Amaryllis Blooming, Silent Sunday   Shortly after Christmas, Elsie found this kit on sale for only 99 cents at the Sammamish Safeway.  The box was beat up and didn't look like much.  The "kit" contained the bulb, a plastic pot, some soil in a bag and instructions.  Easy enough to put together, add some water and wait.  Not bad for a buck.  There are a variety of Amaryllis available, in various sizes and colors.  I found the Amaryllis Bulb Company  to be an online source worth considering, or wait until next Christmas.  01/31/2010

This is the view from one of my waterfront homes that is for sale on Lake Sammamish this morning. Who wouldn't want to wake up to this every morning? 01/27/2010

Sammamish Touring Tuesdays, Open Houses Tuesday is the day when agents in Sammamish hold listings open for other agents and the public is always welcome too.  By having a weekday open house, typically between 11:00 and 2:00, agents can see new listings on a quick tour, talk a little shop with each other and keep track of our marketplace.  Tuesday, January 19th there were seven single family homes and one condominium available to be seen.  I was under the weather, so rather than share my bug, I stayed home.  Elsie got to see 3 of the homes as she also had other business to attend to.  One that stood out from her perspective is a new listing off of 228th in a subdivision called Tamee Glen.  It's an affordable 3 bedroom home with a full, a ¾, and a ½ bath and lots of updates, including new... 01/25/2010

Sammamish WA median list price is $629,990 with 247 properties that have been on the market for an average of  213 days. Inventory is up and Market Action is trending down recently. While days-on-market appears to be trending lower, the overall conditions are weakening a bit. Supply & Demand - The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. Check out properties for sale in the following Sammamish Neighborhoods. As of 1/25/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington area. The home sales and listed homes here are from the last 7 days to give a better reflectio... 01/25/2010

Sammamish is one of the best places to live and work.  It's official either money magazine is getting paid of by the city council or it's really true Sammamish is a great place to live & work.  From Your NW home reSource - Blog In the Febuary 2010 Issue of Money Magazine they rated the top 100 companies to work for.  In that list was , ,Nordstrom, Perkins Coie, REI & Starbucks.  - What makes it so great? #42 Adobe - What makes it so great? Software developer provides up to six weeks of paid sabbatical based on tenure, holds all-hands meetings every quarter, and designates one week in May as a Community Action Week: Employees across the world volunteer for public service projects. #51 Microsoft - What makes it so great? Thousands of "Softies" worldwide hosted parties to celebrate the lau... 01/21/2010

Sammamish WA median list price is $632,495 with 230 properties that have been on the market for an average of  224 days. Inventory has been tightening and days-on-market increasing recently. The Market Action Index has been basically flat, not providing strong indication for market conditions. Supply & Demand - The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the Sahalee and Pine Lake Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 1/18/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington a... 01/18/2010

Sammamish Schools, Providing Great Education! Sammamish is a little over 10 years old as an incorporated city.  Prior to this, we were divided into unincorporated Redmond to the North and Issaquah to the South.  We had different phone carriers and it was long distance to call from one area to another, in some cases just across the street.  Things changed with incorporation, but the school districts didn't.  In the North is the Lake Washington School District headquartered in Redmond.  In the South is the Issaquah School District.  The great news is both are highly regarded and provide excellent educations.  Several teachers in both districts have earned National Board Certification, considered one of the highest designations in the US for professional excellence in Teachers.  Announceme... 01/16/2010

Roundabouts, Around About Sammamish A few years back Sammamish installed its first round about on Inglewood Hill Road and 216th Ave NE.  Living not far off and using that intersection daily, I found this to be a substantial improvement for that intersection.  Previously, cars hoping to turn left onto Inglewood Hill road could be stuck for quite a while.  It was not uncommon for traffic to stack up behind you and those wanting to make the easier right turn would grow impatient, especially in the morning commute traffic.  Once you understand how a Round About works, they are not difficult to maneuver.  There is no reason to get stuck like Clark Griswold in European Vacation.   The basic rules of a roundabout are 1.       Slow Down when approaching and be prepared to stop before entering 2... 01/14/2010

Would you build here?  Wordless Wednesday.  There is an old story about building on solid ground and not on the sand.  Ground like this will not support very much and a solid house requires a firm footing and foundation.  A firm foundation includes solid representation from your agent and your lender.  If you wouldn't build on such a site, why consider less than solid assistance and guidance when buying or selling? 01/13/2010

Homes for sale in Pine Lake in Sammamish, Washington.  The Pine Lake Neighborhood is located in the southwest corner of the Sammamish Plateau.  North to SE 20th, south to SE 43rd east 228th Ave and west to 212th Ave SE east of Lake Sammamish. View Pine Lake Neighborhood in a larger map This great neighborhood near Pine Lake has about 1715 homes dating back to the turn of the century all the way up to brand new homes.  2009 saw 51 of these homes sell with an average sales price of $330,535.  Of the homes sold in 2009 the average home size was 1,798 square feet 2 bedroom and 2 bath.  Download the market trend report.   You can also sign up for a Market Snapshot to see how your home measures up. The Pine Lake neighborhood surrounding Pine Lake has wonderful waterfront homes, view homes and... 01/12/2010

Sammamish WA median list price is $639,900 with 223 properties that have been on the market for an average of  235 days. Inventory has been tightening and days-on-market increasing recently. The Market Action Index has been basically flat, not providing strong indication for market conditions. Supply & Demand - The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the Sahalee and Pine Lake Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 1/11/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington a... 01/11/2010

