Leavenworth Real Estate

Archive for the 'Leavenworth Cabins' Category

Leavenworth House For under $100,000

Yep, some things are too good to be true.

There have been a handful of properties over the years that would loosely fit that definition, but I have never seen a house that is inhabitable and that a bank would loan money on, for under $100,000 in Leavenworth WA.

Most consumers start their home search  these days on the internet.  It’s pretty common to think that you might have stumbled upon a great deal   that no one else has seen. I guess it’s possible, but there are a lot of folks looking at houses on the internet. Just on this website alone, we get between 1200-1500 visits a month of people looking at the homes on the MLS.

It’s pretty common that we tend to get lots of requests about the same properties over and over again. If the price just seems too good to be true, the house might be:

• Underneath the Bonneville Power Administration high voltage line
• Next to the Burlington Northern railroad tracks
• A former meth lab or drug house
• Within earshot of U.S. Highway 2
• Not accessible by car in the winter
• On U.S. Forest Service “leased” land with an annual rent
• One or more levels has less than 8 foot (or even 6 foot) ceilings
  

  Photo courtesy of Justanuptowngirl on Flickr

 

Stevens Pass Cabins For Sale

 With ski season just around the corner, we know a lot of folks are looking for ski cabins to purchase near Stevens Pass. One of the difficulties in finding a cabin near the pass is that there really aren’t a lot of houses or developed neighborhoods very close to the pass. Unlike other ski areas, there aren’t condos at Stevens Pass or other housing options where you can ski out your front door.

The first place to look is our Stevens Pass real estate search page.   This will take you to a geographic search and show you the closest homes for sale to Stevens Pass.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many homes within 5-10 minutes of the pass. Those that are closest can be found in the Yodelin neighborhood.  Roads are not plowed in Yodelin during the winter so owning a cabin here means walking, skiing, snowmobiling or even using a snow cat for winter access.  The roads are often snow covered into June if not July each year.

 

Where should you look for a cabin close to Stevens Pass? (See Map Below)

 

 

 

Your best chance of finding a ski cabin close to Stevens Pass is in the following neighborhoods:

 

•  Sunland Estates
• Highway 2 from Coles Corner to Merritt
• Reiche and Karl Road
• Pine River Ranch Neighborhood (Memory Lane, Conard, Nason)

 

 

 

Leavenworth Real Estate | Sold Homes June 2011

In June, eight homes and two condos sold in Leavenworth. 

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22715 Brown Road, Leavenworth

List price: $119,000.  Sold price: $65,000.

Days on Market: 629

2 bedrooms | 1 bath | 1244 sqft | 1.03 acres

Small fixer cabin on the corner of Brown Road and Lake Wenatchee Highway.  This house originally came on the market in 2009 with a list price of $149,000

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303 Whitman Street, Leavenworth

List price: $145,000.  Sold price: $80,000.

Days on Market: 287

2 bedrooms | 1 bath | 1387 sqft | .17 acres

Older home on the edge of Rotary Park just behind City Hall.  The access was either from city hall parking lot or down the public trail from Whitman.  House needed some updating and repairs and only had street parking on Whitman.  This was an estate sale.

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NNA Coulter Creek Road, Leavenworth

List price: $149,900.  Sold price: $149,900.

Days on Market: 348

1 bedrooms | 0 bath | 680 sqft | 4.33 acres

Rustic cabin on 4 acres.  This cabin has no water, no septic, and no electric.

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204 River Street, Leavenworth

List price: $249,000.  Sold price: $249,000.

Days on Market: 42

3 bedrooms | 1 bath | 1424 sqft | .24 acres

In-town home that backs to open space with a winter view of the river and Wedge Mt.  This home had at least one offer in the first few days of being on the market.

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312 Meadow Drive, Leavenworth

List price: $311,000.  Sold price: $294,000.

Days on Market: 853

3 bedrooms | 2.5 bath | 1562 sqft | .14 acres

In-town home built in the mid 1990′s.  This home had an open floor plan and with the master on the main floor.  The home originally came on the market in Aug 2008 with a list price of $389,000.

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25204 Saddle Street, Leavenworth

List price: $359,000.  Sold price: $336,500.

Days on Market: 436

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1712 sqft | .28 acres

This cabin had great interior space with recent upgrades and also had great Wenatchee River frontage in the Ponderosa Estates neighborhood.  In addition to the three bedrooms, it also had a large loft.  The main issue was that it  is a metal building.  It originally came on the market in 2009 with a list price of $469,000.

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17954 Thoroughbred Lane, Leavenworth

List price: $649,000.  Sold price: $535,000.

Days on Market: 509

4 bedrooms | 3 bath | 2752 sqft | 1.31 acres

Large, newer cabin in a secluded part of the Ponderosa Estates neighborhood.  While this house does have Wenatchee River waterfront, the lot is long and skinny on a steep hill.  It is a hike from the house to get down to the river.  This house was originally listed in 2009 for $798,000.  In 2007, the owners had it on the market as just the exterior shell of the house with a list price of $675,000.

