tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54943872290908608222011-07-08T04:20:58.866-07:00A blog about real estate and real life on Bainbridge Island, located in Puget Sound, about 8 miles and a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. Created, written and photographed by Eve Leonard, a real estate broker with Windermere, and a resident of Bainbridge Island. Includes a link to current properties listed on Bainbridge, as well as links to many Island events and causes.Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-84262099678190231672010-04-21T08:04:00.000-07:002010-04-21T09:40:09.444-07:00

A fascinating New York Times article yesterday called up the age old question: is it better to rent or buy? Typically the people who ask that are first-time home buyers, but it may be that folks sitting on big mortgages are starting to ask that question, too. Conventional real estate wisdom was always that it would take two to five years to break even if you bought and had to sell again. Until

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-19283303537060915612010-04-16T09:35:00.000-07:002010-04-16T09:35:00.224-07:00

I had a friend and former client ask me how the condominium market looks on Bainbridge these days. There's lots of good news there. Most significantly, we currently have only 65 condos currently listed--that's down from 117 listed last summer. They range from $130,000 to $1.350 million on Shannon Drive. (There's also a boat slip listed for $76,000 which counts in the numbers as a condo.)  

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-85059257521960221782010-04-14T13:03:00.000-07:002010-04-14T13:41:48.393-07:00

It's time to take a look at the real estate trends on Bainbridge for the first quarter of 2010. We've all been looking forward to this marker, to see what way the winds seem to be blowing for this new decade. The stats are in and here's the first look.  Positive sales indicators. I'm quite encouraged by the numbers from the first quarter of 2010. The month of March was the seventh in a row in

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-2441884855318908442010-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:002010-04-14T12:19:18.874-07:00

We're fortunate to have a number of great organizations on Bainbridge Island run by our friends and neighbors who are invested in making our world a better place. One of the finest is YES! Magazine, co-founded by David Korton and Sarah Ruth van Gelder. As they say about themselves, YES! Magazine is "an award-winning, ad-free, nonprofit publication that supports people’s active engagement in

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-32281348959919024492010-03-18T15:26:00.000-07:002010-03-18T15:38:29.417-07:00

The aphorism we used about March when I grew up was, "In like a lion, out like a lamb," or vice versa. It seemed that you count on March beginning or ending with either a storm or glorious sunshine. In the Northwest, we can get lambs and lions lying down together in any given March day--and sometimes in any given hour. The signs of spring couldn't be more glorious than they are this week, with

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-70035137869623877432010-03-12T12:18:00.000-08:002010-03-12T12:29:06.749-08:00

I was reminded today of an article that ran in the Seattle Times last November, inviting people to hop the ferry and spend a day enjoying a walking, eating, drinking and shopping tour of downtown Winslow, the main village of Bainbridge Island. Click here for link to Times' article. The amazing thing is how often people come for the day and decide that something about Bainbridge Island feels like

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-67051038841745848462010-03-11T14:01:00.000-08:002010-03-11T14:15:44.766-08:00

I just looked at the new listing for my young friend's home in West Seattle and saw immediately the value of good staging. It had been listed for a few months with no results. I was happy to refer her to a great Windermere agent who has done a beautiful job getting her place ready to be seen, loved and sold. Since I hadn't been to the house, I had to compare the before and after photos. The first

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-22673728908472303632010-03-05T12:45:00.000-08:002010-03-09T11:58:01.085-08:00

I've been busy this week helping three families in three different states find a good agent to help them list, market and sell their homes. One of the services an agent can perform is to sift through all the agents out there and help make a referral to the best available, and I love doing it. Each of these potential sellers were first-time home buyers, so this is their first time trying to sell

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-33977516407053569162010-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:002010-02-12T10:47:44.919-08:00

This week's drizzle hasn't kept things from being interesting on Bainbridge Island, as reported in the local paper, the Bainbridge Island Review. But first, I want to compliment my good friend and client Viki Walaskay on the sunrise photos she posts on her facebook page. She shoots them from the front lawn of her wonderful home on the shores of Murden Cove. Great photography--and good work

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-5985125888002415812010-02-06T15:11:00.000-08:002010-02-06T15:13:00.073-08:00

