Visiting River Maiden Coffe shop - 10/31/08 10:36 PM
Umm, Umm, Good Coffee! Beyond Good One of my three most favorite coffee shops in Vancouver, Washington is River Maiden Coffee, at 602 Devine Road, Vancouver  Washington. I was in there today. I'm on cup number two of my journey through their selection of three Ethiopian coffees. I was visiting my friend Stacy. It was her first visit there and I was pleased that she commented on what a comfortable environment it has. The environment is relaxed and that is a great reason to visit, all on it's own. The reason I like going there so much is the coffee. OMG!!! … (0 comments)

Greenwash - Is it deliberate? - 10/29/08 11:35 PM
Greenwash is a term that has come up several times in my awareness the last couple of weeks.  Greenwash is the term applied to companies, mostly, that are loudly proclaiming their green actions when their practices and culture contradict those green actions. So, generally, greenwash is a derogatory term referring to deceptive practice. I'm wondering though, isn't there a word for people or companies that think they're being green but aren't?I'm thinking of someone, like me, that uses a product that has been greenwashed, and doesn't realize we're rewarding bad behavior.  I'm wondering too, about green built homes that are designed … (0 comments)

Greener, more sustainable lifestyles in small steps - 10/29/08 11:45 AM
Getting Greener Everyday Will making your home greener increase its re-sale value later?
This is what I hope! I've been looking for the information that will help me help home owners determine re-sale value when they've green-upped their non-certified homes. That is how I ended up on the Green Home Guide website and wandering all over the place for 2 hours!
Got old tennis shoes? Maybe you already knew, but today I just learned that Nike has a recycling program for used-up sports shoes. How cool is that? I was reading the website and it seems like a marvelous program. I'm … (2 comments)

Losing my buyers to inattention - 10/28/08 06:36 PM
Well, I asked and they said... I worked with a young couple last year as their buyer's agent. They qualified for a loan and had some pretty specific parameters, so we were looking for the right house. Well, we put an offer in on one house but there was some confusion as to whether the home had septic or cesspool, and the offer got rescinded. It turned out the house had septic, but by then they had decided to put off buying for awhile.
Fast forward a few months... And yep, you guessed it: in casual conversation they mentioned buying a … (0 comments)

Monday Market, Vancouver, Washington - 10/27/08 12:18 PM
Monday Market Musings, Vancouver, Washington The ratio of active listings to pending listings is a bit over 7 to 1. This is a slight increase over last week's, and is about what it's been most of the last two months. This ratio is for the whole area (Vancouver north to Salmon Creek and Vancouver east to Washougal). Some neighborhoods and price points have different ratios. For example, half the homes in pending status were priced between $200,000 and $300,000. About 2/5 of the homes in pending status are up the I-5 corridor and east of 205.
Is Green Selling? Of the … (0 comments)

Monday Market Musings, Vancouver, Washington - 10/20/08 03:49 PM
Are we there yet? The current inventory for Vancouver, Washington homes appears to be about 12.7 months worth (meaning, at current rate of sales, and no new homes coming on the market, it would take 12.7 months to sell everything available today). This is the third month in a row. I've  seen pretty minimal movement in the ratio of active homes to pending sales, so could this mean bottom of the market? Alas, that's probably more wishful thinking than anything. At least we are nearing the date when people can finally stop holding off 'until after the election'. And perhaps that's … (0 comments)

Vancouver, Washington Monday Market - 10/13/08 10:57 PM
Monday Market Musings This Monday there is a slight increase in number of homes on the market. There're 544 homes in pending status today and 298 of those are at or under the $250,000 price mark. Of the 3873 that are available for sale, 1783 are in the price under $250,000. Recent statistics from a local title company indicated new homes sales are moving best in the $225,000 - 250,000 range. Average price per square foot of these new homes is $129, roughly.
I estimate the homes for sale that are identified as 'short sale' are about 600, and bank owned … (0 comments)

Walking Vancouver, Washington - 10/10/08 04:29 PM
Walking Vancouver, Washington Last month I was a volunteer 'trail counter' for Vancouver Parks and Recreation. It was a great experience, especially since the weather was great and my fellow volunteer is one of my personal local heroes. I spent a couple of hours learning more of her interesting life and talked to happy people doing healthy things - how great is that?
 
So, here's what the trail count reavealed (this was from multiple time periods, multiple locations): Total Counted: 1003 Weekday Counted: 412 Weekend Counted: 591 Total Bikes: 439 Weekday Bikes: 132 Weekend Bikes: 307 Total Peds: 530 Weekday … (1 comments)

Friendship Ball continues - 10/09/08 01:57 PM
Friendships keep rolling along I caught the friendship ball tossed toward me from Mark Hall. I've been with the same real estate office pretty much as long as Mark and his lovely wife, Janice. I've always admired them and I'm honored to have recieved this toss.
Friendships. Well, they are prized relationships in my life and I don't use the term lightly. Throughout my life, I've travelled to new locations often and seldom returned, so enduring friendships are especially precious.
Pam Kaveney was my real estate agent and became a great friend when I lived in Georgia. She is smart, professional, … (0 comments)

Green Values - 10/09/08 01:14 PM
Green at what price? How much more are you willing to pay to have a green certification for your home? Or to have a walkable location? Green and walkable?
Certainly if you're not green leaning the answer is nothing. But if you are concerned about having a less detrimental impact on the environment, or lower fuel and heating, or healthier indoor air quality, then what are you willing to pay if you have to pay more? Is it a percentage or a flat dollar fee?
 