Selling a Home in Sammamish, List Sooner Rather Than Later The good news hit this week that December sales in the greater Puget Sound area were the best in 3 years, and pending sales were up significantly over last year.  Previously, in a post titled Listing a Home For Sale Now Rather Than Spring, I spoke about the benefits of seasonal decorations creating a warm atmosphere and that more serious buyers are shopping during the holidays.  This was apparently the case.  The other point I made was regarding interest rates.  At that time it was not difficult to find 30 year fixed rate conforming loans for 4.75% (4.854% APR with 20% down).  After that post on November 19th 2009 rates went even lower, hitting 4.5% on more than a few occasions.  As I write this today, rates are 4.875%-5.0% and ... 01/07/2010

Sledding in Sammamish, Wordless Wednesday It's been a year since we were hit with one of the biggest snow storms the Seattle area has seen in a number of years.  A white Christmas was followed by a white New Year.  This year much of the rest of the country has been socked in with ice & snow while we are green and wet.    Kids will always find a way to maximize their fun, garbage cans as bowling pins, sleds and riders as bowling balls.  Looks like a strike, although no one was keeping score.  01/06/2010

Little League Baseball in Sammamish I know it looks like winter outside, but it's almost time to hear, "Play Ball" in fields all over Sammamish.  Registration started in November and is ongoing for baseball and girls softball.  Sammamish is divided into two School Districts and two Little Leagues, Eastlake Little League to the north and Sammamish Little League to the south.  I'm not sure why this is, but it probably dates back to before we were a city and Redmond and Issaquah had designs on annexing portions of Sammamish.                                      I have fond memories of Little League.  Growing up in the Northwest, early in the season it stung your hands on a cold day if you didn't hit the ball just right.  But as the season wore on and the weather warmed up, it was all I wan... 01/05/2010

Sammamish WA median list price is $639,925 with 224 properties that have been on the market for an average of  251 days. Inventory has been decreasing lately but the Market Action Index is falling also. With days-on-market climbing, these are relatively negative implications for the market. Supply & Demand - The market has shown some evidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the Sahalee and Pine Lake Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 1/04/10 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington area... 01/04/2010

Sammamish Bank Owned and Short Sale Properties, January 2010 First, some numbers to put things into perspective. Sammamish WA has a population of over 40,000 people according to King County with a little over 3500 housing units.  Currently there are 173 single family residential listings in Sammamish according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service.  Of the 173 current active listings, NWMLS reports 6 homes as Bank Owned and 16 as short sales.  Total Active Listings 173 Short Sale 16 Bank Owned 6 Low $189,900 High $2,950,000 Median $818,502 Average Price $788,847 Avg $perSqFt $269.35 Days on the Mkt 179   Total Listings Bank Owned Short Sale Combined 173 6 16 22   3.47% 9.25% 12.72% For more perspective, of the 3500 housing units in the city of Sammamish, 4.94% are currently on the marke... 01/03/2010

Sammamish WA median list price is $637,450 with 228 properties that have been on the market for an average of  301 days. Inventory has been tightening and days-on-market increasing recently.  The Market Action Index has been basically flat, not providing strong indication for market conditions.  Supply & Demand - The market has shown someevidence of slowing recently. Both prices and inventory levels are relatively unchanged in recent weeks. Watch the Market Action Index for changes as it can be a leading indicator for price changes. In the Sahalee and Pine Lake Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 12/28/09 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington... 12/28/2009

Holiday Traditions; The Tree   For the past several years we've had two traditions regarding our tree, one is we go out with some lifelong friends to cut one down at a tree farm.  It's usually a Sunday afternoon and involves some driving.  The first few times, I think my friend regretted inviting us as we searched for the "perfect" tree, rejecting perfectly good ones along the way.  Eventually we would find one to our liking, cut it down and either tie it on top of our car or put it in the back of their truck.  The second tradition is an accident.  This is our fourth Christmas in this house with high ceilings.  In my mind, high ceilings means a tall tree.  Tall trees don't fit easily into regular stands, so we've improvised over the years, and come to the conclusion that a stand must be... 12/27/2009

Christmas is a Time of Light, star light, fire light, candle light, but there is a greater light than all of these.  . David Harsh is singer/songwriter who appeared last year at Pine Lake Covenant Church in Sammamish WA where I first heard him perform this song. He will be performing Sunday December 27th at Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church. This is a free concert, so tell your friends and come see this talented local performer. Merry Christmas to my friends, family and fantastic clients. Thank you for a good 2009. We are looking forward to a great 2010! 12/24/2009

Sammamish WA median list price is $644,950 with 182 properties that have been on the market for an average of  128 days. Inventory has been tightening and days-on-market increasing recently.  The Market Action Index has been basically flat, not providing strong indication for market conditions.. In the Sahalee and Pine Lake Neighborhoods we have seen relatively strong sales as home sales have been exceeding new inventory for several weeks. As of 12/21/09 here are the real estate home sales stats for the all Neighborhoods in the Sammamish, Washington area. The home sales and listed homes here are from the last 7 days to give a better reflection of what is going on in all the Sammamish neighborhoods during any given week. Active: 190  Pending: 5  Sold: 8  Other: 0  Total: 203    Bedrooms ... 12/21/2009