I was sent the following press release today. I used to work for Tacoma Goodwill so I can state with conviction that the organization is doing great things in the Tacoma area. Not only does Tacoma Goodwill help individuals in Tacoma it helps individuals in every community it has a retail location in. Currently Tacoma Goodwill operates 20 stores in Western and Central Washington.Another point of importance is the new building will be LEED Silver certified. This is excellent news as it shows that Tacoma Goodwill is taking seriously their responsibility to manage the resources that they manage.Text of Press Release is below.    Tacoma Goodwill Industries 714 S. 27th St. Tacoma, WA 98409 T  253.272.5166 F  253.627.1248 www.tacomagoodwill.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ¾ Nov. 27, 2007   For furth... 11/27/2007

Downtown Tacoma has had a boom of condo development during the past couple of years. Recently Prium has taken their Hanna Heights Condos off the market and converted them into apartments. These units feature stunning views and fantastic features.Want to try living in downtown but not sure you want to commit to a mortgage? Hanna Heights might just be the way for you to dip your toe into all that is good in downtown Tacoma.You can learn more by going to the Hanna Heights website. The site currently does not show the information on renting. You can also read more by going to Exit133.com  After you decide that living in downtown Tacoma is for you I am sure you will find a fantastic condo in the price range that you want. Best Wishes,Scott CowanRainier Real Estatewww.scottcowan.com 11/25/2007

I went through a great training and I did read a couple of excellent books on how to work with FIZZBOs. Well, I had an appointment today. I came early and I saw a sale by Owner signon my way there. I tried not to think to much, because otherwise I would be too nervous and afraid. So, I just stopped the car and walked to the door. Hello, my name is Irina, and I work for John L. Scott office in your area. Can I preview your home?I don't think the owner knew term "pre-view", because he asked me what does it mean.Well, two second later he was showing me around. We walked through all house, and he showed me photo album of photos of this home before he started remodeling, and how they did bring it to today\s look. His price was 20K over comparables. I had CMA on a similar home in his neighbor... 11/11/2007

 Lets bring it down to a Local Understanding Hello Mr. and Mrs. Consumer. Are you "Curious" about what is going on in your neighborhood? Do you know and understand the statistics being put on the radio and the local news programs? Unfortunately the local media tends to be very broad in the aspects of the real estate market. Which makes it tough to give you a honest prospective of your specific neighborhood. My goal as a local real estate broker is to sift through the local statistics and report monthly market stats for North Tacoma Neighborhoods, from a professional. I will use the information from our local Listing Service. I want to keep you informed of:  HOW MANY HOMES WENT UP FOR SALE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD HOW MANY HOMES ARE ACTIVELY FOR SALE. HOW MANY HOMES HAVE SOLD. WHAT IS THE A... 11/09/2007

For many years the East Side of Tacoma has been the domain of pimp, drug dealers, and lowlifes.   In recent months though, the residents have banded together to reclaim their neighborhoods, and to begin to establish new businesses and to renovate the homes of this area. From a price point the East Tacoma area is one of the most affordable areas in Tacoma. From a housing stock point the homes are working class homes with charm and character. Along with easy accessibility to downtown Tacoma, I-5, and shopping. the McKinley, East side of Tacoma has much to offer.  Recently in the Tacoma News Tribune there have been articles written on new businesses opening up. You can read a recent article here. Many discussions have been held on Exit 133.Com about the up and coming changes. You can visi... 11/01/2007

Historic Tacoma Lecture Thursday, November 8th October 18, 2007 In 2006, local historian Michael Sullivan presented part one of his fascinating commentary on the history of Tacoma and its built environment. He promised to entertain us with more, and we remembered. Please join us for an entertaining evening about Tacoma from the 1920s until the present. Knights of Pythias Hall, 926 1/2 Broadway 7pm *FREE* Call 253-591-2026 for more information. You can also visit the Historic Tacoma website by clicking here.   10/24/2007

If you are looking to move to Tacoma Washington I highly recommend you watch the two YouTube videos that are linked to this post.  This is the first one to watch. I found this to be very funny. If you are from the area you will really enjoy the humor that the video has. It reminds me of the glory days of "Almost Live" Which was one of the funniest shows that I ever watched. The second one to watch. The Sequel! Not to give away the story but I was laughing out loud and I am sure you will enjoy.   What does this have to do with Real Estate? Well, many areas have reputations. Are they deserved? If you are considering moving to Tacoma then I think you really need to learn more about our great city and the opportunities that abound here. Besides, look at the great sense of humor we have! Al... 10/15/2007

