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Seattle WA Neighborhoods: What Are The Best Seattle Neighborhoods To Move To?
Posted on January 28, 2010
Seattle WA Neighborhoods: What Are The Best Seattle Neighborhoods To Move To - whether you are relocating to Seattle or just trying to figure out where in the city you might want to live.
Seattle has wonderful neighborhoods to choose from, but what makes them the best for you? This is the real question to consider. It is good to go ahead and look at crime rates, school performance, and other relocation stats that are the norm, but in order to really determine what Seattle neighborhood is the best for you, you have to go further. Looking at Best Seattle neighborhoods and what makes them best for you and your particular relocation situation: I always start out by asking people what they like to do for hobbies, where are they going to work, etc., but also what kind of commute they would prefer... If a short commute is important, then that is a big factor. Most of Seattle is surrounded by water and there are a lot of bridges here to cross. Knowing which ones are a complete nightmare and when is an important aspect of deciding if a particular Seattle neighborhood is the best one for you.
Best Seattle Neighborhood Amenities offered that you want: Everyone has different needs when they go to choose the best Seattle neighborhood possible. Do you want to be able to walk to the grocery? A particular kind of grocery store maybe? Bike to yoga, have a particular restaurant in delivery distance? Want to be near a park or public pool? The library? These are all of what goes into making a Seattle neighborhood be the very best for your situation - whatever that is. Checking out a site like WalkScore.com is always good, too, because it will give you amenities surrounding addresses and for particular neighborhoods including restaurants, grocery, pubs, yoga studios, and more.
My Personal Favorite Seattle Neighborhoods: These are based on my personal choices and wants and needs in regards to what I consider great amenities, but you might find that you like these, too. In no particular order, BTW:
Green Lake - love the loop around the lake with no cars to interrupt a walk or ride, love the shops, love Zeek's pizza, love the close proximity to I-5 for commuting
Queen Anne - over a hundred years of family history here, love pretty much everything about it and consider it to be the very perfect Seattle neighborhood if you can afford it.
Sunset Hill - Edge of Ballard overlooking Puget Sound with all that Ballard has to offer, which BTW s everything....
Eastlake - love Seattle floating homes and cute little shops along Eastlake Ave. Close in to South Lake Union, Downtown Seattle, with tons of little parks and the Lake Union Loop.
Wallingford - Wallingford is a perfect location, too, right in the city - a little city in itself and on the North banks of Lake Union which is nice.
*All my favorite Seattle neighborhoods have good shops, grocery, restaurants, parks, and great walkability because I like to walk and prefer to not have to do it through a lot of traffic. I also like the water a lot.
My husband's:
Sunset Hill
Wallingford
Queen Anne
Green Lake
Looks like we are pretty well matched in some of our choices, so that is a good thing...
Molly's favorite Seattle Neighborhoods:
Molly Cartwright is a Realtor in our office who lives in Green Lake and likes to run around the roughly 3 mile loop for fun...
Green Lake
Capitol Hill
Wallingford
University District -( if you are relocating to Seattle from California, then this is your closest thing to Berkeley FYI)
West Seattle - Alki, Fauntleroy
The common favorites among us?
Green Lake, Wallingford, and Ballard (Sunset Hill is in Ballard)
I would love to hear about your favorite Seattle neighborhoods and why you think they are the best! Email me if you get a chance or post them here! courtney@cooperjacobs.com
Seattle Real Estate Market Highlights
Posted on December 23, 2009
Looking ahead at Seattle in 2010: 
Seattle Real Estate 2009 Highlights - Last year was a pretty wild ride for us all (whether you are in real estate or not) - low interest rates, tax credit changes, high unemployment, price reductions, more. Cooper Jacobs is fortunate to have wonderful associates in all areas of Puget Sound and a great network of real estate friends and clients nationwide. Although listings are definitely taking longer to sell, our sellers are enjoying the very best in marketing exposure - both online and off. Some of my personal favorites for the 2009 Seattle real estate market:
1. Vision Impaired Seattle real estate experience: I was lucky enough to have a blind client who completely inspired my entire life. This was by far the most amazing human being I have worked with ever and maybe even known. She taught me the ins and outs of really living car free and how important sites like http://www.walkscore.com are. In addition, I will finally be working on becoming a notary so that I can do mobile notary services for the blind and vision impaired. As an extra bonus, I can tell you two of the best Seattle neighborhoods to live in if you are blind!
2. Getting to better know my local bloggers - real estate and otherwise. Going to coffee with Amy and Madi of MyGreenLake was so great!
3. Gallery Auction: It was wonderful seeing this occur before my eyes. I sat there with clients and my jaw literally dropped at the bid amounts. Belltown real estate is alive and well!
4. SeattleAfloat.com Finally launched the hyperlocal Seattle houseboats blog we had been working on! This is a great place to stop and look at Seattle floating homes for sale and learn about life on Lake Union!5. Had the opportunity to make a difference in many people's lives - It takes experience to navigate a challenging real estate market like the one Seattle is going through, but we have had some great jobs this last year!
I think we all can agree that we worked harder in 2009, but really, I think that is part of what you should be doing to best serve your client anyway.
Looking ahead to Seattle real estate 2010 market:
So what is ahead for 2010 in the Seattle real estate market?
