As Realtors David, Matt, and myself are always out looking at homes. We decided to sift through all the great inventory of homes in the North End and identify a few great homes. As I started sifting, I made a surprising discovery. I suppose I knew on some level but it took this exercise to bring it into focus:

The inventory in the traditionally popular areas of Proctor / UPS / North Slope is actually weak right now.

This is big news for North End sellers! The timing of this weak inventory is unfortunate because the buyers are really out! The phone is ringing again. If you have a great north end house that you know you want or need to sell soon, the competition isn't terribly fierce. Call us, please!

On to the homes. Here are five properties that I consider noteworthy for various reasons:

4818 North 14th - Why this house? Because it is a price point that didn't exist until now. The news here is that you really can get a cute north end pad that needs minimal work for $159k.

1226 North J St. This bank owned property needs work. It is probably NOT a great flip property unless the bank drops the price even lower. But for the right buyer, it will be great. It is the kind of home that offers a stellar location, a partial sound view, classic craftsman styling, great curb appeal, and lots of square footage for the money. I see the perfect buyer being handy, energetic and willing to put in sweat equity over time.

1112 North 5th St. This is a classic Four Square in an historic neighborhood. It is a very large, attractive home with lots of usable space and it is under the $300,000 mark. Basically, this one just seems like a solid value.

4819 North 33rd Street Okay, this one IS our listing, but I think I can be objective in saying it is a great north end home on an oversized corner lot with plenty of historic charm, a tastefully updated kitchen, detached garage and even storage and a third garage bay in the basement. I like the value at $325,000.

3807 N 39th St. This one is in that area that you've always liked, the northern tip of N. Proctor where it ends in a cul-de-sac along the cliff. The house doesn't have garage parking and it is dated inside, but the location is both charming and breathtaking. It's built right near the edge overlooking Commencement Bay. With a serious remodel, this could be a million dollar home. It is the kind of place that people hold onto for 50 years. This is the chance to buy the kind of home that doesn't hit the market often.

So these are the five I picked to talk about. If you think I missed one, leave it in the comments! And if you want to sell your north end home, contact us today. Now is the time.

Signs of winter abound; Christmas decorations, ski areas opening, snowflakes in the forecast, red Starbucks cups, an open air ice skating rink downtown. Truly, that is happening. It could be a nice tradition and a further enhancement to our already vital downtown. "Franciscan Polar Plaza" will transform Tollefson Plaza at 17th and Pacific for the entire holiday season. Franciscan Health System, Tacoma Art Museum, City of Tacoma and other sponsors have partnered to bring us a downtown winter destination. It is a temporary thing, opening the day after Thanksgiving and running through January 2. Admission will be $8 and $2 for skate rental. “We love Tacoma and we’re confident that this will be a success for the city and the community,” said Cameron Fellows, Deputy Director of Tacoma Art Museum. “The community has come together to support this effort and we hope this will become a new tradition that enlivens downtown for years to come.” The ice rink will also be available for private events. For more information about Franciscan Polar Plaza including hours, visit www.PolarPlaza.com.

As mentioned above, thanks to a pile of new snow, Crystal Mountain is opening today. Snowqualmie opens tomorrow. White Pass is watching the sky to see what falls. As of this writing, they hadn't made any announcements. Some are predicting a great season at local ski resorts due to a second consecutive La Nina winter.

Our real estate market continues to see incremental improvement. I read today that Washington State's Chief Economist said our state is ranked 47th in the U.S. for 30 day mortgage delinquencies, which could bode well for early 2012 in that it suggests relatively fewer foreclosures here. The north Tacoma real estate market specifically is also seeing gradual improvement, especially homes priced below $350,000. Right now there are 100 pending sales in the north end and 89% of those are below $350,000. I can currently call the $150,000 to $200,000 price range a seller's market. There are more than half as many pending sales as active listings, which means the market is absorbing inventory well and there may be slight upward pressure on values in that small price band. We had one of our best months of the year in October, believe it or not, after a lackluster spring/summer.

Where ever you plan to spend Thanksgiving this year, we would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday!

Two months ago a wrote about an experiment. I thought my home's value in Zillow was low and noticed they had erroneous property information. I claimed ownership of the house and edited the info, promising to report back as to what effect this had on my Zestimate. Nothing changed. It did not go up--and in fact the information is back to being wrong!

I am going to give Zillow a second chance. I do understand what happened. Zillow cancelled my personal account because of conflicts with my business one and along with it went the changes I made a few days prior. My wife is helping me. She created a user account and made the changes. I'll set myself a reminder to look at the value in 6 weeks and report any improvement, or lack thereof.

The other day I got to talking to a friend, Greg Horn, who builds docks. His company is Pacific Dock Builders, LLC. Greg lives and works primarily in Lakewood, which is Shangri La if you are a dock builder because wherever you are in Lakewood you’re near a lake. He estimated that two out of every three homes on Lake Steilacoom, for example, have a dock, many of which are in pretty sad shape because they were not built to last. The docks Greg is building today will be here 40 or 50 years, and the steel pilings they sit on at least twice that long. For the decking, Greg recommends TimberTech, a durable decking product that also resists slipping. Typical docks are 8 feet wide and about 30 feet long. They can run from $10,000 to $20,000.

Docks are an investment, both in your own personal enjoyment and in your property’s value. You want a dock to function well, look good and last a lifetime. I believe it makes sense to do it right. Here are some examples of the docks that Pacific Dock Builders has built. If you would like to get in touch with Greg Horn, let me know. Let me also take this opportunity to tout a beautful home that our team is offering on Lake Steilacoom. It does not have one of Greg's docks at present, but it does feature an Aqua-Lift, which is handy for keeping the underside of your boat clean. Here is a link to the virtual tour: Lakefront home offered at $550,000.