Beautiful Bellevue, Washington, Lives Up To Its Name by Blanche Evans
Bellevue, Washington, is located just northeast of Seattle, only a quick commute away on the 405 and 90. Breathtakingly beautiful, the bedroom community is proving popular with homebuyers, say local Realtors. "Bellevue is the state's fifth largest city, and the center of Seattle's growing Eastside communities," says Realtor Rich Willard. "Bellevue has a pro-business attitude, and is steeped in technology businesses, with a very strong retail community and service sector. Attractive features of this community are its low crime rate, excellent schools, and diverse parks and recreational opportunities along the eastern shores of Lake Washington. About the market, Willard advises, "In the last twelve months, Bellevue properties have risen significantly, depending on the specific area, from 15 to 25 percent. Builders are paying very big premiums to participate in the boom to tear down 50-year-old homes and build luxury homes within a five minute commute of downtown Bellevue. Non-view lots are getting over $450,000 if they are on good streets, and with view, over a million is not too much to tear down and rebuild. Busy streets are getting action too, like $500,000 for small homes on 9,000 square foot lots. He warns, "There are signs of a market topping, as some prices do not make any sense. This weekend a new price record of $2,600,000 was paid for a luxury home in Vuecrest of 6,100 square feet. The agent said she could have sold it 4-5 times, but there was just the one house. This same week, two other properties in the same price range found their buyers. These sales which used to occur over a period of months, now are becoming common occurrences in a period of days or weeks. It simply cannot last, no asset class appreciates in a straight line without a correction sooner or later." Realtor Sean Thatcher says, "While the entire Eastside continues to grow, Bellevue remains the virtual center of activity. Home prices are up sharply, while available homes are selling quickly. In April 2005 the median sales price for houses in Bellevue was $500,500 with 138 sales, and the average time on market was 33 days. Compare this to April, 2004, where the median price was $432,000 with 143 sales, and an average market time of 46 days. Wow! That's a 16 percent median price increase with homes selling about 2 weeks faster compared to a year ago! Multiple offers are becoming commonplace again, and buyers are having difficulty finding available homes without the assistance of a persistent and truly dedicated agent on their side. Sellers also may not be getting what their home is fully worth without having an in-depth analysis done on the property and surrounding comparable sales." "Bellevue has seen an incredible increase in average listing price if you compare April of 2004 to April 2005," say Realtors Susan Guidry and Kristan Moore. "It went up about 40 percent in that time. The amount went from $485,572 to $679,363. The year to date average price surged up from $498,542 to $621347. That's a 25 percent change. What a great time to be a seller!" |
