001 in Ardmore Village off NE 24th.

Homes receiving offers this week:

$525,000 Gleneden rambler, just reduced last week from $549,950.

$748,000 Gleneden two story, reduced two weeks ago from $795,000.

$599,950 new construction in The Village at Redmond Heights with 2400+ square feet.

Pending sales this week: 

(inspection has been satisfied)

$819,900 Emerald Lane new construction two story with a view, 5 bedrooms, 3010 Sq ft.

Sold contingent:

(home has received an offer, but buyer has to sell current home to make the sale)

$825,950 New construction off 148th in Evergreen Lane.  Home under construction.

Expired listings:

(Homes in which the listing contract has expired)

None this week.

Cancelled listings:

(Homes taken off the market)

None this week.

Temporarily off the market:

None this week.

Price reductions:

$399,950 Strattonwood rambler with 1400 square feet, down from $449,950.

$1,250,000 near Microsoft 2 year old custom with 4194 sq feet, a view, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. Was $1,300,000.

Closed sales:

(Homes in which the new owner has moved in!)

$348,700 town home in Sammamish Forest Manors.  Sold for full price in 25 days.

$351,000 town home in Sammamish Forest Manors, original list price of $345,000.  Sold for more than full price, 2% above the original asking price.  Either there were competing offers or the seller contributed to the buyer’s closing costs.  Either of these could raise the final sales price.

$549,950 new construction in The Village at Redmond Heights with an original asking price of $609,950.  Sold for 10% below asking price.

$750,000 two story in Lechner Ridge with a view, 3 car garage and gourmet kitchen.  Asking price of $749,950.  Sold for full price+ $500.00!

Back on the market:

$750,000 Spiritbrook tri-level with extended master bedroom and remodeled kitchen.

The area represented by the statistics posted below is Redmond, 98052, south of highway 908.  The neighborhoods are all within shouting distance of Microsoft. In real estate terms, we call this area 530.  The area on Education Hill is called area 550 and is not part of this report. The numbers in parentheses show last week’s totals. All numbers are gathered mid-day on Fridays from NWMLS information. This real estate activity report will be online no later than Sunday each week. 

 
Active Listings:  47(46)  (I’ll explain a little about the totals below)

New listings:   4 (4) 

Sold subject to inspection: 3(1)

Pending:  3(3)

Closed Sales:  1(5)

Sold Contingent: 0(0)

Rented: 0(0) 

Price Reductions:  2(4)

Price Increases:     0(0)

Expired Listings: 0(0)

Cancelled Listings: 0(0)

Temp Off Market:  0(1)

Back on Market: 0(0)
———————————

$0-$349,999:             0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:  3(4)

$500,000-$749,999:   20(17)

$750,000-$999,999: 9(10)

 $1,000,000- $1,499,999: 13(13)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 2(2)
———————————–
Average Price:    $934,297 ($949,786)

Median Price: $760,000($785,000)

Average Days on Market: 87(91)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,880,000 ($2,880,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $419,000($419,000)

My analysis of this week’s buzz: 

There are 47 homes available this week.  Three homes received offers, three homes are now pending, one home’s price was reduced, and there was 1 closed sale.  The closed sale of the week sold for $410,000, approximately 2% under the list price of $417,000.

 Over the past few weeks, when I’ve looked at new listings, I’ve  found homes in our area listed in the wrong MLS (multiple listing service) area.  The MLS area discussed in this blog is Redmond, south of 908.  Some agents are putting listings in the MLS area north of 908 by mistake.  In doing my weekly research, I’ll catch some of the listings that really are in our area and add them to our weekly totals.  Because of this, sometimes it’ll seem the numbers are off when compared to previous week totals.

New listings: 

$435,000 duplex style town home off Old Redmond Rd. with 1700+ square feet.

$589,950 for a 4 bedroom remodeled tri-level on a cul-de-sac near Ben Rush (My listing)

$599,000  rambler style home with 1800+ square feet in Little Tree with some remodeling.

$639,000 two story 2100 square foot home, built in 1995 near the Meadows.

