Building Height Limits in Olympia - Pro or Con?

I know many of you have been following the news reports and letters to the editor regarding the proposals to change the height limits for downtown construction projects - specifically the project for market rent condos on the isthmus between Capitol Lake and Budd Bay. I'm curious what you think - would you be interested in living in a condo right downtown where you could walk to stores, restaurants and entertainment? What should carry more weight for the community good - adding market rate housing downtown or preserving views? How do we decide? Are there other, better, downtown locations for high rise housing? Would you be so worried about earthquakes or rising water levels that you would not live on the isthmus? If the property was instead to be turned into a park, how would that be paid for in a time of crunched budgets? Would you pay more taxes or fees so it could be a park?

I'm curious to hear your views about this issue. I know frequently when I am showing homes to buyers new to the community, they are surprised (and disappointed) that we don't have more condo/townhome housing available in downtown Olympia. I also know many people feel passionately that blocking the views with high rise housing would be a horrible mistake. So how do you feel? Please post a comment to my blog, or email me to let me know your thoughts!

So How Was July Real Estate?

I compiled an update of market info for current listings, as well as new listings and new pending sales that happened in July for single family homes in Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater. And here is what I found:

Current available listings - 1396

New listings in July/New pending sales in July:

Under $200K - 26 26
$200-249K - 68 65
$250-299K - 91 43
$300-349K - 36 24
$350-399K - 31 13
$400-499K - 47 12
Over $500K - 46 9


So...still lots of homes available for buyers! And despite the continued tightening of loan criteria, there are still mortgage options for buyers with decent credit - especially if they do have down payment funds available.

And the new listings, new pending sales detail confirms what my gut impression would have been - under $200,000 homes are selling well and speedily. Note that there were exactly as many absorbed into pending sale status as new ones coming on the market in that price category.

The largest number of sales continues to be under $300,000. While just over 53% of new listings were in this price category, a whopping 69.79% of the new pending sales were - almost 70%!

And it is clear that homes over $400,000; especially over $500,000 are moving very, very slowly - only 21 sales total in the over $400K price category.

So, seems to still be the case that buyers have good options and potentially some negotiating clout. Sellers must price their homes as close to what they truly will sell for as possible and have them in tip top condition and ready to show well from day one on the market. And if the list price is over $400,000, sit back and draw on all your patience as it may take a while!

Pet Resource find!

We recently went on a week's vacation to Lake Chelan and found a wonderful resource for our pets while we were gone! We have had various friends and acquaintances house sit & pet sit for us in the past, but this time it seemed like all of those folks were either unavailable or had actually moved away - & we were wondering what we were going to do about care for our two dogs while we were away. Our older dog is a rescue dog, and I am pretty sure he would not do well at all if we tried to board him somewhere, so having someone come stay at our house and watch the dogs has always seemed like the only real answer.

I did some research on line about professional pet sitters and found Kari Kells! What a find!! I have added her website as a link on my blog under pet resources as we were so, so pleased with her!! She is very loving with pets and very business like in her approach to pet sitting. The dogs had fun with her, we vacationed without worry - how nice to know we can get away and feel like the pets will be very well cared for in our absence!

Real Estate Market last month

I am changing my real estate market updates a bit; this will show total number of currently active residential listings in the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater areas, as well as a rundown for the month of June for listings that came on the market or went pending by price category.
Total active listings within the greater Olympia area is now at 1444.
During June, the activity looked like this:

New listings New pending sales

Under $200K - 16 26
$200-250K - 112 52
$250-300K - 75 55
$300-350K - 36 23
$350-400K - 33 23
$400-500K - 51 13
Over $500K - 43 10

So there is still a good amount of inventory for buyers looking to get a great value on a home to live in or acquire as an investment property. I notice that in the under $200K category there were actually more new pending sales than new listings - those are still moving rapidly when they hit the market with even multiple offers being not an unusual thing. Buyers in that price range have to be ready to move very quickly with an offer when they find the house they want!
I think the pattern of new pendings in the price brackets of over $200K but under $400K are encouraging, too. It is when you get above $400K that activity is just very slow and time on the market tends to be pretty lengthy. I would still advise that anyone wanting to sell absolutely must get their home priced right (as in very, very close to the mark where it should actually end up selling) as well as having it in top notch condition inside and out. If you don't really need to sell and just think it might be interesting to "test the market" at an above market asking price - please think again!

Eating locally!

