Seattle Home Buying Seminars

April 22-28: Real-estate classes, seminars and events

For anyone interested in learning more about home buying, check out these great opportunities!

For Homebuyers:

TUE Seminar covers contingencies and home-buyer tips for all types of residential properties including condos; good-faith estimates provided; preregistration required. 6:30 p.m., Whole Foods Market, 1026 N.E. 64th St., Seattle; free (206-985-1500 ext. 0 or http://vickisez.com)

Insider tips to buying a home:

THU Learn the secrets to a stress-free home-buying experience; preregistration required. 6:30-8:30 p.m., Renton Technical College, Room C-113, 3000 N.E. Fourth St., Renton; $10 (425-235-2352 ext. 5727 or www.sheribay.com/realestateclasses)

Avoiding predatory lenders:

THU Class examines various loan sources, how interest rates are quoted and misquoted, six common frauds committed by predatory lenders; preregistration required. 6-9 p.m., Discover U, 2150 N. 107th St., Seattle, $45 (206-365-0400 or www.discoveru.org)

Thinking about renting?

Apartment rents throughout the central Puget Sound area are the highest in years and vacancy rates are tightening — narrowing options for renters who increasingly are finding themselves also priced out of homeownership. Blame it on a strong economy that’s creating apartment demand. Blame it on weak apartment construction activity that isn’t meeting the demand. And blame it on condominium conversions that are sucking away rental supply, said apartment analyst Mike Scott, of Dupre+Scott Apartment Advisors in Seattle. Based on its semiannual survey of apartment owners and managers, Dupre+Scott found that the areawide vacancy rate is one of the lowest in 20 years.

Strong Seattle Market Growth Continues

After stalling for two months, home prices in King and Snohomish counties perked up last month, disappointing potential buyers who thought slowing price appreciation had presented an opportunity. Brian and Jennifer Rutherford are experiencing King County’s strengthening real-estate market firsthand as they shop for a Bellevue home in the $500,000 range. They initially planned to take their time to find the right house, said Brian, who does business development for a software company. Brian and Jennifer, a nurse, own a condominium in West Seattle. “We were just hoping things would cool off. It might have cooled off from its highest point, but not too far,” he said. “Now we’re making more of an effort to step up our looking.” Home-sales data released Thursday by the Northwest Multiple List Service for March prove his point. King County’s median single-family home price rose 6 percent to a record $454,950 last month. Snohomish County’s single-family home price, which also hesitated, moved up 7.4 percent, reaching a median $382,500 in March. In Kitsap County, the median single-family house price was up 2.2 percent to $291,250.Only Pierce County bucked the trend, with the median single-family house price declining 2.4 percent to $280,000 last month.

Median means half the properties sell for more, half for less. Thursday’s news that Microsoft is leasing 1.3 million square feet of Bellevue office space, enough to house 4,000 employees, is a near guarantee that Brian Rutherford is correct about home-buying prospects. More workers in Bellevue may create more competition from other buyers in the Rutherfords’ target neighborhoods. Mortgage rates also have remained near historic lows, making it possible for more people to buy a home.

Still, Rutherford remains philosophic. “It is what it is. That’s the region we live in,” he said. If the Rutherfords decide to sell their West Seattle condo, they will enjoy the upside of a healthy market. “I’ve been here for 41 years, so I’ve seen slow markets, and this is not a slow market,” said Rich Bianchi, owner/broker of the Keller Williams Realty office in West Seattle. Rather, he senses “the market is active, but not quite as active as last year,” and that has confused buyers who thought prices would fall. They haven’t. “I think some people thought they’d wait until after the first of the year to get a bargain,” Bianchi said. “That didn’t happen.” Indeed, West Seattle homes priced at less than $500,000 are drawing multiple offers — the same dynamic the Rutherfords have found in Bellevue. They already have lost a bidding war on a $480,000 Bellevue house. Seven offers pushed the price to $535,000. Builders are adding to the mix. Windermere agent Daniel Toth’s West Seattle listing for a 1928 brick Tudor — original period detailing plus a new kitchen for $499,950 — recently was snapped up by a builder. He plans to construct two additional homes in its back yard. Lennox Scott, chairman of John L. Scott Real Estate, said a shortage of affordably priced homes will keep the local market strong.