North Creek Apartments
sold for $23 million
Fairfield Residential LLC, which has a regional office based in Seattle, recently acquired the North Creek Apartments, located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Everett, for $23 million.
The 264-unit complex, built in 1986, was purchased from Fowler Property Acquisitions. Fairfield intends to invest in interior upgrades to add value for the tenants at North Creek, according to company officials.
Dave Schumacher of Columbia Partners LLC represented both parties in the transaction.
Mukilteo among
‘best affordable suburbs’
BusinessWeek magazine recently named Mukilteo as one of the nation’s 25 “best affordable suburbs.”
The magazine, which compiled its list with help from Oregon-based Sperling’s Best Places, picked suburbs that boasted relatively low crime rates, above-average schools and a not-too-distant drive to one of the nation’s biggest cities — Seattle, in this case.
Mukilteo’s violent crime rate figure is 49 on a scale where the U.S. average crime rate is 100. As for school tests, it ranks slightly above average.
With a median housing price of $358,800 — more than $20,000 above Snohomish County’s median price — some may quibble with the “affordable” label for Mukilteo. But it’s more affordable than Seattle’s King County suburbs.
Also, other entries on BusinessWeek’s list are priced well above Mukilteo. For example, Livingston, N.J., a suburb of Newark, has a median home price of $514,400. The median home price in Sharon, Mass., a suburb of Boston, is just under $494,000.
HomeStreet Bank honored
for focus on housing
HomeStreet Bank has received an award for “Helping to Achieve Homeownership,” with special mention of HomeStreet’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
The award was given by America’s Community Bankers, an independent national trade association for community banks.
HomeStreet was recognized for its long-term focus on housing: helping people find affordable housing by providing unique loan opportunities, partnering with community organizations that address the need for affordable housing and creating special programs to meet the needs of first-time and low- to moderate-income homebuyers.
“HomeStreet has a long-term commitment to homeownership, which we try to demonstrate in a variety of ways,” said Kathryn Williams, community relations director for HomeStreet. “By taking a comprehensive and diversified approach, it enables us to provide opportunities for people at all income levels. Throughout our 85 years, we’ve always tried to find new ways to be more effective.”
State pledges $3.5 million
to save mobile homes
The Washington state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development recently made a conditional commitment to provide $3.5 million in federal HOME funds to aid in the preservation of two adjacent mobile-home parks in Lynnwood — The Squire and Kingsbury East.
Snohomish County has been working with the Housing Authority of Snohomish County to purchase the properties from the owner, who originally intended to close the parks and redevelop the land into market-rate, single-family homes, according to the county.
The parks are home to approximately 90 residences, and many of the residents are seniors and/or disabled, and live on low or fixed incomes, the county said.
The state’s commitment is conditional on several factors, most important being that the county match $2.5 million by June 30. The total project cost will be about $9 million. The Housing Authority will issue bonds to fund the portion of the project not covered by state and county funds.
Mortgage brokers group
reports surge in membership
The Washington Association of Mortgage Brokers recently reported that its membership increased 69 percent in 2006.
The growth was fueled by significant legislative changes during the year, including a major consumer protection legislative effort called the Mortgage Brokers Practices Act, WAMB said.
The Mortgage Brokers Practices Act goes into effect this month and further elevates the integrity of the mortgage broker industry, WAMB said, noting that with the new law, mortgage brokers become the only state-certified and licensed mortgage professionals available to consumers.
“This year, the Washington Association of Mortgage Brokers aggressively sought to promote higher standards of business practices throughout our industry to provide consumers with unsurpassed professional service and more mortgage choice,” WAMB President Jeff Berglund said.
Housing market sees rise
in inventory, prices
Disastrous weather in November, from torrential rains to an early snowfall, didn’t stop people from buying homes. And it didn’t keep prices from continuing their climb, according to data released by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.
County home sales in November followed the trend that began early in 2006: The number of homes on the market have increased significantly; sales that were pending or closed dropped significantly; and prices rose in double digits in comparison to November 2005 sales.
The number of condominiums and single-family homes on the market increased by 35.3 percent in November to 4,272. Pending sales dropped by 21.4 percent, and closed sales fell by 16 percent.
The countywide median price, the point where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less, was $337,970, an increase of 12.7 percent from a year ago. For just condos alone, the median was $208,900, an increase of 13 percent. For single-family homes, the median was $357,495, a 12.1 percent increase.
Home-buying seminar
for women set for Jan. 23
Residential mortgage consultant Jodi Sakas and associate real estate broker Connie LaClair Henderson are offering Smart Women Finish First, a home-buying seminar by women for women, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 23 at Windermere Real Estate/Mill Creek, 18323 Bothell-Everett Highway, Suite 210, in Bothell.
“Any woman that makes $50,000-plus per year, has been in her job or same line of work for two years or more, or who graduated from college in the past year should explore homeownership,” said Sakas. “Paying $1,200 or more per month in rent is just rent. Buying a home is an investment in the future.”
Cost to attend is $10, with proceeds being donated to the Windermere Foundation. Seating is limited to provide time for personal questions and discussion. Reservations are required.
For more information or to reserve a spot, call Sakas at 425-709-5557 or Henderson at 425-343-8433.
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