Homes receiving offers this week:

$499,950 tri-level with 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths near Grasslawn Park.

$569,500 remodeled mid-entry with a view in View Ridge.  sold in 3 days.

$599,950 new home in The Village at Redmond Heights with 2400+ square feet.

Pending sales this week: 

(inspection has been satisfied)

$449,950  Sammamish Forest Manors town home with 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths, and 2020 square feet.

$499,950 two story near Microsoft with 2080 square feet.

$759,950  Evergreen Lane.  New construction off 148th with 3100+ square feet, 4 bedrooms/2.5 baths.

Expired listings:

(Homes in which the listing contract has expired)

None this week.

Cancelled listings:

(Homes taken off the market)

None this week.

Temporarily off the market:

None this week.

Price reductions:

$525,000 northwest style rambler with 2020 square feet.  Down from $549,950

$565,000 a two story near Grasslawn Park, down from $600,000.

$625,000 a remodeled home in Tam O’Shanter down from $640,000.

Closed sales:

(Homes in which the new owner has moved in!)

$410,000 town home in Village Green, listed for $417,000 for 29 days and sold for about 2% below asking price.

Back on the market:

None this week

The Ben Rush Auction was another success!  Thanks go out to Kymberly Meade and her dedicated group of auction committee members. They put together a fun auction with great items available from all over town and all over the nation.  This year, the auction had a Big Top over some of the auction items and a professional auctioneer, Larry Snyder,  Jr. 

 The auction raised $27,000 for Ben Rush school programs.  Congratulations to you all!

Do your grocery shopping and support a great cause!  Shop at Whole Foods in downtown Redmond today.  The store is donating 5% of the proceeds from grocery sales to The Susan B. Komen 3 Day Walk for Breast Cancer.

There are a number of events happening this summer all over Washington and on both sides of the lake.

The area represented by the statistics posted below is Redmond, 98052, south of highway 908.  The neighborhoods are all within shouting distance of Microsoft. In real estate terms, we call this area 530.  The area on Education Hill is called area 550 and is not part of this report. The numbers in parentheses show last week’s totals. All numbers are gathered mid-day on Fridays from NWMLS information. This real estate activity report will be online no later than Sunday each week. 

 
Active Listings:  46(44)

New listings:   4(2) One of these homes is relisted and has been on the market for 122 days.

Sold subject to inspection: 1(2)

Pending:  3(4)

Closed Sales:  5(5)

Sold Contingent: 0(2)

Rented: 0(0) 

Price Reductions:  4(1)

Price Increases:     0(0)

Expired Listings: 0(0)

Cancelled Listings: 0(1)

Temp Off Market:  0(1)

Back on Market: 0(0)
———————————

$0-$349,999:             0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:  4(4)

$500,000-$749,999:   17(16)

$750,000-$999,999: 10(11)

 $1,000,000- $1,499,999: 13(12)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 2(2)
———————————–
Average Price:    $949,786 ($946,827)

Median Price: $785,000($775,000)

Average Days on Market: 91(89)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,880,000 ($2,880,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $419,000($419,800)

My analysis of this week’s buzz: 

There are 45 homes available this week.  One home received an offer, three homes are now pending, and there were 5 closed sales.  Twelve homes have gone pending in the last three weeks.

Closed sales ranged from 2% to 14% below the original asking price.

  New listings: 

$475,900 mid-entry near Grasslawn with 3 bedrooms and 1700 square feet.

$569,500 completely remodeled midentry home in View Ridge.

$809,000 re-listed home with Lake Sammamish views.

$1,139,000 Prescott neighborhood built by Bennett Homes in 1998 with 4080 square feet, 4 bedrooms, den, 2.5 baths.

Back on the market:

None this week

Homes receiving offers this week:

(actual sale price to be reported when the sale closes)

$449,950 3 bedroom town home in Sammamish Forest Manors

Pending sales this week: 

(inspection has been satisfied)

$343,800  2 bedroom/1.5 bath town home in Sammamish Forest Manors

$460,000 for a town home in the Meadows, originally priced at $475,000 and on the market for 31 days.  The home had an updated kitchen with new appliances and was sited on a greenbelt lot.

