Downtown Kirkland, the Kirkland Marina and local community parks in Kirkland provide memorable sunsets. Have you experienced just how exceptional it is seeing the sun go down behind the Olympic Mtns or Seattle from Kirkland or even the Eastside? I have... these are shots that I took from my patio deck. It faces West and you can see Bellevue, Seattle (in the background), and DT Kirkland. I want to share my town, Kirkland with you and provide a glimpse of how amazing the sunsets are in the spring. Summer is almost here, so expect more pictures of gorgeous sunsets and breathe taking silhouettes. Have you ever experienced the sunsets in Kirkland? Please feel free to share... Freddy   Sunset from my deck- Olympic Mtns in background- boat on lower left. The sun just went down behind the Olymp... 04/16/2009

For all of you who love data, here is some information about Kirkland. The Case- Sheller index for January (released 3/31) still has values dropping about 3% a month for the Puget Sound area but the annual trend is slowing. West of Market in Kirkland, WA as of April 2nd has about 56 homes listed for sale.  Prices range from about $480,000 to $4.9 million. WEST OF MARKET DATA: With nine pendings and solds over the last six months. Here are the overall trends for South Kirkland: New data for March will be out soon.   04/02/2009

As agents we are now being asked "What is this tax credit for first time home buyers?"  Especially now that there are great deals and low interest rates.    Here is some great in formation I got from my Title agent at Commonwealth Tile and Escrow. Tax Credit at a Glance • The tax credit is available for first time home buyers only(or for those who have not purchased in the last three years.) • The tax credit does not have to be repaid. • The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000. • The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. • Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. Frequently Asked Questions Who is elig... 03/26/2009

As agents we are always asked "what can I do about my taxes?"  Especially now that values have fallen in relation to their assessment.   Here is some great in formation I got from my Title agent at Commonwealth Tile and Escrow. The King County Assessor revalues all property in King County each year, notifying property owners of their new value determinations by mail on Official Property Value Notice cards. The Assessor typically begins sending out these revaluation cards in April, finishing sometime in August. These new valuations will be the basis for the amount of taxes due the following year. Property owners who believe the new assessed value of their property exceeds its fair market value have the opportunity to appeal each year following receipt of the Assessor's revaluation notice... 03/26/2009

Moving an office is exhausting. I am happy to say that Score Solution is now fully up and running in its new space. We went from a 2200 sq ft office to over 8500 sq ft!! Needless to say, business is booming and we needed more space for all the new staff! There is an overwhelming need for what we do...credit education and repair, mortgage loan modification, debt settlement. For all the real estate agents that want to provide value and a lasting impression, please email me or call to discuss partnerships. Your clients will remember you not only as the agent who sold them that house, but as the agent who truly cared and shared awesome resources. 03/23/2009

You are going to hear this phrase more and more as the housing market stabilizes.  It means from the top of the market to the point at which we no longer see declining numbers. Moody's says home prices in the United States will hit their low point in the fourth quarter of 2009, with the Case-Shiller Home Price Index expected to show a 36.2% peak-to-trough decline. The peak was reached nationally in the first quarter of 2006. The Seattle Case-Shiller Home Price Index from January 1989 until January 2009. The peak in Seattle was June 2006. If you follow the index, that means a home bought at the peak of the market in Seattle for $350,000 will ‘trough' at $233,009.  Today that home is valued at $257,080. (A past Trough) Seattle Case-Shiller Home Price Index from November 1989 until Decembe... 02/26/2009

Kirkland is a city located on the East shoreline of Lake Washington, directly across the water from North Seattle.  Kirkland's waterfront and downtown have the feel of a small town, with public parks, small restaurants, shops, and a walkable downtown core.  The lakefront park and boat launch are very popular in summer, as well as the organized downtown events in the summer.  Daily boat moorage is available at Kirkland's docks, with a minimal fee for overnight moorage.  Home to Costco's birthplace (Kirkland brand), there are many businesses that keep the job market healthy and the real estate stable in this mid-sized town.  Home prices near the water are high, as to be expected, but become very reasonable as you travel further North.  To the East of Kirkland is Redmond, and to the South... 02/20/2009

