the
Home Connection
Volume 11 | Issue 12
DECEMBER 2020
eye on the market While winter may be bringing colder weather, the real estate market has remained hot. Inventory and interest rates remain at historic lows and buyer competition has continued to increase. October market activity showed a 40 percent drop in active listings compared to the same month a year ago, while the end of fall brought an increase of 16 percent in pending sales and a year over-year jump of nearly 30 percent in closed sales. In fact, the Puget Sound region is in the top four most competitive housing markets in the country according to a recent analysis from Redfin. The Northwest MLS shows median closedsale prices for single-family homes have increased significantly. Several counties charted double-digit price growth including King County where prices are up
experience this! by 12.88 percent, Snohomish County up by 17.17 percent, Pierce County up by almost 17.81 percent and Thurston County up by nearly 13.41 percent. King, Snohomish, and Pierce county also beat the record for the month of October for the number of homes sold that same month a year ago. Puget Sound homes cost more than ever before despite a slight decrease in price from earlier this fall and homes are still selling at unprecedented speeds. Brokers report that homebuyers continue to experience bidding wars and multiple offer situations when trying to secure a home and are being pulled into the market by record low mortgage rates. This winter’s real estate market will be one to watch and it will be interesting to see if market activity will begin to plateau as it has in past years at this time, or if the market will remain in record breaking territory.
Deck the House for the Holidays 'Tis the season to start hanging holiday lights. Creating a light display for your home is a great way to get into the festivities and brighten up your neighborhood. Unfortunately, it can be difficult and time consuming to accomplish. Here are a few tips to help make the process faster, safer, and easier. money in the long run. It is also helpful • Plan ahead: Create a design plan before to use extension cords and lights that are you begin hanging your lights, this will specifically made for outdoor use as this help save time and allow you to map out critical patterns for your light display. To will help avoid malfunctions that lead to decide where to hang lights, look at your spendy replacements. house from the street or take a picture • Use the right amount of and choose which elements lights: Measure the lengths of would be enhanced with what you plan on decorating lighting. Consider highlighting so that you have an accurate features like roof trim, eaves, idea of how many boxes of pillars, posts, windows, and lights you’ll need. The brighter doors. you want your display to be, • Use high quality lights and the more bulbs per strand you products: LED bulbs, while will want. more expensive, last twelve times as long • Take safety precautions: When climbing/ as traditional bulbs and ultimately save continued on next page
Yuletide Express 11/28-12/19
The Nutcracker— Pacific Northwest Ballet 12/11-26
NORAD Santa Tracker begins 12/1
Google Lights 12/11
Times Square, NYC 40th Annual Winter Festival & Virtual Ball Drop 12/31-1/1 Crafts Fair 12/4-6
Kirkland Winterfest 12/5
Austrian Alps, Skiing VR 360 Video
Redmond Lights 12/7-8
Virtual Reindeer Sleigh Ride