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Sales Reports for Cashmere and Leavenworth

Here are the Pacific Appraisal sale reports for Cashmere and Leavenworth.

Cashmere is lagging last year in sales by 57% in dollar volume and 53% by transaction volume.  The 46 homes for sale in the market are about a 6 month supply which should make for stable pricing in the market.

Leavenworth is down 71% in dollar volume and 69% in transaction volume compared to last year.  The average home sales price is down 6% while the average condo sales price is down 18% year to date.

Have a look at the complete reports!

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Tags: General Interest, Local, Marketing by Al Lorenz
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“Smart Growth” may actually increase Sprawl!

“Smart Growth,” or planned growth with high density in urban cores, was supposed to reduce sprawl around urban cores.  The latest studies show that is anything but what has actually happened.

For example, 90% of the growth in the Seattle area over the last 20 years has been outside the City of Seattle, despite the Growth Managment Act and the development of residential towers in the City.

Suburbanites aren’t folks fleeing the dense downtowns but are people who move from small towns and exurbs to share in the economic opportunities and jobs available in the cities.

What’s a planner to do?

…suburbs need to be seen differently, not as the hostile “other” to core cities:

[S]uburbs have to be seen not as the enemies of the city, as just a modern expression of urbanization. They are neither the enemies of the city, nor are their residents likely to move “back” there. You cannot move back to someplace you did not come from.

In other words, the idea that suburbanites can be enticed back into dense urban cores is unlikely. In fact, the bigger cores grow and flourish, the more likely they will generate new sprawl. – Crosscut

It appears to reduce sprawl in the cities, economic opportunites and incentives need to be created in rural areas that can support larger populations.

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Tags: General Interest, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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Wenatchee Sales Snapshot for April

Pacific Appraisal has once again released their Snapshot Residential Sales Report for Wenatchee area residential sales.

Year to date 153 condos and homes have sold versus 190 for the same time last year.  Volume is down 21% by dollar volume and 19% by number of sales.  The report includes breakdowns by price range of active listings, average number sold per month and indicated months supply.  For homes priced over $300,000 sales volumes drop off fairly abruptly.

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Tags: General Interest, Local, Marketing by Al Lorenz
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Finally, the Kmart Building is a Blue Light Special!

Finally, after years of neglect, the Department of Natural Resources is going to sell off the Kmart building in Olds Station in downtown Wenatchee.

This building is $107,418 square feet on about nine acres of land.  The DNR recently had it appraised at $4.25 million.  Had they sold it a couple of years ago, it would have fetched much better than that.

Today, the commercial real estate market is in meltdown.  Financing a project like this is almost impossible.  Buying a building like this without a tenant is a high stakes game.

So, I expect the price at auction, planned for June 26 in the Chelan County Courthouse, will be well below appraised value.  If you’re up for a high stakes game of real estate, this could be your hand to play!

For more, go to Kmart in the Wenatchee World.  Click if you want some help with high stakes real estate in Chelan County,

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Tags: General Interest, Local by Al Lorenz
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Large Woody Debris (Shoreline Mitigation) Work Sessions

Later this month, there are two sessions for discussions regarding the use of Large Woody Debris as mitigation on shoreline projects like docks and shoreline improvements.

May 20, 1:30 PM, Leavenworth Fire Hall, Chumstick Highway, Leavenworth, WA May 21, 1:30 PM, Chelan Fire Hall, 232 E. Wapato, Chelan, WA.

When  the agenda is available, I will post it.

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Tags: Land Use, Local by Al Lorenz
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