Wells Fargo branch vandalized

Part of a pattern?

It was almost three months ago that the Madison Park Bank of America branch was struck by an arsonist.  In that incident, there was apparently no message left by the perpetrator, so it was unclear if the act was political, simple vandalism, or a botched attempt at extracting money from a cash machine.  In today's incident at the Madison Park Wells Fargo branch, the vandalism is perhaps a bit more straightforward.

According to KIRO-TV, which reported the story this morning, vandals smashed a window at the bank and left graffiti reading "No banks, No cops" and "Occupy! Oakland!".  Also spray painted on the building, KIRO reported, was an anarchy symbol.

The vandalism occurred on Sunday night or early Monday morning and, according to the Seattle Police blog, the damage was discovered by the Wells Fargo branch manager upon arrival this morning.  The graffiti was on the building's exterior doors, and the smashed window was near the doors.  The graffiti had been removed and the window repaired well before we arrived on the scene. The Stranger got there ahead of us (we hate it when that happens) and posted some shots of the actual damage, which can be found here. (We have a fairly strict policy of not stealing photos from other news sites.)

The police are requesting help from the public in tracking down the suspect(s).  Those with information are asked to call 911, the police blog noting that "anonymous tips are welcome."

[The Madison Park branch of Wells Fargo is located at 4009 E. Madison Street. Thanks to KIRO-TV photographer Jim Waltz for cluing us in to this story.]

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Madison Valley designer gets reality show gig

Madison Valley's own Lisa Vian Hunter has been chosen to appear on a new reality show, Fashion Star, which will air Tuesday nights on NBC beginning in March. Hunter has been a clothing designer and retailer of vintage 1950's and 1960's clothes for several years. With her husband, Scott, she established her clothing line, Vian Hunter, in the Bay Area in 2006.  They opened their retail shop in Madison Valley three years later.

Fashion Star, hosted by former supermodel Elle Macpherson, is designed to be a kind of American Idol for fashionistas (defined as avid followers of the fashion scene).  According to the Hollywood Reporter, "each episode will feature a fashion show complete with musical performances, dancers and models shot in front of a live studio audience. The contestants will be faced with a weekly challenge. Immediately following the episode, the winning designs will be available on the Web and in U.S. stores."

Hunter, who is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in San Francisco, was a finalist two years ago to be on the eighth season run of the popular Project Runway reality show, though she ultimately was not chosen.  This year when the reality-show producers came calling the outcome was different.

[Vian Hunter is located at 2814 E. Madison Street. Photo: John Russo/NBC]

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Fourth Quarter Real Estate Report 2011

Sales were level, but inventory is way down

Madison Park’s real estate market ended last year on a fairly positive note, with eleven houses and condos changing hands during the month of December.  That’s better than the overall 8.5 average sales per month during 2011, but it was not nearly the barn-burning performance that the market generated the previous December.  In that month, 16 sales occurred.  As it happened, however, that high yearend sales volume was not predictive of market performance in 2011.  In each of the first two months of this year there were only four sales.  As we begin a new year, the market will be hard pressed to do much better than it did last year, since the story right now is lack of inventory.

At this time 2011 there were 53 houses and 22 condos on the market in Madison Park, 75 total units.  Right now, the number of for-sale houses has fallen to only 30, and the number of available condos and townhouses is down to 17.  That means there are 47 residences currently available, a 37% decline year over year.  Based on the 2011 absorption rate (101 houses sold), the market now has only a five and a half month supply.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s currently available in Madison Park (Washington Park and Broadmoor included) as provided by Redfin, using information from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service:

Houses

Listings:  30
Median List Price:  $1,985,000
Median Sq. Ft.:  4,190
Median Price per Sq. Ft.:  $474
Average Days on Market:  91
Percentage with Price Reductions:  27%
New Listings:  10
Pending Sales:  5

Condos

Listings:  17
Median List Price:  $510,000
Median Sq. Ft.:  1,041
Median Price per Sq. Ft.:  $490
Average Days on Market:  179
Percentage with Price Reductions:  71%
New Listings:  1
Pending Sales:  0

The number of pending sales was down to only five as the year ended, compared to 15 at the beginning of the quarter.  The low number of pendings obviously does not bode well for an immediate uptick in home sales. The real test will come, however, as we move into the spring.  Some houses that were withdrawn from the market could return, and potential new sellers could decide to test the waters, increasing both inventory and market interest.

As has been true since the beginning of the downturn, there was a clear distinction between the median price of homes sold last quarter and the median price of those that remained on the market.  The houses that closed were, on the whole, much smaller and less expensive than those that did not.

