Curious about that big mess on Leavenworth's Front St at the East end of town? Leavenworth is getting new sewer lines, new sidewalks and gutters and an overall facelift for its new eastern entrance off of Highway 2. This will really change the appearance of Front Street from Highway 2 near Dan's Market all the way to Division Street and the location of the new ice rink and pavillion. Learn more about the Front Street Construction on our blog. 04/11/2012

Most of our real estate clients looking to buy a home or a building lot in Leavenworth don't live nearby. They come from Western Washington whose winter weather is much milder. We sometimes laugh when people want to come look at vacant parcels in the winter. With a few feet of snow on the ground that can be tough. And what about now, in April? It's melting fast but there is still snow on the ground and a couple feet up at Lake Wenatchee. Visit our blog post about searching for land in Leavenworth to see pictures of how much snow is still on the ground. 04/04/2012

It's so sad when sellers hire an agent who tells them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. I'm always a little shocked when agents massively overprice homes - either to get the listing or because they don't know better. Real estate professionals who read the post on our blog about overpricing Leavenworth homes won't be shocked, but sellers need to be educated about the dangers of overpricing. If your house sits on the market until fall or even next summer, you will definately get a worse price for it that you would right now. 03/25/2012

Our clients who are buying vacant parcels of land in Leavenworth often ask for recommendations of home builders in Leavenworth. I have been surprised how few of them have websites or any internet presence at all. Unfortunately, many of these contractors aren't members of the NCW Home Builders Association or the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce so they aren't listed on these directories either. I decided the best thing to do would be to build a directory of Leavenworth home builders and host it on our website. It's a work in progress, but at least it is a starting place. Please take a look at let me know if there are any additions or corrections that should be made. Leavenworth Home Builders and Contractors Directory 03/23/2012

Every month my wife Allyson puts together a list of all the houses that have sold in Leavenworth. We list how much they sold for, how long it took to sell them and how much they were originally listed for. I apologize for not linking to these posts on Active Rain lately. January 2012 Leavenworth Home Prices December 2011 Leavenworth Home Prices November 2011 Leavenworth Home Prices 03/10/2012

Our friend Don Hester who is a home inspector in the Leavenworth and Wenatchee area told me the other day that he managed to kill his heat pump by turning it on too soon after a power outage. We don't get many outages in Central Washington and they aren't ever as serious as those in Western Washington. Even so, you know something is up when your home inspector admits to killing his heat pump. Read Don's article here 03/10/2012

Are you curious about which homes sold last month in Leavenworth? For most consumers, the view of the real estate market is skewed by asking prices. You get some idea of what the seller's mindset is by looking at real estate ads in the newspaper or picking up a flyer from the house across the street. But what are houses really selling for? Every month we publish a list of the houses that sold in Leavenworth. We publish a picture as well as a little bit of the price history so that you can see how much they had to lower the price and how long it took to sell. Click here to see the houses that sold in Leavenworth in December 2011. 01/24/2012

According to census numbers, Leavenworth is the only town with significant population loss in North Central Washington over the past decade. In a recent story in the Wenatchee World they surmise that this population loss is due to rapidly rising housing costs during the real estate bubble (from 2004-2007 locally). I don't know that I have seen any indications that is true other than anecodatal evidence. Leavenworth home prices certainly are higher than elsewhere, but we also have a very small employment base - much of it in the restaurant and hotel industry which isn't paying high wages. You can read the full article here: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jan/21/a-nice-place-to-visit-but-leavenworth-steps-up-on/ 01/23/2012

We just published our year end review over on our blog. 2011 was a lot like 2010 for the real estate market in Leavenworth. Homeprices were down trivially, but the number of homes increased by a hair. The best news is that the over decline in house prices is much less than that in Seattle or nationwide. Click here to read all about Leavenworth Home Prices in 2011. 01/12/2012

REOs, Foreclosures, Bank Owned Homes, Short Sales - distressed home sales of every sort have been in the national media for years now and have dominated real estate headlines. Knowing that these types of sales get all the press and that every home buyer would prefer to get the best deal possible, we write an annual foreclosure report that wraps up the past year's activity. After looking at the numbers for Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee, I think you will be pretty surprised. Click here to check out our 2011 Leavenworth Foreclosure Report. 01/11/2012

