3806 Sunset Beach Dr NW, Olympia 98502 Waterfront home waiting for you on Sunset Beach! This beautiful home features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Master bedroom features 5 piece bath and a sauna, huge closet. This home offers a sun room and an extra rec room. Huge laundry room. Living room is open and features a gorgeous gas fireplace with wonderful of the inlet! Huge garage, with great attic space for storage. Come see this home today!    Shannon Newell   Keller Williams Downtown Sea   1100 Dexter Avenue N, Ste 275 Seattle, WA 98109   12/22/2015

Finally!  My bathroom remodel project is finished! We purchased a Craftsman-style house a couple of years ago but it had a very Victorian hall bath with a claw foot tub, lots of heavy wainscoting, a pedestal sink with no storage and a classic black and white tile floor.  Not only did this not fit the style of the rest of the house, it was unusable as a typical bathroom. Besides the lack of storage and counter space, the claw foot tub was a morning death-defying act just trying to get in and out of it.But the worst part was the shower lining. Since there was no tile surround, the entire shower was enclosed with the curtain and lining. And for some reason, some type of heat vortex was created and the lining on all sides would collapse and engulf the poor shower-taker.  It was like taking ... 12/21/2015

How to donate Fred Meyer's money to your favorite local charity is so easy when you use your Rewards card! I discovered that there is a really, really easy way to donate to my favorite local charity, the Senior Services for South Sound here in Olympia, WA, and it's FREE! If you shop at Fred Meyer, visit https://www.fredmeyer.com/topic/fred-meyer-community to link your Rewards card.   Most everywhere you shop, you probably have some type of rewards card in your wallet to get discounts or points, but with a Fred Meyer Rewards Card, you can link that card to your favorite charity.  Just by shopping, you will be accumulating "points" to that organization.  Quarterly, Fred Meyer will make a donation to the charities based on the accumulated spending of the Rewards shoppers who have linked th... 12/08/2015

Every year, my brokerage Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty in Olympia, WA participates in the Salvation Army Bell Ringing to raise money to support Thurston County residents who need help the most.  In fact, 96% of the donations raised will go directly to families in Thurston County. Our brokerage had Realtors volunteer from 10 AM to 6 PM on December 4, 2015 at the Cleveland Avenue Safeway in Olympia, WA.  We sang, wished everyone a Merry Christmas, handed out candy canes, and even helped wrangle a few shopping carts for shoppers! (Stay tuned for the final tally of what we were able to raise in a day.)  But this year, we added a twist!   Not only RINGING but SINGING!We have a very talented group of Realtors in our brokerage who have the gift of beautiful singing voices. So we put... 12/05/2015

Here is the Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes WA real estate market update for September 2015. Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes real estate market snapshot.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all!  All the numbers look great for the Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales is up. Inventory numbers have improved.  Between the buyer activity and the fewer listings on the market, this has pushed this market into a strong seller's market. Number of listings has improved with fewer homes on the market, leaving buyers with fewer choices and sellers with less competition. What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market has improved and is still impr... 11/01/2015

Here is the East Olympia WA real estate market update for September 2015. East Olympia real estate market snapshot. As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all! All the numbers look great for the East Olympia area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales is up. Inventory numbers have improved.  Between the buyer activity and the fewer listings on the market, this has pushed East Olympia into a strong seller's market. Number of listings has improved with fewer homes on the market, leaving buyers with fewer choices and sellers with less competition. What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market has improved and is still improving for sellers, who are able to sell their home and in many cases, seeing a profit.Buyers should be prepar... 10/29/2015

Here is the South Olympia WA real estate market update for September 2015. South Olympia real estate market update.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all! All the numbers look great for the South Olympia WA area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales is down slightly - off by 10 sales. Inventory numbers have improved.  Between the buyer activity and the fewer listings on the market, this has pushed South Olympia into a strong seller's market. Number of listings has improved with fewer homes on the market, leaving buyers with fewer choices and sellers with less competition.  What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market has improved and is still improving for sellers, who are able to sell their home and in many cases, see... 10/29/2015

