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Community News & Information •
March 9, 2021
Seattle City Council Passes Resolution Endorsing Southeast Seattle Creative District
Sellers •
March 4, 2021
Why Should You Stage Your Home When It’s For Sale?
In order to sell your home, it must be successfully marketed to potential home buyers. Developing a winning strategy to attract as many buyers as possible to your home is something your real estate agent will work on, and part of that process may include staging.
Staging doesn’t just involve decorating your home; it’s using furniture and décor to reveal the possibilities in the space in order to make it appealing to a wide variety of buyers. It is an important step to helping buyers imagine the space for their own use, and it often leads to a higher dollar value and quicker sale time.
Staging for Buyers
A well-staged home creates stunning photographs that will attract buyers as they search online. In 2020, 97% of home buyers used the internet to search for prospective homes, and about half of them used mobile devices like smart phones and tablets. Because photos on a mobile device can be quite small and easily swipeable, staging has the potential to grab a buyer’s eye and pull them into the listing. Once they visit in person, staging serves to elevate your space while allowing buyers to visualize themselves living in your home.
Investment and ROI
For a relatively low investment, the return on investment (ROI) for a staged listing is worth it for just about any home seller. No matter the size of your home, the average investment on staging is 1% of the sale price of the home. And that 1% investment can lead to amazing gains. According to a 2020 survey by the Real Estate Staging Association, of those who spent 1% on staging, 75% saw a return of 5-15% over the asking price. As this shows, investing in staging can turn into one of the best ways to add value to your home.
In addition to increasing the dollar value of your home, staging is also likely to lead to a quicker sale. In 2020, staged listings sold after an average of 23 days on market. That’s two days faster than the national average of 25 days on market in the same year.
Your real estate agent can connect you with a professional stager who they will work side-by-side with to create a cost-effective strategy for staging your home and getting it sold in the most efficient and effective manner.
Financial •
March 2, 2021
Justice Department to Appeal Judge’s Order on CDC Eviction Moratorium
After a federal judge in Texas ruled last week that the federal government’s eviction moratorium is unconstitutional, the Justice Department says it will appeal.
The appeal comes days after U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker issued a 21-page ruling saying that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium is unprecedented, overbroad and unlawful.
“Although the COVID-19 pandemic persists, so does the Constitution,” the judge wrote in last Thursday’s decision.
He added that while individual states have the power to enact such restrictions, the federal government does not.
“The federal government cannot say that it has ever before invoked its power over interstate commerce to impose a residential eviction moratorium,” Barker wrote. “It did not do so during the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. Nor did it invoke such a power during the exigencies of the Great Depression. The federal government has not claimed such a power at any point during our Nation’s history until last year.”
In response, the acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s civil division said that prosecutors respectfully disagree with the ruling.
“The CDC’s eviction moratorium, which Congress extended last December, protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health care expenses,” said Brian Boynton in a statement issued Saturday. “By preventing people from becoming homeless or having to move into more-crowded housing, the moratorium helps to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The CDC eviction moratorium was first signed by President Donald Trump last September, and has been extended twice. Most recently by President Joe Biden who — in his first day on the job and within hours of his inauguration — extended the ban until March 31.
The order has kept many of the country’s most vulnerable citizens from being forced out of their homes and deeper in debt during a public health emergency that has crippled the U.S. economy, and put 22 million Americans out of work last year, according to a report by Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi.
Individuals with an estimated yearly income under $99,000 or joint-filing couples under $198,000 for 2020 are eligible, providing that their failure to pay rent is due to the coronavirus pandemic and that they would be displaced and forced into a “shared living” situation.
However, loopholes exist that allow some evictions and foreclosures to continue, as local housing courts across the country have interpreted the CDC order differently. In October, the CDC issued nonbinding guidance that landlords could file to evict tenants, as long as other stages of the eviction process, for example issuing a writ of eviction at the end of the case, are halted.
Meanwhile, small landlords are shouldering a huge economic burden due to the pandemic and resulting eviction ban. In fact, some property rights advocates warn that the eviction ban is not only straining the finances of landlords with fewer rental units, but also discouraging new rental units from being put on the market.
The federal government has yet to address the looming eviction crisis with a viable long-term plan.
SOLD •
February 24, 2021
Sold this Month: West Seattle & Federal Way Homes
32618 50th Place SW
Federal Way, WA 98023
Listed at $560,000
Beautiful fully remodeled and spacious 4-bedroom, 3 full bathrooms home. Located in a great neighborhood, corner lot with lots of parking space. Kitchen with shaker style cabinets, quartz countertops, SS appliances. Designer style bathrooms. Master suite. Downstairs includes a spacious, cozy living area with fireplace. Brand new windows, brand new roof and fresh exterior paint. Large new deck is perfect for summer gatherings.
9444 26th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
Listed at $515,000
Fabulous West Seattle location, moments from Westwood Village shopping & amenities. Approx. 1,470SF, with three bedrooms, one full bath, nestled on a spacious 7,000+ SF lot. Features include fresh paint throughout, hardwoods, new wall-to-wall carpet, laminate flooring & bonus den/office. Serene backyard farm-like setting with mature fruit trees, planter beds & room for more. Easy access to public transportation and freeways to downtown. One car attached garage + additional off street parking.
