This was an opportunity to make a good return for the investor members and an ideal time for Kauri,” said Kent Angier, president. “The majority of our staff lives in Bellevue so the move will shorten peoples’ commutes,” said Angier. The sale was not a 1031 transaction but Kauri continues to look for opportunities to acquire properties for development or re-development within the Seattle area.

Move On LLC who purchased the building will utilize the majority of the space as an owner/user. Tim Foster and Jeff Suver with Kidder Matthews brokered the transaction. 

About Kauri Investments, LTD. Founded in 1987, Kauri is noted for renovation, conversion and effective property management. The company has developed or substantially rehabilitated nearly 2,000 housing units. In addition to multi-family development, Kauri has diversified into mixed-use residential and commercial properties as well as expanding its capabilities to include fee development and real estate consulting. Kauri recently completed the Hyatt Place Seattle at Denny Way and 6^th Avenue the brand’s first West Coast location and the conversion of Seattle’s historic Alaska Building into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel. The company will begin construction on a 48 unit apartment project in Fremont in February of this year.

A year-over-year comparison shows December’s pending sales (mutually accepted offers) rose more than 20 percent from a year ago. Northwest MLS brokers reported 5,237 pending sales last month, up from the previous year when they recorded 4,359 transactions.

Last month’s pending volume exceeded the number of new listings (4,604) for the second consecutive month. The last time such an imbalance occurred was November 2006.

Closed sales also outgained year-ago totals. December’s completed transactions were up 7 percent from twelve months ago, rising from 4,430 closings to 4,741. Six counties registered double-digit gains (Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, and Snohomish).

Following the pattern of recent months, prices were down.  The median price for December’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums declined about 11.8 percent from a year ago, dropping from $255,000 to $225,000. Brokers attribute much of the slip in prices to the number of distressed properties in the mix. In some areas, foreclosures and short sales, which tend to be sharply discounted, account for about one-third of sales.

Also trending downward is inventory.  Brokers across the Northwest MLS service area, which encompasses 21 counties, added 4,604 new listings last month, down from the year-ago total of 5,460 listings. With those additions, there were 26,639 active listings in the MLS database at month end, a drop of more than 5,500 listings from a year ago (a 17.2 percent decrease).

For the Northwest map areas covering Seattle, inventory is down 30 percent compared to a year ago.

“All over we are seeing healthy marketplaces emerge as the inventory levels drop,” said J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate. “As you get closer to the job centers of Seattle and Bellevue, the marketplace is looking strong again,” he added while expressing optimism for the coming year.  “The outlook for 2012 is the continuation of a strengthening marketplace, especially in the more affordable to mid range priced homes.”

The combination of shrinking inventory and favorable financing is causing some areas to tilt toward a seller’s market, as measured by the supply of homes. Area-wide, there is about a five month supply of homes, which is generally considered to be a balanced market favoring neither buyers nor sellers.

In Snohomish County the months’ supply is pegged at 3.2 months, which means it would take approximately that much time to exhaust current inventory at the current pace of sales with no replenishment. Inventory of active listings in that county is down more than 28 percent from a year ago.

For King County overall,  the supply is approximately 3.6 months, but in some sub-areas within the county the supply is less than 3 months — including parts of South King County (notably around Renton and Federal Way), parts of North Seattle (including Ballard, Sand Point, and Lake City), and parts of Bellevue (East of I-405).

OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate, believes the market has undergone a shift.  “Where we’ve been during the past year is a place of transition. It has been a slow recovery, but the housing market has finally turned a corner, albeit a soft one with some bumps along the way,” he commented.

Despite rising sales, Jacobi, a member of the Northwest MLS board of directors, noted foreclosures and short sales continue to cause downward pressure on prices. “Many would-be sellers are still wary of the market, and as a result, there are fewer homes for sale,” he observed, adding, “At the same time, there are buyers who are eager to strike while the iron is hot, so in some areas, homes are selling before many buyers even have a chance to react.”

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

Last month’s total number of mutually accepted offers was 22.4 percent higher than the same month a year ago. It also marked the first month since December 2006 that the number of pending sales surpassed the number of new listings (6,043), prompting discussions of possible inventory shortages.