The Kirkland, WA Google Lakeview Office Complex. The plan to build the Google offices in Kirkland started years ago.  It sounded great for everyone, especially the Eastside Real Estate Market. The rumor was that Google had grown and matured as a company and now had 100's of middle mangers and directors.  They could not all make millions a year but they made good six figure incomes.  However, around San Francisco and Mountain View California, six figures doesn't buy much.  So the plan was to move some of this group to Kirkland where their salaries could buy nicer homes and schools for their children.  All this while being close to the Microsoft brain trust and just a short flight back to the mother ship. Click ahead to 2009.  At a recent Bellevue Chamber business lunch the bad news came... 02/19/2009

When I was in college, I spent my Spring Break working at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (www.gardenshow.com/)  During the set up for the show, I had a blast driving fork-lifts, Bobcats, and man-lifts. Each day, I watched the designers create amazing indoor gardens with flowers, trees, bushes, grasses, water features, outdoor living areas, cottages, and bridges.  They were beautiful! Then, the day before the grand opening, when all the gardens were built, I spent the evening 30 feet up in the man-lift helping the lighting designer "set the lights."  He used colored gels, created focal points, and carefully created light and shadow in each garden.  I was stunned by the transformation.  The room went from being pretty to being magical!  At that moment, I understood the importance o... 02/15/2009

The charming Kingsgate Neighborhood (http://www.kingsgate.org/) of Kirkland/Woodinville is only a 10-minute drive away from Bellevue Square Mall and 20-minutes from downtown Seattle, yet it is a place where people get to know each other and neighborhood events are commonplace. What makes this neighborhood so wonderful and unique?  Well, perhaps the number one reason is the community pools.  These fully-staffed pools with adjacent parks and playgrounds create place for neighbors to gather and kids to play together.  From Easter Egg Hunts, complete with giant Easter Bunnies, to Annual Barbeques with free food and lots of games, tradition and friendship are integral to the character of Kingsgate!  The pools offer so much to their members.  Besides being great places for summer fun, each of... 02/14/2009

How does your home smell?  Inviting?  Repelling?  Nuetral?  This is so much more important than you realize!  Scent is powerfully linked to memory and mood.  You want people to be in a good mood when they tour your house, and you want them to remember it! Last weekend, I showed many, many houses, but one in particular stands out for HOW BAD IT SMELLED! It was so bad my clients and I didn't even go through the whole house!  The musty smell wasn't just annoying, it was a sign that the house might have a serious problem. On the other hand, I previewed a townhouse recently that smelled amazingly good!  It was wonderful!  I didn't want to leave.  I took my time touring it, and I remember it for all the right reasons. The scent of your home doesn't show up online, but it speaks volumes to the... 02/13/2009

House hunting with my grandmother was always interesting.  Before I was an agent, I used to pick up my Grandma  on Sunday afternoons and take her to look at open houses.  (We wanted her to move closer to us, but she didn't want to commit to an agent.)  My grandmother is a brilliant woman when is comes to business and numbers, but her ability to visualize is non-existent.  This became very clear to me when we visited a great house that had a grand piano in the living room.  She surveyed the room and said, "There's just not much room with that piano in here."  "Grandma, the piano doesn't stay with house,"  I responded. "Oh, I know," she replied, looked around again. Then she repeated, "There's just not much room with that piano in here." We went on like that for quite some time.  The hous... 02/12/2009

ARDELL DellaLoggia I Blog about Seattle Real Estate and industry issues at Rain City Guide I Blog about Seattle Area Real Estate including Eastside Real Estate on my blog. I represent buyers and sellers of real estate in the Seattle Area Front page news "above the fold" Seattle PI 2/10/09 One of the Top 10 Female Real Estate Bloggers in 2006 One of the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Industry Bloggers in 2007 per Inman News Wrote one of the The Magnificent 7 Real Estate Blog Posts of 2008 From Anthony Carr - Realty Times" "Broker and blogger Ardell DellaLoggia, reads the home sales statistics  like a stock broker reads the daily Wall Street returns." Quoted in: Seattle Weekly Business Week Wall Street Journal On the Dave Ross show 2/10/09 at 10:15 On the Tom Kelly Real Estate radio ... 02/05/2009