Case Studies • CoBuy •
February 23, 2021
COBUY SUCCESS STORY: Amber & Nate’s West Seattle Beauty
Amber and Nate moved to Seattle for work several years ago and have been renting all that time. Then they discovered CoBuy and decided to stop paying someone else’s mortgage and start paying their own. We were introduced through CoBuy and started working together to find them a home.
The journey was relatively short, especially in our busy market. They identified five homes they wanted to see, but when I checked into them, I found that two were already under contract. We toured the other three and they really liked one of them. The offer review was the next day so I got their offer together and waited to find out if they won.
The listing agent was expecting three offers including Amber and Nate’s. She ended up getting 14 offers and the price went 21% over list price! So, it was on to the next.
They identified two more houses that they wanted to tour. They liked one of them and wanted to submit an offer. The home had been in contract pending inspection two times before and was just back on the market. The previous buyers got cold feet and their decision to terminate their agreements wasn’t based on an actual inspection.
The three-bedroom/one-bath home is in a fabulous West Seattle location just moments from Westwood Village. The serene backyard farm-like setting boasts mature fruit trees, planter beds and room for more.
Amber and Nate’s offer was accepted at list price. We scheduled the inspection, and the resulting report was pretty clean, just mostly small items. I was able to negotiate $5,000 off their closing costs in lieu of repairs. The appraisal came in at value with no repairs requested, and their lender was able to close the transaction a week early.
They closed nearly two weeks ago and are planning to do a few renovations before they move in. They are super excited to be homeowners.
Congratulations, you two!
Restaurant Reviews •
February 22, 2021
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Columbia City’s Super Six
My partner Alan and I have been going to Super Six for a number of years and have always had a good experience. The restaurant is in a former auto body shop, so it has an automotive theme with lots of interesting things to look at.
Post Covid, the dining is all outside either in a big unheated tent, or on their covered patio. For now, we’re choosing to stick with takeout or delivery until we can eat in the restaurant again unless the weather is warmer.
Super Six serves fun cocktails and Hawaiian inspired food. My favorite is the Huli Huli Chicken bowl and Hibiscus Margarita. The bowl is a base of rice with chicken, green beans, pickled red onion, cucumber, white rice and a sunny side-up egg. I like to mix it all up with a good quantity of Siracha. It’s comfort food for me. They have several other bowls to choose from as well as noodle dishes, burgers, ribs, wings, sliders, chili, salads and fries, all with a Hawaiian flair. They also have vegetarian options.
The patio / tent service was a bit slow when we visited in the summer, but I do try and cut them some slack since they’re still operating under Covid restrictions. The ordering process is by QR code, and online payment, so it’s all touchless. They also meticulously sanitize the tables and benches between groups.
If you find yourself craving something different, I recommend giving Super Six a try.
Super Six
3714 S Hudson St.
Seattle, WA 98118
(206) 420-1201
Photo courtesy of Super Six/Twitter.
Events •
February 18, 2021
YOU’RE INVITED: 2021 Housing & Economic Forecast with Matthew Gardner, Economist
Mark your calendar!
You’re invited to attend a virtual presentation of the 2021 Housing and Economic Forecast by our in-house economist, Matthew Gardner, on Tuesday, February 23, from 7 to 8 pm. While it’s anybody’s guess what the future holds for this dynamic market, his insights are always useful and enlightening.
Please contact me, and I will forward you the Zoom link as soon as it becomes available.
As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on national and regional real estate markets.
In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, Matthew sits on the Washington State Governors Council of Economic Advisors; chairs the Board of Trustees at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington; and is an Advisory Board Member at the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington where he also lectures in real estate economics.
Matthew’s forecasts are used by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Reuters, and he also participates in Zillow’s National Home Price Expectation Survey.
Best,
Don
Buyers •
February 16, 2021
Striking Restrictive Racial Language from Your Title
Restrictive racial covenants—which excluded people of color from purchasing, leasing, or occupying homes in certain neighborhoods, developments, or regions—have been deeply embedded in the practices of the housing industry since the early 20th century. Although the Supreme Court ruled that municipally mandated racial zoning was unconstitutional with 1917’s Buchanan v. Warley, this decision extended only to government action such as city ordinances, and not to private agreements such as restrictive covenants.
This left the door open for discrimination in real estate to continue. The Supreme Court’s 1926 ruling in Corrigan v. Buckley validated the use of racially restrictive covenants, and they quickly became common practice. Shortly thereafter, these restrictions were endorsed by federal housing administrators and lenders alike, creating a system that shaped communities and segregated neighborhoods throughout the country.
In 1948, with Shelley v. Kraemer, the United States Supreme Court ruled that these racial deed restrictions were no longer enforceable. But the structures of segregation remained intact and real estate brokers, agents, and property owners continued to discriminate based on race.
