Seattle's Urban Villages

The Montlake Waterfront Park, a Place Filled with Life....

Today in the Sunday Seattle Times Pacific Magazine there was a terrific article called "Bay Watch" about the wetlands that are bordered by Montlake , Madison Park, and the University of Washington. 

As Tom Reese writes in the article, that the park really is an amazing natural area in the midst of such an urban setting.  My favorite juxtaposition is the 520 freeway overpass system that sweeps over the water.  The fact that there is a beaver lodge in middle of it all and visible from the freeway is truly a bit of wildness that always surprises me. 

 

After my Montlake open house had ended for the day, I decided to walk around the Montlake Waterfront Park , to relax and take some photos.  It was the last in a series of sunny days that we have been having recently and even though it was later in the day, there were people out kayaking and walking on the trails, the bridges and relaxing on the decks.

The park is a great place to get away and in such a close in location.  One more wonderful reason to enjoy living in Seattle!

Mr Johnson's Antiques in Montlake

Strolling along on Seattle's 24th Avenue East in the little retail core of Montlake, you come to Mr Johnson's Antiques.

 

When you step inside you are surrounded by treasures, and your eyes have to keep moving about to take them in.  Seated behind a desk near the entrance you see Mr Johnson, aka Matthew Johnson, who greets you and laughingly puts you at your ease.

Matthew, who I met a year before at Georgetown's Art & Garden Walk where he now makes his home (also filled with many wonderful objects) is very outgoing and loves to show off the treasures that his shop holds.  The Montlake neighbors often drop by and there is a candy bowl just for the kids, one mom and young daughter stopped by while I was there recently and they were delighted by Matthews' charm.  One of the neighbors who came by my open house in Montlake recently told me that he considers Matthew to be the "Mayor of Montlake".  Matthew is a long time resident of the area, he grew up in North Capitol and played baseball at the Montlake Playfields as a child, there is even a photo of him in the shop with his bat the ready for a pitch.   

When you are in the Montlake neighborhood, and if you love to poke around to find treasures, then Mr Johnson's Antiques is a great place to stop by.

An Open House history lesson or I love meeting the former owners!

Two weeks ago at an Open House for my new listing in Montlake...

there were many neighbors (and of course buyers looking for a new home) stopping by to see the house now that it is for sale,  and it's improvements.  It was very enjoyable meeting everyone and giving tours of the home because there are many unusual features like a walled over stained glass window just waiting for new owners to reveal it to the world again and...this house even has a secret room!  There was a surprise for me when the former owner, before my client bought the house about 10 years ago, stopped by. 

Mrs. G. and her family lived there for over 30 years and she wanted to see the home again where she had lived with her husband and their children grew up.  It was wonderful to listen to Mrs G. tell me about the way the house used to be when it was her home and the changes she and her husband made to the homes as its' second owners.  Things like adding the extra bathrooms (the house has 5, very unusual in Montlake!)and I finally got to find out why there was an odd cut out in the balcony off the kitchen (many people had asked me about that) Mr. G. cut out that portion so that their dog could lie on the floor and look out at the street, who knew!

It's not everyday that a listing agent gets to find out the history of a beautiful and unique Montlake Tudor Home from such long term former owners!

Montlake, in the Mild and Fair Month of May...

My new Montlake  listing-to-be is nearing the end of it's "spa treatment" with a contractor who is freshening it up so I will be be listing it for sale in the Seattle Real Estate market in a week or two.  There are many details to be attended to for my client who lives out of state, and since we are nearing it's completion, I have been spending even more time at the house and working with the contractor in my client's absence, and my job at the Listing Agent has not even begun!

The Montlake neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous right now with our mild and fair May weather producing lush flowers, shrubs and trees.  Wednesday afternoon and evening I spent planting the flowers for the newly redone front yard and noticed all the walker's, some with their beautiful dogs, and joggers out in the afternoon and evening.  Everyone seemed to be particularly enjoying the beautiful days, and many gave me complements on how wonderful "my garden" (to complicated to explain that I was the Real Estate Agent !) was turning out.

Montlake, with it's many Tudor style homes, lovely gardens and parks reminds me of what I imagine England is like, of course since I have never actually been there, my mental images are based on movies and books! 

  The neighborhood is surrounded by parks so is very green and peaceful, and since much of it is level with some gentle slopes, the neighborhood is perfect for enjoying an evening stroll or jog.  There are many great places to walk, jog or ride a bike in Seattle, places like Green Lake , Alki or other parks, but not so many that are the neighborhood itself like Montake.

My seller's home is returning to it's previous lovely state with the attention it has been receiving this spring, and like the Montlake neighborhood itself, springtime refreshed and soon ready to be enjoyed by it's new owners. 

Seattle Times "Home Values 2007" article for the Seattle Real Market in 2006

The Seattle Times yesterday, May 20th 2007, published it's annual  Home Values review for 2007.  Their analysis supports what Seattle Real Estate Agents have been seeing that is very contrary to all the Bubble talk last year of a collapsing Seattle Real Estate market for 2006 which the Seattle Times reports as, for single family homes, rising 15.9% for King County.