Last night was the monthly party on Winslow Way, when the First Friday Art Walk threw open the doors of all the galleries up and down the street--and around the corners, too. The biggest buzz was at Roby King Galleries where Kathe Fraga's latest "French wallpaper series" paintings were hung. Kathe and Jeff were there receiving kudos and hugs, and Wes and Andrea were happily handing out wine and

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-41390714329963471342010-02-02T16:13:00.000-08:002010-03-12T12:52:07.066-08:00

Change is hard, and when your hometown bank fails and is bought up by a regional bank, that's change that hurts. On Friday regulators closed Bainbridge Island-based American Marine Bank and when I drove by Saturday morning I saw it was re-opened as Columbia State Bank. A temporary sign hung over the door, and it was business as usual. Read more by clicking here. What does this mean for

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-20539215458695731962010-01-24T12:31:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:35:16.555-08:00

Today's Seattle Times' syndicated column by Kenneth Harney offers a clear, concise description of the $6,500 federal tax credit available to repeat home buyers. Lots of people have heard of and benefitted from the "First-time Homebuyer Credit" of $8,000 that Congress extended until June of this year. Column: $6,500 tax credit available. But fewer people are aware that if you've lived in your

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-62997523014228823252010-01-21T10:31:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:35:52.934-08:00

Because I work on the island, I'm not usually lucky enough to be out on the water as the sun is rising. Yesterday was a lucky exception, as I had to be on the 7:55 ferry for a continuing education class in South Lake Union. Here's the image I shot with my ever-present iPhone as the sun rose and a bicyclist sped by. I love the sunrise reflected in the car windows and on the waters of Eagle Harbor

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-74975250333805671582010-01-17T13:06:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:36:18.158-08:00

It's been a year with lots of ups and downs for most people in most areas of their lives. That's certainly been true in the real estate world on Bainbridge Island. The good news is that we finished strong, with all the numbers going in the right direction. The number of listed residential properties dropped to a low we haven't seen since 2006--only 174 home listed as of the end of the year. (

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-59036801080902894222009-10-02T12:08:00.000-07:002010-01-31T14:36:40.604-08:00

It's a long stretch of the imagination to place John Steinbeck's world onto Bainbridge Island. He's all weathered faces on dust bowl refugees in gritty California neighborhoods. We're all rain on fleece-wearing California refugees hiding out amongst the cedars. But, now's the time for all good Islanders to bring the worlds together. Our library is calling for submissions to its Bainbridge Island

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-46464310545144462832009-10-01T10:56:00.001-07:002010-01-31T14:37:03.939-08:00

We're just now getting the statistics for the end of September, and we're about to start on the final quarter of 2009. Everybody I talk to wants to know the same thing--how's real estate doing on Bainbridge Island. One bit of information I've analyzed this past week is helpful. It's an Excel spread sheet that shows the listing/pending ratios that we've been tracking on Bainbridge for the last

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-60448403875233992812009-09-28T10:53:00.000-07:002010-02-03T11:22:25.175-08:00

It doesn't take much to remind me of the advantages of living on Bainbridge Island. My dear husband and I had a date night in Seattle yesterday, and the reminders were everywhere. We had tickets to "Wicked," at the Paramount, and took an early ferry so we could do some shopping and have dinner before the show. http://www.stgpresents.org/artists/?artist=910 We walked onto the ferry, and took a

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-86357998727958081372009-04-28T11:49:00.000-07:002010-01-31T14:37:52.079-08:00

Budget Travel magazine has just listed the most beautiful ferry rides in the United States, and the 35-minute ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island was prominently featured. (We who live on "the rock" tend to think of it as the Bainbridge to Seattle ferry.) Here's the link to the article: http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2009/04/23/AR2009042301954.html You'll find four

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-26023195092049076562009-04-28T09:09:00.000-07:002010-01-31T14:17:39.256-08:00

Today's blog is all about grammar, which seems like an unlikely subject for real estate. Yet, one of an agent's many duties is writing those all-important descriptions of properties, the ones where we're supposed to both accurately describe the premises and capture the imaginations of potential buyers. Clichés abound, and originality can have its problems. Errors slip in more often than not. I'm

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-78315376543032081142009-04-21T17:28:00.000-07:002010-01-31T14:38:16.345-08:00

