There is something truly special about the bold yet simplistic architecture of a modern home. Stemming from the International Style of architecture popularized in the 1920s and 1930s, modern homes afford open layouts with connections between indoor and outdoor living spaces, abundant natural light often created through walls of windows, and little ornamentation. February is modern homes month at Sotheby’s International Realty® and to honor this striking approach to architecture, we compiled a collection of inspiring modern homes from around the network, spanning coast-to-coast in the United States, to Australia and Greece.
Our local real estate market took some interesting turns in 2018, as the frenetic conditions of the first half of the year gave way to a more balanced environment in the third quarter. Data for the fourth quarter of 2018 has arrived, so before we turn our attention to the new year and what lies ahead, let’s take a look at the market trends that closed out 2018.
Decorating a home with art is intrinsic to interior design, but it can be overwhelming at first. It’s important to take care when filling your home with art. Here are some tips to get you started.
According to an article published by Seattle Times, “The single-family zones that make up about 75 percent of Seattle’s residential land have accommodated just 5 percent of all new housing added in the city this decade,” this courtesy of a report recently released by the planning commission. The advisory report, which was eighteen months in the making, says mild changes could be made in areas that are predominantly single-family homes right now.
If you’ve ever done a remodel on a home, you know how quickly the cost can go up during the process. Updating your home will always improve the looks, however, a remodel can also give your home’s value a boost. But what if you don’t want to spend 1,000’s of dollars on just the kitchen? Well, these four updates below should give you a great return with a relatively low investment!
Now that we are nearing the end of 2018, market experts are calculating what trends they think will dominate the industry in the coming year. Realtor.com® recently released their annual report and according to Forbes, we can expect rising mortgage rates to impact affordability, a slowing market, and rising home prices—albeit at a lesser rate than we’ve seen in recent years.
The shifting Seattle real estate market has grabbed headline after headline in recent months, with the Seattle Times making proclamations earlier this week that suggest Seattle’s home prices are dropping faster than any other metro area in the nation. Contrary to headlines, however, trendlines point to a much different outcome, indicating slowing—not lowering—home price growth, amidst rising inventory and typical seasonal trends for the region. So, what does this mean for homebuyers in the Emerald City?
A question we often receive from sellers as we prepare a home for sale is whether or not to invest in staging. The reality is that our homes are our personal spaces and it is imperative that you edit some—if not all—of the individualized pieces throughout it in order to make room for buyers to envision themselves in your home. Oftentimes this is helpful when you enlist the help of a neutral, third-party. HGTV recently looked at the benefits of staging, making the point that “the moment you commit to marketing your home for sale, you need to commit to transforming your home into a place that potential buyers can easily picture as their home.”
Until recently, the Seattle real estate market headlines didn’t seem to change much, each remarking upon the area’s unprecedented home price growth and highly competitive climate for buyers. The past few months, however, have given way to a slightly different narrative, as increasing inventory and a less frenetic environment have pushed the market closer to a neutral one (though still decidedly in favor of sellers). Below we’ve outlined how these new market trends are playing out in the local real estate market with a look at Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s recently released market report for the third quarter of 2018.
With the recent security breaches and increasingly evolving methods of fraud, it’s more important than ever to be vigilant about your personal credit and identity theft. You may remember that recently, after some larger security breaches, the three main credit bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, all were offer credit freezes for a fee. Well, soon, consumers will be able to freeze their accounts without a charge.
As stated recently in a Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty (RSIR) blog, “The main cause of Seattle’s urban evolution is, first and foremost, that people want to live here.” That fact is reflected in the constant stream of people moving into the city. Earlier this year, The Seattle Times reported that Seattle grew 18.7 percent in the last decade, gaining 114,000 people and ranking as the fastest growing city in the nation. That growth is expected to continue through the next several decades; and by 2035 the expected population of Seattle will gain another 120,000 residents (and another 115,000 jobs).
An international organization of high profile property professionals, The Counselors of Real Estate® (CRE), recently published a report detailing the most pressing trends and issues affecting real estate. The “Top Ten Issues Affecting Real Estate™ 2018-2019” highlights five short-term and five long-term national and global topics that are having a direct impact on the real estate market. In a quick summary, we wanted to share the issues they thought were most pressing.
While it's true that home prices have continued to rise throughout the Seattle-Metro area, there are also some new and interesting statistics to go along with rising median prices. Realogics Sotheby's International Realty recently released their second-quarter market trends report for 2018 and we wanted to share a few statistics that jumped out at us.
In a recent report from RealEstate.com, a new real estate site geared towards first-time buyers, presented a list of features and phrases that resulted in higher-than-expected sales prices than comparable homes without those features.
The record high housing prices in Seattle have been in the news for over a year and a half now. "Seattle's median home price of $830,000 is up 14 percent from a year ago and sets a record after holding steady at the previous high of $819,000 in March and April" states The Seattle Times. Despite new and increased inventory in May, single-family home prices continued to increase further, still - arriving at the current $830,000 median.
So, you've got the stable job and feel like finally settling into a place that feels more like your own. You probably have an idea of how purchasing real estate might work but maybe aren't sure this is the right time for you to buy. Here are a few indicators that you're ready to take the next step.
The first quarter housing market numbers reveal an interesting story about Seattle and the Eastside. Despite a slower season for home sales in Seattle, prices gained ground and rose to staggering heights for both areas.
The home values in the Seattle area are at an all time high. The median price for a single-family home in Seattle is $777,000 and $950,000 on the Eastside. The Seattle Times recently reported that "Both Seattle and the Eastside have smashed home-price records as the region's market continues to be brutal for homebuyers even before the peak spring season kicks off."
They say a picture's worth a thousand words, and that couldn't be truer when it comes to photos of your home in its real estate listing. Getting your home prepared for the market is no small feat and with new listings popping up at the speed of the internet right into buyers fingertips you want to make sure the first photo they see of your home is as appealing as possible. We've compiled a few projects and tips to help you spruce up your home and get top dollar when you're ready to list!
While the S&P CoreLogics Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed San Francisco and San Diego starting to catch up to Seattle for single-family home prices in the months of September and October 2017, our Puget Sound region ended the 2017 calendar year at a 16th consecutive month leading the nation. "In December, Seattle led the way with a 12.7 percent year-over-year increase," states The S&P Dow Jones official report.