We are in the process of moving our offices to Wallingford just a couple blocks North of the banks of Lake Union! Very excited about the move and hope to be able to expand even further this year! We are very excited about the buyers coming out of the woodwork and have already had a couple great transactions come together in the new year! Let us know if you need help this year!
Richmond Beach Shoreline Wa Community Relocation Guide
Posted on November 17, 2009
Richmond Beach is in Shoreline WA on the shores of Puget Sound.
Richmond Beach is a great waterfront neighborhood in the Seattle Suburb of Shoreline in King County. This thriving historical neighborhood is a perfect spot if you are considering living in a fun small town beach community with good schools, parks, shopping, and transit.
Richmond Beach Real Estate: Look for Richmond Beach homes to have wonderful Sound views with good bang for the buck. Waterfront homes are also available here, but at a premium. Waterfront and View Parks, though, are easily accessible for all. Even Richmond Beach Library is on an amazing piece of land with an adjoining park (has a toddler rock climbing wall!!) and huge views of the Sound and passing ferry boats. Fresh salty sea air is abundant and life is good. Richmond Beach Homes Search:
Richmond Beach Schools:
Richmond Beach Highlights & Resources:
Richmond Beach Community Association: http://www.richmondbeachwa.org/
Richmond Beach Library: http://www.kcls.org/richmondbeach/
The Cabin: - historic waterside neighborhood pub
Richmond Beach Saltwater Park on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/richmond-beach-saltwater-park-seattle and on the King County site: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/waterandland/puget-sound-marine/beaches/richmond.aspx
Richmond Beach on Localism: http://localism.com/wa/shoreline/richmond_beach
Lake Forest Park WA Community Relocation Guide
Posted on November 17, 2009
Lake Forest Park, WA Living:
Lake Forest Park, Wa is in the North section of King County on the banks of Lake Washington. This Seattle Suburb is just North of Seattle and ideal for anyone looking for a smaller community feel, but still close in to the city. Lake Forest Park is well treed and has an incredible Towne Centre which is the focal point of much of life here.
Lake Forest Park WA real estate:Lake Forest Park real estate is divided into neighborhoods all of which are centered around the Lake Forest Park Towne Centre and oriented towards Lake Washington. There are several amazing neighborhoods and areas of Lake Forest Park including Horizon View, Sheridan Heights, and Sheridan Beach. Homes range from wooded larger lots to newer platted lots, Lake Washington view homes, and Lake Washington waterfront homes.
Lake Forest Park Schools:
Lake Forest Park Trivia & Perks:
- Speeding STRONGLY discouraged with many speed traps and camera tickets especially around schools.
- Hybrid drivers welcome!
- Lots of trees!
- Farmers Market
- Beach Access even if not deeded through one of the private clubs through public park
Other Lake Forest Park Resources:
The NEW NEW Tax Credit
Posted on November 7, 2009
The new tax credit to stimulate housing - take three.
Housing Credit: There has been lots of speculation, but Obama signed the newest housing credit into law so it is official now:
The current first time home buyer $8000 tax credit is extended to April 30, 2010 and you have on top of that an additional 2 months to close on the property after that (close by July 1st, 2010). Income levels have been raised to modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $125,000 for singles (up from $75,000) and $225,000 for married (up from $150,000). An additional credit has also been approved for purchasers of new homes regardless of first time home buyer status as long as they have lived in their current primary residence five of the last eight years. This credit is for $6500 and seems to have the same deadlines/MAGI requirements. You can find the official bill here - it was written into an unemployment bill so scroll down a bit: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:5:./temp/~c111dG8SpH::
Email me if you want more info or are interested in Seattle real estate: courtney@cooperjacobs.com
Seattle Real Estate: Is Now A Good Time To Buy?
Posted on September 9, 2009
Seattle real estate 2009: Is now a good time to buy?
Is now a good time to buy a Seattle home? This is probably the number one question I get - both while doing my job and also just out in public. My grocery store checker asks me this, my mechanic asks me this, etc. You get the idea. I get this question A LOT. I think the standard answer for most in my field is "YES", but my answer is maybe..for some.
A good time to buy if... Now, I assure you that I am indeed a Realtor. Surprise you that I wouldn't chime in and dance and cheer and say, "yes, buy now!!!"? Now is not a good time to buy if you are unemployed, unsteady with your job, finances, credit, etc. or only looking for a one to three year commitment. Now is not a good time to buy if you are wanting to make a quick buck and flip when the market turns around, etc. (Even Jeff Lewis from Flipping Out (jeff lewis, call me) is not buying property right now to flip!).
Now is a great time to buy if... you have good credit, a good stable job, a nice chunk of money in reserves, and a conservative approach to investing for the long term return. Now is a good time to buy Seattle real estate if you have a trustworthy Realtor who can honestly evaluate what a property is worth. They need to not only tell you what it is worth now, but also protect you from any potential future equity loss by helping you to make an offer that will force the seller to take on some of your risk. Is your Realtor willing to make an offer on your behalf that might be so low that it is not socially acceptable? They need to be if that is the realistic number.Is now a good time to buy Seattle real estate? Interest rates are low - they still are. There's also the extra $8000 tax incentive for some (deadline quickly approaching), Seattle housing prices are at an all time low. Sales volume is still much decreased from recent years - making lower offers more attractive to sellers looking for a way out.
So is now the right time for you? Maybe. We are happy to help evaluate your situation. Sometimes renting is the better choice. There certainly are a greater number of rentals right now! It just depends.
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