May "Coastal Living Magazine has named our "Pub"--Harbour Public House--as one of America's best seafood dives. Best, yes. But, dive...? In an article called, "America's Best Seafood Dives," they call out two places in Seattle (Lowell's in Pike Place and Spud Fish & Chips in Alki) and one in Gig Harbor (The Tides Tavern), but they recognized our Pub's "seasonal menu...including top-rated

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-39832562598790873632009-04-20T12:00:00.000-07:002009-04-20T13:31:57.440-07:00

I was walking into town on the trail that skips along Eagle Harbor and deposits you at the western-most edge of Winslow Way. The cherry trees on the grounds of Sun Day Cove condominiums are in bloom right now, and I wanted my fill of their beauty. What I didn't anticipate was a poem carefully printed out in a rosy font and secured to one of the branches in a mostly watertight plastic sleeve. If

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-58700515002340013862009-03-25T16:05:00.001-07:002010-01-31T14:39:20.040-08:00

Yesterday I spotted my first hummingbird. The daffodils planted in the center of the roundabout are in full, glorious bloom, or would be if the sun shone on them. The shrubberies are turning lime green as the leaves pop out anew. The lawn is growing and we await dry weather to mow it (I say we, but I mean my hubby.) I'll be driving around the island tomorrow on the lookout for my favorite sign

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-36945308880280118402009-03-16T10:12:00.000-07:002010-01-31T14:39:42.626-08:00

Homeowners often ask me what they can do to maximize the value of their homes for resale. My usual answer is to do the things you will enjoy or benefit from first. President Obama's stimulus package has given us a reason to invest in our homes in a way that will help save our planet , making our houses more efficient, and that will give you cash back to help pay for the work. An article in The

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-85493300171874891462009-02-26T12:57:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:40:10.823-08:00

My friend and former client emailed me yesterday concerned that her property assessed value is much too high. She wondered if I could help her appeal it. With the bills for property taxes arriving, that's a question lots of folks are asking. My friend's simple question has sent me on a short but fascinating journey into the web pages and pdf forms of the Kitsap County Assessor's office. Here's

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-55619622842190635262009-02-13T09:49:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:22:00.909-08:00

Today's Seattle PI's front page has two lead stories, the first one saying we have a crisis in the housing market--not enough buyers: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/399873_homeprices13.html. The second one says we need to get ready for "climate refugees," people will who flood our shores looking for relief from global warming: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/399958_climate13.html.

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-29859503983846317982009-02-12T15:51:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:22:44.293-08:00

I've just received the latest statistics showing market share on Bainbridge Island. My office, Windermere Real Estate/Bainbridge Island, Inc., has always dominated our market with solid, experienced, full-time professionals. The new numbers show that the gap between our office and our nearest competitors is widening. In the month of January, the agents in our office were responsible for 42.9% of

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-43994242582943495222009-02-12T13:16:00.003-08:002010-01-31T14:41:27.216-08:00

We're almost half-way through February, so we have a pretty good idea of how the year is starting out. The news isn't as good as I'd like, nor as bad as I'd feared. Here is a link to the most recent Trendgraphix data and graphs for single-family homes. http://www.trendgraphix.com/WAS/charts/Z110-01-01-01-0137-1-38-1B0507-200901.htm The good news is that we're in a better place than we were a

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-8367326286551424792009-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:24:18.174-08:00

I started piano lessons a year ago. Last week my amazing and magical teacher Ann Strickland taught me something that has made playing both easier and more pleasant. The fingers of someone new to piano will often hover above the keys with a slight nervous twitch--where do I go next, where should I land? That was me. What I learned last week was that the best players let their fingers lightly

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-73365499824803748132009-02-05T13:02:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:42:45.811-08:00

My folks always believed in the value of land. I grew up on a farm that had been in the family since my great-grandfather homesteaded it in the 1800s, and I watched its value appreciate in my lifetime in an incredible fashion. "Take care of the land," my dad always said. "They're not making any more of it." True words unless you live where accretion makes you its lucky beneficiary--remembering

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-87871094016674205182009-02-03T14:18:00.001-08:002010-01-31T14:44:23.524-08:00