$465,950 for a Meadows town home on the market for 7 days. This home had a remodeled kitchen and greenbelt privacy.

Expired listings:

(Homes in which the listing contract has expired)

None this week.

Cancelled listings:

(Homes taken off the market)

Temporarily off the market:

None this week.

Price reductions:

$599,000 two story near Grasslawn Park with a traditional floorplan, 4 bdrms/2.5 baths. Down from $620,000.  Listed for 137 days.

$625,000 two story in Grasslawn Park with a contemporary style. Reduced from $650,000 in 13 days.

$748,000 Gleneden two story with 3120 square feet, down from $795,000. Listed for 49 days.

$740,000 newer style two story in Ardmore Village.  Originally priced at $765,000 and listed for 35 days.

Closed sales:

(Homes in which the new owner has moved in!)

$500,000 4 bedroom rambler in Little Tree, originally priced at $580,000, final list price of $518,950. Sales price is 14% below original asking price.

$510,000 5 bedroom midentry with 2000 square feet. List price was $519,950.  Sales price is 2% below the asking price.  On the market for 222 days.

$569,950 new two story with basement, 2117 square feet.  Original sales price of $609,950 with a final sales price of $569,950.  Sales price is 7% below original asking price.  On the market for 432 days (listed before built).

$595,000 remodeled rambler with bamboo floors, granite. On market for 132 days.  List price of $624,000.  Sales price is  5% below original asking price.

$699,950 new construction in Village at Redmond Heights.  Sold for full price in 383 days(home listed before it was built).

Back on the market:

None this week

January 2007          107 homes for sale, 36 sales,  33.6% chance of selling.

Inventory continues to remain high, when compared to last year at this time.  Inventory right now is still be below last year’s high of October.  Our area continues to be one of the strongest on the Eastside, although we were outperformed slightly by the real estate activity on the Sammamish plateau.  

It’s still a tougher real estate market for sellers, but there’s a more balanced market these days. However, as I have reported in my weekly posts, I’ve seen several listings sell just after they hit the market.  These homes were priced well and showed beautifully when compared to the competition.

My mantra for 2008 ( I do repeat myself here):

Friday night is your chance to support The Lake Washington Schools and Ben Rush Elementary.  This year’s auction plans to be huge with some great auction items to bid on.  All the proceeds go to support educational programs at Ben Rush.

The auction is Friday, March 14th from 7-10 PM on the Ben Rush campus at 6101 152nd Ave NE, Redmond, Washington.

Check out the auction catalog. 

 Do you need your car washed? 

 Are you hankering for homemade desserts or a homemade Chinese meal?

 Need a haircut or beauty supplies?

 Looking for hockey lessons, martial arts lessons or a chance to go kayaking or join a gym?

 Theater, dancing, dining out?

There is something for everyone and you can help support education.

The area represented by the statistics posted below is Redmond, 98052, south of highway 908.  The neighborhoods are all within shouting distance of Microsoft. In real estate terms, we call this area 530.  The area on Education Hill is called area 550 and is not part of this report. The numbers in parentheses show last week’s totals. All numbers are gathered mid-day on Fridays from NWMLS information. This real estate activity report will be online no later than Sunday each week. 

 
Active Listings:  44(47)

New listings:   0(2) 

Sold subject to inspection: 2(1)

Pending:  4(5)

Closed Sales:  5(0)

Sold Contingent: 2(0)

Rented: 0(0) 

Price Reductions:  1(4)

Price Increases:     0(0)

Expired Listings: 0(0)

Cancelled Listings: 1(1)

Temp Off Market:  1(0)

Back on Market: 0(0)
———————————

$0-$349,999:             0(0)

$350,000-$499,999:  4(5)

$500,000-$749,999:   15(16)

$750,000-$999,999: 11(12)

 $1,000,000- $1,499,999: 12(12)

$1,500,000- $2,999,999: 2(2)
———————————–
Average Price:    $946,827 ($923,537)

Median Price: $775,000($765,000)

Average Days on Market: 89(85)

Highest Priced Listing: $2,880,000 ($2,880,000)

Lowest Priced Listing: $419,000($419,800)

My analysis of this week’s buzz: 

The number of available homes has dropped to 44 homes.Two homes received offers, one listing was cancelled, four homes are now pending and there were 5 closed sales.  Nine homes have gone pending in the last two weeks and inventory is dropping just slightly. Days on the market have creeped up a bit to an average of 89 days.  There are homes moving quickly and homes still taking time to sell.  The homes moving quickly had remodeled kitchens and extensive updating.  Closed sales ranged from 3% ABOVE asking price to 10% below asking price.

