Out of all the holidays in the year, New Years happens to be one of my personal favorites. It is a time to reflect, make change and move forward not only on a personal level at home or in the office but also as a community.

I have my own set of targets for 2008 (aka resolutions) as simple as remembering to put my debit card back in my wallet (throwing it around and having to order new cards every 7 weeks has been pretty painful!) to the inital process of positioning myself to be Seattle’s next mayor (a little far off I know, but is it really?). What are some of your resolutions for 2008?

Have a wonderful and safe New Years!

Click here to take a New Year’s trivia challenge

“YOUTH IS WHEN YOU’RE ALLOWED TO STAY UP LATE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE. MIDDLE AGE IS WHEN YOU’RE FORCED TO.” Bill Vaughn And battle weary Traders may be looking to hang it up early for the night, after enduring days and weeks on end of extreme market volatility. And last week was no exception, as the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister and current opposition leader Benazir Bhutto brought on even more volatile moves in the markets.

There is global concern over the possibility that the Pakistani government may become destabilized – and if this should happen, which political faction may end up in power with control over its nuclear arsenal. This is a very good example of how unforeseen political events from around the world can impact home loan rates, as Bonds trade in response to the headlines. Following the assassination, Bond prices moved higher upon the increased demand for the “safe haven” found in Bonds, and home loan rates improved by about .125% for the week overall.

The financial markets will be closed early on today, and fully closed on Tuesday in observance of the New Year. But the balance of the week contains several important economic releases, including the “Minutes” from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting. Since not all voting members agreed with the decision to cut the Fed Funds Rate by .25%, the discussion between voting and non-voting members could be fairly interesting, and provide insight as to the Fed’s moves in the New Year.

Remembering that when Bond pricing moves higher, home loan rates move lower – and vice versa – the chart below shows how volatile the action has been in recent days and weeks. This is why we feel it is so important for us to be well informed, and in turn, keep you advised. The climate has been volatile both for rates and the mortgage industry at large – so we know that it is more important than ever that you, your friends, family members, clients and neighbors have an association with a real professional who is “in the know”. If you know anyone who would like to receive this informative newsletter – just let me know, and I will add them free of charge. And as this New Year opens, please contact me if I can be of service to you at this time.

Patrick Dunn, Westwood Mortgage Inc. & MMG Weekly
patrick@westwoodmortgage.com / http://www.certifiedplanning.com/

The image says it all- homebuyers are having a more difficult time securing financing, foreclosures have reached record highs, unsold homes flood the market and prices have dropped dramatically, however the one thing we can be thankful for…is that all regions experienced drops in sales except the West.

On Friday, the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes in the Midwest dropped 27.6%, the Northeast plummeted to 19.3%, the South fell to 6.4%, but in the West, sales rose 4% from October 07 to November 07. (Click here to read more)

We have continued to remain one of the strongest housing markets in the US, but over the last 12 months, sales nationwide have decreased by 34.4% (said to be the largest annual slide since early 1991) and many economists are predicting a housing crash is in the near future. Of course media coverage only seems to worsen perceptions of the housing market so I am interested in knowing what some of you think will happen in 2008 in Seattle and on a national level…thoughts?

I receive tons of email flyers daily for properties all over Puget Sound but this one caught my eye…

If you are looking for an office/retail space in Belltown, you may want to check this out!

Located right on the corner of 5th and Vine in the Montreux, this 565 SF space offers two separate offices, a lobby area and powder room. Although the square footage is a little small, the price is right and could be a perfect match for a startup!

- MLS #27212503
- 425 Vine Street #C
- $5000 Buyer Bonus at Closing
- Click here for more information!

In the 20-city S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices survey released this morning, the nation’s average prices fell over 6% from one year ago BUT Seattle experienced an increase of 3.3% along with Portland (1.9%) and Charlotte (4.3%).

Out of the 17 cities showing declines, Miami sits at a 12.4% decrease while Tampa (11.8%), Detroit (11.2%), San Diego (11.1%), Las Vegas (10.7%) and Phoenix (10.6%) follow close behind.

Click here to read the full report

It is official- Amazon.com is moving its headquarters to South Lake Union. The new headquarters will include up to 11 new buildings within the 6-block span along Terry and Boren Ave. between Mercer and John St. The new office space is set for completion in 2010 with full occupancy in 2011 and will total up to 1.6 million square feet!

Following South Lake Union’s trend in sustainable development practices, Amazon.com’s new headquarters will be targeting LEED certification as sustainable, eco-friendly facilities. For those of you who need a refresher, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a national industry measurement tool created by the U.S. Green Building Council used to define the industry’s most environmentally-conscious projects.

“Amazon.com is one of those great Seattle success stories and I’m pleased the company has decided to stay right here in its hometown,” said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “The move also highlights the great things happening in South Lake Union, where we are seeing new jobs, homes and parks transforming this area into a dynamic and diverse neighborhood in the heart of our city. My goal is make Seattle a great place to live and work. This move does both by bringing thousands of jobs to the South Lake Union area — with room to grow — and helping to build new affordable homes in our Center City.”

Click here to read the press release and my previous post on zoning challenges.

To add to my 2nd Avenue post yesterday, Kauri Investments just sold the historic Alaska Building to Henry Liebman’s American Life for $38.7M just 2 years after purchasing the building for $8.5M!

The original plans were to convert the property into a mixed-use residential project with 100 apartment units (built to condo standards) on the upper floors, have 4 floors of office space and retail at street level. The hopes were to convert the residential units to condos but under regulatory guidelines for the federal tax credits used to pay for the restoration, financial penalties would be applied if the conversion occurred within five years of the purchase date.

The change in heart has caused a bit of commotion! Now it looks like Liebman (owner of more than 40 acres in SODO) will be converting the Alaska Building into a 236-unit Marriott Hotel with 29 residential units.

The Alaska Building was built in 1904 on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave & Cherry St and was once the tallest building in Seattle- 15 floors! Click here to read VintageSeattle.org’s historic profile.

Recently homeowners on the southside of the Cristalla and eastside of One Pacific Tower have expressed some concern about the proposed project on the north and south corner of 2nd and Virginia. I was able to take a peak at the design review proposal and although views (and daylight!) definitely will be impacted by the project, I think that rebuilding the 2nd Ave strip is a must for such a prime location.

The “twin” towers, designed by Weber+Thompson and developed by Justen Company, LLC will join the Cristalla, 1915 Second Ave and 1521 Second Ave to create “a five-building assemblage that will reshape the skyline behind the market district.”

South Tower
1931 2nd Ave
38 floors total- 10 floors hotel/lobby (117 rooms) & 28 floors residential (185 condominiums)

North Tower
2015 2nd Ave
39 floors total- 6 floors lobby/retail & 33 floors residential (234 condominiums)

1915 2nd Ave
24 floors total- Street level retail & 175 condominiums developed by Intracorp

Other projects just blocks away are One Residences (2nd & Pine), Escala (4th & Virginia), The Alex (1st and Bell) and a 43 story apartment building on 3rd & Virginia.