Leavenworth Real Estate

Archive for the 'Luxury Homes' Category

Unlisted Homes in the Leavenworth Luxury Market

Searching for a home in any market can sometimes be a frustrating experience. In the Leavenworth real estate market it is even tougher because there are so few homes for sale. I have seen inventory as high as 150 homes, but this includes Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee and Stevens Pass and price ranges from $150,000 to $3,000,000.

Buyers looking for a cabin under $300,000 in Leavenworth often feel frustrated at the lack of options, but shoppers looking for a trophy home above $1,000,000 sometimes have it tough too.

While I do have some great luxury home listings -

like this Modern Redwood Home on the Wenatchee River:

and this Private Ranch at the end of Merry Canyon:

I also keep a list of private sellers with million and multi-million dollar homes in the Leavenworth area.  These are sellers who are not interested in advertising their home, holding open houses, or showing off their private spaces on the internet. But they are interested in selling if the right buyer comes along.

If you are interested in a luxury home in Leavenworth and don’t see something on the internet that fits your needs. Drop me a line and we can discuss your needs and see if they match any of the houses on my list. Conversely, if you would like me to add your home to my list I would be happy to meet with you and discuss your home.

Of course you can always click here to Search for Homes in Leavenworth that are currrently listed by an agent.

Or click here to Get Leavenworth Real Estate Listings delivered to your email

Leavenworth Riverfront Homes

Buying a Leavenworth vacation home on the river is a dream for many throughout the Northwest. I have written a number of articles before about some of the options for those looking to buy a home on the river in Leavenworth or buy land on the river and build their own home.

 

Rivers in the Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee area include the Wenatchee River (which flows from Lake Wenatchee to the Columbia River), the Chiwawa River,Icicle Creek, Nason Creek and Peshastin Creek. Smaller creeks include Chumstick Creek and the Little Chumstick.

 

Here is what the Wenatchee River looks like at Spring melt along Icicle road (May of 2008). This video was taken from my listing at 8920 Icicle Road. (It’s confusing that homes along Icicle Road are not Icicle Creek, but on the Wenatchee River.)

 

 

 

 

The Chiwawa River looks like this at about the same time of year (May 2008). This video was taken from my listing at Shugart Flats outside of Plain near Lake Wenatchee.

 

 

 

If you are looking for a babbling brook, you might consider something along Chumstick Creek. This video was taken from the backyard of my listing on the Chumstick Highway in May 2008 as well.

The kids who live here now love playing in the creek and chasing fish and other critters and cooling off when it gets hot.

I currently represent 2 homes on the Wenatchee River, 1 home on the Chiwawa River and 1 home on Chumstick Creek. However, there are other homes on the market to choose from as well. As of May 22, there are 15 homes on the river and 3 homes on smaller creeks.

Click Here to:  Search all Waterfront Homes in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee

Kahler Glen Avalanche Destroys Home

A home at the Kahler Glen golf course near Lake Wenatchee was hit by an avalanche yesterday and carried 150 yards off its foundation according to the Wenatchee World. According to Lake Wenatchee sources, the home was located on Pelton Place which sits above Miracle Mile Road.

 

KIRO TV has the best photos of the avalanche damage and the home. They reported that a mandatory evacuation was in place for 15 nearby homes, due to avalanche danger and a buried propane tank that appeared to be leaking.

 

It doesn’t appear that anyone was in the home, but that it was a vacation rental that was scheduled to be occupied this weekend. A two person cleaning crew had been in the home earlier in the day. It sounds like a second home was also damaged by the avalanche.

 

The condos at Kahler Glen are outside of an area that might be effected by avalanches. However, Pelton Place, where this home was located, is on a steep slope backed by land owned by a large timber company. Local news media seem surprised by this avalanche, but last spring, a home on this road was hit by a giant mudslide doing tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

 

According to the Northwest Avalanche Center this is the seventh significant avalanche incident this winter. The NWAC had predicted high avalanche danger for Thursday and warned travellers to avoid backcountry areas.

Leavenworth Luxury Condos

Luxury Condos in Leavenworth Washington? Yes, it’s true.

 

The condo market has been going strong here for a number of years and 2007 has brought Leavenworth a number of new condominium projects.

 

For the first time, Leavenworth has condos that meet the upscale needs and desires of the luxury real estate market. Windermere Real Estate in Leavenworth is proud to represent both the Boulders Condominiums on the Wenatchee River and River Park Condominiums overlooking Blackbird Island in downtown Leavenworth.

