real estate

condominium, condominium speciaist, real estate, selling a home, staging a home for sale

Selling a Home? How Important is Staging?

Early in my career home staging was rare and typically used only in high end properties. Professional photography wasn’t common either – most brokers took their own marketing photos. Today online is almost always the first exposure buyers have to a new listed home. Hiring a professional photographer is a requirement, rather than an option, […]
condominium, condominium speciaist, home loans, interest rates, mortgage interest rates, real estate

Fall Interest Rates – What to Expect

High interest rates continue to make it challenging to buy a home. Some buyers have chosen to delay their home search, holding out for mortgage rates to decline later this year. It’s highly unlikely the 3% interest rates we saw a few years ago will return in the near future, if ever. Rates crested 7% […]
Bellevue condominium, Bellevue Real Estate, buying a home, Downtown Bellevue, housing market, living downtown, real estate, urban living

1200 Bellevue Way/Downtown Bellevue – New on the Market

1200 Bellevue Way, a community of 49 attached homes, has a sought after location blocks from downtown Bellevue’s business district, celebrated shopping and dining and countless arts and entertainment venues. Homes have traditional brick architecture but inside you’ll find a contemporary layout with spacious open concept design. The home’s main level provides ample living and […]
Buyer Broker Services Agreements, buying a home, condominium speciaist, housing market, real estate, Windermere Real Estate

What are Buyer Broker Services Agreements?

Real estate, and the laws surrounding it, is constantly changing. Beginning January 1st of this year, the State of Washington now requires that home buyers sign a Buyer Broker Services Agreement when working with a licensed broker in their search for a home. While it sounds like a big change, Buyer Broker Services Agreements have […]

condominium Selling a Home? How Important is Staging? Early in my career home staging was rare and typically used only in high end properties. Professional photography wasn’t common either – most brokers took their own marketing photos. Today online is almost always the first exposure buyers have to a new listed home. Hiring a professional photographer is a requirement, rather than an option, […]

condominium Fall Interest Rates – What to Expect High interest rates continue to make it challenging to buy a home. Some buyers have chosen to delay their home search, holding out for mortgage rates to decline later this year. It’s highly unlikely the 3% interest rates we saw a few years ago will return in the near future, if ever. Rates crested 7% […]

Bellevue condominium 1200 Bellevue Way/Downtown Bellevue – New on the Market 1200 Bellevue Way, a community of 49 attached homes, has a sought after location blocks from downtown Bellevue’s business district, celebrated shopping and dining and countless arts and entertainment venues. Homes have traditional brick architecture but inside you’ll find a contemporary layout with spacious open concept design. The home’s main level provides ample living and […]

Buyer Broker Services Agreements What are Buyer Broker Services Agreements? Real estate, and the laws surrounding it, is constantly changing. Beginning January 1st of this year, the State of Washington now requires that home buyers sign a Buyer Broker Services Agreement when working with a licensed broker in their search for a home. While it sounds like a big change, Buyer Broker Services Agreements have […]

buying a home 2024 Housing Market Predictions Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economist, provides his annual insight and predictions for the coming year’s local and national real estate market. Matthew reviews his 2023 predictions and provides his outlook for 2024. Matthew’s monthly market updates are always informative, but the annual recap and predictions for the coming year is always my favorite.

Bellevue condominium Downtown Bellevue First Quarter Condo Market Statistics 2023 had a bumpy start. There’s been a lot drama and speculation regarding interest rates, the stock market, investments, employment, etc. While the eastside hasn’t been immune to these issues, the downtown Bellevue condo market has looked like a fairly normal spring market. Sales prices are gradually increasing, the difference between list price and sale […]

buying a home Rent vs. Buy – What Best Fits Your Current Lifestyle? Copy There are definite advantages to owning a home, as a vehicle for building wealth and the security of owning a safe place to call home. Matthew Gardner, Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist, speaks to the advantages of owning a home in this short video. While most of us can agree with all the points in […]