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15870 Cedar Brae Road, Leavenworth

List price: $725,000.  Sold price: $700,000.

Days on Market: 46

4 bedrooms | 2.75 bath | 2160 sqft | .60 acres

If this address seems familiar, it is.  This house just sold in February of this year.  As soon as they closed, the new owner found out that he was being transferred and had to put the newly acquired vacation home on the market.  Luckily, the previous listing agent had a client who was sad that they had missed out on the house the first time around.

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Leavenworth Condos

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525 Alpine Place G-4, Leavenworth

List price: $239,000.  Sold price: $213,000.

Days on Market: 157

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1119 sqft |

 One of the rare three bedroom condos in Leavenworth.  This complex is outside the city limits and can be used as a nightly rental.

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1509 Alpensee Strasse #2, Leavenworth

List price: $429,500.  Sold price: $380,000.

Days on Market: 225

2 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1500 sqft |

Newer condo just outside the city limits.  This condo backs to the the Wenatchee River and can be used as a nightly rental.

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More Leavenworth Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for May 2011
• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for June 2011
• Click Here to Search for Leavenworth Homes for Sale

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the

Chiwawa River Pines Home Prices

The recent article in the Wenatchee World about the court of appeals decision concerning vacation rentals in Chiwawa River Pines  has received 33 comments so far. It’s obvious that this remains a very contentious issue in the neighborhood.

Among the comments, Monte Karnes had a request:

Geordie,if you get a chance and you read this I would be very interested in your “professional opinion” on the effects of the rental ban in C.R.P. the rental ban has existed for a period of time and there should be some data available. I would like to know if values have increased, is there a demand from buyers that there be no “rentals” in a community they would buy in? The H. O. A. position is that by eliminating “rental’s” that we become a “exclusive ” community and there for more desirable property. I have worked with another realtor in the Lake Wenatchee area, we wanted to know the same thing,I had him ask five of the local broker’s the same question. The five all agreed, the ban is harming values in C.R. P. One said that, of there last three client’s they all wanted the ability to rent.(they all spoke off the record).

To answer Monte’s question I looked at single family homes that sold in the Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood in 2009 and 2010. I then compared these sales to that of the rest of the Leavenworth zipcode – including Plain, Lake Wenatchee and Fish Lake and also to sales in the Ponderosa Estates  neighborhood which is probably the most similar neighborhood in the area.

In 2009 and 2010 a total of 129 homes sold in the Leavenworth zipcode.  The median price during this time period was $320,000 with an average sales price of $387,000.

During 2009 and 2010 only 14 homes sold in the Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood.  The median price was $289,500 and the average sales price was $278,000.

Prices in the Ponderosa Estates neighborhood (which does allow nightly rentals) were slightly lower.  Nine homes sold in the Ponderosa Estates with a median price of $285,000 and an average price of $269,000.

However, this isn’t the entire story.

Lot sizes in Chiwawa River Pines are considerably bigger than in Ponderosa Estates. The lots in Chiwawa River Pines ranged in size from .35 to 1.4 acres, while the Ponderosa lots ran from .25 to .39 acres.

Similarly, the house sizes are different too.

The average home in Chiwawa River Pines was 1540 square feet in size while the average Ponderosa cabin was 1205 square feet.

Looking at average Price Per Square Foot, we see that Chiwawa River Pines houses sold for $191 per square foot while Ponderosa Estates cabins sold for $236 per square foot. 

Much of this price discrepancy comes from the effect of foreclosures in the Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood. During this time period there where 4 bank owned (REO) properties that sold in Chiwawa River Pines. In the Ponderosa Estates, there were none.

 I predicted in 2008 that a prohibition on vacation rentals would have a negative effect on prices in the neighborhood.

What do think? Do you think property values are affected by the vacation rental ban?

 

 

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Chiwawa River Pines | Appeals Court Allows Rentals

We have had a number of articles here in the past about the Chiwawa River Pines  neighborhood and the debate about vacation rentals.

• Chiwawa River Pines | Effects of  Rental Ban
• Vacation Rental Ban in Chiwawa River Pines?

 Apparently, there’s more to the story. The Wenatchee World reported on March 29 that an appeals court overturned Judge Chip Small’s earlier ruling and vacation rentals are now allowed in the Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood. You can read the court’s decision here in its entirety.

I won’t offer legal commentary since I’m not an attorney, but it sounds like this is not the end of the story.

 According to the Chiwawa River Pines neighborhood blog, there will be a special meeting at the same time as the neighborhood’s annual meeting and owners will be asked to vote on the issue. This will be an up or down, yes or no vote.

I have a bad feeling this will be headed to the courts again and I’m sorry to hear about all the strife this issue has caused the neighborhood.

Monte Karnes asked me my opinion on how this effects home prices in the neighborhood and I will address those in an upcoming post.