Saw this on the web it made my mouth drool!!! it made my arteries clog!!! You can find the complete Recipe and Instructions here: BBQ Addicts ~ Bacon Explosion Had to share it and if anyone makes it ~ let me know how it turns out!!!   01/31/2009

Goat Hill is a unique neighborhood in the Juanita area of Kirkland that overlooks Lake Washington.  Recently, I took some buyers to see the available homes on the hill. The road is narrow and winds up the hill and is not for everybody.  My buyers loved it. Price ranges for the eight homes on the hill are $440,000 to just over a million.  There are three new homes being built by Bennett that take full advantage of the view and my clients loved the detail. There are also two homes that where built in the 1930's.  Per square foot is around $300 which is typical today for view property. There really is something for everybody. One of the benefits of ownership on the hill is that most homes are deeded into a small waterfront lot at the bottom of the hill just west of Juanita Beach Park.  It'... 01/29/2009

There's Kirkland, then Juanita and Finn Hill.  The lifestyle is different in each area and so is the housing market.   Here is the difference in inventory between Kirkland and Juanita.   Kirkland is 24 months:    Juanita is 7.8 Months:   Kikrland For Sales, Solds, and Pends:   Kikrland For Sales, Solds, and Pends:   You can see the Juanita area is performing better than the General Kirkland area.   01/29/2009

Barbara Corcoran on the Today Show talked about ten myths for buyers and sellers.  This is great information everyone. Myths like: The longer the house is on the market, the more you can negotiate.The sellers today are desperate.You shouldn't buy before prices have bottomed.And one issue I talk about: Now's the absolute worst time to sell.Barbara says "... if you're a homeowner who wants to trade up, the loss you'll take on your current home will be more than offset by the bargain you'll get on the next one." Hopefully, further information like this will take away more of the uncertainty in the market.   URL: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28818023/?pg=3#TDY_RealEstateMyths 01/26/2009

I'm a Real Estate Agent at Windermere in Kirkland. When I talk to parents who are thinking about moving they are definitely thinking about the schools their children might attend. If you are thinking about schools in the Seattle area, here are maps or access to maps that show what school your child will attend.  Contact your local school district for specific information. Also, today it seems with a little work on the parent's part (i.e. no transportation,) many children can attend the school of their choice. For example, my Carnation listing is in the Snoqualmie School District but their son finished high school at Eastlake High School in Redmond.  Here are the links: Bellevue Bothell Carnation Duvall Issaquah Kenmore Kirkland Mercer Island Redmond Seattle Shoreline Snoqualmie Woodinville 01/13/2009

As agents, anxiety is the new reality in our lives.  With transactions half of what there where a year ago, our business has downsized but no one sent us an official notice.  We've all seen agents make adjustments such as moving back to their home towns, taking on service jobs or just leaving the business. Some need to turn their listings over to associates, their co-workers and friends, who are still working as full time agents.  A self induced layoff. I heard a veteran agent say "I will ride this recession out until things get back to the way they were."  Are we ever going back to the way things where? Unfortunately this is the time we need people in the industry to move ahead, be creative.  As a New York Times article points out, with downsizing, people take fewer risks and become le... 01/09/2009

Facts and truth really don't have much to do with each other.                             -William Faulkner The truth today is that people who could buy or sell are scared because of the uncertainty in the housing market.  ‘Will I pay too much; will I sell for too little?'  The voices in your head can rattle forever until you see the facts. The facts are that in Seattle, housing prices in some areas actually climbed. This points to prices stabilizing and new facts; we can see the bottom of the Seattle market. Most analysis see the bottom accruing second quarter of 2009. Then a rebound in mid 2010 because of a shortage of new construction brought on by the current financial crisis. There will always be uncertainty, but some people have confused the facts.  A house is an investment... but... 01/07/2009