Matthew Gardner – Will There Be A Recession in 2020?

by David Hogan

Windermere Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, answers the most pressing question on everyone’s minds: Will there be a recession in 2020? Here’s what he expects to see.

This post originally appeared on the Windermere.com Blog

Community News • Economy • Local Market News • January 27, 2020

Use Seattle’s New Data Portal to Track Housing Affordability, Stats, & More

by David Hogan

The City of Seattle recently unveiled Performance Seattle: a website where residents and government employees can dig into what’s going on in our city and see how well Seattle is performing.

The site currently houses seven dashboards, tracking the city’s performance on everything from basic services to housing affordability to homelessness. It illustrates the city’s progress with data visualizations like graphs, maps and charts as well as written reports.

While all this information was publicly accessible before, the new site brings it all together in one accessible place.

The launch of Performance Seattle follows months of criticism about how the city has handled the housing and transit crises associated with its rapid growth as one of the biggest tech hubs in the country.

Taking inspiration from cities like Boston and Chicago, which both launched similar portals in 2017, this site was created to make sure the city gets things done. According to a press release, Performance Seattle will ensure that the city meets specific goals, like its commitment to repair 80 percent of potholes in 30 days and have the police department respond to 100 percent of its Priority 1 calls. It’s centered around accountability.

This launch is a product of months of work by the Seattle Innovation and Performance team and was developed in collaboration with more than 150 city staff. The city has also been working with Results for America and What Works Cities, which recognized the city for its use of data in city government.

Explore the complete database here.

This was originally posted on builtinseattle.com by Ellen Glover.

And on GettheWReport.com

Buying a Home • Local Market Updates • Selling a Home • January 15, 2020

Local Market Update – January 2020

by David Hogan

2019 ended with too many buyers chasing too few homes. December marked the sixth straight month of declining supply. The severe shortage of homes, historically low interest rates, and strong job growth are predicted to keep the local housing market strong in 2020. In a region starved for inventory, sellers can expect significant interest in new listings.

EASTSIDE

Homes sold briskly on the Eastside in December in all categories, including the luxury market. The number of listings were down nearly 50% from a year ago and the area had under a month of available inventory. That lack of inventory helped bump the median price of a single-family home up 4% from a year ago to $949,000, which is a $49,000 increase from November. New large scale developments and a strong economic forecast indicate that the housing market will remain healthy.

VIEW FULL EASTSIDE REPORT

KING COUNTY

King County continues to be a seller’s market. Inventory in December was down nearly 40% compared to a year ago and ended the month with below one month supply. The median price of a single-family home rose 6% over the prior year to $675,000, up slightly from November. More affordable areas saw much higher increases. Southeast King County – which includes Auburn, Kent and Renton – saw home prices jump 16% over the previous year.

VIEW FULL KING COUNTY REPORT

SEATTLE

Numbers tell the story in Seattle. Inventory was down 25%, while the number of closed sales increased 19%. Strong demand here has kept the housing market solid, with prices fluctuating slightly month-to-month for much of 2019. The median price of a single-family home sold in December increased 2% from a year ago to $727,000. That was slightly down from $735,000 in November.

VIEW FULL SEATTLE REPORT

SNOHOMISH COUNTY

While the median home price in Snohomish County is less than that in King County, the gap continues to close. Buyers willing to trade a longer commute for a lower mortgage have kept demand and prices strong. Inventory here was off 36% in December as compared to a year ago. The median price of a single-family home rose 9% over a year ago to $510,000, an increase of $15,000 from November.

VIEW FULL SNOHOMISH COUNTY REPORT

This post originally appeared on GetTheWReport.com

Community News • November 28, 2019

A Star is Reborn: Iconic Seattle Macy’s Star to Return in Time for the Holidays

by David Hogan

It looks like the iconic downtown Seattle holiday star will be back this year for at least one more time. Sources say a local sign company has been hired to repair and restore the 62-year-old holiday decoration that has graced the old Bon Marche (or, more recently, Macy’s) department store at the corner of 4th Avenue and Pine Street since the 1950s. Workers have been visible on the roof of the building since earlier this week.