I think this is the summer that I am really committed to eat as locally as possible. I loved the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - that was part of my motivation to actually plant a vegetable garden this year after talking about it for at least the last 2 or 3 years. And so far it is sure fun to watch everything grow and be able to eat some yummy veggies right out of our yard! The cauliflower and broccoli are ready and some of the peas look like they are ready or close! The tomato plants are coming along nicely as well as squash (that already need to be thinned a bit) and onions, garlic, peppers, beans and cucumbers. The only thing that didn't go well was our lettuce - the slugs invaded in record numbers even though we spent quite a bit of time daily "flinging" them out of the garden. Finally decided they could eat the lettuce and we could just get that at Farmer's Market. I think it is working as they did devour the lettuce, but haven't gotten started on anything else. So anyone who knows non-toxic ways to deter slugs for future lettuce plantings, please pass along your wisdom!
Farmer's Market has also been a wonderful source of fresh local produce. We have been gorging on yummy strawberries and now the peaches from Eastern Washington have arrived - hurray! This crazy spring/summer have delayed a lot of the fruit from its usual harvest time - but that has just meant we are even happier to finally see it, and eat it!
So, I am finding our garden to be relaxing to work in, and I really enjoy not having to worry about some of the various alarming bulletins about the mass-produced items causing e coli or salmonella scares - organic and local offers great peace of mind as well as amazing taste!

June market so far!

Well, June has brought us such crazy weather that it has been hard to know if we are just about to summer or moving back into winter already! Despite that craziness, real estate does continue to march forward - still with heaviest buying activity in the $200-300,000 price bracket.

I took a look this time at total active listings in the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater area by price categories and it looks like this:

Under $200,000 - 71
$200-249,999 - 243
$250-299,999 - 291
$300-349,999 - 142
$350-399,999 - 156
$400-499,999 - 164
Over $500,000 - 238

Lots of available homes for sale!! But there do continue to be new pending sales also:

Under $200,000 - 12
$200-249,999 - 20
$250-299,999 - 33
$300-349,999 - 8
$350-399,999 - 6
$400-499,999 - 9
Over $500,000 - 5

So things are selling, but it is pretty clear that at the current pace, it will take quite a while to clear out the existing inventory! Still mainly a buyer's market!

Market update

I am going to change the market statistical info to be a monthly update - watch for the first one next Friday. I will summarize what homes are on the market for sale in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater by price brackets and also what is selling. So we will see how market trends look as we move into summer! I have seen two "bidding wars" on homes within the last week and a half, so certainly some price brackets and areas are still seeing fast market times and strong buyer activity.

Cooking classes

Our community is very lucky to have some wonderful & free learning opportunities - & I think these cooking classes are among the best! They are held in the demo kitchen on the second floor of Bayview Thriftway (516 W Fourth Ave in downtown Olympia) & happen every first Thursday of the month from 9-11 AM. The classes are taught by Pat Leslie who is a retired WSU faculty member, and no prior registration is required - just show up!
Upcoming sessions will include Cast Iron Skillet Cookery on June 5th - featuring recipes & techniques for making snacks, main courses and desserts using a cast iron skillet for indoor or outdoor cooking. Then on July 10th, it will be Picnic Fare & Food Safety with great salads and tips on safe serving during hot weather (which hopefully we will actually have!). And on August 7th, it will be Garden Vegetables, where you can learn what to do with all the corn, zucchini, string beans & tomatoes that are either ripening in your garden or that you are buying at Farmer's Market.
Besides tasty & creative recipes and great nutrition tips, Pat makes everything look so simple that you will be ready to go home and try these ideas yourself!

Market update for 5/17/08-5/27/08

Due to the Memorial Day weekend, I compiled all of the new active listings and new ones under contract from where I left off last. So this group is for a 10 day period instead of a week. And it looks like this:

Active listings:

Under $200,000 - 3
$201-249,999 - 15
$250-299,999 - 31
$300-349,999 - 7
$350-399,999 - 11
$400-499,999 - 8
Over $500,000 - 18

Newly under contract:

Under $200,000 - 7
$201-249,999 - 17
$250-299,999 - 12
$300-349,999 - 7
$350-399,999 - 11
$400-499,999 - 3
Over $500,000 - 5

I notice that there are a lot of new listings in the $200's again - this time period is even more heavily weighted in the upper half of that price bracket, compared to almost an even split last time. And there are double the number of new listings over $500K! You'll notice in the "under contract" portion though that over $500,000 is still a very tough bracket with only 5 new sales. It looks like this last time period saw good activity as far as new pendings in the $200's and also in the upper half of the $300's.

So good news to see 62 listings go under contract during this time period - but the new ones are still coming on the market even faster with a total of 93 new listings. Still mostly a buyer's market - although I did see a multiple offer situation last week on a brand new listing!

