North Sound Property News

Lots going on around Mukilteo and South Snohomish county over the next couple of weeks.  Top story for me this weekend is probably the grand opening of the Mukilteo Transit Center tomorrow, May 31.  The schedule of events includes:

10 a.m Grand Slam Family Fun Celebration starts! Enjoy refreshments, games, mascots, souvenirs, and live music until noon.

10:30 a.m. Speaking Program and Station Dedication

11:26 a.m Inaugural train leaves Mukilteo Station for a Free Ride to Safeco Field. Let’s play ball!

Return trip: 35 minutes after the Mariners game ends, a free return train leaves King Street Station for Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett stations.

Beginning this Wednesday, June 4, the Mukilteo Farmer’s Market returns to the Rosehill Community Center.

Another summer brings the return of the sun, and of the Mukilteo Chamber Concert series.  The first concert of the year will kick off summer at the Lighthouse at Mukilteo State Park on June 6 at 7pm.

On Saturday, June 7, the Animal Farm at Everett’s Forest Park opens.  This is a great educational experience for children to see live farm animals.  A $1 or $2 donation is requested to offset the cost of caring for the animals.

On Tuesday, June 10 from 5:30 to 7:30, downtown Everett “green” real estate brokerage Greening Properties will be hosting their second monthly Greendrinks event. 

According to the Greening website:

Let’s raise a toast to the planet while we figure out ways not to toast the planet.
 
Never heard of Greendrinks?  It began in Europe and now sustainability people in over 342 cities all over the globe meet monthly for libations.  It is a lively mixture of people from non-profits, academia, government and business and is a great way of catching up with folks you know and for making new contacts.  Greendrinks is simple, unstructured and rather organic.  People have found jobs, developed new ideas, done deals and had epiphanies at Greendrinks.  Check out all the ways to have Greendrinks at www.greendrinks.org.

I love the idea of events like Greendrinks and am hoping to be able to attend.  I love companies like Greening that show the socially conscious side of the real estate industry.  The real estate industry helps put people in homes and there isn’t a whole lot that is more personal and human than that, but sometimes we forget that you can’t just build houses and stick people in them without looking at how that home impacts its surroundings, both with regard to the environment as well as the social and economic fabric of its community.  I feel the green housing movement and the affordable housing movement (which is my personal passion) are very closely related and I look forward to attending Greendrinks and meeting some of the movers and shakers in the county’s sustainable development efforts.  I’m also excited to see a company like Greening getting its start right here in Snohomish county.

That’s a quick roundup of local activities coming up in the next couple of weeks.  Enjoy the great weather we are having!

Due to time constraints, there is just one home featured in this week’s Mid-Century Modern Home of the Week feature, but I would also like to let you know that you can order a full report of my selections of mid-century modern homes simply by emailing me. I will send you a PDF of the report with no obligation.

 I scan through hundreds of listings to select those that I feel are the best examples of Mid-Century Modern/NW Contemporary and Modern Homes on the market. There are 42 homes this week on the North End Modern Homes report, and 23 for the Seattle-area selections.  These homes are found in all neighborhood and all price ranges, some with view, some without.  The one thing they all have in common is great design.

Here is this week’s home:

5303 NE 178th St.
Lake Forest Park
$699,950
MLS# 28042650

Incredible gallery entry opens to quarried stone fireplace, hardwoods and slate throughout, vaulted ceilings with exposed timbers, solid douglas fir paneling and built-ins, and wonderful period-appropriate retro-modern kitchen and bath renovations. This home has an incredible array of architectural features at this price, plus, you get a deeded membership to Lake Forest Park Beach Club. http://www.windermere.com/28042650

I often talk to people about how exciting I think all the changes that have been taking place for the last few years in the Downtown and North Everett area are.  I talked in the last post about the Port Gardner Wharf redevelopment project.  Another thing that the city has been promoting are its summer events.  These events are a great opportunity to check out a community that many people are not familiar with.  Everett has a lot going on–I recommend checking out these events, and you will discover not only that Everett has a lot to offer in terms of activities but it is also one of the most beautiful small cities in the Pacific Northwest.

Official Opening of Boating Season: May 3
Farmers Market: June 1 through September 28
4th of July Waterfront Celebration and Thunder by the Bay!
Jetty Island Days: Begins July 5th
Fresh Paint Art Festival: Sat. and Sun., August 16th and 17th

I’ve talked before in this blog about being a big booster of the downtown Everett revitalization that is happening.  A big part of the city’s future plans include the redevelopment of the Everett waterfront, which it is believed will be a big draw to the area.

On that note, this arrived in my email inbox today:

Approximately $7 million has been authorized by the Port of Everett for the construction of the initial Phase 1 infrastructure work, which will include road and storm water drainage construction, the closing and raising of the road levels of 13th and 14th Streets, and construction of a retaining wall near 14th Street.

Hoffman Construction is reviewing the updated bids for this work, which will be awarded by the end of April, so that construction can commence in mid-May. When all construction financing is in place, Maritime Trust Company plans to initiate the construction of the foundations and parking systems.

The Bayside Marine dry storage facility and the Port Marina Operations office were completed in January, and the boatyard is gearing up for the boating season. The official opening of the Port Gardner Wharf Craftsman District was March 1, so Spring and Summer will be bringing lots of activity to our future community!

…Maritime Trust appreciates your patience and support while they are in the process of sorting out the current mercurial financial markets. Maritime remains fully committed to getting this project underway, as evidenced by their waiver of “conditions precedent” with the Port in December.

[The Port Gardner Wharf] Presentation Center is open Saturday through Wednesday from 11 to 6, or by appointment…

Click here for the latest (March 16) aerial photographs.

While we’re waiting for the NWMLS statistics for March to come out, I thought I would go ahead and share some of the market information I am receiving from Altos Research.  If you click on the “Get Reports” button on the header above, you can request to have this report, or one for the city of your choice, sent to you each week without having to pay a monthly subscription fee.

Here are some highlights of this week’s report on Mukilteo:

• Median prices are trending down, and have been doing so since they hit their peak in early January.
• Prices in the 4 quartiles are steady, but there appears to be a change in the mix.  More homes may be being listed at lower prices than previously, accounting for the downward trend.
• Price per square foot is declining, indicating that buyers can now get more home for the money.
• Days on market is still increasing, with homes in the 1st (highest priced) and 3rd (lower middle) quartiles showing the longest time on market.

Click here to download the Mukilteo Market Report as a PDF file, or here for the Everett Market Report.

Or, click here for real time charts.