Newcastle Home Sales ~ Inventory VS. Solds
July 10th, 2009These figures include both condominium and residential home sales.
Click on the graph for a larger view.
Concerts in the Park at Newcastle’s Lake Boren
July 8th, 2009
As I walk from my driveway, there are people in the street. They are carrying coolers and blankets, dogs on leashes, and children are everywhere. I notice that the hills are alive with music! At least there’s live music coming from the park. ♥ Every year the Park at Lake Boren assures us that summer has arrived with the opening of the concerts in the park. This year, sponsored by the Coal Creek YMCA, we were at it again.
Hi Watt , a Classic Rock cover band, had people dancing in no time. These are the songs you know and love and get to play “name that artist” to. Concerts in the Park will be here every Wed thru Aug. 12th from 6:30- 8 pm.
Adding Value To Your Property
July 6th, 2009There’s no better way to get some frank, honest opinions about your home than to put it on the market. Potential buyers have no problem scrutinizing and analysing every detail of your home. They’ll explore and inspect every aspect, only to tell you that it’s all wrong. The up side is that you may come out with some collective, constructive feedback that may actually help you in case your home doesn’t sell. If you can overcome some of these objections with moderate changes, you may be able to change the whole perception of your home, and probably find it much more enjoyable yourself. After living in our homes for a while, we start to ignore those pesky little things about a nonfunctional space, or an awkward layout and just learn to live with them. Until you finally do something, will you realize that they were bothering you all along. Ours was that there wasn’t enough usable yard space which I had known all along. With the leveling of some of the back yard and adding a 4 foot retaining wall to the front yard, we ended up adding about 2000 sq feet of flat, usable space.
With the help of Lowe’s who delivered the blocks, Sunset Materials who delivered the dirt, and R&R Rentals who have machines and equipment to rent that you wouldn’t even believe, we were able to gain alot of usable yard space. All for less than $4000.
And here’s my disclaimers: Be sure to keep your wall at 4 feet or less (otherwise you’ll need to obtain special permits). Its also extremely important to provide adequate drainage at the base of your wall. Contact the Call Before You Dig folks who came out and located all the utilities within 2 days! With that, the folks over at the city are very supportive of Newcastle Neighbors making improvements and increasing their property values.
We were even able to create an additional parking area with the extension of the retaining wall….. for maybe a small boat??!
Solds and Pending Sales for Newcastle, WA Homes - June 09
July 2nd, 2009
May 2009 showed us 13 sales closed in Newcastle, WA ~ 13 residential homes and 0 condos.
In June, 15 residential homes went Pending and 1 condo. Of those 16, 5 are short sales and 2 are bank owned.
3 of these 15 homes are between $1 – 1.5 Million
- Average Square Feet: 3836
- Average Price Per Square Foot: $202.74 sqft
- Average Days On The Market: 151
- Average List Price At Time Of Pending: $793,067
June 2009 currently shows 13 home sales closed. Those figures may still be updated. Average sales price of $635,398; 3250 sf and $202 per sq ft. $698,515 was the average original list price. These homes sold at 91% of original list price and 94% of current list price.
Currently, there are 116 homes on the market in Newcastle; 84 residential and 32 condominiums.
Feeling Misunderstood ?
June 24th, 2009 
It turns out that there’s an incredible amount of information on the web regarding the dangers of email miscommunication. Miscommunication happens when one person doesn’t communicate enough information to the other person, or that other person misinterprets the real meaning of their words. According to NYDaily news, it’s important to be able to see the person’s body language and facial expressions. Any time you are communicating via e-mail, you are not getting the same input you would be if you were in person. Those visuals give you important context clues. It’s a medium that doesn’t allow for tone or nuance, and it’s a fast, often impulsive way to communicate, which can be great – except when it isn’t. “It’s not appropriate for trying to figure out complex issues that one solid conversation could suffice. Dealing with sensitive situations over e-mail is just incredibly risky. Then there’s the amount of hours we waste trying to bring everyone back on the right track.”
E-mail, of course, has a multitude of virtues: it’s quick and convenient, democratizes access and lets us stay in touch with loads of people we could never see or call. It enables us to accomplish huge amounts of work.
But as humans, once our interest is sparked by something, we usually can’t leave it alone. Humans are masters at squeezing every last ounce of meaning from everything we’re presented with, even it’s only a colon followed by a left bracket.
Smilies didn’t change the way a message was interpreted. Overall, the effect of emoticons was relatively small.
All of the studies reported that the receiver will always interpret the message more negatively. We always assume the worst.
ah ha. This is where the trouble starts.
