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Renton, WA Real Estate News

By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Friday's Fotos: Where’s the Monitor? I just finished up an appointment in old downtown Renton last week and walking back to my truck I stopped to look into the windows of a few antique stores. It’s funny what comes to mind. Even though typewriters like this one were old and relics from another age,  they were still around when I was a kid. A number of years ago when my kids were in their preteens we headed to the PC Recycle on a Saturday to drop off some old computer parts and take a look around. My youngest, Paige, upon seeing an old IBM Selectric asked, “Dad, where’s the monitor?” :O) Today I’m thinking, “Wow, now there’s a keyboard!” As I pull out my iPhone 6 Plus and swipe the glass to get to the camera app...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Now that it’s daylight savings time it’s not so dark yet but the shadows are long this Monday evening (March 9th) as I pass Saint Anthony Parish in Renton on my way home at 6:30 pm. In just a day or two trees are blooming everywhere and the late light this evening seems to cast a glow on the fresh petals this beautiful cloudless evening. I’m looking east and there are another dozen trees or more just like this along the street behind me. The sun is just now dipping over the Olympic Mountains to the west and it will be dark in a few minutes. Funny, writing this Sunday evening, it’s raining cats and dogs right now and the wind is whipping up with a bit of a howl... That’s March in the Pacific Northwest! I love it! As the saying goes around here, this year anyhow, March just might be “in l...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
I swung by the Whistle Stop Ale House in old downtown Renton last Friday evening to see some long time friends. I got a birthday text from Dave on Wednesday with an invite, “Stop by and we’ll buy you a B’day drink. John and I and the guys will be playing from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Should be fun!” Normally by Friday evening I’m pretty played out and ready for some serious couch time. Like, “Yeah I crossed the finish line!” So glad I chose to go. It was the Whistle Stop’s 20th anniversary celebration. Tonight’s configuration was the John Giuliani Quintet with John Giuliani on bass, Andy Mirkovich on accordion, Dave Hoskin on drums, Bruce Hall on clarinet and tenor sax, and Jeff Wilke on guitar. I say configuration because they play all over the area with many other musicians and put a band tog...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
I was listening to  NPR's TED Radio Hour with Guy Raz. I love this series and one of my favorite episodes played March 6, 2015 titled, Solve For X. In one of the segments Roz is talking to Randall Munroe about using math. Munroe, trying to make math interesting to a high school class had an epiphany. It isn’t so much that math is beautiful unto itself, it’s the answers it can get you to... So in his physics class he asked his students, “How much energy did it take Yoda to lift Lukes’ X Wing out of the swamp (using the Force) on Dagobah in Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back?" This created an fervor and the class started asking how much did the X Wing weigh, what’s the gravity on Dagobah, how high did Yoda lift it and they rushed ahead of him to start solving the problem. I was never all ...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Hey Venus, Oh Venus... It's after work and just before sunset last Monday on March 2, 2015 and I'm driving up the hill into my condo campus at Sunset Ridge in Renton, Washington. It's been another beautiful early Spring day and the moon, just 3 days shy of full, is very big and bright in the eastern sky.  Then I turn right down my row. This day's been a long one (a Monday) and I'm so happy to be home. As I get settled the sun is dipping behind the hills and the Olympic Mountain Range in the western sky. I open my bedroom window in the back and then my deck door out front to catch the last few minutes of a fresh (almost warm) gentle late afternoon breeze to air out my unit.  When I look up I see this very bright light in the darkening sky. My thoughts run a list. It has to be a helicopte...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
If I wear a mask, what can I expect from social media?  I’m no Einstein, but it is my career teaching social media marketing everyday to real estate professionals for the First American Title Real Estate School of Washington. I also do a little moonlighting and teach an evening class at Bellevue College Continuing Education for small business entrepreneurs to keep my skills and perspectives fresh. It is one of my passions to peer into the future to see what’s coming. As the social web continues to evolve, develop, and mature I become increasingly aware of being (those age old and over used terms) authentic and transparent and I think it’s important to note if you want any kind of authority online, if you want to rank for your respective business niches, community, and expertise, if you ...
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By Colleen Fischesser Northwest Property Shop, A Tradition of Trust in the Pacific NW since 1990!
