Posts by Johnine Larsen
Here’s What a Recession Could Mean for the Housing Market
Recession talk is all over the news, and the odds of a recession are rising this year. And that leaves people wondering what would happen to the housing market if we do go into a recession. Let’s take a look at some historical data to show what’s happened in housing for each recession going all…
Read MoreHas your contact info changed?
We’re updating our records, and we need your help! Please share your current contact info and enter our giveaway. We’ll randomly select one participant to receive $500 of yard service to spruce up their property for spring. Details and Questions If your contact info hasn’t changed, you can still participate in the giveaway! Just…
Read More7 Fake Cities
You’ve probably seen this one. You’ve seen the handful of houses, the 1950s mannequins. You’ve seen the motionless cars and the charred remains. And you’ve probably seen the footage from May 5th, 1955, when the government nuked Survival Town, Nevada.
Read MoreHow do I know if a listing has a fair price?
The best advice we can give for how to tell if a listing has a fair price: get into the market. Whether with your agent or on your own, visit open houses and get a general feel—just a sense—of overall pricing. That will give you a baseline. Then you need to find a good…
Read MoreSpread the Love
This Valentine’s Day, we want to spread love throughout our real estate community. We recently started a new Gals Recommend blog series, in which we interview like-minded small businesses related to our clients or business partners in some way. These businesses span massage therapists to bamboo gardeners, board game furniture makers to eco-friendly paint manufacturers—any local, small business that puts its customers first and genuinely cares about…
Read MoreBandpass Designs: Furniture for Board Games
We love finding small businesses that genuinely care about their customers and are passionate about their craft—businesses like Bandpass Design. A company that specializes in furniture for board games, Bandpass consists of three woodshop workers turned business owners who build modular furniture in modern styles for hobbies they love. One of the co-owners, Garrett Tomblingson, told…
Read MoreHouse Hacking
“House hacking” uses your current primary residence in such a way as to generate income that offsets your mortgage. Some people rent out space in their yard or garage for storage, others rent out individual rooms, and still others rent an accessory dwelling unit. Yard or Garage Some homeowners hack their house by…
Read MoreWinter is the Season of Motivated Buyers
Home buyers in winter are motivated and ready to buy. Many prospective winter buyers have experienced an abrupt change in living situation or recently relocated for a job, and their urgent hunt for a new home means they’re ready to make an offer. The cold, dark months of winter is the best time of year for…
Read MoreInterview with Horizon Massage Therapy
We love finding local businesses that share our client-first philosophy—like Horizon Massage Therapy in West Seattle, which offers therapeutic and relaxation massage for healing and thriving. We interviewed founder and owner Marian DiPerna about her massage practice, how she originally found us, and how she was able to use her convert part of her home into a massage…
Read MoreBehind the Scenes: 713 26th Ave
We’re committed to our “we do more” philosophy. Here’s a glimpse into just some of the work we did to get our latest listing ready for the market. You can see how this listing looked when we first encountered it, and how it looked when we finished. The Front Door …
Read MoreWhat’s the Difference Between a Broker and a Direct Lender?
A broker is someone who can shop multiple banks to get you the best rate or package that works for your credit score, income, and loan amount. A direct lender is a bank or credit union—say Umpqua Bank, Evergreen Home Loans, Wells Fargo, Chase, or BECU. You get the loan directly from the bank itself.…
Read MoreA Conversation with Bamboo Collective
We love finding local businesses that share our customer-first philosophy—like Bamboo Collective, a bamboo consultation and licensed plant nursery in northwest Seattle. We interviewed founder and owner Jon Schlueter about his company’s business model, bamboo’s rise and benefits, and the accident that put Jon in a wheelchair but sowed the seeds of the now-booming and…
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