Madison Park Times Real Estate 04-01-21

Real Estate Madison Park Times

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What a difference a year makes. One year ago, life skidded to a stop in the still-early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we looked at everything with uncertainty and not a little fear. Workers were sent home, some businesses shut down completely, and the real estate industry went quiet.

Real estate a year later has not just rebounded, but we’re seeing activity on a pace like — or in some cases, surpassing — the height of the market in 2017. It’s not necessarily despite the pandemic, but in many ways because

of it.

Throughout the greater Seattle area, inventory — the homes available to buy — is at stunning lows. There is only three weeks of supply on the market — what analysts call the absorption rate. Remember, real estate industry analysts call a neutral market one in which there is four to six months of available homes. In our neighborhoods in and around Madison Park, there is only two weeks’ worth of inventory. In these top neighborhoods, and in certain price points and instances, sellers are fetching 25 to 30 percent over their asking

prices.

It’s a stunning turnaround.

New factors at play

The “new normal” life we’ve all learned to live with has had its drawbacks, losses and sorrows for too many. Seattle’s economy, though, is strong. For people with salaried employment, there has been no disruption in their jobs or paychecks, even as they continue

to work remotely.

The pandemic has meant we all spend more time at home. What we need from our homes has changed. More room, more bedrooms, more storage, bigger and better kitchens and usable outdoor space is at a premium. People need dedicated home offices for remote work and schooling. For families, the togetherness has been great, but sometimes everyone needs to chill in a more

private space. All of these needs are driving this hot seller’s market. I’ve also noticed that this crisis has made people more deliberate and more decisive when it comes to real estate. That’s necessary now, especially on the buyer side. There is no time to mess around with so few available homes on the market. There’s also a real feeling of

inter is hands down the best time to plan a garden. Not only are you liberated from pressures of racing against time to weed, sow, shop, plant, harvest and mulch in Seattle’s relatively short growing season, but you can see the outline of the garden, bare of summer leaves and annual plants.

It’s so tempting to go wild in spring at a nursery, when color-hungry eyes are blinded by azaleas, forsythias and primroses. Or just plain hungry eyes are buying nothing but annual herbs and vegetables. Oftentimes, gardens made that way run the risk of turning flat and gray in winter, swaths of deciduous shrubs and empty ground or pots that held annuals.

A garden planned with winter in mind, on the other hand, stands proud in February, buoyed by evergreen shrubs, colorful berries and twigs. We are so fortunate at the sheer amount of botanical diversity that thrives here, that it’s easy to have a garden that thrills you year-round, with scent, color and style.

First, build the bones of your garden with evergreen shrubs, trees and groundcovers that will

be the right size for your space. Read the tags on the shrubs and trees — that little pine may grow to 30 feet in time. The evergreen presence can be a hedge, a low edging, a carpet or punctuation marks of blue or green conifers, variegated foliage — like Ilex, Osmanthus, Euonymous or Choisya. For smaller plants, consider heuchera (coral bells) or evergreen grasses and sedges like carex or ophiopogon (black mondo grass). Imagine they are all you see in winter — is there enough?

Need some inspiration? Check out designed public gardens like the University of Washington Arboretum, the Bellevue Botanic Garden, parks and zoos or even gardens in front of hotels and malls.

Then, add some highlights with bonus color from winter standouts like shrubby dogwoods, which shine in this season. Most look kind of meh most of the time, until fall when they drop their leaves to reveal glossy red, orange or yellow stems. The most exciting ones have variegated leaves. They generally get about 6 feet tall, so they make a nice focal point if you have space. A new red-twigged dwarf called “Little Rebel” tops

out at about 3 feet. A whole article could and should be written about trees with beautiful bark — birch, paperbark maple, parottia and stewartia are just a few. For berries, look to crabapple varieties with long-lasting fruit, tough ground-hugging cotoneaster, edible wintergreen-flavored gaultheria and, of course, hollies. There are many striking tasseled plants that can anchor a bed or a corner all by themselves and will get the neighbors talking — silk tassel bush, also known as Garrya elliptica, and the twisty “Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick,” Corylus avellana contorta (the twisted filbert or corkscrew hazel, named for a Scottish Vaudeville star, who often used a gnarled cane). They both put out swirly catkins that dangle in the breeze like tinsel on a Christmas tree. I saw a gorgeous combo of a Garrya backed by a witch hazel (hamamelis species), which offers smaller winter fringy flowers in yellows, reds and oranges — often with a spicy woodsy fragrance. Punch up the color even further with early flowers — you can have bulbs blooming from February through April without taking up much ground, especially if you layer them from largest, say allium or tulips, in the bottom layer, up to snowdrops and crocus in the top layer a couple of inches from

SEE GRIVAS, PAGE 4

he laws of supply and demand are at work in the Seattle real estate market! With few homes available for sale, those that do come onto the market are moving at a brisk pace. I’ve worked with a number of clients to position their homes for sale this year, many of which have received multiple offers and have closed above list price. If you are thinking of selling your home, now is a great time—I’d be happy to connect with you to discuss market fundamentals and how to position your home for success.