(NextHome Experience)
Renton Homes Sold in 2014 Residential Home sales throughout Renton, WA remained strong in 2014 totaling just over 1600 for single family units. The least expensive home sold went for $95,000 for a fixer on Talbot Hill. The most expensive was a property on the shores of Lake Washington which closed right at $3,000,000 in August. This was a new home built by Conner Homes in the Barbee Mill community. The average sales price for homes sold in 2014 was $393,843 and the average days on market which represents an increase of approximately 9.5% from 2013 when the average sales price was $359,628. Interested in what your Renton home is worth today? Find out here.
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
click to view full size image on Rene's Google+ Photos
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By Colleen Fischesser Northwest Property Shop, A Tradition of Trust in the Pacific NW since 1990!
(NextHome Experience)
Kennydale Home Sold and it's their first home!  It's always rewarding to work with buyers who are looking for their first home. Helping them navigate the process (and it is a process) to the point where we are turning over the keys is always a highlight of our week!  Finally, settling into their home, recognizing the short term incovenience of finding/organizing/scanning/faxing paperwork, arranging work schedules around showings, inspections, signing...was all worth it in the end!   This savvy buyer has traded a monthly rental payment for a monthly mortgage payment. His housing expense has been transfered from his landlord, to paying for his own appreciating asset. If you're thinking about buying your first home but are not sure where to start, give us a call or shoot us an email. We're...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Merry Christmas from 1956 with the Fabre's... I remember this day with so much fondness. In early mid November of 1956 with Mom and Dad, my brothers Steve & Terry and cousin James Freeman at John and Jane Giuliani’s to record... We’re making a record to send to Grandma and Grandpa Larson and all of our cousins that lived in Spokane, Washington as a Christmas present. Note: Mom originally had my name spelled, Renae, so it would not be mispronounced. Grandpa Fabre, a true Frenchman through and through finally got his way in 1958 and it was legally changed to Rene. John had a 78 rpm acetate platter home recorder. Place the blank on the turntable, turn it on, drop the needle on the platter and you're recording. No false starts, no editing, no do overs, no EQ, no overdubbing... You get the p...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Back in the day, growing up in Renton, I remember Sunday drives in Grandpa’s 1949 Chevy Businessman’s Coupe. Leaving the Highlands, heading east for Issaquah I’d see the sign, “Renton, population 12,000.” As it turns out, we didn’t need to move to the big city, it came to us. Renton is now about 100,000. Yet, depending on your vantage point and those of us who’ve been around these parts for a while, the small town is still there. If you look for it. I'm on an errand run earlier this week and drove through downtown what a delightful surprise it was to pull up to the red light at South Third and Wells... "Hey! There’s my old friend John Giuliani (standup bass) !" And a few other Rentonite friends on the sidewalk playing Christmas Songs! How cool is that!   Our families go way back. His da...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
As I'm going through this week and believe me, it doesn't escape me that the hustle and bustle of the holidays are in full force! Time is flying! It seems every 15 minutes the day is gone and it's time for bed. Then 15 minutes later the alarm goes off and OMG!, we gotta make this day happen! I think all of us in December experience a little of this kalideoscope of past, present and future. We contemplate life and loved one's and it takes us to many places in our heart of hearts. I was born in 1950 and most day's I have absolutely no issue with anyone knowing that fact. I promised myself a long long time ago (of course as a very idealistic young man) that I would be the very best there was at being exactly the age I was, no matter... It's not so much that December makes me a liar, but it...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
It was wonderful to have a little extra free time over the Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve been working on several different videos. Some for work, others just for fun. As anyone who plays with video knows, depending how intricate you’re going to get with clips and audio, it’s easy to edit yourself into a corner you can’t get out of. So I thought I’d share this one. It’s just for fun. It’s an animation of a drive through Renton. What I learned doing this was thinking ahead and planning the layers in a way that I’d apply a few effects and manipulations then render the video and re-imported it into my editing software. Once you make a layer you’re more or less stuck with it, but the results are a lot better because it’s a lot easier than throwing all your material on the timeline and trying to...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Back in 2010 our Renton Library, The Library over the River, became part of the King County Library System. Many of us Rentonites were quite upset over this because we lost control and the county wanted to close it and build a new library in the heart of downtown Renton about 4 blocks west of its current location. I’ve blogged about it a few times (see links below) and I was not happy about the proposed move. Long story short, it was downtown with no easy access parking lot. The Piazza would be next door, which is nice. It’s where we hold the Renton Farmers Market. But having the library downtown essentially meant it was now a single purpose destination. What I love about its original location over the Cedar River is that it’s adjacent to Liberty Park. I brought all of my kids here. It ...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