When Macy’s announced in September that the store would close in early 2020, it was also revealed that the old star was in disrepair and would not be installed this year. A Macy’s spokesperson said that new owners of the building would display a “reimagined” star next year.

Multiple KIRO Radio listeners had contacted the station when news first broke hoping to learn more about the condition of the star and the feasibility of it being repaired in time for this year’s holiday season. In the past several weeks, Wendy James, daughter of late star designer Bob James, launched a Facebook page and began a campaign to bring the star back.

No details have been confirmed, but it looks like the old star — repaired and refurbished — will be part of the traditional tree-lighting and holiday parade scheduled to take place at Westlake Park on Friday, Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.

This was originally posted on mynorthwest.com by Feliks Banel, and the GettheWReport.com Blog

Photo – Macy’s holiday star in downtown Seattle. (Tracie Howe, Flickr Creative Commons)

Community News • November 21, 2019

Local Happenings – November 2019

by David Hogan

NOVEMBER EVENTS

Seattle’s Beaujolais Nouveau Wine Festival

November 22nd

Beaujolais Nouveau wine is released at midnight each year on the third Thursday of November. Its arrival as the first wine of the harvest sparks worldwide celebrations. We host simultaneous events in Seattle and in Portland on the third Friday of November to commemorate this special tradition. Both events take place on November 22, 2019 this year.

LEARN MORE HERE

Enchant Mischievous

November 22nd – 29th

A world of Christmas wonder awaits as Enchant, The World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze & Market moves inside T-Mobile Park, November 22 – December 29, 2019.

Surrounded by millions of dazzling lights, the memories you make will last well beyond the holiday season. Get lost in the world’s largest light maze. Take photos around the largest Christmas tree the surrounding area. Glide around the ice-skating trail or waltz through the Enchant Christmas Market.

Free admission for children ages 3 and under.

LEARN MORE HERE

Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare

November 22nd – 29th

Seattle, WA., October 1, 2019, Seattle Area non-profit SMASH – Seattle Musicians Access to Sustainable Healthcare – announced their second annual benefit concert, a tribute to the music of Neil Young. SMASH is a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping the Northwest’s music community healthy by providing health education, advocacy, and access to preventative healthcare. SMASH’s 2018 benefit was a great success and featured the first reunion by Seattle legends Mother Love Bone in over 8 years. The event received kudos from publications like Rolling Stone and Stereogum.

LEARN MORE HERE

GeekCraft Expo Seattle

November 29th

GeekCraft Expo Seattle is a 2-day event being held from 29th November to 1st December 2019 at the Hangar 30 in Seattle, United States. This is a handmade crafts market specializing in handmade, geek-themed crafts of all kinds such as clothing, accessories, toys, home decoration, furniture, art.

LEARN MORE HERE

DECEMBER EVENTS

Where to see holiday lights in and around Seattle

Throughout December

If you’ve lived around Seattle for a while, you know that, between our high longitude and endless cloud cover, our winters are extremely dark. But there’s an upside: We put up twinkle lights early and often, with many a street tree glowing by the end of October, even before the holiday lights season.

LEARN MORE HERE

76 Seafair Holiday Cruise

December 8th

This heartwarming event takes to the water as independent boaters and charter operators volunteer their boats, crews and time to host approximately 1,500 intellectually disabled guests on a special holiday cruise on Lakes Union & Washington. Over 200 boats will be decked out in lights and holiday cheer at various docks and yacht clubs. Once on board, guests are treated to a snack and beverages provided by Safeway – Albertsons and participating boat owners and skippers. Guest also enjoy entertainment, gifts and visits from Santa Claus as they cruise for two hours through the Montlake Cut to Lake Washington. Simultaneous cruises take place in Bremerton, Tacoma and Olympia.

LEARN MORE HERE

This post originally appeared on the GettheWReport.com Blog

Economy • Local Market News • Local Market Updates • November 18, 2019

Local Market Update – November 2019

by David Hogan

A steady influx of buyers continued to strain already tight inventory throughout the area in October. Home sales were up, as were prices in much of the region. With our thriving economy and highly desirable quality of life drawing ever more people here, the supply of homes isn’t close to meeting demand. Homeowners thinking about putting their property on the market can expect strong buyer interest.