Market update for week ending 5/16/08

Well, the new listings just keep coming! This past week there have been 78 new listings total in the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater areas (single family residential only). The pattern of what price ranges are being represented is staying pretty constant:
Under $200,000 - 6 new listings
$200-249,999 - 17
$250-299,999 - 16
$300-349,999 - 13
$350-399,999 - 10
$400-499,999-7
Over $500,000 - 9

We also have had 41 listing go under contract in this same time period (notice that almost twice as many are coming onto the market as are going off - still tilted in favor of buyers in most cases!)

The pending sales look like this:
Under $200,000 - 5
$200-249,999 - 15
$250-299,999 - 8
$300-349,999- 4
$350-399,999 - 4
$400-499,999 - 2
Over $500,000 - 3

With our weather getting decidedly summery and spring/summer blossoms making our community look sensational, activity does seem to be on the increase. Plus we are approaching the time of year that often sees a burst of sales with families hoping to close and get moved during summer vacation.

By the way - for those new pending sales, the average time on the market was 93 days which is actually a pretty "normal" mark for our area historically. And I notice that within the ones going under contract, there are 13 that took less than 30 days - pricing correctly continues to be absolutely crucial!!

Market up date for 5/10/08

So here is the weekly update of new listings/new pending sales in Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater by price bracket:

Under $200,000 - 3 new listings - 4 new pending sales
$200-249,999 - 21 new listings - 16 new pending sales
$250,000-299,999 - 13 new listings - 14 new pending sales
$300,000-349,999 - 7 new listings - 4 new pending sales
$350,000-399,999 - 9 new listings - 2 new pending sales
$400,000-499,999 - 11 new listings - 5 new pending sales
Over $500,000 - 6 new listings - 5 new pending sales

The basic trends are holding with the highest number of new listings & new pending sales in the $200's. Under $250K there are more coming on the market than going pending, but the $250-299,999 bracket actually had one more pending than new listing - cool! And in the very difficult over $500K bracket, although 6 new listings came on the market, we also saw 5 new pending sales compared to just 1 last week!

The volume of calls and open house visitors is still increasing it seems - nicer weather is bringing people out to drive around and house hunt a bit! And interest rates, though a bit volatile, are still quite attractive.

So - we will see what the coming week has in store for the real estate market!

Market update of what is selling!

Well, all of a sudden the market has gotten busier, so that my intention to post this on Friday turned into doing it now near the end of the day on Monday! But that could be a good sign that more buyers seem to be out and about looking, calling and deciding that it might be time to buy.
Since 4/25/08 there has actually been quite a bit happening, both in new listings coming onto the market, and also new pending sales. The breakdown by price bracket goes like this:

New listings since 4/25/08 in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater -
Under $200,000 - 6
$200 - 249,999 - 37
$250-299,999 - 28
$300-349,999 - 22
$350-399,999 - 10
$400-499,999 - 9
Over $500,000 - 21
Also 5 new condo listings ranging from $127,900 to $439,000

There are also buyers choosing homes:

6 new contingent sales - 1 in the $200-250K range; 2 in the $300-350K; & 3 in the $400K's

Also for new pending sales, we have:
Under $200,000 - 4
$200-249,999 - 17
$250-299,999 - 13
$300-349,999 - 8
$350-399,999 - 6
$400-499,999 - 7
Over $500K - 1

Pretty clear that the bulk of the activity continues to be in the $200's. Also pretty clear that new listings are coming on faster than existing listings are getting cleared out, even in the $200's - so that is sure a fun price bracket for a buyer to shop in and negotiate for a good value!
More next week...

What is selling anyway??

One of the questions I am most often asked about the local real estate market is "What is selling anyway?" With the national media reporting a huge slowdown in real estate and with lenders tightening the approval criteria, the perception is that maybe NOTHING is selling. It is very true that some homes are remaining on the market a very long time - but it is also true that homes are selling.
This will be the first of a weekly look at what price brackets ARE moving and which ones are not. If you want more detailed information about what the market activity is like in your neighborhood, just email me or call me!
So - for the month running from 3/25/08 -4/25/08 the number of sales of single family homes looks like this:

Under $200,000 - 22 sales
From $201,000-249,999 - 45 sales
From $250,000-299,999 - 56 sales
From $300,000-349,999 - 16 sales
From $350,000--399,999 - 14 sales
From $400,000-499,999 - 18 sales
Over $500,000 - 14 sales

Next week, I will post an update for what has sold since today by price range and add the info of how many homes are available in each category.

Olympia spring happenings!

Despite the weather (what's up with snow in April??), I think spring has returned to Olympia and we can again enjoy Farmer's Market downtown! It is open now Thursdays - Sundays and there is already some yummy early produce like apples, pears, lettuce - as well as some good little "plantlings" of veggies to set out in your own garden. There is usually great music to get your toes tapping if you shop on the weekends - so plan on taking time to savor the experience as well as the food!!