North Sound Property News

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.

I am starting a new feature here on the blog to showcase the best examples on the MLS of my favorite architectural styles, Mid-Century Modern and Northwest Contemporary.   For those unfamiliar with those styles, I refer you to my previous article here.

Here are my my picks for the week:

1928 10th Avenue E
Capitol Hill
$1,199,000
MLS#  28024730

Perhaps more modern than mid-century, I love the use of glass and exotic materials.  The exterior is mahogany, steel & concrete with a secluded stone terrace and low-maint gardens. Indoors you’ll find a great room concept w/Brazilian cherry floors, concrete fireplace w/hearth-seating, Viking, Sub-Zero, limestone & maple finishes.  And you can’t beat the fabulous, close-in location.  http://www.windermere.com/28024730

2432 127th Ave SE
Bellevue/Woodridge
$559,950
MLS# 28042856

This great mid-century modern home in the Woodridge area of south Bellevue sits on an incredible 16,000 square foot street-to-street lot. This home has so many great midcentury features such as exposed wood framing, low-pitch roof, huge windows to bring the light indoors.  Best of all, it is priced to exemplify the modern aesthetic of putting great design within reach. Great neighborhood with community pool and park. http://www.windermere.com/28042856

4875 Alpine Drive
Everett/Forest Park
$399,000 
MLS# 28023533

This enormous 3,000 asf home has been recently remodeled/updated but still retains many of its best mid-century features, including the enormous windows, exposed wood beams, a flowing and open floor plan.  http://www.windermere.com/28023533

These homes represent a fraction of the great mid-century homes on the market right now.  Contact me if you would like to see these or any of the other great midcentury homes currently available.

Local online real estate brokerage Redfin just released their second annual customer satisfaction report called “The Redfin Advantage.”  One of the areas they are touting heavily is the negotiating advantage that Redfin’s customers are supposed to receive. 

Here’s Redfin’s graphical representation of their advantage:

I thought it would be a fun idea to compare their numbers to my own, just to see how I’d do. 

Let’s look at the facts.  According to Redfin:

In King County, Washington, Redfin buyers paid on average 98.885% of the listing price, while people who purchased a home through other brokerages paid 99.383% of the listing price. The difference of 0.498% represents an average savings of $2,490.

Redfin did not include numbers for Snohomish County, so I am comparing my results across both Snohomish and King because my market area straddles both counties.  Here is what my results showed:

My buyers paid an average of 96.79% of the average listing price, compared to the above referenced 99.383% through other agents/brokers and 98.885% with Redfin. 

The difference represents an average savings of $10,468 compared to other brokers/agents, and nearly $8,000 more than the Redfin “advantage.”  It also saves an average of about $13,000 off of list price, if we’re going to represent it as shown above.  This is about $2,000 less than the “Redfin Advantage.” 

Uh oh, looks like I’m not doing that well.  Except there are a few catches to the Redfin model.

 For starters, Redfin charges for home tours.  The first two are free, the third and fourth tours are $250 each, which is subtracted from the commission rebate, and after that each tour is $250 in advance.  I’ve yet to meet the client that didn’t need to tour at least 5 homes before choosing one they like.   Usually it’s between 5 and 10, depending on the client.  For the sake of argument, you could end up giving Redfin back the entire difference, or more, between their “advantage” and mine.

 In fairness, Redfin also suggests that you access homes by going to open houses or getting the listing agent to show you the house.  Where do I start with why this is a bad idea?  One of the most important services a buyer agent provides is feedback about the homes you are touring and the areas where you are looking.  Sometimes, this feedback comes in the form of a criticism or warning about potential problems.  You will not get this kind of feedback at an open house, or from the listing agent.  You may get it from your Redfin agent, but you’ll pay for the priveledge.

In fairness, not all traditional agents provide this kind of feedback either.  That just means you need to find an agent who will.  A good agent is going to be very upfront with you about all the pros and cons of what you are doing, because they want your repeat and referral business.  Ultimately we want you to be pleased with your purchase and to feel that there were no unpleasant surprises.

Another disadvantage is that Redfin agents are not area specialists.  They may not know much about the schools or how pending developments are affecting the market.  They may not know much about how different floor plans do on resale in your given market.  They may not know about changes going on with companies in the area that could affect home values.  And they probably don’t know much about the soils in a given neighborhood.  Nor are they going to know about how active or inactive a particular homeowners association might be.  These are just a few of the kinds of local knowledge can save or cost you quite a bit of money over the long haul of owning your home and that you might wish you’d known later on down the road.

I have to admit that I love companies that dare to do things differently, and I think the online brokerage concept has a lot of merit.   And, from what I’ve seen of him online, Glenn Kelman seems like a great guy.  Over the long haul, I believe that online brokerage is the direction all brokerages and agents will be heading.  So this is not a Redfin bash.  I do think that Redfin seems to compare pretty favorably to the “average” (or downright bad) agent, which is a good thing for them and their clients.  But I also think that a great, full-service agent can still beat the online model, hands-down. 

I guess it all comes down to the agent you choose.

 *Props to Ben at Seattle Housing Buzz for the idea.