My firm does publish announcement for new agents in 6 local newspapers. This one is mine:We are proud to welcome Irina Fernandez to our team of Realtors. Irina has experience in interior design and a bachelor degree in Finance. She has lived in Minsk and the Boston area. She is a patient, smart agent with a good listening skill. Irina appreciates history and unique architecture and offers you her unique blend of artistic abilities and business smarts. You can read more about Irina Fernandez at www.johnlscott.com/irinafernandezHow many people actually do read those columns? I think I will keep it for my records, and when I will be 75 years old, I will show it to my grandkids. 10/11/2007

First of all, I have to ask sorry for all mistakes I am going to make in my blogs. English is my second language, and only for three years. So, usually I ask my husband to check all my writings. Well, I don't think he signed to be my personal secretary and I will try to do this blogs myself.Today was my first day when I had a buyer in my car.I used my supra key for the first time today too.  I showed three properties to my husband's coworker. I will just say, that the first two door that buyer had to open yourself, I didn't have much luck with hundred year old key locks. Then I think I made a thousand mistakes... like walking thought the door first...and saying honestly everything what I think about each house. Our first house was 5 bd, 1,5 bth, 4 floors (with non finished basement), 4,... 10/09/2007

October 12th and 13th are the dates for the 2007 Tour of Urban Living in Tacoma Washington. 13 Condos and 3 apartments will be available to people who are taking the free walking tour of downtown Tacoma living! The Tacoma Business Improvement Area Website has more details here. The tour is free! In addition on on Thursday October 11th. the second annual Block Tie Affair, an event celebrating Tacoma's urban pioneers is happening. Last year, there were more than 400 people! I hope to see many of you at the events this weekend!  10/09/2007

Finally, the Thea Foss Waterway Hotel will start construction in the next two months. Check out The News Tribune article for the complete update: http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/business/?cat=570The hotel will fill the gap between the new Esplanade condominiums being built now and Thea's Landing condos and apartments. There will be 22 condos available along with the 100 rooms in the hotel, two retail spaces and one restauraunt.Go Tacoma! This will make a great addition down there instead of the vacant lots and increase the enjoyablility of the waterfront continuing to make Tacoma a destination city. We shall see if it opens as projected in 2009. 10/02/2007

Tacoma Residential Real Estate Market Activity (As of October 1, 2007) North Tacoma (MLS Areas 13-25)Single Family HomesAverage Days On Market: 67Inventory of Active Listings: 353Average List Price: $419,650Average Sale Price: $363,641CondominiumsAverage Days On Market: 100Inventory of Active Listings: 136Average List Price: $325,630Average Sale Price: $275,905Central Tacoma (MLS Areas 26-30)Single Family HomesAverage Days on Market: 69Inventory of Active Listings:180Average List Price: $255,341Average Sale Price: $241,401Condominiums Average Days on Market: 169Inventory of Active Listings: 169 (yes, same number as ADOM)Average List Price: $380,554Average Sale Price: $319,019Tacoma (MLS Area 31)Single Family HomesAverage Days on Market: 63Inventory of Active Listings:44Average List Pric... 10/01/2007

If you are living in the greater Tacoma Washington area AND you find it important that historic homes, churches, and buildings are preserved, embraced, and promoted then Historic Tacoma is a group for you.This is straight from the Historic Tacoma website:We are dedicated to preserving Tacoma's architectural legacy through education and advocacy. Historic Tacoma advocates for the thoughtful preservation and rehabilitation of historic structures, sites, and neighborhoods, while urging policy makers, developers and citizens to consider the value and unique qualities of historic structures.By becoming an active member of Historic Tacoma you will have an opportunity to have a voice in our community on the future of our many historic structures and neighborhoods. Historic Tacoma is actively w... 09/29/2007

Tacoma's 2nd annual film festival is scheduled for October 4th through October 11th. Over 70 films will be shown at this years festival. More information can be found here. If you're in the Tacoma area I hope to see you at some of the movies! Best, Scott  Prices: $8 for adults $6 for children (0-12), seniors (62+), military or matinee shows. Matinee pricing is available for weekday shows before 6:00 p.m. or weekend shows before 4:00 p.m. Members of the Grand Cinema receive a $1.50 discount off of all prices   Opening Night --Thursday, October 4, 6:30 p.m. Tickets $15 Where: A.O.C Gallery (next to the Grand) What: The Opening Night reception is catered by Joeseppi's. A fun pre-film social event followed by the Opening Night screenings of local comedies South 5 – True Grit (10 minutes) an... 09/28/2007

