Blog - Doug McKiernan

How’s the Market? Annual Report on Seattle Area Real Estate… In the wake of extreme buyer demand and mind-blowing bidding wars, housing prices soared in Seattle and reached staggering heights on the Eastside. Record low interest rates were the silver lining for those buyers who were able to successfully purchase a home with financing. 2022 looks to be another strong year for real estate. […]

Pro Lighting Tips to Brighten Your Home As we approach the darkest days of the year, a few tweaks in your interior lighting scheme can brighten your home (and your mood) from the inside out. Here are some great tips from Real Simple for a lighting scheme that is flattering and functional… Use a combo of overhead and up lighting for […]

Give Back This Season “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” Giving to others can enrich our own lives in ways we never imagined. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite Seattle-area organizations who are in need of time, resources, toys, and more to help improve the […]

How’s the Market? Q3 Real Estate Review The frenetic pace of Seattle-area real estate continued in Q3, with the number of sales and median sales prices both up across the region compared to this time last year. Seattle condo sales saw a healthy year-over-year jump as they continued to recover from the COVID slump we saw in 2020. While buyers still […]

How’s the Market? Q2 Real Estate Review Buyers found no relief as our region’s extreme sellers’ market continued skyward. Strong home buyer demand simply outpaced the number of available properties for sale. Fierce competition drove prices up 15% in Seattle and a staggering 38% on the Eastside as compared to Q2 of 2020. While COVID played a factor in early 2020; all […]

Free Paper Shredding on Saturday, May 22nd Want to do some spring cleaning and score a doughnut at the same time? I’ve got your back. Haul those old bank statements, embarrassing photos, and other sensitive documents to my office parking lot on Saturday, May 22nd…you can enjoy a Top Pot doughnut and the satisfaction of watching your old tax returns go through […]

How’s the Market? Q1 Real Estate Review… An extreme sellers’ market, driven by too few homes for sale and incredibly low mortgage interest rates, led to the most aggressive multiple offer bidding wars we have experienced in our region. There are simply dozens of buyers for nearly every home that comes to market. To be competitive, most buyers did their home research […]

How Did Seattle Real Estate Fare in 2020? Our local real estate market overcame all odds in the surreal and tumultuous year laid at our doorstep. Despite many economic woes, home sellers were the big winners in 2020 as too few homes for sale could not keep up with increased buyer demand, leading to the most aggressive multiple offer bidding wars we […]

Q3 2020 Reports: Market Update The volume of Q3 transactions made up for Q2’s fewer sales and then some. Truth be told, the market could have absorbed twice the number of transactions, if only there were more homes on the market to sell. Too few homes for sale is the defining character of the Q3 Seattle region real estate […]

Q2 2020 Reports: Market Update Q2 was a story of resilience for the Seattle market. It began with our region fully entrenched in a new normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but ended with a strong seller’s market and historic low interest rates. Buyers have returned in droves to battle for the limited supply of homes for sale. With a […]

How to Buy and Sell Safely in the New Normal While buying and selling real estate was recently deemed essential in Washington State, the landscape looks very different than it did before the COVID-19 outbreak. Real estate offices remain closed to the public with agents (like me) working remotely and hosting virtual client meetings. Important safety regulations prohibit in-person open houses and limit the […]

Q1 2020 Reports: Market Update As we are fully entrenched in a new normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to note that the Q1 stats you see are based on pre-coronavirus closed sales activity and therefore largely untouched by our current market reality. While Q1 serves as a pre-coronavirus benchmark, Q2 and Q3 will more accurately […]

Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2019 A strong local employment sector, very low mortgage interest rates, and the most balanced market we’ve seen in two decades each contributed to increased sales velocity in 2019. While the number of homes for sale increased overall in 2019 as compared to 2018, the higher rate of sales throughout the year resulted in […]

Q3 2019 Reports: Market Update Q3 was the most stable and balanced market we have seen in years. With very low mortgage interest rates compelling buyers to act and fewer homes for sale than we saw last fall (when a flood of homes came to market), buyers and sellers are each finding their own place in a more equitable […]

Kicks for Kids Shoe Drive Now Through August 15th WHAT: Windermere’s Kicks for Kids event is a back-to-school sneaker drive for low-income youth, distributed through the Eastside Baby Corner. WHY: Kids from struggling families are in need of back-to-school shoes that fit. When kids feel good about their appearance, it improves both their self-esteem and their performance in school. WHEN: Formal shoe collection will […]

Q2 2019 Reports: Market Update Changes in the home lending environment drove down mortgage interest rates in Q2 to their lowest levels in years, giving buyers more buying power for their money and stimulating demand for available homes on the market. The number of homes for sale is up markedly, especially in Seattle, as is the number of […]

Free Recycle & Shred Event May 18th Hosted in our Parking Lot: 2737 77TH AVE SE MERCER ISLAND Bring your recyclable items (working or not) to the event. All recycling services are free! We’re also sponsoring a Confidential Data Disposal truck for free, secure shredding of sensitive documents. Saturday, May 18th 9 am – 2 pm What we can recycle: […]

Q1 2019 Reports: How’s the Market? Be forewarned, this quarter’s report looks somewhat dismal. There are two very relevant facts that should be taken into consideration when reviewing it. The first is that Q1 is nearly always the worst performing quarter of any year because the sales completed in Q1 typically went under contract between late November and the end […]

Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2018 An increase in homes for sale coupled with rising interest rates have created a far more balanced market than we started 2018 with. This is a good thing as it will help our region tame affordability and create a sustainable marketplace. More homes came to market in 2018 than in any year since 2011. […]

Q3 2018 Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report As Q3 comes to a close, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at their highest levels since April 2011—now averaging just above 4.7%. Even so, they are still far lower than their 30-year trendline. A 1% increase in mortgage interest rates decreases buying power by 10%. Or said differently, a 1% rate increase has the same […]