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WHAT MY CLIENTS ARE SAYING

Laura could see the love and care we had invested in restoring our beautiful English Tudor. She knew that finding the right buyer for a house like ours would require helping them understand the value in each special detail. She enthusiastically marketed our home, and we have no doubt her enthusiasm and energy conveyed during showings with potential buyers. Within a month Laura had three prospects making competing offers to purchase our home! We cannot say enough good things about Laura. She is a tireless advocate for her clients. Hiring Laura Halliday was the best decision we could have made.

- Vivian & Russel Wilson

the surface. The pollinators will thank you, too, for adding flowers for them in the off-season.

The amazing hellebore family, which gets more amazing by the year thanks to prolific breeding programs, offers evergreen leaves, striking foliage and flowers that can start in November and take you through March if you pick varieties carefully. Christmas roses (helleborus niger and hybrids) bloom November through January, while Lenten roses (helleborus orientalis and hybrids) bloom January through March. What look like flower petals are actually sepals, but nobody minds, especially the bees who love to visit them on warm winter days. The “flowers” are long lasting and stay on the plant as they darken slightly to mauve or green, but stay attractive. They make wonderful cut flowers floating in a dish for several days.

To add the extra dimension of luscious fragrance and evergreen foliage, look to sweetbox, sarcoccoca hookeriana var. humilis (shorter, to about 18 inches) or ruscifolia (a great hedge pick at 3 to 5 feet high). Glossy almondshaped leaves mimic boxwood, without the unpleasant odor, and instead offer a wonderful vanilla scent in early winter that lingers in the air.

The ‘flowers’ of hellebores, such as these, are actually sepals, but they last several days floating in a dish. Bees also like to visit them on warm winter days.

Daphne species are another wonderful option that may have you following your nose to ask your neighbor what they are growing this time of year. Evergreen, usually averaging about 4 feet tall, they are a handsome player for a partially shady spot. The pink or white flowers have a swoon-worthy scent.

The catch is that poor drainage, erratic frosts or transplanting may cause them to exit the world without warning, but I love them so much I am growing three different types. There are even varieties like “Summer Ice” and “Eternal Fragrance” that repeat bloom into the summer, extending your swoon season for months.

SUDORE, FROM PAGE 1

hope and optimism. Vaccination supplies and the number of people getting them are picking up, the stock market is high, interest rates are low. All of these factors contribute to the incredibly hot real estate market.

What to know and how to plan

This market is different than other busy markets. It started earlier — transactions were unusually heavy in December, which is not typical of the months around the late winter holidays. We’re deep into the traditional spring market, and it’s only getting busier. We’re seeing more movement from the always-hot Seattle neighborhoods to families moving to the east side — homes are larger, lots are bigger, and there’s more space to spread out.

If you’re selling, the time is now. Some of my sellers aren’t looking to buy again right now. They’re taking the proceeds from their sales and renting for a while until things sort themselves out. When they come back in, they’ll have the cash to move fast and aggressively with the intent to win. The scarcity of inventory is hard on buyers. The single most important thing a buyer can do to increase their chances for success is to work with an experienced broker. Now is not the time to call that friend who has a real estate license because you feel obligated

Lastly, there are the plants that look beautiful as they go gently into that good night — with lovely seed heads or tawny colors that take on extra allure when there are fewer flowers to distract us. Designer Piet Oudouf calls the enjoyment of this demise “the fifth season.”

Hydrangeas, ornamental grasses, echinacea (coneflower) and more can have their old flowers left on to feed the birds and give us more things to enjoy until the last gorgeous minute.

“Real estate isn’t just about property and prices; at the base of it, it’s about people.”

— unless that buddy has years of experience, many successful transactions and extensive local connections.

There’s simply an oversupply of buyers. We see 20 to 30 groups of serious, ready-to-pounce buyers at every available house. Prices are rising as multiple offers escalate to bidding wars and the usual contingencies are waived, and buyers who can put down cash — quickly — are getting those homes. That takes a toll on the unsuccessful bidders. If you’ve ever put an offer together, it takes time and hope. It can be emotional and stressful. An experienced, dialed-in broker can take some of the load off and work the angles that are only learned over time and with experience.

I was working with buyers who were ready to write up an offer on an attractive property. I knew the broker representing the sellers because we’d done many transactions over the years, through hot and cold markets. A quick call, asking the right questions — and knowing what the answers meant — led me to a win. Not the house. It was clear to me this home would ultimately sell for more than my buyers could pay. We didn’t put in an offer, and the win was in not losing. Real estate isn’t just about property and prices; at the base of it, it’s about people.

There was no reason to put these buyers through the roller coaster when I could figure out we weren’t in a position to win.

Knowing the market and its players is always important, but never more than it is right now. Buying a house is a huge investment — not just financially. Choose your broker wisely, and you’ll have the best chance to get your new home in this market.

My team and I have already successfully won many homes this year for our buyer clients. We’ve also fetched as high as 25 and more offers for certain sellers that hired us to represent them. If you want to win, call me.

As always, my home, my office and my team are focused here in Madison Park. If you’d like to set a time to talk through any matters involving buying or selling your home, my door is always open. From all of us at King County Estates, we want to thank our devoted clients, families and community for the tremendous support during this time. Stay smart, stay safe and stay healthy.

Chris Sudore Madison Park Resident KingCountyEstates.com

Chris@KingCountyEstates.

com

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