Explore Olympia, WA

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 3
Olympia WA - one of many nature walks in the town. January 2020 in the Olympia WA (Thurston County) real estate market started off very strong with lots of buyer activity and positive equity gains for most sellers. The median home sales price in Thurston County is $342,787. The gains sellers are ...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 0
Every February, right around Valentine’s Day, Thurston County homeowners will receive in the mail a small postcard from the Assessor’s office with your new property tax assessment for the year. Most homeowners have their mortgage set up where the mortgage company collects property taxes in each m...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 4
 The Olympia WA (in Thurston County) January 2020 real estate marketplace is deep in a seller’s market.  With the low inventory and fewer choices for buyers, many sellers are seeing multiple offers and are receiving offers within hours of listing.  Most offers are over the asking price when buyer...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 1
 Coldwell Banker is proud to be a winner of the 2020 Women’s Choice Award The Women’s Choice Award is the only award that recognizes and identifies brands that women recommend. And with women being key in real estate, this is a tremendous honor. Did you know...... · 91% of homebuying decisions ar...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 1
 Here is the market at a glance for Thurston County WA, including the major cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater. 2019 was a strong year for our local housing market. Why was 2019 such a strong year for the Olympia area housing market?  1. Strong Regional Job Market and Low Unemployment 2. Relat...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 1
 January 2020 is starting out as the most robust seller’s real estate market we have seen in Olympia, WA in Thurston County.    There are currently less than 250 active listings for sale (a balanced market is about 1,200+ listings countywide). Thurston County is in the longest stretch of time in ...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 3
Starting January 1, 2020, many home sellers in Thurston County, WA will see relief in their Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) that they pay to the state of Washington when they sell their home. In the past, most areas in Thurston County were taxed 1.78% (1.28% state tax rate + 0.50% local rate) of th...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 6
  Here is this year's tree at the Capitol rotunda in Olympia WA. The 34-foot Noble fir tree is outfitted with toys and games, keeping with this year's theme of "Timeless Toys."   When I was there today, a group was starting a tour. If you haven't taken a tour of the Capitol and grounds, I'd recom...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 3
The real estate market in Olympia WA continues to grow and there aren’t signs that this trend will be stopping anytime soon.  This chart below shows the average gains sellers, who sold this year, are achieving from when they purchased.  On average, market-wide median home prices are up 8.6 percen...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 6
  The Christmas Forest held annually in Olympia WA is a not only a must-attend holiday tradition in my household but is also a worthy fundraiser for the Providence St. Peter Foundation.  The Foundation raises funds to support life-saving medical equipment, compassionate care, and Mission-driven p...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 4
 Visit the Capitol rotunda to see the state tree. Go ice skating Oly On Ice is a seasonal skating rink open from late November to mid-January.  It’s at the Isthmus Park between Capitol Lake and Bayview Thriftway (529 4th Ave W). See Ballet Northwest’s production of The Nutcracker at the Washingto...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 3
The holidays can conjure strong emotions and can lead to feeling down and blue during what is supposed to be a fun and celebratory time.  The shorter days and grey weather doesn’t help, either, and sometimes you feel like you just want to hibernate until spring.  But don’t do that!  Instead, the ...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 15
This Thanksgiving as we are sharing a meal with our relatives, sometimes heated discussions come up as the mashed potatoes and bean casserole are being passed around, including the popular topic of real estate.  Like me, you may have your own Aunt Trish who is an expert in ALL conversation topics...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 2
If you are considering selling your Olympia WA home but think you should wait until the spring of 2020, you may be missing out on a lucrative winter real estate market here in the Olympia WA area.  You may be thinking you just want to “get through” the holidays before even thinking about selling ...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 20
 I’m sharing this newest review from my first-time homebuyer clients because they were born connected to the internet and found out rather quickly the internet didn’t have all the information they wanted and needed.       When they reached out to me by email, I knew it probably took a lot of cour...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 2
This weekend, September 28-29th offers 94 open houses in Thurston County - from Olympia to Lacey to Tumwater to Rochester WA. There is a good selection of homes this weekend to tour, but if you can't make it to the open house or just want your own tour, call me! Let's buy a house this weekend! 

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 0
As we officially enter the Fall Season, there are plenty of fun things to do this weekend in Olympia WA. Here are just a few events you might want to check out this weekend.  Friday, September 27, 2019 Mama Mia! Broadway musical – The Triad Arts Theater, Yelm – runs through the end of September L...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 1
Most of us rate the fall as our favorite season, and there is good reason, especially when you live in Olympia WA.  Here are a few fun things to do in Olympia WA that should be on your Fall Bucket List!  Here are more fun ideas of things to do this fall in the Olympia WA area....  Get crafting on...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 3
Labor Day is over and the kids are back in school but is there ANYTHING to do in and around Olympia WA this weekend? Yes, there is!! Check out some of the fun events happening this weekend, September 6-8, 2019.  Friday, September 6, 2019 Mama Mia! Broadway musical – The Triad Arts Theater, Yelm –...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 4
Many homeowners who are considering selling their Olympia WA home are looking at the calendar, seeing the school buses back on the roads, sipping their pumpkin spiced lattes and are wondering if they missed the summer real estate market.  Put shortly, the answer is no.  And here’s why the 2019 fa...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 2
If you are planning to stay in town this weekend, you'll have lots of fun things to do in and around the Olympia WA area. I hope to check out a few of these events myself. With our clear nighttime skies recently, the Star Party and the UFO Fest look like a winning combination!  Earth UFO Fest and...

By Francine Viola, REALTOR®, In Tune with your Real Estate Needs
(Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty, Olympia WA)
Comments 2
Buyers in Thurston County, WA (which include Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and Yelm) are seeing higher home prices but are enjoying near-historic low interest rates, making homes more affordable now than last year at this time.     The average home price in Thurston County, WA is $371,323, up 4 percen...

Olympia, WA Real Estate Professionals