Congress struck a blow against these practices by passing the Fair Housing Act in 1968, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in the sale or rental of housing. However, the language of restrictive racial covenants is still written in the chain of title for many homeowners nationwide.
Striking Restrictive Language By State
As part of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, Windermere has prepared educational content on how homeowners can remove racially restrictive language from their chain of title. Of the ten states that Windermere operates in, there are processes in place to remove this language in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Homeowners in Idaho will note that the process to strike restrictive language is subject to change, pending the legislature’s passing of I.C. § 55-616 in 2021. In Hawaii, Montana, and Utah, there is currently no process for the removal of discriminatory covenants from a chain of title, nor is there pending legislation to address the issue. In Hawaii and Utah, although there is legislation in place declaring such covenants void, there is nothing currently in place that permits a court or auditor to strike the restrictive language from the title.
Contact me to begin the process of striking the restrictive language from your title.
Real Estate News & Information •
February 9, 2021
Southeast Seattle Sees Greatest Home Sale Price Increase in King County
It’s no question that 2020 was an unprecedented year in just about every way possible — including real estate. Low inventory and high demand sent home prices skyrocketing, ratcheting up the competition in King County’s already hot market. This competition didn’t slow down in the winter months either, as neighborhoods continued to see a rise in prices and home sales through the end of December.
But among the region’s most competitive neighborhoods, which ones fared the best at the end of 2020? Recent data from the NWMLS gives us some insight into King County’s strongest neighborhood markets.
Ballard/Greenlake and North Seattle both saw a marked increase in closings. Compared to December 2019, the neighborhoods both saw a 44% increase in closings. Ballard/Greenlake also had a significant price increase, from an average of $705,000 in December 2019 to $776,500 this year.
In terms of Seattle price increases, Southeast Seattle saw the greatest gains, coming in with an average increase of 16.4% in the neighborhood.
Last month, Queen Anne/Magnolia saw the number of houses under contract in their neighborhood more than double from December 2019, also indicating a strong interest in the area.
King County at large also performed well at the end of the year, with closed sales rising over 28% from December 2019, and the median price increasing almost 10%. In Seattle specifically, the number of closed sales rose 30.7% and the median price increased 5.8% year-over-year. On the Eastside, Kirkland/Bridle Hills saw the largest price increases in the county.
Buyers •
February 3, 2021
Buying with Remodeling in Mind
Everyone has their own definition of a dream home. For some, they know right when they see a home that it’s perfect as is. For others, it takes remodeling to achieve their vision. Whether you’re looking for something in need of a few upgrades or a total fixer-upper, buying with the intention of remodeling comes with added considerations.
Finding the Right Home to Remodel
When it comes to choosing the right home to remodel, you’ll want to look for a property that not only aligns with your renovation plans but has significant ROI potential. How much value a home stands to gain depends on a variety of factors, like the cost of the project and your local market conditions. Knowing this information will help paint a picture of a home’s potential ROI. By conducting detailed Comparable Market Analyses (CMAs), your Windermere agent can provide helpful info on how similar homes in the neighborhood have performed on the market. Though these factors don’t provide a concrete valuation, they will help you understand how much your home could be worth.
Choose the Right Remodeling Projects
The right remodeling projects are the ones that align with your plans for living in the home. If you’re looking for an investment property, you’ll be targeting renovation projects that appeal to buyers, like a kitchen remodel, attic conversions, garage door replacement, and exterior projects that boost the home’s curb appeal. However, if you’re planning on putting down roots and staying for an extended period of time, you’ll want to focus on projects that maximize your enjoyment of the space. In either case, any structural issues require immediate attention and should be at the top of your list.
Know Your Remodeling Budget
Your remodeling budget will help you determine the scope of renovations you’re able to afford, and ultimately, which home is right for you. Knowing this information will help your agent identify which homes fall within your range. It will also guide your conversations with your lender when structuring your loan. For more information on home renovation loans, talk to your Windermere agent.
Break Down Your Remodeling Costs
Although remodel cost estimates aren’t always final, they give you an idea of what you can expect to spend. No renovation comes without hurdles and complications, so leave some wiggle room in your budget for unforeseen costs. This will allow you to expect the unexpected and stay within your budget. A cost breakdown will also help to identify areas where you can save money by doing-it-yourself. Painting projects, landscaping, and small-scale demolition are common DIY projects that can add up to significant savings.
Find the Right Contractor
For the remodeling projects that require professional expertise, finding the right contractor is another pivotal step in making your dream home a reality. Start by reaching out to your circle of friends and family for referrals. If someone you know and trust had a positive experience with a contractor, that’s a great starting point. Continue your search by gathering information for multiple contractors in your area and request project bids and timelines from each one. This will allow you to compare pricing and make a more informed decision.
Conduct Thorough Inspections Before Remodeling
Buying a home with the intention of remodeling means that a home inspection is likely to produce a longer list of items than a newly constructed home. Conducting a thorough home inspection is critical to formulating your plans for remodeling. Additionally, it will help identify which issues need immediate attention, enabling you to negotiate repairs and concessions, so long as the inspection is performed during your inspection contingency period.
