Home sales in Snohomish County rose in July for the second straight month

Home sales in Snohomish County rose in July for the second straight month, buoyed by a drop in prices and a federal tax break set to end in November.

Closed sales rose nearly 19 percent last month after rising about 1 percent in June. A total of 858 homes were sold in the county last month, compared to 719 in July 2008, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

A continuing fall in home prices has fed this activity. The combined median price of single-family homes and condominiums was $292,000 in July, a drop of more than 12 percent from a year ago.

Another big factor: The government tax credit for first-time buyers. People are more eager to take advantage of the program before it ends.

To qualify for the $8,000 credit, buyers need to close on their home sale by Nov. 30. The tax break applies to anyone who hasn’t owned a home for three years.

Also, more people are selling a home and stepping up to a larger, more expensive one. For much of this year, home owners have been selling but buyers were not buying. That’s changing. Now, they’re selling a home for $275,000 that two years ago was worth $325,000 and buying for $475,000 a home that used to sell for $575,000. The move-up buyer is really in a good position.
I think people are more positive about buying a home than they have been. The consensus seems to be that now is the time to buy a home.

According to the MLS, the median price for a single-family home was $299,990 last month, 14.3 percent less than it was a year ago. For condos, the median was $229,000, an 8 percent drop from July 2008.

Great Deals on Kids Clothing and Equipment!

Two times a year the Snohomish County Mothers of Multiples Club holds a baby/kids clothing and equipment sale. Each year the sale gets bigger and bigger and the line to get in is longer and longer! The SNOMOM’s spring sale is tomorrow March 7th and doors open at 8:30am at the Lynnwood High School Auditorium across from the Alderwood Mall.  Trust me when I say get there early!

At this sale you will find car seats, strollers, pac n plays, cribs, toys, books, clothes, clothes, clothes,  did I say clothes?shoes, everything for a baby or young child. The items are gently used but the prices are amazing! SNOMOMS is very organized, everything is grouped by size and gender, all the shoes are spread out so you can see them, the equipment is set up so you can check it out, and there are staff members to help with questions.

If you are looking for baby equipment or anything for a young child this is the sale for you! For more information check out SNOMOMS website.

Mt Rainier Puts On A Show

Mt Rainier, photo by Tim Thomspon

Those of us that live in the NorthWest know we are lucky to have the scenic views that we do. But every now and then we are still amazed by nature’s beauty. Back in December Mt Rainier put on a show that captivated many with it’s amazing cloud formations. To check out more photos and learn about how these formations came about check out KATU’s blog.

Puget Sound Christmas Lights

I love, love, love Chrismas Lights. At our house, I do the inside and my husband does the outside. For some reason he enjoys putting the lights up in the rain and cold and many times he’s crawling on the roof at midnight fixing that one light.  As much as I love our own lights we also enjoy going to light festivals. Here are just a few of the big ones around the Seattle area but of course you can always just drive around your own neighborhood. Let me know if there are some really good ones that I should add to the list!

• Bellevue – Festival deLights and Snowflake Lane
• Stanwood – Warm Beach The Lights of Christmas
• Downtown Seattle – A list of events here Downtown Holidays
• Tacoma – Zoo Lights
• Renton – Ivar’s Lights
• Leavenworth – a drive but worth it!

Rent A Christmas Tree???

Do you want a $10 gift card to Ikea and a free Christmas Tree? Then head to Ikea this weekend! That’s right, Ikea is “renting” Christmas trees for $10, then you bring the tree back in January and they will give you your $10 back as a gift card to their store and Ikea will recycle the tree into mulch.

It’s a pretty cool idea but it’s only on December 5-7 and while supplies last. On the radio this morning I swear it said $10 but their website is saying $19.99 so you better double check. Here’s the link so you don’t think we’re crazy!

U-Cut Christmas Trees

We got our tree earlier than normal this year and we were under a time crunch so we went to a sure thing U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm so we headed north to Pilchuk Secret Valley Farm in Arlington.

