As we continue through this pandemic period, life remains interesting, and I hope you are all remaining safe and staying well.
I’m continuing to enjoy summer and natural phenomenon such as the comet NEOWISE which only appears once every 6000+ years; I’m glad I am here during this special time. I took this picture on Friday night; it was a bit of a challenge but thanks to filters in Photoshop I was able to bring it out!
There are many articles of how this period is changing our living preferences; we are seeing people configuring both their indoor spaces and outdoor spaces to create better living at home. Having spent my first twenty years in Southern California, I am no stranger to outdoor living, and I do it whenever I can. I have fond memories of the little orange school bus bringing me, with a pile of homework, back home from Marymount Junior School. I would take up residence on the grass, in the shade of the old Sycamore tree, and plow through my homework until it was time to play. Birthday parties were almost always outdoors.
Even at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, we students studied in the shade all over campus. It wasn’t until I attended University of Washington that I realized how different that was than the rest of the contininent.
In the northwest I’ve always wondered why more outdoor living space aren’t created by simply adding a covered deck using transparent materials. This expands that indoor space, and allows us to stay outside during warm but inclement weather. Of course, on a scorching seventy-five degree day like today, shade is much appreciated (as well as air conditioning). Here are a few ideas from the New York Times.
Moving on to what is happening in our real estate market. In our virtual office meeting the other day, our President and CEO, Mike Grady, pointed to the low inventory and that it is a good time to sell do to high demand. Changes happened so quickly (see the charts below) that brokers were having a hard time keeping up with prices during the month of June, and most well-priced homes escalated much further than anyone expected. I’ve noticed on my buyer client’s feeds that there was an increase in inventory last week, so maybe we are seeing a bit of loosening, but not enough to satisfy the demand. Part of this demand is also driven by the very low interest rates.
Northwest Multiple Press Release:
Historically low interest rates and lifestyle changes are fueling housing activity around Washington state, according to Dean Rebhuhn, president of Village Homes and Properties in Woodinville. Commenting on just-released June statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service, he and other brokers say multiple offers are common “especially in the median price range.”
