Are you curious about which homes sold last month in Leavenworth?

For most consumers, the view of the real estate market is skewed by asking prices. You get some idea of what the seller's mindset is by looking at real estate ads in the newspaper or picking up a flyer from the house across the street.

But what are houses really selling for?

Every month we publish a list of the houses that sold in Leavenworth. We publish a picture as well as a little bit of the price history so that you can see how much they had to lower the price and how long it took to sell.

Click here to see the houses that sold in Leavenworth in December 2011.

According to census numbers, Leavenworth is the only town with significant population loss in North Central Washington over the past decade.

In a recent story in the Wenatchee World they surmise that this population loss is due to rapidly rising housing costs during the real estate bubble (from 2004-2007 locally).

I don't know that I have seen any indications that is true other than anecodatal evidence. Leavenworth home prices certainly are higher than elsewhere, but we also have a very small employment base - much of it in the restaurant and hotel industry which isn't paying high wages.

You can read the full article here: http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jan/21/a-nice-place-to-visit-but-leavenworth-steps-up-on/

or Failure!

In my latest post for the Geek Estate Blog I tackle my three keys to real estate success.

• Nurture Leads
• Stay in Touch With Past Clients
• Keep Sellers Informed

We just published our year end review over on our blog.

2011 was a lot like 2010 for the real estate market in Leavenworth.

Homeprices were down trivially, but the number of homes increased by a hair.

The best news is that the over decline in house prices is much less than that in Seattle or nationwide.

Click here to read all about Leavenworth Home Prices in 2011.

REOs, Foreclosures, Bank Owned Homes, Short Sales - distressed home sales of every sort have been in the national media for years now and have dominated real estate headlines.

Knowing that these types of sales get all the press and that every home buyer would prefer to get the best deal possible, we write an annual foreclosure report that wraps up the past year's activity.

After looking at the numbers for Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee, I think you will be pretty surprised.

Click here to check out our 2011 Leavenworth Foreclosure Report.

Some Leavenworth homeowners might find that they could be getting lower rates on their homeowners insurance. The change is due to work that the local fire district did in revevaluating fire protection classifications. This mostly effects those residents with hydrants whose homes were just outside the city limits.

Thanks to Eric Kossian of Leavenworth insurance for the guest post on our blog and sharing with us these tips.

Click here to learn more about the change in Leavenworth insurance rates.

The Leavenworth Winter Sports Club is hosting their annual Ski For Health Day this Sunday at the Icicle River Trails next to the Fish Hatchery and Sleeping Lady. Participants can ski for free, try demo gear, and get free mini-lessons.

We have done this event in the past and it is a really great way to try out nordic skiing or to help a friend decide if it is something they might enjoy.

Get all the details about this free ski event here.

If you are in Leavenworth or Lake Wenatchee New Years Day you might want to check out Jim Sofie's New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim at Lake Wenatchee.

A hundred or so brave or crazy folks line up to jump in the Wenatchee River at Lake Wenatchee State Park every year. It's quite the festive scene and makes for interesting photography and/ or people watching.

Get all the details here:

http://www.lakewenatcheeinfo.com/2011/2012-jim-sofies-polar-bear-winter-plunge/

I have been writing a real estate blog for seven years now and every year I find a few more things I wish I was doing a bit better.

We have New Years Resolutions for our personal lives, why not our blogs?

In our latest post over at our Leavenworth real estate blog, I ponder new goals and new beginnings for 2012.

I'd love your feedback - what worked for you in 2011, what are you going to do differently?

We are proud to announce that once again we are sponsoring the Banff Fillm Fest on tour in Leavenworth.

This year the films will be shown at the Festhalle which will allow for a larger number of people to enjoy them. There will be a raffle for donated prizes and libations available from Icicle Creek Brewery.

Click below for tickets, dates and all the info:

Leavenworth Banff Film Fest 2011