25E: The Cut Energy Bills at Home Act

This is very exciting news that I came across on the blog from San Francisco-based Efficiency First, “a national nonprofit trade association that unites the Home Performance workforce, building product manufacturers and related businesses and organizations in the escalating fight against global warming and rising energy costs.” Their page “Introducing 25e: The First Performance Based Tax Credit for Homes” includes links to the actual text of the Senate bill, a quick reference fact sheet, and a webinar from December that discusses it in detail, as well as software and contractor credentials.

The brief description is:

The Cut Energy Bills at Home Act has been introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support. If passed, the bill would create a new 25e tax credit — the first residential performance-based tax credit given to homeowners who make energy efficiency improvements. The proposed bill would provide performance-based tax credits of up to $5,000 per project for homeowners who install qualified energy efficiency measures

I signed the petition in support of this important new bill, saying:

As a Realtor and EcoBroker I support any smart legislation that will create a market-driven change to building quality and energy consumption. 25E could create a revolution in bottom-up energy conservation by individual power users, from east to west, north to south. As someone born in the same year as Earth Day and seeing improvements at a pace slower than the destruction occurring on our planet, I consider it a personal mission to educate my clients, friends, and family about indoor air quality and energy usage in their homes.

If you also feel this is important, please endorse this new legislation by signing their petition to add your support to this important effort! Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

City Cabins now available for sale on Queen Anne hill

I met Martha Rose a few years ago when touring one of her sustainable home developments in the Shoreline area just north of the Seattle city limits. It was called Fish Singer Place and it was a renovated original home and three new homes built on the original property – a very large lot.

Now Martha Rose has just completed a project with a view – and Martha is moving closer and closer to what is called “Zero Energy” homes. You should look into City Cabins if you want the ultimate in clean green and great energy efficiency in your next home. The homes are located on the northwest slope of Queen Anne and just across the water from Ballard and boast a Walk Score of 75! They are 5-star Built Green Certified, the highest possible rating in our area. Visit the website

About City Cabins
Martha Rose, known by many as the ‘Queen of Green,‘ is a national leader in the Green Building Movement. Her interest in energy efficiency and sustainable building practices goes all the way back to the 1970‘s and currently is her main focus. Today Martha is striving toward building Zero-Energy spec-homes.

The energy crisis of the 1970‘s sparked her interest in conservation and alternative energy that became intertwined with her career in construction. The necessary learning that goes along with this topic is deep and on-going. Today, Martha is an educator herself, pushing the building industry towards zero-energy-use homes.

Northwest MLS brokers report more than 56,000 sales during 2011, outgaining prior year by 7.4 percent, but total dollar volume shrinks

Here is a recap of 2011 real estate activity in the Pacific Northwest areas served by the Northwest Multiple listing Service. Please contact me if you have any questions, or need guidance in buying or selling a home. Thanks! Wendy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 23, 2011

NWMLS KIRKLAND, WA. (Jan. 23, 2012) – Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service tallied 56,290 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums during 2011, improving on 2010’s volume by 4,290 transactions for a 7.4 percent increase.

Last year’s completed sales included 48,952 single family homes (up 7 percent from 2010) and 7,338 condominiums (an increase of more than 10 percent from 2009). Together, these sales were valued at more than $16.7 billion, about $900 million less than the previous year (a decline of 5.1 percent).

Both median prices and inventory dropped compared to 2010. Prices fell 10.3 percent system wide, while the number of new listings added to inventory was down more than 13 percent. Brokers added 101,430 listings to the database during 2011, which was 15,269 fewer than the total number for 2010.

Last year’s median price for closed sales of single family homes and condos was $235,000. In 2010 the median selling price was $262,000. For the 21 counties included in the MLS report, the median price ranged from $120,000 in Grays Harbor County to $387,500 in San Juan County.

In King County, which accounted for 40 percent of last year’s sales, the median selling price was $311,748, down about 10.7 percent from the previous year’s figure of $349,000.