This was 15 years ago. We spent the day at the Puyallup Fair (The Washington State Fair) in Puyallup, Washington... We just had to stop by one of those photo booths and have our Pioneer Family photo taken. I am so blessed with wonderful kids. They’ve all grown up to be such talented wonderful human beings. Shannon, behind me, just moved to Post Falls, Idaho with her fiance Cameron. They lived in Kapaa on Kauai, Hawaii for a couple of years where she worked at the St. Regis Princeville Resort as a licensed massage therapist who specializes in Deep Tissue, Lomi Lomi and Swedish massage techniques. We’re all excited, Shannon and Cameron are getting married this coming September 6th. Shannon just opened her massage business in Hayden, Shannon Cox, LMT. She’s also an avid gardener, herbalist...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
I was making my usual Saturday rounds running errands, a stop at Fred Meyer for a few groceries, dropped off my shirts at the Renton Cleaning Center and a quick stop at McLendon Hardware to get a few things I needed for a weekend project. As I was walking back to my car I couldn’t miss this big ole’ tractor trailer rig in the parking lot representing the Teamsters Union, Local 174. There were a few members gathered around a table handing out pamphlets and their message was as it states on the side of the trailer, “Fighting for economic & social justice.” They were ready for engagement but I didn’t stop, in fact I had a sudden knee jerk psychic twitch that caught me off guard. You see, back in the day I had a career in music. It started when my dad told me if I was going to be a pro and ...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Throwback Thursdays... The Easter Shirt. Our first home was in the Renton Highlands, referred to by locals back then as 'the projects'. These little homes were mass built in the early 1940’s during World War II to house the families that moved here to build airplanes at Boeing... This was taken in the Spring of 1956 just before Easter. I’m wearing one of the shirts that Mom made for the three of us boys that year, just for the occasion. Funny, I’ve come full circle. My haircut and glasses look almost the same now as they did back then. Mom and Dad bought this little home in late 1951, early 1952. If memory serves me right they paid around $1,200 for it. In 1958 we moved across town to the Earlington Neighborhood on the west side of Renton.
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Dad'isms... The world according to Dad. A busy week and Friday too, but I took a few moments here and there throughout the day to think about my Dad and his upcoming birthday. He'd be 93 this coming August 18th. Then it hit me, "Geez, it's been 16 years since you passed back in 1998." How'd that happen! It seems so long ago and yet today more recent. Lost in thought I tried to articulate a few threads into something I could share in a post but the reality was I was attempting to write his story and that’s not going to happen today or in 250 or so words. Suffice it to say he was a small town kid of immigrant parents who grew up in the Great Depression. An accordionist in a blue collar town, he was off to World War II in the Army after high school. Then to England, the Normandy Invasion, ...
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By Colleen Fischesser Northwest Property Shop, A Tradition of Trust in the Pacific NW since 1990!
(NextHome Experience)
The Real Estate Market in the Renton Highlands area for the first half of 2014 has performed pretty much as predicted. A flurry of activity mid-Spring, putting pressure on prices and finally a slight leveling off to a steady point. Here's a snapshot of what's been going on for the first half of 2014*   For the first half of 2014 Sales have been as follows: Renton Highlands Sales 2014 232 Single Family Homes Sold Average Sales Price:  $456,605 Lowest Price: $116,323 Highest Price: $930,075 Average Days on Market: 52       Fun Facts: The largest home sold was 5206 square feet and the smallest home was 800 sqaure feet. The largest Lot size was 5 Acres 10 homes had covered parking for 4 cars AND 10 homes had just one bathroom   *These numbers reflect single family homes listed and sold thro...
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By Rene Fabre, Practicing Philosophical Eclectic of the Arts
(ARFCO Media)
Those of you that know me and my musings online know I like to write a lot about my local surroundings here in the Pacific Northwest. I also like to share technology and online resources I find and use and thoughts about the evolving social web. But over the past two or three years especially, my online conversations about people and places, local events and history, and my travels have produced the most interesting discoveries, engagement, and opportunities for personal and business connections. My conversations about the Renton Library, The Library over the River, got me a phone call from 93 year old David Johnston, formerly of Johnston and Campanella Architects. The firm designed and built many area schools, shopping centers, and commercial buildings. They won several awards for thei...
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