The Least Expensive Seattle Waterfront Homes

While much of the discussion of Seattle waterfront real estate includes multi-million dollar homes on Lake Washington, Lake Union, and Puget Sound, it's also nice to look at the affordable side of waterfront. From houseboats to beach cottages and fixer projects, there are some steals on waterfront real estate this year that we haven't seen in a while.

Seattle Houseboats on Lake Union:
There are currently 8 houseboats and floating homes available on Lake Union for under $400,000. From a $158,000 vessel on Northlake to $399,000 floating homes on Westlake and Portage Bay, the houseboats on Lake Union provide an amazing opportunity to live near downtown Seattle, have access to the waterfront, and still have a reasonable mortgage payment.

West Seattle - Beach Drive
There are usually a few cottages along West Seattle's saltwater shoreline that come on the market every year. Whether shared waterfront access or private, the smaller bungalows can be attractively priced, like the current home selling for $350,000. While they're cozy homes that are usually a weekender/vacation/second home, they offer a great getaway.

Bitter Lake - Haller Lake
Some of Seattle's smaller lakes get forgotten in all of the waterfront talk, but they do offer a nice price point and secluded waterfront. There is currently a nice small house on Bitter Lake listed for $450,000, and we'll usually see a couple of homes on these lakes around the $500,000 mark.

Alki Beach
While Alki is West Seattle's most coveted shoreline and most homes are across the street from the water, there's a small outcropping near Lighthouse Point that is right on the beach. The least expensive property here in a long time is a shared waterfront access in a two unit building, with a price under $600,000.

Portage Bay
Portage Bay homes are usually over $1 million if they're true single-family, waterfront homes. However, there are some outliers like the current house sited next to a floating home community, listed under $600,000.

Condos
Of course, there are plenty of waterfront condos available between $300,000 and $600,000. From Alki to Beach Drive, Madison Park, Leschi, Portage Bay, and even Ballard.

Current Listings:
Homes For Sale
Waterfront Homes For Sale
Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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Existing Home Sales Rise 12%

For the fifth time in six months, existing home sales rose in the U.S.:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Sales of existing homes jumped in December, marking the fifth month of gains in the past six months, based on an industry report released Thursday.

Previously-owned home sales climbed 12.3% in December to an annual rate of 5.28 million, from 4.70 million in November, according to the National Association of Realtors.

That puts sales at the highest level since the homebuyer tax credit expired in June, said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

The December rate came in much higher than expected. A consensus of experts surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast an annualized sales rate of 4.8 million.

Current Listings:
Homes For Sale
Waterfront Homes For Sale
Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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King County Waterfront Real Estate Sales Up 35% in 2010

Following the trend of booming waterfront real estate sales in Seattle and Bellevue, overall sales of King County waterfront homes in 2010 were up significantly over the previous year.

Unofficial NWMLS statistics show 635 waterfront homes sold in King County for the year, in contrast to just 472 sales in 2009. This 35% increase in sales was badly needed after the struggles of the luxury and real estate markets in 2008 and 2009.

Breakdowns of waterfront houses and waterfront condos were similar. 453 waterfront houses were sold, a 36% increase over the 334 previous 2009 sales. Waterfront condos, usually a less-predictive measure of the waterfront real estate market, followed the same path with 182 sales in 2010, up 32% over the 138 waterfront condos sold the year before.

We're seeing the spread of waterfront and luxury home sales across the region, and I'd expect this to continue in 2011. There are certainly buyers in the market, and they're making purchases when properties are priced correctly. There's been an increase in attractively-priced inventory recently, as it seems that some of the "wait it out" sellers have come to realize that the new market is here to stay.

A significant percentage of value was lost in the past three years, and it's not coming back immediately. Realistic home owners are selling waterfront homes, and the market is benefitting from the larger number of sales with some price stabilization.

Current Listings:
Homes For Sale
Waterfront Homes For Sale
Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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Phantom Lake, Bellevue WA Real Estate

Phantom Lake, Bellevue WA

Phantom Lake is a small lake in Bellevue, WA. Situated in East Bellevue, just a few blocks up from Lake Sammamish on the Lake Hills Green Belt, the lake is surrounded by a quiet park and a residential neighborhood. On the North, South, and East ends, there are a few dozen Phantom Lake waterfront homes.

The neighborhood is surrounded by the Phantom Lake Loop, a 10-foot wide paved pathway of about 2.6 miles. Access to the lake by foot is on the West side of the lake at 156th Ave SE. There is also a public boat launch available with a required permit. Motorized boats are not allowed at any time on Phantom Lake.