Here is the North Olympia WA real estate market update for September 2015. North Olympia real estate market snapshot.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all! All the numbers look great for the North Olympia area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales is up. Inventory numbers have improved.  Between the buyer activity and the fewer listings on the market, this has pushed North Olympia into a strong seller's market. Number of listings has improved with fewer homes on the market, leaving buyers with fewer choices and sellers with less competition. What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market has improved and is still improving for sellers, who are able to sell their home and in many cases, seeing a profit.Buyers should be p... 10/29/2015

Here is the West Olympia WA real estate market update for September 2015. West Olympia Real Estate Market Snapshot.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all!All the numbers look great for the West Olympia area! Sales Prices are up slightly. Number of home sales are up significantly. Inventory numbers are stable.  West Olympia is right on the cusp of a seller's market. Number of listings has improved with fewer homes on the market, leaving buyers with fewer choices but sellers have less competition.  What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market has improved and is still improving for sellers, who are able to sell their home and in many cases, seeing a profit.Buyers should be prepared to make decisions quickly, be willing and ab... 10/23/2015

Here is the Delphi / Black Hills WA real estate update for September 2015. Delphi / Black Hills Real Estate Market Snapshot.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all! All the numbers look great for the Delphi / Black Hills area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales are up. Inventory numbers and number of homes listed for sale are improved.  This is great news for sellers.  Sellers have less competition but buyers have less inventory to choose from. With 3 months of inventory, the Delphi / Black Hills area sellers are in a seller's market.  (A sellers' market is 0-3 months of inventory.)  This is a huge improvement when at the bottom of the market, the inventory was 52 months!  What does all this mean? In a nutshell, the market ... 10/22/2015

Here is the Summit Lake / Steamboat Island WA real estate market update for September 2015. Summit Lake / Steamboat Island WA real estate market snapshot.  As fall approaches, the market is still going strong.  These market stats are not SCARY at all! All the numbers look great for the Summit Lake/Steamboat Island area! Sales Prices are up. Number of home sales are up. Inventory numbers and number of homes listed for sale are improved.  This is great news for sellers.  Sellers have less competition but buyers have less inventory to choose from. With 3 months of inventory, the Summit Lake / Steamboat Island area sellers are in  a seller's market.  (A sellers' market is 0-3 months of inventory.)  This is a huge improvement when at the bottom of the market, the inventory was 95 months!  Wh... 10/21/2015

 Photo courtesy of  Olympia Lacey Tumwater Visitor and Convention Bureau Olympia isn’t just the capital of Washington state: It’s a family-friendly enclave offering up a great food scene, thriving arts & culture community, outdoor recreation, and affordable homes.Here are a few reasons why you should make Olympia your home.Legit foodie scene.Mobile wood-fired pizza from Stone Creek Wood Fired Pizza? Tasty sandwiches at the Fifth Avenue Sandwich Shop? Or maybe head to the Iron Rabbit for a bacon and gorgonzola burger with a side of garlic fries? Yes, please!Thriving center for fine arts & culture.Film, theater, and fine arts are represented and supported by venues like The Olympia Film Society - who will be hosting their 32nd annual Olympia Film Festival from November 6-15, 2015 - and th... 10/12/2015

The Olympian, the local newspaper here in Olympia, WA was kind enough to stop by my open house this last weekend at #Campus Highlands in Lacey and interview me and potential buyers about the real estate market.  Click here to read The Olympian article by Rolf Boone. This is one of the photos from The Olympian The market here in the Olympia area (Tumwater, Lacey and Thurston County overall) is still going strong.  More to follow on that in the coming weeks with my formal quarterly report, but the good news for buyers and sellers is that both are realizing gains and deals. It's not too late for buyers to jump in the market, and for sellers, you can list now - you don't have to wait until the spring.  This fall 2015 is looking to be just as strong as earlier months this year. If you are re... 10/07/2015

The 2015 Sand in the City event in Olympia WA was, I think, one of the best years of the event!  And our brokerage, Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty won the People's Choice Award!  Here's our winning entry.   Sand in the City is an annual event in downtown Olympia.  This year, as in past years, the event was held at the Hands on Children's Museum, and donations at this event help fund the museum's free and reduced admission program. Many of my Realtor-colleagues participated in designing and building this year's winning entry.   See all the sand sculptures from 2015's Sand in the City here. This annual event goes on for several days and includes lots of kids activities at the museum with discounted admission, face-painting, games, exhibits, crafts, live music, food, and even a Z... 08/26/2015