In its annual statistical summary report for its 20,000-plus brokers, the multiple listing service examined various indicators of activity. Among the findings:

  • Single family homes accounted for about 87 percent of the sales volume as measured by units, and about 90 percent of the dollar volume.
  • About half the homes that sold last year had 3 bedrooms, while three-fourths of condos had 2 or fewer bedrooms.
  • Prices for 3-bedroom homes built before 2009 vary widely among the counties in the Northwest MLS market area, ranging from $112,375 in Grays Harbor County up to $408,500 in San Juan County.
  • On average, Northwest MLS brokers represented 34,000 active listings each month.
  • Of 860 million-dollar-plus sales of single family homes, more than half (54.8 percent) were in Seattle’s Eastside suburbs. Of these high-end homes, 145 of them were in the MLS map area encompassing the area west of I-405, including Bellevue and the waterfront communities of Beaux Arts Village, Clyde Hill, Hunts Point, Medina and Yarrow Point.
  • The highest priced single family home in the MLS system that sold last year was located in the Town of Hunts Point on the eastern shore of Lake Washington, which commanded $14,750,000. The highest priced condominium, located in downtown Kirkland, fetched $3,249,000.
  • A comparison of median prices of home sales within school districts in the Northwest MLS market areas shows the most expensive homes were situated in the Mercer Island School District ($824,000), followed by Bellevue ($550,000) and Issaquah ($530,000). The least expensive homes were in the Queets-Clearwater School District in Jefferson County ($30,000), the Vader School District in Lewis County ($47,900) and the Wilson Creek School District in Grant County ($52,500).
  • Northwest MLS members reported 81,019 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) during 2011. That marked an increase of about 10.5 percent from 2010 when members logged 73,349 pending sales.
  • The pace of sales as measured by “months supply” (an estimate of how long it would take for all inventory of active listings to sell at the current pace assuming no new inventory is added) showed a system-wide total of 5.02 months, improving on a figure of 6.42 months for 2010. Using this measurement, Snohomish County had the lowest supply, at 3.69 months, followed by King County at 3.75 months. (Economists consider a supply of 3-to-6 months to be a balanced market, meaning the market favors neither buyers nor sellers.)

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member real estate firms, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 20,000 real estate brokers. The organization, based in Kirkland, Wash., currently serves 21 counties in Washington state.

2011 Statistical Review & Highlights

__________
Copyright © Northwest Multiple Listing Service

5 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale

Working to get your home ship-shape for showings will increase its value and shorten your sales time.

Guest Post By: G. M. Filisko

1. Have a home inspection
Be proactive by arranging for a pre-sale home inspection. For $250 to $400, an inspector will warn you about troubles that could make potential buyers balk. Make repairs before putting your home on the market. In some states, you may have to disclose what the inspection turns up.

2. Get replacement estimates
If your home inspection uncovers necessary repairs you can’t fund, get estimates for the work. The figures will help buyers determine if they can afford the home and the repairs. Also hunt down warranties, guarantees, and user manuals for your furnace, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and any other items you expect to remain with the house.

3. Make minor repairs
Not every repair costs a bundle. Fix as many small problems—sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, dripping faucets—as you can. These may seem trivial, but they’ll give buyers the impression your house isn’t well maintained.

4. Clear the clutter
Clear your kitchen counters of just about everything. Clean your closets by packing up little-used items like out-of-season clothes and old toys. Install closet organizers to maximize space. Put at least one-third of your furniture in storage, especially large pieces, such as entertainment centers and big televisions. Pack up family photos, knickknacks, and wall hangings to depersonalize your home. Store the items you’ve packed offsite or in boxes neatly arranged in your garage or basement.

5. Do a thorough cleaning
A clean house makes a strong first impression that your home has been well cared for. If you can afford it, consider hiring a cleaning service.