I tend to enjoy writing a witty email and may even giggle out loud at my coy and clever remarks as I write them. The problem is that, apparently, we tend to misinterpret positive e-mail messages as more neutral, and neutral ones as more negative, than the sender intended. Even jokes are rated as less funny by recipients than by senders. According to an article on NYtime .com, the person on the other end actually hears seriousness, exasperation and even criticism. That does put a whole new spin on it.
Another study asked if electronic communications convey ideas clearly. It studied why emails are so misunderstood and on how well sarcasm is detected in electronic messages. Their conclusion: Not only do e-mail senders overestimate their ability to communicate feelings, but e-mail recipients also overestimate their ability to correctly decode those feelings.
In the study, the receiver of email believes he is correctly interpreting 89% of the time. The receiver actually interpreted the message correctly only 56% of the time.
Other notes by reliableplant.com
*small initial differences between email correspondents can easily grow,
*email exchanges will be smoother the better you know the person.
*recipients who ask clarifying questions or restate the intention of an e-mail are more likely to perceive emotions more accurately.
*the more intense the relationship, the more scrutiny and potential for error. An employee reading an email form a boss may find hidden meanings and hints at intentions excavated from every sentence.
So stay in touch, communicate often, but the general rule of thumb is that when the same issue is being discussed back and forth in 3 or 4 emails, it’s time to pick up the phone. 
RUFF ~ Renton’s Unleashed Furry Friends
June 21st, 2009Sept 2009 marks Renton’s OFFICIAL DOG PARK GRAND OPENING
Renton’s New off-leash dog park will be located on a five acre, City-owned parcel adjacent to the Cedar River Trail, site of the old NARCO (Denny-Renton) brick plant
.
If you aren’t a regular dog park go’er, trust me, you dont even need a dog to enjoy these parks; just a general love for the species. The open area off-leash parks provide plenty of entertainment in just walking and watching. A Euphoric dog is quite a site. This is where you’ll actually see dogs smiling, kicking up their heals, and blowing off steam. Especially if you have little ones that enjoy animals and aren’t afraid, this can be as fun as any petting zoo.
Construction is in the works and the opening is currently planned for this coming September. There are lots of volunteer opportunities available.
If you are interested in helping out, fence construction is scheduled for the weekend of June 27th-28th
Oregon, Washington and 3 other states will lead us out of a recession
June 13th, 2009A new report shows the five U.S. states poised to lead the nation out of recession. Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
“Those are the states where job growth is expected to sprout first — in the fourth quarter of this year. “Read the rest of Moody’s Economy.com Survey .
Inventory shrinking, sales rising, prices stabilizing in some Northwest MLS areas
June 13th, 2009A Great Article worth reading from:
News from NW Multiple Listing Service - June 4, 2009
KIRKLAND, WA, June 4, 2009– Waiting longer to buy a home is not likely to pay off, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service director Kathy Estey after reviewing reports summarizing May activity. Estey pointed to shrinking inventory (about 20 percent fewer listings than a year ago), double-digit increases in the number of pending sales (up 17.7 percent from a year ago), solid open house activity, and signs of stabilizing prices (eight of the 19 counties in the report show price gains since January) as indicators of an improving market. Read the rest of NWMLS article here…
A cost-effective way to protect your home’s value -Add a Deck
June 10th, 2009We all know inspiration when we feel it. It is a force that enlivens us and activates us to do something—we might dance, sing, or decide to paint the house. Whatever the case, doing what we do from a place of inspiration makes all things seem possible. Inspiration sometimes comes out of nowhere, landing unexpectedly in the midst of your life and lifting you out of your habitual mind and into a higher level of seeing. In my recent inspiration, I’ve decided to try to create more outdoor living space by adding a large deck. Problem is, there’s a huge wall of dirt in my back yard. This isnt an uncommon problem in Newcastle so watch as we create more level living space which has been said to be a cost-effective way to protect your home’s value, according to a recent article By U.S. News & World Report
Outdoor living spaces can increase your home’s appeal at a lower cost than an additional room.
“It’s safe to say that a deck is one of the more cost-effective things you can do,” says Robert Markovich, home and yard editor for Consumer Reports. “Decks are really a high-return item.”
You can really improve the appearance of the backyard of your home. The whole purpose of this is to start the thought process of how you can really expand these spaces. Read more..
Here is some inspiration from a few local deck companies; Deck Pros and
Mortgage Rates Climb ~ average 5.29 percent 6/5/09
June 6th, 2009Mortgage Rates Climb In Response To Recent Rise In Bond Yields
30-Year At Highest Rate Since Week Ending December 11, 2008
as stated by warealtor.org
McLean, VA – Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.29 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 4, 2009, up from last week when it averaged 4.91 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.09 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.79 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.53 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.65 percent.
Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) averaged 4.85 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.82 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 5.51 percent.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 4.81 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.69 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 5.06 percent.