The City of Tacoma's Community Based Services has taken aggressive action with new nuisance code regulations. Under the new code amendments the property owner in violation has 18 days from notice of code violation from the City's Code Enforcement to remove nuisances such as:· Litter· Overgrown Vegetation· Animal Feces· Parking Standards· Eviction Debris· Abandoned vehiclesIf the owner fails to remove these nuisances the City's Maintenance Crews do the clean up and bill the property owner for the service. So far 34 properties have been cleaned up. Community Based Services (CBS) was created to keep our neighborhoods thriving and to address and eliminate issues that keep them from doing so. The City has started with 4 neighborhoods to revitalized. These neighborhoods are:· Bryant/8th & I -... 09/28/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 31, 2007SEATTLE, WA. - Washington State based nwRealty.Net, Inc. today announced the addition of Turnkey Real Estate, Inc. to its network of real estate brokers, agents and affiliates.  The internet marketing for Turnkey Real Estate and the "Promotional Spotlight" of their listings and services is now fully integrated with over 64,000 NWMLS-IDX listings on www.nwrealty.com giving them the competitive advantage of reaching additional real estate buyers and sellers specifically looking for real estate in and around the Proctor and North Tacoma communities of Washington State.About Turnkey Real Estate, Inc.Located in Tacoma and with the supervision of Broker Craig Tuttle, their sales associates provide experience and top notch customer service, are members of th... 09/22/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAugust 31, 2007SEATTLE, WA. - Washington State based nwRealty.Net, Inc. today announced the addition of Northwest Properties Agency, Inc. to its network of real estate brokers, agents and affiliates.  The internet marketing for Northwest Properties Agency and the "Promotional Spotlight" of their listings and services is now fully integrated with over 64,000 NWMLS-IDX listings on www.nwrealty.com giving them the competitive advantage of reaching an additional 365,000 real estate buyers and sellers specifically looking for real estate in and around Tacoma, Washington.About Northwest Properties Agency, Inc.Located in Lakewood and founded in 1960 as a business dedicated to providing honest and ethical real estate services. This philosophy is still the cornerstone of the... 09/19/2007

August 2007 Real Estate Sales Stats for North TacomaFrom August 1st to August 30th, 2007, 16 homes sold in the North Tacoma from Proctor Street to Commencement Bay and Sixth Avenue north to Commencement Bay.  In 2006, there were 22 sales in the same period and same geographic boundaries.  2007 averages are as follows:Average Sales Price- $428,531Average Days on Market (DOM)- 86 daysAverage $ per Sq Ft- $226.26Average Sq Ft- 1967Low Sales Price- $290,000High Sales Price- $685,000Homes sold for 98.29% of their asking price.  09/19/2007

August 2007 Real Estate Sales Stats for Tacoma's North Slope Historic DistrictFrom August 1st to August 30th, 2007, four homes sold in the North Slope Historic District in Tacoma. In 2006, there were five sales in the same period. 2007 averages are as follows:Average Sales Price- $358,625Average Days on Market (DOM)- 110 daysAverage $ per Sq Ft- $222.13Average Sq Ft- 17058Low Sales Price- $310,000High Sales Price- $390,000Homes sold for 99.07% of their original asking price. Average sales price to assessed value ratio- 1.33136Range for sales price to assessed value ratio- 1.14650 to 1.49597Summary- It is still all about price, price, price. DOM is still in the triple digits. Of the four homes, the longest DOM was 219 days! Interstingly the most expensive sale of the month was the shorte... 09/19/2007

Tacoma Community Garden Tour Saturday September 29th. from 10am to 2pm. Take a self guided tour of six community gardens. There will be a buffet of locally grown, vegetarian finger food at Stadium Bistro after the tour. The buffet is FREE. You will need to RSVP by Sept. 24th. email info@tacomagardens.com or call 253-278-3709. Maps are available for pick up at any of the local farmers markets the week leading up to the event or on the day of the event at the Proctor area farmers market.  Tacoma Wheelmans Club is providing directions if you would like to bike the tour. For more information you can visit www.tacomagardens.com or read more here. Get out and enjoy or local harvest. Best,Scott  09/17/2007