Blog - Denni Shefrin

Buying, Living, Selling

Five Things to Consider When Downsizing

Downsizing is on the minds of many homeowners today. Some are ready to retire, others want to live more simply, and many want to save money and say goodbye to home maintenance. If you can relate to any of those sentiments, ask yourself these five questions: Have you done the math? The financial savings […]
Market News, Matthew Gardner Reports

The Housing Market in 2019

The last time we saw a balanced market was late 1990s, meaning many sellers and buyers have never seen a normal housing market. Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner looks at more longer-term averages, what does he see for the future of the housing market?
Market News

Eastside Market Report | May 2019 | Provided by Denni Shefrin Copy

The spring home buying season started early this year. Open houses had increased attendance and bidding wars returned. After months of softening, home prices in most of the region jumped significantly from the prior month. With just one month of data, we’ll have to wait and see if this is the start of a […]
Living

Blinds or Curtains? Or Both? Top Things to Consider When Choosing Your Window Style

Some rooms just need blinds, other rooms just need curtains, and then some rooms look best with both. But how do you decide which rooms need what? There are a number of factors to consider when you’re picking window treatments for rooms in your house, from price to insulation to style to orientation within the […]

Buying Five Things to Consider When Downsizing Downsizing is on the minds of many homeowners today. Some are ready to retire, others want to live more simply, and many want to save money and say goodbye to home maintenance. If you can relate to any of those sentiments, ask yourself these five questions: Have you done the math? The financial savings […]

Market News The Housing Market in 2019 The last time we saw a balanced market was late 1990s, meaning many sellers and buyers have never seen a normal housing market. Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist Matthew Gardner looks at more longer-term averages, what does he see for the future of the housing market?

Market News Eastside Market Report | May 2019 | Provided by Denni Shefrin Copy The spring home buying season started early this year. Open houses had increased attendance and bidding wars returned. After months of softening, home prices in most of the region jumped significantly from the prior month. With just one month of data, we’ll have to wait and see if this is the start of a […]

Living Blinds or Curtains? Or Both? Top Things to Consider When Choosing Your Window Style Some rooms just need blinds, other rooms just need curtains, and then some rooms look best with both. But how do you decide which rooms need what? There are a number of factors to consider when you’re picking window treatments for rooms in your house, from price to insulation to style to orientation within the […]

Market News The Q1 2019 Western Washington Gardner Report View Full Report As Chief Economist for Windermere Real Estate, Matthew Gardner is responsible for analyzing and interpreting economic data and its impact on the real estate market on both a local and national level. Matthew has over 30 years of professional experience both in the U.S. and U.K. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities, […]

Market News Eastside Market Report | April 2019 | Provided by Denni Shefrin After months of softening, home prices began to rise in February. That trend continued in March. While prices in most areas were down from the same time last year, they increased over the prior month. New listings rose as well, offering buyers more options and more time to make the right choice. Despite the […]

Buying Find a New Home in Four Steps Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or a current owner looking for a bigger home, the ideas below will help you better navigate that all-important first step: Finding a property that you like (and can afford). The search for a new home always starts out with a lot of excitement. But if you haven’t prepared, frustration […]

Market News Matthew Gardner 2019 Housing Forecast

Buying British chaos means interest rates will stay low for longer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Savers will suffer longer with zero returns on their accounts. Home buyers, companies and governments will keep on borrowing cheaply. And questions will grow further about whether central banks are creating bubbles in financial markets by keeping interest rates near or below zero. The British vote to leave the European Union […]

Buying Seattle housing: Is it a bubble? Single-family house values in Seattle shot up 10.8 percent year-over-year in March, the second highest in the nation after Portland, according to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index. It’s a new record, surpassing the previous peak in the summer of 2007 — and we saw how that turned out. Nationally, the increase was 5.2 percent. Here, it’s […]

Living Multigenerational homes are back in style, with more breathing room Bob and Myrna Conrad, both 65, share a house with their son Wade, 41, his wife, Dana, 42, and their grandson Bryce, 21. Isn’t it crowded? Don’t they cramp one another’s style? Actually, no. “We just set some ground rules, and it’s been working great,” said Wade Conrad, who has been living with his extended […]

Living 6 Deck Renovations That Really Pay Off—and 1 That Doesn’t Charles Schmidt/iStock If there’s one thing that unites this great country—especially once the weather starts getting warmer and barbecue season gets ever so tantalizingly closer—it is our passionate, even obsessive love for our outdoor decks. Truth be told, just about all of us desire a perch from which to survey our backyard (or rooftop) kingdom, lazily hang out, or […]

Market News Scarce listings drive King County home prices to new highs The median price of single-family homes sold in King County hit a new all-time high last month — $514,975 — amid record-low inventory, heralding even more intense bidding wars ahead in the typically busy spring home-buying season. Ominously, the more affordable Snohomish and Pierce counties also face a historically low inventory level, according to […]

Buying Seattle metro-area home prices up nearly 10 percent in a year Seattle-area home prices surged in December, posting the fourth-highest annual gain among 20 metros, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday. The average price of existing single-family homes sold in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties climbed 9.9 percent over the year in December, its fastest pace in 2015. In the 20-city index, Seattle trailed […]

Buying Lack of inventory “a game changer” for home buyers Depleted inventory is contributing to "overwhelming" traffic at open houses, shifts in strategies for both buyers and sellers, and escalating prices, according to officials with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Dick Beeson, a former chairman of the MLS board, said the lack of inventory in almost every county is, "without question, a 2016 game changer." […]

Buying King County Had Almost Half of 2015’s 30 Most Competitive Neighborhoods in America We probably don’t need to tell you that 2015 was a crazy year in real estate, especially in our city. Bidding wars and listings lasting mere days on the market is something we’ve all grown accustomed to. But it turns out we’re not alone. Redfin recently came out with a list of the 30 most […]

Selling 2016 Housing Forecast: “Very Strong” for Sellers According to a recent REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report, 2016 is projected to be a very strong market for local area sellers. With inventory at historic lows, prices at or near record highs, and multiple offers the norm, it’s an exceptional time to get top dollar for your home. Washington is one of only three […]

Buying Buyers pay cash in a third of Seattle home sales This story originally appeared on King5.com The number of home-buyers paying cash rose to more than 31 percent of transactions, according to RealtyTrac, which released data for November 2015 in Seattle. Also in December, the median sale price rose to $508,000 — that's 15 percent higher than a year earlier. "It's a downer," said Tony […]

Living This is what happens when you respond to SPAM Email… I am an avid TED Talks watcher and just came across this Talk. It's hysterical and I suspect will give you pause too! It's also hilarious!

Living No Wage Stagnation on the Eastside Wages on the Eastside are up Last month’s U.S. Census report showed that middle-class incomes nationally were stagnant, confirming a trend that has been widely reported. But when 425Business magazine crunched the numbers for a local perspective, the picture changed. Unlike the U.S as a whole, median incomes in Bellevue and the greater Seattle area […]