Through March the Space Needle has been offering free evening tickets to the top and cheap drinks. It’s the last weekend, so go get your drink on! And be sure to print out the ticket so you don’t have to pay $15 for the elevator ride.
A couple of weeks ago I blogged on a new real estate model where I try to match real estate agent strategies to the agent’s personality. I call the different strategies “games” (www.getstrategic.com/agents). I’m going to share my progress with you, the highs and the lows to let you know how it is going since there’s no other company that I know of doing this sort of model. It may be like picking a carrot to see how it’s growing. But this carrot is an unknown species. Sticking with this metaphore, the only way I can observe it is to grow it hydroponically in a glass beaker to watch it grow, the glass beaker being this blog!
Here’s what I can share with you so far:
I’ve had the poorest results with the 3 experienced agents I had to let go because they wouldn’t put time into activities that they’d never done before. I think they must have joined because of the word “free leads
[photopress:round_and_round.jpg,thumb,alignright] The most common question I get from people moving to Seattle regards their potential commute… The question typically follows this format:
“How far away from my work can I live and still have a reasonable commute?”
It doesn’t really matter whether the person is planning to work in Downtown Seattle, Downtown Bellevue, the Amazon Campus, or the Microsoft Campus, because a “reasonable commute” is different for each person.
Some people are willing to drive an hour to save money on a home (or be able to afford a home for that matter), while others want a commute that is less than 20 minutes. Across the country (and especially in the Seattle area), the farther you are willing to drive every day, the less you have to pay for a home.
Interestingly, my work as a transportation planning consultant has put me in contact with some very interesting resources. For example, I recently came across these five maps that were put together by the regional government (PSRC) that give a great indication of the average commute:
These maps are great if you know the area you are going to be working (say Downtown Bellevue) AND you know that you are willing to commute a specific distance (say 40 minutes) because then they can help you put a definitive boundary on your home search!
NOTE: These maps are created “topographical-style”. If you are new to this, imagine that the graphic is displaying a huge mountain centered on the point of interest (like Downtown Seattle). If you move anywhere within the first circle (the top of the mountain!), then your commute to Downtown Seattle would be less than 20 minutes. However, the farther out you live, the large the hill you have to climb to get to work. For example, if you were to move to Issaquah, then you could expect about a 40 minute commute to Downtown Seattle.
By the way, the maps are a little dated (they are based on 1997 data), but the commute patterns have not changed much in the last 8 years, so the trends are still pretty accurate.
The same regional model that was used to create this data also spits out data for future years! Wouldn’t it be great to have the same maps for future years (2010, 2020, etc.) so you could gauge how your commute might change? This can be done! And if there is sufficient interest, I’ll put something like this together!
Are you looking for a condo that you can call home? I have a client who does not want to go through the hassle of listing his condos in the MLS. (He currently has renters and doesn’t want to have a parade of people going through their place). However, he is interested in selling them… Here are the details.
Condo #1 — 1400 Hubble Place on the southwest corner of the 13th floor.
This condo is very well maintained and has beautiful views. It is VERY close to downtown.
The condo has one-bedroom with approximately 570 total square feet. It includes one parking space in the building! The current market price for this condo is approximately 190K.
Condo #2 — 92nd St and 1st Ave NW (Northgate Plaza)
This condo is a one-bedroom, 760 sq foot place with a balcony and parking in the building. The unit is on the top (4th floor)!
The condo includes a swimming pool. The current market price for this condo is approximately 120K.
If you are seriously interested in a hassle free purchase of one of these condos, let me know and I can set up a showing!