“As we head toward the end of the year, it’s certainly good to see a healthy number of buyers relative to the available inventory for sale,” said Mike Grady, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Bain. “In fact,” he noted, “there are some desirable neighborhoods in urban core areas where the case could be made there are too few homes currently for sale.”

At month end, there were 30,650 residential listings in the MLS inventory across 21 counties, down nearly 17 percent from a year ago. For the listing service map areas covering Seattle, the database shows a year-over-year drop of about 32 percent.

“Entering the New Year, the Seattle metro area will start off with a shortage of inventory in both the more affordable and mid-priced ranges,” suggested J. Lennox Scott, CEO and chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate. He noted a high percentage of sellers are receiving offers within the first month or two of listing their homes.

Despite the smaller selection, the listings in the MLS database covering all counties span a wide price range: 400 homes are priced at $50,000 or less and 65 residences are listed at $5 million-plus.

For homes and condominiums that sold last month, the median selling price was $225,000, down 10 percent from the year-ago median price of $250,000. Single family home prices were off 8 percent from a year ago ($234,612 versus $255,000), while condo prices slipped more than 17 percent ($169,000 versus $204,500).

Brokers point to distressed properties, which tend to be deeply discounted, as a primary cause of lower prices.

Bank-owned homes continue to put downward pressure on pricing, reported Northwest MLS director Matt Deasy, general manager of Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc.

For the four-county Puget Sound region, a check of the Northwest MLS database shows more than one-fourth (26.8 percent) of the single-family homes that sold last month were classified as distressed, up from the year-ago figure of 21.9 percent.

Kitsap County was one of the few areas to register a price gain. The median sales price edged up slightly more than 1 percent, from $230,000 to $232,500. “One month does not make a trend,” acknowledged MLS director Frank Wilson, while noting the change in direction to a positive number is encouraging.

Wilson, the branch managing broker at John L. Scott’s Poulsbo office, expects Kitsap County will benefit from last week’s surprise announcement of a contract extension between Boeing and the Machinists Union, since Kitsap often feels an echo effect of what happens on “the other side.” If ratified, he said the contract “will definitely help our area (particularly the northern part) in the long run as buyers will continue to see a significant price difference between Seattle-side real estate and what they can buy in Kitsap.” (According to Northwest MLS data, the median asking price on current listings of single family homes in Kitsap County is $289,000, while in King County it is $370,000, about 28 percent more.)

The “fantastic, recent news coming out of Boeing is going to secure thousands of jobs in the area,” said J. Lennox Scott. With that news, combined with momentum from other major area employers, “we are seeing solid, renewed demand for local housing,” he remarked. Job growth, historic low interest rates and an elevated number of residential investors taking advantage of favorable market conditions are contributing to “a healthy level of sales activity, one of the best in the nation.”

One of the sub-markets with vigorous activity is North Seattle, reported Mike Grady. The number of homes currently in escrow nearly matches the number still available for sale, a condition not seen since the boom years of 2005 and 2006, according to his analysis. He is also encouraged by the small ratio of distressed properties. Grady said fewer than 6 percent of North Seattle properties waiting to close escrow are ‘short sale’ transactions, which he said is “a positive trend our brokers will be keeping a close eye on in the weeks and months ahead.”

Northwest MLS director Wilson cautioned some of the statistics for November and December should be viewed “with a grain a salt.” Buyers and sellers tend to think more about family time and the holidays, and sellers may choose to postpone listing their home until the New Year, or take them off the market during the holiday season, he explained.

Wilson’s observation is bolstered by findings from a Realtor.com survey, which found the vast majority of respondents, 79 percent, said more serious buyers were one of the biggest benefits of listing during the holidays. Less competition was an advantage cited by 61 percent of the survey respondents. The majority of respondents, 74 percent, said pricing a home to sell is even more important during the holidays, while an even higher number, 80 percent, said online listing photos were particularly crucial since buyers visit fewer open houses and sellers are less inclined to schedule them during the busy holiday season.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

In King County, nearly one-third of the available inventory is priced above the new, more restrictive dollar limit.
Northwest MLS brokers added 7,235 new listings to inventory during October, almost 1,000 fewer residential properties than the same month a year ago. Sixteen of the 21 counties served by the MLS reported shrinkage in inventory. At month end, MLS members reported 33,094 active listings of single family homes and condominiums.
Any discussion about real estate has to be hyper-local, that is, specific to a geographic area and in some cases as specific as a neighborhood, Wilson suggested. “Just viewing the latest report reveals wide variation of inventory from county to county; Snohomish has 3.2 months of inventory while Okanogan has an 18 month supply of homes,” he noted.