condominiums What’s the Expected Local Impact of Recent Tech Industry Layoffs? There’s been a lot of media coverage in the last six weeks relating to local and national tech industry layoffs. The Pacific Northwest has a significant tech industry presence, not just all the major players but also many smaller but successful start-ups What impact can we expect in the Seattle and Eastside economy and housing […]

condominium speciaist September is Realtor® Safety Month September is Realtor® Safety Month. You wouldn’t think real estate was a profession that deals with a lot of risk or safety concerns. Though rare, over the years there have been several instances locally and across the country of Realtors® being physically or cyber stalked, injured or abducted. Locally, our industry was rocked by the […]

buying a home Juanita – New on the Market VILLA JUANITA – a spacious, open concept home designed with comfort and style No detail was overlooked in this spacious one bedroom condo. Quality finishes and fixtures throughout (Restoration Hardware lighting, custom window treatments, freshly painted, newer carpet and stainless appliance package) make this a comfortable home for day-to-day or entertaining. The kitchen will please […]

Bellevue condominium Thoughts on Bellevue’s Fall Condo Market August tends to be a quiet month for real estate, but after the Labor Day holiday weekend, expect to see market activity pick up as we head into fall. It was a frenzied first half of the year, both nationally and locally, with a continuing shortage of existing and new construction housing inventory. The […]

buying a home Housing and the Economy – What to Expect in 2022 In the last housing and economic forecast for 2021, Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economist, looks ahead and shares his economic and housing forecast for 2022.

Bellevue Summer May Offer Temporary Relief for Home Buyers This week’s press release from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) provided a hint of hopeful news for local home buyers. NWMLS data shows the number of active listings added to the market in June was at it’s highest level in 17 months. In the tri-county area (King, Snohomish and Pierce counties) single family and […]

buying a home 2021 Housing and Economic Update Every year Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economic, provides his forecast for the coming year. As always, he includes a variety of topics that relate to the national economy, housing trends, mortgage interest rates and home price appreciation. This year he also addresses the impact the 2020 pandemic had on the economy and housing and what […]

condominiums 2021 US Housing Forecast – What to Expect Next Year This week Matthew Gardner, Windermere Chief Economist, takes a look at the US housing forecast for 2021. Topics include mortgages, existing home sales, existing home values, new construction, the impact of homes in forbearance and the urban condo market. Overall the outlook is positive for a continuing strong real estate market and low interest rates.

condominium speciaist Matthew Gardner’s Housing & Economic Update This week Matthew Gardner, Windermere’s Chief Economist, shares his thoughts on the latest US home sales data. Single family and multi family home values continue to rise while available inventory levels continue to decline. What’s the news for condos? Condo prices are trending higher nationwide, up 10% year-over-year. It’s difficult to know how long this […]

buying a home Post Election Housing Thoughts How could a Biden administration impact real estate? Matthew Gardner, Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist, shares his thoughts.

Bellevue Changes Planned for the Marketplace at Factoria Its been rumored for years that Factoria Mall would be redeveloped to make better use of the large parcel. The mall and several free standing buildings currently occupy the 43 acre site. An application for design review has been submitted to the City of Bellevue for redevelopment of the Marketplace at Factoria. Eight phases […]

buying a home New Construction, Existing Home Sales, Condos & Vacation/Resort Homes Tight supply and increasing land/material/labor continue to contribute to rising home prices. Matthew Gardner, Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, shares his thoughts on builder confidence nationwide, evidenced by a dramatic increase in sales of new construction homes and permit applications. That continued buyer demand along with increasing construction costs are driving prices up. Sales […]

buying a home How Long Will Mortgage Rates Stay this Low? This week Matthew Gardner, Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist, discusses current mortgage interest rates. Interest rates are currently right around 3% and mortgage applications, driven by those historically low rates, are up 25% over the same period last year. It’s amazing to look back to the early 1980s when mortgage interest rates were in the […]