Phantom Lake drains to Lake Sammamish on the East, through Weowna Creek and Weowna Beach Park. The Phantom Lake Bath and Tennis Club is situated on the South side of the lake, with its own pool, tennis courts and clubhouse. Phantom Lake Elementary School is located just a few blocks North of Phantom Lake, and is part of the Bellevue School District.

Homes in the Phantom Lake neighborhood start as low as $350,000, with those near the lake quickly rising to $600k with lake views. Some newer custom homes in the lake vicinity are selling in the $800k and $900k range. Waterfront homes on Phantom Lake range from $800k-$2 million, with properties rarely available on the open market due to the scarcity of the waterfront real estate.

Current Listings:
Homes For Sale
Waterfront Homes For Sale
Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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2010 Mercer Island Waterfront Real Estate: 180% Increase in Sales

Waterfront real estate sales in Mercer Island were on a breakneck pace throughout the fall, and final numbers on the MLS for the year were about as strong as possible after a drab 2009.

A total of 31 Mercer Island waterfront homes are listed as sold on the MLS for the full year of 2010. This is up 180% from the paltry 11 sales in 2009, and still 29% more than the 24 homes sold in 2008 (not all home sales are reported on the MLS). We saw a rush of sales at the end of this year, as a large group of buyers looked to snap up homes just as they came on the market.

During October and November, more often than not, we were seeing waterfront homes in Mercer Island selling in less than two weeks, and many in under a week. It seems that there were enough buyers waiting for a price bottom that when a few of them started moving, everyone jumped board.

Prices were still down for the year on waterfront and luxury real estate around the Puget Sound region, as we'll be getting full year-end reports from county sales data shortly. However, these kinds of bright spots just may be the leading indicators for a stabilization of the market.

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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2010: Eastside Waterfront Real Estate Sales Up 19%

Waterfront real estate sales on the Eastside finished out 2010 with a 19% increase in total sales vs. the previous year. This trend follows the strong sales for the year in Seattle and around the Puget Sound. While prices on waterfront and luxury real estate fell in all areas over the past two years, the recent strong sales seem to have created a bottoming out in prices at this point.

Final numbers for 2010 won't be out for a while, but approximate numbers from the MLS give us a good picture of the year. So far, I'm seeing 207 recorded sales of waterfront homes, vs. 168 in 2009. Waterfront houses, being the strongest indicator of the market, were actually up 24% with 146 in 2010 vs 111 in 2009, and a similar 114 in 2008. Waterfront condo sales were flat for 2010 and 2009 at around 60 sales, after a strong 2008 waterfront condo market with 91 sales.

We're seeing the same general market conditions on the Eastside waterfront as we are in Seattle, albeit at somewhat higher prices. Sellers who adjust their pricing to the current market realities are moving properties, and there are still a significant number of waterfront home buyers in the market. Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish waterfront real estate sales continue to improve, and as these sales continue to strengthen the market base, we'll see more clearly where pricing flattens out.

(Eastside cities included: Bellevue, Medina, Kirkland, Yarrow Point, Hunts Point, Kenmore, Renton, Redmond, Issaquah, Sammamish)

Current Listings:
Seattle Homes For Sale
Seattle Waterfront Homes
Seattle Condos For Sale

Sam DeBord
Realtor® | Managing Broker
SeattleHome.com | Coldwell Banker Danforth
ph: 206-658-3225 | email: sam(at)SeattleHome.com
Member NWMLS, N.A.R., WA Realtors, Seattle-King County Realtors

Source: Individually compiled NWMLS data. The NWMLS did not compile or publish this information.

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2010 in Review: Seattle Waterfront Homes

The Seattle waterfront real estate market is closing out a fairly strong year, considering the overall malaise of the national real estate market in 2010. Sales were fairly strong overall, with a general rise in sales continuing since 2008.

These are only partial numbers from the MLS, certainly not the entire picture of the waterfront real estate market in Seattle for the year, but a good general measure of the trend.

There were 89 waterfront houses and 74 waterfront condos 2010 sold in Seattle up to this point. The total of 163 homes was a significant increase over the 132 sales in 2009 and 122 sales in 2008. The sales of waterfront houses, a stronger indicator of the waterfront market than condos, went from 56 in 2008 to 84 in 2009 and 89 this year. I'd expect the number to be in the low 90s by the time all of the current pending/closing sales have been recorded.

While prices have fallen significantly in those two years, there are still a healthy number of buyers looking for a waterfront home. Price it correctly, and you can still sell waterfront real estate in Seattle.