 New listings: 

None this week.

Back on the market:

None this week

Homes receiving offers this week:

(actual sale price to be reported when the sale closes)

$460,000 for a town home in the Meadows, originally priced at $475,000 and on the market for 31 days.  The home had an updated kitchen with new appliances and was sited on a greenbelt lot.

$465,950 for a Meadows town home on the market for 7 days. This home had a remodeled kitchen and greenbelt privacy.

Pending sales this week: 

(inspection has been satisfied)

$575,000 a midentry home near Microsoft that was originally priced at $622,000.  It was on the market for 196 days.

$649,880 a two story home in Castlewood, near Tam O’Shanter with a remodeled kitchen and updated baths, on the market for less than 3 weeks.

$725,000 2270 sq ft two story in Sheffield Greens originally priced at $738,000 and on the market for 166 days before receiving the offer.

$749,500 Lechner Ridge two story with a remodeled kitchen, 3 car garage, and mountain view.  On the market for 8 days.

Expired listings:

(Homes in which the listing contract has expired)

None this week.

Cancelled listings:

(Home has been taken off the market)

$859,900 a newer two story over by Sheffield Greens and Microsoft’s Redwest campus with 3000 square feet. It was on the market for 14 days.

Temporarily off the market:

None this week.

Price reductions:

$499,950 originally priced at $519,950 for  a tri-level near Grasslawn park which has been on the market for 192 days.

Closed sales:

(Homes in which the new owner has moved in!)

$465,000 for a small home off of NE 40th that was a land buy.  Originally priced at $474,999, it was about a 1/4 acre piece with  a small home.  It sold in 24 days. Sold for 3% below asking price.

$495,000 Bristol Woods mid-entry home originally priced at $550,000, dropped to $500,000 and sold at 495k.  This home had been on the market for 163 days. Sold for 10% below the original asking price.

$570,000 View Ridge daylight rambler (my listing) with 3000 sq. feet, hardwood floors, and a mountain view. Originally priced at $609,950, with the final listing price of $579,950. Sold for 7% below the original asking price.

$670,000 Murray Franklyn built two story over by Grasslawn Park that had been priced at $649,950.  This home had new everything, slab granite, new carpet, new doors, the works, and it sold in 3 days for about 3% over asking price.

$696,000 Hampton Place two story with 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, on the market for 187 days.  Originally priced in the mid 700’s and its final list price was $725,000. Sold for 7% below the original price.

A bit of the wild, wild west and the gold fever hit both Redmond and Kirkland during the Alaskan Gold Rush.  Find out all about it on Saturday, March 8th.  Ruth Kerr, from Seattle’s Klondike Gold Rush Museum will be speaking from 10:30 AM to 12 noon at The Redmond Library, 15990 NE 85th St.

You can find out more about the latest society news and the upcoming Gold Rush talk by reading the Redmond Historical Society newsletter.  Dedicated to preserving the history of Redmond, the Redmond Historical Society, founded in 1999, has newsletters and a book about the history of Redmond, in addition to walking tours to see the city’s history. 

I attended a walking tour last fall in downtown Redmond and was excited to learn about the history of many of the buildings on Leary Way. Here is a post about one of the buildings on Leary Way that had its origin as a hotel. The historic brown building, now the Matador restaurant, has had a colorful past.

 The society’s book explains the chronology of all the past names for the present day city of Redmond.  It’s an interesting read and gives another side to Redmond most of us never think about.

 Yes, Virginia, there was life in Redmond before Microsoft!