Demand is remaining consistent in many price ranges and move-up buyers are returning to the market because of a shortage of homes that are not distressed, Stenvers noted. This move-up segment can list and sell their homes, then buy a better home with essentially the same payments, he explained. “Buyers know interest rates will not be at these historically low levels forever so they may pass up a short sale/fixer bank owned home for a more conventional transaction,” he remarked.
Buyers still have bargaining power, according to Stenvers. He cited a recent transaction involving a home where the appraisal was $40,000 under the asking price because of disparities with the comps used. The buyers negotiated a price that split the difference, deciding that was preferable to “losing a beautiful home altogether.”

Prices for last month‟s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) fell 10.9 percent from a year ago, dropping from $255,932 to $228,000. While all but two counties in the Northwest MLS market area experienced declines, the drops were by single digits in 10 counties.
King County reported one of the sharpest year-over-year declines. The median price on last month‟s completed transactions in the county was $287,500, which compares to a year-ago figure of $350,000 (down about 17.9 percent). For single family homes (excluding condominiums), median prices slipped 14.7 percent, dropping from $375,000 a year ago to last month‟s figure of $320,000.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 22,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

For more information or to discuss your local market, call Joe Kennedy of AAA Properties at (425) 213-4176

This prestigious award is in recognition of a Community Sales Team that excelled, by innovation, in achieving sales goals, broker outreach, participation in industry or community, conversion rate, continuing education and inspiration to others.

Andrea & Jen are site managers for the Burnstead Home Builders’ Highlands Park community in Renton, Washington.

Jen Wen (left) and Andrea Friedland (2nd from right) of Prudential Northwest Realty Associates with Bob Durr, VP of Burnstead Construction (2nd from left) and Louis Howard (far right) of the New Home Council.

Each year the New Home Council of Washington State recognizes those community Sales Managers that used Innovation, enthusiasm, ingenuity, product & market knowledge, positive attitude, and problem solving to sell homes.

Prudential Northwest Realty Associates is independently owned and operated and an affiliate of Prudential Real Estate.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services is Prudential’s integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate’s Online Seller Advantage program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke; and Online Buyer Advantage, which enables consumers to easily search for property in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with more than 1,600 franchise offices and 54,100 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of Dec. 31, 2010.

Yesterday the latest Eastside / Bellevue Business News e-Newsletter went out to over 2,700 dedicated subscribers.

If you would like to be added to any of the Eastside mailing lists including Business News, Eastside Entrepreneurs, Events, Local Deals, Real Estate, Social Media and Wine, you can add yourself at the top of the page at this link.

Left to Right, Jason Gibbons, Jody Gibbons, Scott Gibbons, Joseph Brazen, Randi Brazen and Grant Gibbs.

Long time Issaquah resident and leading Real Estate Broker Scott Gibbons and his team at Issaquah’s Plateau Real Estate have joined the Eastside Firm of Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty.

This partnership brings on board Gibbon’s Issaquah Brokerage to the Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty office, including the stellar Husband and wife team of  Scott and Jody Gibbons . The Gibbons will bring over two decades of Issaquah real estate experience to Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty, along with their extensive knowledge of the “more eastern” Eastside neighborhoods.

With over 200 homes listed and sold in the Issaquah Highlands since 2003, Plateau Real Estate has been the leader in one of the Eastside’s most unique and diversified communities.

“The vision and position of the Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty® network is what makes us unique”, said Grant Gibbs, Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty Vice President of Business Development. “We are looking forward to sharing our distinctive brand vision, Sotheby’s amazing international exposure, along with our own local Eastside knowledge and personality with Gibbons and his team”.