If not, wash windows and leave them open to air out your rooms. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke, and pet smells. Wash light fixtures and baseboards, mop and wax floors, and give your stove and refrigerator a thorough once-over.

Pay attention to details, too. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, clean inside the cabinets, and polish doorknobs. Don’t forget to clean your garage, too.

###

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer who has found happiness in a Chicago brownstone with the best curb appeal on the block. A frequent contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Sustainability in 2 Minutes

Because you read this blog you probably are well versed in the sustainability needs required in our world today. But a lot of people we know aren’t. Ask them to take two minutes, for the sake of your friendship, to watch this video. It is simplistic, but possibly a good conversation starter. It’s non-threatening, non-accusatory, and just a straight forward explanation of HOW THINGS WORK. They don’t have to like it, but we need to start multiplying our personal efforts by getting more of our friends on board with small changes that make a big difference.

The Holiday Porches of High Point

One of the great things about living in a Built Green Certified Community is the seasonal decorating that comes with certain holidays. Halloween is a real hoot, but Christmas is very beautiful. The “front porch” community built in 2006/07 (and some 2011) really gets into the holiday spirit every year. Every porch has en electrical outlet so it makes it easy to have fountains or lights outside.

You can view the entire public album on Facebook, and it will continue to be updated as more people decorate – all the way up to Christmas! Have a wonderful holiday season.

Introducing NRG Benchmarking

Last March I published a blog post here about my being accepted into a federal training program for energy efficiency accounting and benchmarking. The City of Seattle is getting ready to do a big mailing out to building owners of structures 10,000 square feet or larger and 5 units or more in the multifamily category (so anything larger than a 4-plex). Most property owners don’t know they are required to report benchmarking information to the city (and elsewhere in the state interested parties can demand the information but you are not required to proactively report it). A number of individuals of qualifying backgrounds in real estate, construction, HVAC and building maintenance, were invited to this training and we became certified to use Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager.

The assumption is that many property owners would rather hire a third party expert to perform this benchmarking instead of going through the hours it will take to become familiar with the procedure and doing it themselves. In the case of rental property, every single tenant must give permission in writing to the property owner to obtain individual billing information from each account. It will take some leg work to get all those forms signed off on, and that’s where I come in. I can get all of the permissions, the data transferred, and complete the benchmarking report to the City of Seattle as required.

I have just started a separate website and blog to address this new service I provide, called NRG Benchmarking. I also am listed on the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council list of Service Providers and am an Energy Star Partner. You can email me at wendyhj@NRGbenchmarking.com or call 206.686.4663 for more information.

High Point Pond 5 Year Dredging – Conclusion (VIDEO)

My “In the ‘hood…” Series:

The Built Green Community of High Point in West Seattle has an approx 2.5 acre pond, with a 1/4 mile walking trail around it. High Point totals 120 acres, which makes up 10% of the Longfellow Creek watershed downhill in Delridge. All of the runoff from homes and streets and parks goes into bioswales placed throughout the community. Plants then filtrate the water for a time before the water makes it into a permeated culvert, that then directs the water to the pond. The pond holds water here so during heavy rains there is less flooding in the valley below.

If you missed the video when the pond was first drained (labeled Part 1), you can watch it here:

Seattle’s Dog Obsession

In August I went to a photo shoot for Seattle Magazine for a dog-centric article for the October issue. The article is called Seattle’s Dog Obsession, and it has a very nice slide show of people and their dogs who answered the call for models. Sophia and I are toward the end, look for the Italian greyhound with the ostrich feather collar!

Personally I believe living with animals is a good way to have a home-based, affordablem very rewarding hobby – although not always low cost depending on the mishaps your pet gets into. I have had some very expensive visits to the 24 Hour Emergency Vet because Sophia has a nose for chocolate and she has learned how to undo zippers on backpacks. I am lucky in that Sophia also travels with me for work much of the time, whether I am out touring or consulting and working in an office somwhere.