Loading images...
Popular | Maple Valley WA

Popular

Maple Valley Real Estate Market Poised for it’s Best Finish in 3 Years

Maple Valley Real Estate Market Poised for it’s Best Finish in 3 Years

The Maple Valley real estate market is making a come back! With a bit more than three weeks left in 2011, the total number of Single Family Residential closed sales already exceeds last year’s total by 9.5%. With many closings occurring at the end of this month, we’ll likely see a definite 10%+ increase in sales volume. 2006 was the peak of the market in terms of number of closed sales, which equaled 1076.  The following year, saw those numbers drop to 764 (which also happened to be the peak year in pricing). The tumble continued down a whopping 38% the 2008 481 sales, before sinking to it’s lowest point in 2009 with 429 homes closed.  Price is an entirely horse of another color. in 2008, the average sales price of a Single Family home in the Tahoma School District was $395,000. To date, this year, it is $285,000.  Consumers, entinced by extremely low prices,  have obviously begun to gain confidence in the stability of the market and see the benefit of investing for a long term gain.   Either way, I just know I’m much happier today than I was in 2008. Yea us!

Read more »

Maple Valley makes Family Circle’s top 10 Best Towns for Families: 2011

Maple Valley makes Family Circle’s top 10 Best Towns for Families: 2011

Every year, Family circle magazine publishes it’s top 10 cities for Families list and this year, Maple Valley made the list! The August issue lists Maple Valley (the only town West of the Rockies by the way) as # 10 on the list citing the strength of our Schools, recreation and strong sense of community. Of course, those of us who live here have known this all along ….but it is nice to becognized on a National level! You can read the full article here: 10 Best Towns for Families: 2011.

Read more »

What’s Your 1st Time Home Buyer Story?

What’s Your 1st Time Home Buyer Story?

Unbelievably low interest rates are bringing the idea of home ownership to the minds of many first timers. Awhile back, I published a post about  the first time home buying process my husband I experienced. If you or someone you know has recently bought as a first time owner, I’d love to hear your story! In the meantime, here’s a repost of my story: (originally published March, 2009) A young couple, she rents an apartment while finishing college, he still lives at home. The wedding is 6 months away. They want to buy a home; their first together. They don’t see themselves living in someone else’s home. They want to create “their own place”, be able to paint and knock out walls and have a dog without restrictions. They are young. She is 21 and he is 24. They don’t know much about the process, only that they want to own their own home. They meet with their Realtor who tells them they can’t afford much and that their price range is pretty competitve. There isn’t much available unless they are willing to look in a few areas where they absolutely cannot see themselves living. They share this with their

Read more »

Looking for Late Summer Color?

Looking for Late Summer Color?

Although I’d  potted a few of my patio planters about 7 weeks ago,I’ve been waiting for Summer to finally arrive before doing them all. Ok it’s August for petesake, and I can’t wait any longer…..well, that and a looming outdoor party spurred me to action. Even if we only get a few weeks enjoyment from it, I was bound and determined to get some color into the yard. It wasn’t easy finding a good selection of annuals, Home Depot, Fred Meyer and a few of the other big box stores didn’t have much selection. So last weekend, I drug my husband with me to Taylor Creek Nursery, out near Hobart on 216th Ave Se. I’ve visited many times but this was my first trip this Summer. To my delight, there was a great selection to choose from. The owner is very helpful with questions and (what I appreciate) leaves you alone to peruse to your heart’s content. I could have stayed all day and wandered through the green houses and paths, learning about new trees and shrubs, but I had pots to plant! So I loaded up on Geraniums, Impatients, New Guinnea Impatients, Begonias and a few other annuals just to make

Read more »

Tahoma School District 1st to Be Recognized in Green Schools Program

The Tahoma School District continues to impress with it’s efforts to stand “above the crowd”. Recently the district received recognition by King County as the first district to achieve the first level of the Green Schools Program. All eight schools in the district worked to significantly improve in areas of waste and energy reduction. The district implemented changes which amassed a savings in the range of $25,000 when comparing the ’07-’8 year to the ’09-’10 school year. Just one more feather in the Tahoma District’s hat (and as I’ve said before, that hat must be getting heavy!)

Read more »

Lots of Excitement this Weekend Over “The Bear”

Maple Valley was in the news this weekend, several times in fact as animal control officers moved to release a large black bear caught in the area. Poor guy, I’m sure he meant no harm but I’m also glad he’s gone. Wouldn’t have been very fun encountering him while showing an acreage property!

Read more »

It’s Baaaack!

After some back and forth and tweaking and reorganizing, I finally decided to move my photos back over to the MapleValleyPhotos.com website. Sorry for the ping-pong. I hope you’ll continue to find both sites helpful and interesting. Comments are always welcome!

Read more »

Return Visitors

Return Visitors

Our weather so far in 2010  has been incredible . For the past two days I’ve been able to turn the furnace down and open the windows to enjoy the 60+ degree afternoons (warmer with the sun streaming through the windows). Spring seems to be arriving about 4 weeks early here in Maple Valley; plum trees are budding, daffodils and heather are beginning to bloom and….the birds are back! At my house, we have a patio with several Arborvitae trees that the birds just love make home each Spring. They are always in pairs, the male more colorful and easy to spot. As my husband and I have our morning coffee, it’s fun to watch them pop out of the trees to search and gather more nesting materials. When they return, they land on  top of the tree, until certain no one is looking, they slip inside the tree and are completely hidden. I wish I knew what king of birds these are so if anyone knows, please share. One thing we’ve never been able to see though are the eggs or babies. Maybe this year we’ll get lucky!

Read more »