I can take a stab at numbers - how much more are people actually paying … (0 comments)

Monday Market, Vancouver, Washington - 10/06/08 10:04 PM
Monday Market Musing Checking the general market numbers, looks like sales are slowing a bit since June. Homes for sale number about 7 active to every 1 pending. This is a change from a 5 to 1 ratio in June. It's a pretty steady decline, week by week. Interestingly enough, the under $200,000 range of home sales seems to be slowing (from 5 active to 1 pending to current 6 to 1 ratio) more. Does this suggest that sales stalled there or did enough homes just above $200,000 take price reductions to that price under $200K price point? Mostly it won't … (1 comments)

Kayaking in Lacamas Lake - 10/04/08 01:04 PM
Kayaking on Lacamas Lake Lacamas Lake, Clark County, Washington, is the lake I got my first kayak ride on. The prestigious subdivision, Lacamas Shores has grand homes, some even with breathtaking views of the lake. (By the way, there are 10 for sale at the time of this post). From the lake, we can see the homes higher up, but the walking trail that runs along the west side of the lake is part of a nice, treelined buffer.
My second trip in a kayak was in the smaller Round Lake, which is actually part of the Lacamas Lake. In my … (2 comments)

Clark County Trends? - 10/03/08 05:57 PM
Reading our local paper... We had fallen behind on disposing of the local paper, so that's probably the reason I noticed a possible correlation in trends report on Thursday, October 2 and on Friday, October 3. On the 2nd they reported bridge traffic over the I-5 and I-205 highways. On the 3rd, they reported marriage licenses issued. Here's what I noticed: the number of marriage licenses issued from 2005 until 2007 decreased from 228 to 186, then in 2008 they jumped to 238. Meanwhile, the traffic over I-5 has steadily decreased since 2006 and except for a small increase in 2007, … (3 comments)

Vancouver, Washington Weekly Market View - 10/01/08 11:33 AM
Is a flattened market a good thing? The Vancouver, Washington market has maintained a steady 12 months (give or take a couple of weeks) of inventory since March. Prices have continued lower overall. Is that the steady push of the inventory? Is this flattened activity a good sign when the rest of the economic world is in a panic?
The RMLS summary for September isn't out yet. In my own numbers tracking I see that the ratio of pending to active listings over the last two months has worsened, so I expect that will be reflected in a slight increase … (1 comments)

Vancouver, Washington Weekly Market View - 10/01/08 11:31 AM
Is a flattened market a good thing? The Vancouver, Washington market has maintained a steady 12 months (give or take a couple of weeks) of inventory since March. Prices have continued lower overall. Is that the steady push of the inventory? Is this flattened activity a good sign when the rest of the economic world is in a panic?
The RMLS summary for September isn't out yet. In my own numbers tracking I see that the ratio of pending to active listings over the last two months has worsened, so I expect that will be reflected in a slight increase … (0 comments)

Vancouver, Washington Weekly Market View - 10/01/08 11:30 AM
Is a flattened market a good thing? The Vancouver, Washington market has maintained a steady 12 months (give or take a couple of weeks) of inventory since March. Prices have continued lower overall. Is that the steady push of the inventory? Is this flattened activity a good sign when the rest of the economic world is in a panic?
The RMLS summary for September isn't out yet. In my own numbers tracking I see that the ratio of pending to active listings over the last two months has worsened, so I expect that will be reflected in a slight increase … (0 comments)

Vancouver, Washington Weekly Market View - 10/01/08 11:28 AM
Is a flattened market a good thing? The Vancouver, Washington market has maintained a steady 12 months (give or take a couple of weeks) of inventory since March. Prices have continued lower overall. Is that the steady push of the inventory? Is this flattened activity a good sign when the rest of the economic world is in a panic?
The RMLS summary for September isn't out yet. In my own numbers tracking I see that the ratio of pending to active listings over the last two months has worsened, so I expect that will be reflected in a slight increase … (0 comments)

 
Lynn Krogseng (Keller Williams Premier Partners) Rainmaker_large

Lynn Krogseng

Vancouver, WA

More about me…

Keller Williams Premier Partners

Address: 915 Broadway, #100, Vancouver, WA, 98660

Office Phone: (360) 693-3336

Cell Phone: (360) 852-1165

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Market activity, ideas about living more sustainably (by being more 'green', walking more), and informing on places and events in and around Vancouver, Washington.


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