 

The Boulders are 6 units on Alpensee Strasse on the East edge of Leavenworth overlooking the Wenatchee River. All units have two bedrooms and two baths and are 1500 square feet in size. They have fantastic 10 foot ceilings, gas fireplaces in the living room and master bedroom. Gorgeous well appointed kitchens and most importantly – great windows and decks for viewing the Wenatchee River. At this time only 3 units are still available. Prices start at $595,000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The River Park Condos are located in the heart of downtown Leavenworth. Owners and guests can have easy access to all of Leavenworth’s festivals – from Oktoberfest to Christmas Lighting, shopping, restaurants and more. Or you can relax and enjoy the huge decks and the expansive views of Wedge Mountain and Tumwater Canyon. All units are two bedrooms and two baths and sizes range from 1096 to 1484 square feet. Prices run from $329,000 to $624,900 New Prices $325,000 to $539,000. All units come with gorgeous granite kitchens and baths, wood floors and private indoor parking. Corner units are larger and include a soaking tub in the master bath. At this time 14 units are still available. Prices have recently been reduced and the seller will consider contributing to closing costs or other incentives. Click here to see more of these luxury condos in downtown Leavenworth.

Click here to schedule a private appointment to view these condos.

Lake Wenatchee Real Estate

Real Estate at Lake Wenatchee and Fish Lake has really taken off in the last decade. Lake Wenatchee’s popularity comes from the wealth of recreational opportunities (boating, fishing, wind surfing, hiking, snowmobiling, skiing, golfing) and it’s proximity to the Seattle area.

 

I wrote about Fish Lake real estate in a previous post, so this article will be mostly about Lake Wenatchee.

 

There are two roads that skirt Lake Wenatchee and serve as separate neighborhoods. Cedar Brae (aka South Shore
road) runs along the South Shore. It starts at the South entrance of Lake Wenatchee State Park and passes Kahler Glen Golf Club. At the other end of the road is Camp Zanika Lache, a Campfire Camp, a number of cabins on leased Forest Service land, and a trail to Hidden Lake. On the north side of the lake, North Shore Drive runs from the Lake Wenatchee Highway near the YMCA camp to near the White River road near the former site of the Cougar Inn. The north shore of Lake Wenatchee is often preferred because it faces South and gets more sunshine in the short days of winter. The West end of the lake is mostly U.S. Forest Service and the East end is the mouth of the Wenatchee River and Lake Wenatchee State Park.

 

 

Lake Wenatchee Real Estate 2007

 

 

In 2006, there were 7 sales on Lake Wenatchee listed on the North Central Washington MLS. These are lakefront properties, not properties with access to the lake or across the street from the lake, but actual lakefront. 1 was a cabin on leased land, 2 were tear down houses, and 3 were lakefront homes and one was a building lot.

 

 

The tear downs averaged $490,000 while the lot sold for $822,000. The tear downs were on similar size small lots on the North Shore (.17 and .12 acres) with 52 and 40 feet of lakefront. The lot was also on North Shore, but was .55 acres and had 100 frontage feet on the lake.

 

The three houses averaged 2400 square feet in size and sold for an average of $1.1 million. All three houses were on the North Shore and on lots smaller than a 1/4 acre. Two of the homes had 100 feet of lakefront, while the largest house had only 50 feet.

 

In 2007, 2 lakefront homes on Lake Wenatchee have sold so far. These homes are smaller (average of 1500 square feet) and had an average selling price of $910,000. One home was on Cedar Brae and though larger, much newer and on a lot 3 times bigger, sold for less money. This is the only South Shore listing that has sold in two years and it appears that the market does favor the North Shore by a large margin.

 

Currently one home is pending at $750,000 for a rustic cabin 1392 square feet in size. A much smaller house of 800 square feet is available for $770,000. Both are on 1/2 acre lots on the South Shore.

 

There are still a number of cabins on Lake Wenatchee that sit on leased land owned by the U.S. Forest Service. These cabins sell for under $200,000. It seems like a great deal except that you don’t own the land. The USFS does and they make you pay them a lease. Those leases are currently for 10 or 20 years and may go up drastically, they are supposed to be set at 5% of the value of the land, though current leases seem to be a few thousand a year. (If the lot value in private hands is $500,000 then the lease is $25,000 a year.) The Forest Service may also cancel the lease and ask you to remove your cabin. Then you are left with nothing. Ask your lender if they will loan on a property like this, I doubt many will because of the risks involved.

 

 

Searching for Lake Wenatchee property

The search tools that consumers have at their disposal are poor at finding waterfront property in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee. This is especially true for local Leavenworth sites like http://www.lakewenatcheehomes.com/ or my competitors at Leavenworth Properties and Lake Wenatchee Properties. This is a function of the IDX program available to us at this time. The mapping isn’t as useful, but http://www.windermere.com/ does allow consumers to search for waterfront listings.

 

If you want to see current Lake Wenatchee waterfront homes click here or for waterfront lots click here or email me at any time and I will send you a list of the current available properties.

Update March 2008

The search function has now been updated for the Lake Wenatchee Real Estate site. You can now search easily for waterfront properties on by categories that include lakes, rivers and creeks.