The Sotheby’s International Realty brand has over 520 office locations worldwide world. With the Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty corporate office being the first in the state of Washington with their location in Downtown Bellevue. “In 3 years  we have grown the Sotheby’s International Brand to 5 offices from  San Juan Island to Gig Harbor”, commented designated Broker and Owner Joseph Brazen. “Now with the Gibbons team in Issaquah we will be able to serve those who value the unique and offer Sotheby’s unrivaled access to qualified people and distinctive properties around the world to the Real Estate markets in Issaquah, Sammamish and Plateau.

Would you rather deal with @Comcast or @ComcastBill?  I know I would always rather know the name of the person that I’m dealing with – how about you?

After a recent experience, I am going to start demanding it!

Not too long ago, a local company had contacted me about something I had written online and wanted to meet.  I was very happy to hear from them and schedule a meeting.  When I showed up on the designated day at the promised time, neither of the people I was supposed to be meeting were available.  It was like the meeting had never even been scheduled.  After waiting 15 minutes, I finally started to leave before an unfortunate underling was forced to wave me down before I exited the parking lot.  The person was very apologetic, but she had no idea what the meeting was supposed to be about at all.

It turns out that somehow this meeting was arranged by this company’s “social media consultants” who “do” their social media on sites like Facebook and Twitter.  It turns out that I know, like and thought I was friends with these consultants – but how could they be so deceitful?

The end result was time wasted for both of us.  I’m sure she had better things to do with her time and I sure could of been out selling some real estate rather than trying to give them help they obviously didn’t want.

The bottom line on this for me is that I will no longer deal with, “like” companies or organizations online unless I know exactly WHO I am dealing with.

What is YOUR policy?  Does your business or organization hide behind a DBA when using social media or are you about openness and transparency?  Why do you choose to take that direction?

Are you really making all those posts across the social media platforms?  Or are you having an assistant doing it?  If an assistant is making the posts, do you give them credit for them – or take the credit for yourself?  (Don’t you think your customers and potential customers deserve to kn0w?).  Just how honest do you need to be online ….?

Agent Reboot provides local real estate professionals with smart advice and practical guidance from leading experts who know what works and what doesn’t. Whether you’re a technology newbie or a gadget guru, you’ll leave Agent Reboot with a better understanding of the latest tech tools and marketing techniques to help you maximize your business potential.

Agent Evolution founder and CCO Nicole Nicolay and RealEstateZebra.com founder Daniel Rothamel will once again serve as emcees for Agent Reboot, with Nicole hosting conferences on the West Coast and Daniel hosting events on the East Coast. In addition, Tech Savvy Agent co-creator Chris Smith and Productivity Junkies founder Darin Persinger will be speaking at all 24 cities on the tour.

Topics included in the program:

• Tomorrow’s technology, TODAY
• 20 Mobile tools that will make you stand out
• 15 Must-do’s to optimize Facebook for business
• Future-proof yourself: Capturing people’s attention with video
• What does the consumer want, and who is delivering it?
• Listing flyers: print it, text it, QR Code it
• Marketing tips, tools and technologies that get buyers to want to work with you
• 10 Reasons why you should use an iPad for listing presentations

To view a complete list of all 24 Agent Reboot locations for 2011, go to www.agentreboot.com

Tickets are $49 and can be purchased online at www.agentreboot.com. The price is $99 for anyone who registers on-site. Members of the media may qualify to receive a free press pass. Please contact Katie Lance, Senior Marketing Manager: katie (at) inman (dot) com.

Follow the Agent Reboot conversation on Twitter via @AgentReboot, or follow the hashtag #agentrb. In addition, view additional details and comments from attendees and speakers on Facebook. National sponsors include Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Kodak, Century 21, and Realtor.com®.

About Inman News | Agents and brokers around the world turn to Inman News first for accurate, innovative and timely information about the industry. Known for its award-winning journalism, cutting-edge technology coverage and forward-thinking conferences, Inman News is the leading independent source of real estate news, advice, research and commentary.

In addition, for 15 years, Inman News has been hosting Real Estate Connect® – a semi-annual real estate conference for real estate brokers and top-level executives. Connect will be held July 27th-29th 2011 in San Francisco.

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