Some Leavenworth homeowners might find that they could be getting lower rates on their homeowners insurance. The change is due to work that the local fire district did in revevaluating fire protection classifications. This mostly effects those residents with hydrants whose homes were just outside the city limits. Thanks to Eric Kossian of Leavenworth insurance for the guest post on our blog and sharing with us these tips. Click here to learn more about the change in Leavenworth insurance rates. 01/07/2012

The Leavenworth Winter Sports Club is hosting their annual Ski For Health Day this Sunday at the Icicle River Trails next to the Fish Hatchery and Sleeping Lady. Participants can ski for free, try demo gear, and get free mini-lessons. We have done this event in the past and it is a really great way to try out nordic skiing or to help a friend decide if it is something they might enjoy. Get all the details about this free ski event here. 01/06/2012

If you are in Leavenworth or Lake Wenatchee New Years Day you might want to check out Jim Sofie's New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim at Lake Wenatchee. A hundred or so brave or crazy folks line up to jump in the Wenatchee River at Lake Wenatchee State Park every year. It's quite the festive scene and makes for interesting photography and/ or people watching. Get all the details here: http://www.lakewenatcheeinfo.com/2011/2012-jim-sofies-polar-bear-winter-plunge/ 12/31/2011

I have been writing a real estate blog for seven years now and every year I find a few more things I wish I was doing a bit better.   We have New Years Resolutions for our personal lives, why not our blogs?   In our latest post over at our Leavenworth real estate blog, I ponder new goals and new beginnings for 2012. I'd love your feedback - what worked for you in 2011, what are you going to do differently?   12/31/2011

We are proud to announce that once again we are sponsoring the Banff Fillm Fest on tour in Leavenworth. This year the films will be shown at the Festhalle which will allow for a larger number of people to enjoy them. There will be a raffle for donated prizes and libations available from Icicle Creek Brewery. Click below for tickets, dates and all the info: Leavenworth Banff Film Fest 2011 11/10/2011

Everybody wants a good deal. I get that, I really do. Unfortunately, just because Leavenworth home prices went down, doesn't mean that anyone is giving houses away. The median house price is still above $300,000 and the average is at $350,000. Can you find a house for under $200,000? Just barely. Can you find a house for $100,000? Not in Leavenworth?. 10/19/2011

Home sales are public information in Chelan County WA but there rarely is a good place to find out which homes sold recently. We take the guess work out of the equation and post pictures of every home that sold in Leavenworth with a short history of the sales process. Click here to see which homes sold in Leavenworth during September 2011. 10/19/2011

The movement to Occupy Wall Street has been much in the news over the past few weeks and now it looks like there is a movement to Occupy Leavenworth. In solidarity with our Bavarian brothers in Munich, citizens and beer drinkers from all over Washington State are descending on Leavenworth over the next two weekends.  Giant tents have been erected next to the Festhalle to try and contain the crowds and the mayor has even promised to tap a keg in order to appease the crowd’s demands. Visit our blog to see video and learn more about Occupy Leavenworth. 10/07/2011

According to a recent press release from the USFS: Icicle Creek Road (FS Rd #76) on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest will reopen to motorized traffic October 8, in time for the Columbus Day holiday weekend. Icicle Creek Road has been closed beyond Ida Creek because of extensive slides and flooding that destroyed the roadbed in 2008. “The road and construction crews have worked many long hours to establish the new roadbed, install culverts, remove mud and debris and make it safe for travel.  We know how much people love to recreate in this valley and we are pleased to provide motorized access again,” said District Ranger Jeff Rivera. Visit our blog to read more about Icicle Creek Road re-opening . 10/07/2011

Congrats to all those working on the Leavenworth Ice Rink. It sounds like the Leavenworth City Council approved donation of land for the rink. The next step is fundraising so that construction can start in 2012 with a opening date of November 2012. I think this will be a great addition to the town of Leavenworth and all the holiday activities here. http://leavenworthicerink.com/ 09/14/2011