First things first, the power lines are a little scary and sound nasty but once you get past that this tree farm has a very good selection. We usually want a really tall Noble and we found one in 5 minutes. This farm has it all I’m telling you! I highly recommend it.

They had a nice customer service girl with maps of the farm and she would tell you which direction to go for which trees and explain the process. The tree workers were on top of things, if they saw someone carrying a tree they were right there to carry it for them. They bundle too!

While my husband was putting the tree on the car my boys and I bought some hot chocolate and sat by the fire. The farm allows dogs so we got to see quite a few 4 legged friends.

This farm is really worth the drive! The website is a little dated and looks small but in real life the trees come in all sizes ( we got a 8 foot noble, there were taller ones and shorter ones too) but it really is a a good u-cut christmas tree farm.

Turkey Day Kids Party at Borders

Celebrate Thanksgiving with the Whole Family! Borders Bookstore is having a kid party at most stores on November 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM.

This is what their website says: “It’s almost Thanksgiving! Join us for a special Turkey Day Kids Party at most Borders stores with stories, games, art and puzzle activities and more! Contact your local store for more information.”

I love bookstores anyway so when there’s a party as well I’m there!

Ballard Locks

I’ve lived in Seattle for 8 years now and I just visited the Ballard Locks for the first time. I know, I’m a little slow. The locks were really interesting to watch.

Boats of all sizes come into the locks and it connects the Puget Sound (salt water) to Lake Washington (fresh water) without mixing the water and adjusts to low tide levels. We saw some expensive boats and some really tiny boats, even a sail boat.

If you’ve never been, I highly encourage it. It’s fun for the kids to see the boats and be sure to check out the salmon run windows. Plus, it’s totally free!

Boats at ocean level

Boats at Lake Washington Level

Amazing Deals for Baby/Kids

As some of you know I have twin boys and when you have twins you just need to know someone else knows what you’re going through so I joined the Snohomish County Mothers of Multiples club (SNOMOMS). This is an amazing club and if you or anyone you know has multiples please check out their website.

But the reason for today’s post is 2x a year SNOMOMS puts on a used clothing and equipment sale and it happens to be this Saturday October 4th from 8:30am-12:00pm at Lynnwood High School (right across from the Alderwood Mall). It’s free to get in but I must suggest you get there early. Equipment such as strollers, high chairs, bike trailers, swings, cribs, etc go first, there’s usually a line before the doors even open.

At the sale you will find:

• car seats, strollers, high chairs, bouncers, swings, cribs, all sorts of "equipment"
• clothing for boys and girls from newborn to about 5t. There are some larger sizes but not much quantity
• bedding, sheets, blankets
• toys (books, games, movies)

Lots of stuff at really good prices and quality. It’s used but gently used. They take cash and local personal checks, sorry no debit or credit cards. I’ll be there working the floor so find me if you have questions or just want to say hi!

The Melting Pot – Yum!

Last night my family went to The Melting Pot in Bellevue, WA for dinner. If you have never been it’s something you should try at least once! They also have locations in Seattle and Tacoma.

The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant. What’s fondue you say? Fondue is when there is a communal dish of cheese, oil, or chocolate placed over a heating source and the diners use long forks to dip tidbits of food into the sauce. It’s amazing! Plus they have a very nice wine selection, very nice!

The best part about the The Melting Pot is they let you do what you want. You don’t have to sit down to a 4 course meal, you could order just cheese or just chocolate. We did the Spinach and Artichoke Cheese and it came with refillable baskets of bread, apples, carrots, and califlower. Then we went straight to the dessert! We did the chocolate and peanut butter and it came with a nice tray of cheesecake, pound cake, strawberries, marshmellows, and other fun stuff.

It gets expensive fast but for a nice treat or a celebration it’s worth it! We took our 4 year old boys and they did just great. If you go don’t forget there is a coupon in the Entertainment Book!