I just had a soul-satisfying moment sitting in the sun, surrounded by orchids and bromeliads, enjoying tea & friendship. Flowering Around, that Bainbridge Island long-time floral establishment, has a most glorious new spot on west Winslow Way, and they've expanded next door with a little tea and coffee shop, Flowering Around Espresso. The tea is lovely, the windows are huge and east-facing so you

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-31318093576326559042009-02-02T15:00:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:27:01.829-08:00

There's something about a day in February on Bainbridge Island that dawns with the hope of sunshine. You believe spring will happen. You believe that the gray days, smudgy like yesterday's mascara, will bloom into full color. I'm not alone. We don't have ground hogs on Bainbridge, but I'm seeing yards being raked and more folks out walking, their hair glowing with backlighting. Yes, the sun is

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-87713478916851054842008-12-09T13:04:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:43:28.200-08:00

The stock market can make quick turns up and down. If you're still brave enough to look, you know that well. Real property by its very nature is steadier. More time and effort is required to buy and to sell. Illiquid is the term, even if you're buying waterfront. The constant conversation topic is "where's the bottom?" Sellers and agents find it hard to set a "realistic" price on a home that a

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-87454673281040323712008-11-19T11:58:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:44:47.180-08:00

"How's real estate on Bainbridge?" If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked that in the past year, my personal economic situation would be lots brighter. It's a question I'm constantly analyzing for myself and my clients. I have pages of statistics and the news has lots of analysis. Two studies came to my attention today regarding the real estate economy in the Greater Seattle area. One

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-17263071345192276762008-11-19T10:37:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:45:10.848-08:00

We had a small parade on Bainbridge Island recently, as the entire studentbody of Ordway Elementary School marched down Madison Avenue. Four hundred kids walked unbowed from the weight they were carrying in their backpacks. Their destination was Helpline House and their mission was to deliver the food they carried. The Kitsap Sun reports that the kids augmented the dwindling supplies in the

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-71008988576347359922008-11-17T10:08:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:31:08.148-08:00

I learned this week what is possible in real estate when you have a good team, collaboration and great communication. Motivation helps, too. Conventional wisdom is that it takes between 30 to 45 days in escrow to successfully close on a house. This month I had a client who had sold their home, and for personal reasons needed to shorten the time to buy their next house--and we needed to

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-42362685975616200562008-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:45:35.187-08:00

The New York Times has an article today about how life has changed for the Obamas since the election---security walls three blocks out from their home, no more casual strolls, not even time to relax in his barber's chair. It brought to mind how we on Bainbridge handle the celebrities who call our island home. We have a smattering of TV stars, both current and past, and a news anchor. We have

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-5335562072018651982008-11-13T11:25:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:32:50.160-08:00

The sun is out today, brilliant, and the skies are clear after the steady sprinkles we've been having. The colors are so intense, especially the last leaves backlit in the sunshine. This is my favorite time of year. What's coming up next is high school basketball. Practice starts Monday. The local papers today announced that two of our stars have signed with the future college teams. Brittany

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-8782523494490657072008-11-12T10:47:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:46:04.087-08:00

Yesterday's New York Times had a great interactive article about home values around the country. It seems Wells Fargo commissioned a study to see what the real picture is regarding the debt to current market value. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/10/business/20081111_MORTGAGES.html The gist of its message is that in some areas of the country, huge percentages of home owners owe up to

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-23015795392393963182008-11-12T10:31:00.000-08:002010-01-31T14:34:17.517-08:00

Just this week I was commiserating with a client friend that in downsizing he was giving up his 200 square feet woodworking shop--where he built a sailboat & two gorgeous wooden kayaks, among other things. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone opened a co-op shop?" I pondered. We love our toys, men especially, but living lightly on the land sometimes means we don't have room for what we love.

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5494387229090860822.post-87625180396237283822008-11-12T10:13:00.000-08:002008-11-12T10:30:27.605-08:00

This is my first post on my brand new blog. I've been living on Bainbridge Island since the end of the last century, and I've been involved in real estate here almost as long. I've been writing almost since I picked up a pencil--including fiction, poetry, literary reviews, magazine feature articles and newspaper columns.Welcome to the intersection of three of my favorite things: Bainbridge Island

Island Evehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01879351614621743932noreply@blogger.com0