  The article is mostly maps showing neighborhoods and the sales data for that map area.  It's well worth clicking through to find information on a neighborhood area (usually several neighborhoods combined) to get the 2006 sales data, an appreciation map, and an affordability map.

For example, if we look at North Capitol Hill / Montlake ( which includes Portage Bay) on the main map  we will find that the median Price  for 2006 was $772,000 and the average price change from 2005 to 2007 was 11.8%.  The income needed in 2006 for Median priced home in North Capitol Hill / Montlake was $185,624  (yikes!)

Prices for buying a home in Seattle continues to increase due to our stable employment, increasing population growth, enjoyable quality of life and the lag in our home appreciation compared to much of the rest of the U.S. because of we took a bigger hit during the Tech bust in 1999/2000 causing more moderate appreciation for the Seattle Real Estate market.  Great news for selling a home in Seattle, although the extra cash will be needed to buy another home unless you are downsizing.

So check it out for yourself, it's very interesting and who doesn't like knowing more about Seattle Real Estate!

Montlake's proposed Interchange and 520 Bridge: Which design will prevail?

Montlake's proposed Interchange & 520 Bridge: Which design will prevail?

The Seattle Weekly this week published an article by Sue Peters: "Poetic Engineering; Will the new 520 bridge be one 'where you turn off and want to go over it again'?".  There are a group of  Montlake neighbors who are concerned with the Washington State Department of Transportation's (WSDOT ) current proposal for what they and others see as an potential eyesore in the making.  The Group, lead by Rob Wilkinson, is going against the traffic and have a design proposal of their own for WSDOT to consider, and helping to get the word out is their website at:  BetterBridge.org. 

Whichever design is ultimately chosen it will certainly affect Montlake, and surrounding neighborhoods of Portage Bay, University District, and the Arboretum with some unknown mix of positive and negative changes.  I do not believe it will adversely affect Montlake Real Estate (and the surrounding neighborhoods) value, since whatever design is actually built will for the most part, be on top of the existing structures.  There will be additional noise since the amount of traffic will increase as Seattle's population continues to grow and the Seattle real estate market with it.  However, the alternative design is much better thought out and community friendly, so if you are interested in buying a house in Montlake and living there, then you can make a difference the future of Montlake's neighborhood by getting involved.

   

Personally I love driving through the Montlake Interchange, and often want to "go over it again"!  When I first arrived in Seattle I was captivated by the the swooping bridges over the water and islands that make up the Montlake Interchange...it reminded me of my childhood visits to Disneyland and the rides Autopia and the lagoons of Submarine Voyage with the Monorail swooping above! 

Montlake...

Montlake, one of Seattle's Urban Villages...

  ... is where I have been spending a lot of time these past few weeks.  I am working with some out of state sellers as their Seattle Real Estate Agent to prepare their house to enter the Seattle Real Estate market when we list their Montlake home for sale later this spring.  It has been an interesting project for me and it will be exciting to see it to it's conclusion.   

  The Montlake neighborhood lies just south of the University of Washington across from the Montlake cut, north and down the hill from Capitol Hill, east of Portage Bay and Eastlake, and west of the Arboretum and Lake Washington.  It has great accessibility to Downtown Seattle, as well as Bellevue and The Eastside via the 520 freeway which runs through Montlake...in an interesting way. The freeway is mostly bridges over water and provides motorists with some great views of wildlife on their commute!

The homes, built mostly in the 1920's, are made up of brick Tudor and Craftsman styles of single family homes.  The market history for the month of March has just sixteen total homes comprising it.  The eight that are active as of April 1st range between $549,000 to $879,000.  Three are STI (Subject To Inspection) ranging between $847,000 and $1,250,000, Four are Pending ranging between $609,900 and $959,000.  Only one closed for the month sellling for $734,000.  This puts Montlake well above the median price for homes sold in King County, $429,925, in February.

Now that spring had arrived Montlake is especially beautiful right now, good timing for the springtime Seattle Real Estate rush!

The Seattle Real Estate Adventure Begins!

Exploring Seattle's Urban Villages, let the Adventure begin!

Seattle has so many interesting and unique neighborhoods, or what I like to call "Urban Villages".  Places like Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Belltown, Pioneer Square, West Seattle, Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, Madrona,  Madison Park, Montlake, Wallingford, Green Lake, and Fremont, the self proclaimed "Center of the Universe"! 

I have probably left out a few of your favorites, but we will add them as we explore what makes each one a unique place to live or visit.   

Learning what makes a Seattle neighborhood special and appealing to you (and me as a Seattle Real Estate Agent) helps to narrow down the choices when you are selecting a place in Seattle's exciting real estate market to live and eventually buying a home in Seattle.  Of course selecting a location is only part of what makes up the Seattle Real Estate market.  There is the hard data of sales figures, history and trends, the lending process, the home buying processes, marketing a home for sale and more.... 

So come with me and join in on the Adventure!