Marathon Park, located in downtown Olympia WA, is a great place to start your walking tour of downtown Olympia, Capitol Lake, the Capitol Campus, and the waterfront.  The park was named Marathon Park when in 1984 it hosted the trials for the first women’s Olympic marathon for the 1984 summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  The trials started and ended at this park.  As you walk along the trail, you will have views of Capitol Lake and all the wildlife, a bridge over the water to stop and see downtown Olympia, and this train trestle, which is still in use. Marathon Park has free parking and no Discover Pass is required, and restrooms are available.Here is the large grassy area next to the parking lot and the lake where you can enjoy a quiet picnic.What I like most about Marathon Park is that it... 08/25/2015

The McLane Creek Nature Trail located between West Olympia and Tumwater offers a flat 1.5 mile loop trail.  I enjoy trails that I don’t have to carefully watch my step but instead can enjoy the sights and sounds.  McLane Creek is one of those trails that is very well maintained with lots of boardwalks and viewing outposts.  There is an inner loop trail that goes around the pond, and then the outer loop portion goes through the dense forest.  I recommend doing a figure eight to explore it all.  What you’ll see:On my trips here during the summer, I saw turtles, ducks and many other birds, frogs and salamanders in the pond.  Cattails wave in the wind, breaking the near silence of this serene spot.  Lots of pond lilies, skunk cabbage and other pond vegetation grow prolifically.  Dotting the... 08/17/2015

Here is the Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes WA real estate market update for June 2015. Why live here?Southeast Thurston County features some beautiful lake front properties and communities such as Lake St. Clair, Pattison Lake, Kelly's Corner and Sunwood Lakes. Residents in this area can also get larger parcels for horses at Evergreen Valley, new construction, and late-century homes.Schools: Many residents are in the North Thurston School District and Yelm School District.Search homes for sale in Lake Saint Clair, Pattison Lake, Sunwood Lakes WA. Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes real estate market snapshot  Sales Prices continue to rise steadily in the Lake Saint Clair / Pattison Lake / Sunwood Lakes area, and increasing at a sustainable pace.With 3 mon... 08/08/2015

Here is the East Olympia WA real estate market update for June 2015. Why live in East Olympia?East Olympians enjoy a variety of home choices - from the gated golf community of Indian Summer to larger parcels suitable for horses to lake front homes on Hewitt Lake. Residents enjoy biking and walking on the Chehalis-Western Trail, Lattin's Country Cider Mill and Farm, and floating down the Deschutes River on a hot summer day.Find homes for sale in East Olympia.Schools: Many residents in this area are in the North Thurston School District and Tumwater School District.   East Olympia real estate market snapshot  Sales Prices continue to rise steadily  in East Olympia.  These are healthy gains and not unsustainable.With 2 months of inventory, East Olympia is enjoying a seller's market.  (A se... 08/06/2015

Here is the South Olympia WA real estate market update for June 2015. Why live in South Olympia?South Olympia is considered a desirable part of Thurston County by its residents.South Olympians have lots of sidewalks and biking paths, and many enjoy the amenities of the YMCA, which has an indoor swimming pool. Ward Lake and Chambers Lake offer lakefront homes and water activities, while the Carlyon neighborhood offers a mix of mid-century and older vintage homes. Watch my walking tour of the South Capitol neighborhood: Schools: Many residents covet the Olympia School District, especially Olympia High School. There are residents in this area who belong to the Tumwater School District.Types of homes: South Olympia offers a mix of new construction, mid-century as well as vintage homes. Sear... 08/05/2015

Here is the North Olympia WA real estate market update for June 2015. Why live in North Olympia?North Olympia beckons home-dwellers who are inspired by vintage homes, some of which are on the Historic Registry. This area includes the Capitol Campus, downtown Olympia, Bigelow, East Bay and East Olympia Hill. Homes in this area range from the majestic homes of Olympia's original pioneers to the more modest homes built for the pioneering sawmill and port workers.Some homes offer water and Capitol views, and many residents enjoy being able to walk to the Capitol, downtown Olympia and the waterfront.Schools: Many residents in this area are in the Olympia School District and North Thurston School District.Types of homes: Vintage! Search North Olympia homes for sale.    North Olympia real esta... 08/05/2015