Where people interested in Seattle neighborhoods and residential real estate meet.
As consumers continue to push for more verifiable sustainable products, a host of green certification programs are helping people make responsible and educated consumer decisions.
Here is a look at some of the leading certification programs that can help you make sustainable purchases.
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It’s important to set goals in various aspects of life, from personal relationships to career aspirations. Yet, how often do we consider setting goals to reduce our carbon footprint?
Making the switch to energy-efficient appliances, transitioning to electric or hybrid vehicles and embracing renewable energy sources are all steps towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions and fostering a more sustainable lifestyle.
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Good news! The national economy is growing. Unemployment remains low. Corporate revenues are up.
For housing and mortgage professionals, however, these apparent highlights are persistent nuisances. They signal that the economy is still running hot – or at least more than lukewarm – and inflation may need more cold water from the Federal Reserve to cool it off.
“Cold water” comes from the central bank’s intent to maintain high financing costs for banks that borrow from other financial institutions. In turn, consumers experience the trickle-down effect in the form of costlier lending rates when holding credit card debt or purchasing cars and homes. (More on this in a moment.)
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April does not have to be Earth Month for each of us to be aware of the importance of living a sustainable, environmentally friendly lifestyle. That includes embracing this intentional way of life around the home.
It’s even more true when using “green” features to sell a home. Fun fact: When comparing the overall median sales price of a home sold in Western Washington in 2023, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported residential properties with a green certification sold for 20% more – $740K vs. the non-certified home sale of $591K. Wow!
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Forty-eight years ago, the Japanese Consulate in Seattle presented the city with a gift to mark our nation’s 200th birthday. That gift, a thousand cherry trees, has been paying dividends each year ever since.
The start of spring may be the third week of March across the U.S., but Seattleites know the true beginning is when the cherry trees light up the city with their delicate pink blooms that put on a magical display for a few short weeks.
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Despite a short session this year, lawmakers in Olympia were successful in passing 14 known pieces of legislation that serve to help home buyers and sellers as well as landlords and tenants.
Possibly the most notable bill to reach Gov. Inslee’s desk for his signature was a measure that reintroduces into the state a form of co-living housing that was popular here a century or more ago – boarding houses. The new legislation aims to prohibit local government from restricting this form of rental housing while generating more options for people struggling to afford a place to live.
What might be even more newsworthy is the lack of breakthrough legislation to address the shortage of homes overall and affordable ones at that.
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Mixed economic numbers have turned that smile upside down among interest-rate watchers, as inflation persists and employment stays healthy. This divergence of data put the mortgage market on its heels over the past several weeks and essentially reset rates after trending lower in December and January.
As a result, home buyers and sellers across Seattle/King County saw a mixed bag of activity in February, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Home sales figures were little changed in the county as a whole year-on-year (YoY) but varied widely by city, while home prices reached double digits amid growing demand.
This return of buyers follows a sluggish late 2023. About two-thirds of all King County listings sold last month at the list price or above, signaling a competitive environment and extending this long-running sellers’ market.
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Residential real estate – like most industries – enjoys the use of acronyms and abbreviations to get information across. That can make for challenging moments for consumers when attempting to track the home-buying and -selling process.
We have APR, CMA, CC&Rs and, of course, HOA – all commonly used terms to help “abbreviate” our conversations. Here are two more, perhaps lesser-known, terms worth noting – PMI and MIP. (Real estate terminologies.)
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The world of residential real estate can be a fast-paced business, where deals are struck, fortunes made … and danger potentially lurks just below the surface.
The emergence of creatively sophisticated cybercriminals armed with cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence (AI) is making life difficult for the real estate industry and its customers. It’s not exactly new: Hackers have been targeting American consumers as well as real estate professionals for many years in an attempt to steal money.
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A roof inspection is one of those preventive maintenance jobs that are easy to overlook. Don’t! Add an annual reminder to your calendar, then go out on a warm day and address any roof problems you find.
If you’re uncomfortable about heights, don’t worry. You can do a thorough inspection from the ground using a pair of binoculars.
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