This is what the fourth quarter looked like in terms of sales:

Houses

Sales:  22
Median Sale Price:  $1,264,000
Average Sq. Ft.:  3,215
Average Price per Sq. Ft.:  $429
Average Days on Market:  129
Average Discount from List Price:  13.0%

Condos

Sales:  5
Median Sale Price:  $319,000
Average Sq. Ft.:  1,321
Average Price per Sq. Ft.:  $455
Average Days on Market:  169
Average Discount from List Price: 9.7%

The median sales price of the single-family residences that changed hands, $1.2 million, was a full 36% lower than the almost-$2 million median list price of those that remained unsold.  The houses currently on the market are, in terms of the median, 30% larger than those that closed in the fourth quarter.  The largest residence on the market, a mansion in Broadmoor, has over 10,000 sq. ft. of living space, and 70% of the available houses have 3,000 or more sq. ft.

The most expensive house to be sold last quarter was a 3,150 sq. ft. waterfront teardown located in Washington Park (shown below).

Originally listed at $5,180,00, it sold after only 50 days on the market, but at a much-reduced $3,950,000.   The least expensive house was a 770-sq. ft. 1926 cottage located north of Madison Street, which had been on the market for 166 days.  It sold for $440,000, having originally been listed at $525,000.  Nine of the 22 house sales were under $1 million, and only three of the sales were for $3 million or more.

Condo sales, meanwhile, were at half the level of the same quarter the previous year, when ten units sold.  The most expensive condo sold in the fourth quarter was a $1.3 million unit in the Washington Park Tower.  The least expensive was an 825 sq. ft. unit next door in Lakeview Lanai, which sold at $232,500.

Finally, a note on discounts from original list price, which are currently averaging more than 10% for sold homes.  The vast majority of condos on the market have had price reductions since inception, with about a quarter of the houses falling into that group.  A “reduction from list” seems to be the norm, although one homeowner during the fourth quarter actually was able to score 104%-of-list at sale, and two others received 100%, one of whom realized his offer price after his house had been on the market for almost 200 days.  At the other end of the spectrum was the unhappy Broadmoor homeowner who took a 30.7% discount from the original list price, selling a Broadmoor house for $2,070,000 after 498 days on the market.

[Thanks to Wendy Skerritt of Windermere Real Estate for her help in compiling the sales data. Lower photo courtesy of Redfin.]

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Beautiful but treacherous

Bus route detoured

9:00 am: Freezing rain has complicated the already difficult transit of vehicles in and out of Madison Park this morning.  A driver on Metro Bus Route 11 just reported to us that E. Madison Street is in bad shape between 23rd Avenue E. and ML King Way.  As a result, the buses have been detoured to ML King Way, with a later turn up Union Street to Olive.  Unfortunately, there is now a bus reportedly blocking Olive, which may necessitate a detour of the detour he told us.

This is what Madison looks like at the top the hill at this point:

The condition of Madison Street through the neighborhood is not horrible, given that city crews have repeatedly used "plow trucks with salt spreaders" on the roadway, according to SDOT's roadmap.  But the street is far from being clear, with a good inch or two of unmelting slush in the best places, and ice, exacerbated by freezing rain, in the worst.

As we recommended yesterday, don't brave the streets right now unless you have a good reason to do so. It's still freezing out there, and you will have an unpleasant trek unless properly fitted out, both in terms of attire and vehicle.

Note also that snow followed by freezing rain creates dangerous conditions for those walking under tree limbs:

Just a few words to the wise.

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Send us your snow photos

If you happen to have taken any interesting or beautiful photos during the past few days of snow and wish to share them, please send them along.  As always, we appreciate submissions but reserve the right to "publish" or not.

[Upper photo by Adele Clancy; lower photo by Margo Spellman.]

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Snow day !!!

It began coming down sometime around 3:30 am, and since then the snow has not stopped falling on Madison Park.  At this point (8:45 am) SDOT reports it's just sent a plow truck down E. Madison Street, which is a second-priority route for snow-removal crews.  This is the scene (as captured on SDOT cameras) on E. Madison, looking west at 23rd Avenue E., the top of the hill:

Conditions look a bit treacherous, a fact confirmed by the Number 11 bus driver we spoke with, who described conditions on Madison coming down on her way to Madison Park as "not good."

People were definitely making it into the Park, but fewer cars were attempting an exit strategy when we checked the streets this morning.

As noted in our earlier snow posting, current information on cleared routes is available on the SDOT website, along with feeds from strategically placed cameras (though none near Madison Park), which can help you plan your route should you need to leave the neighborhood.  This is what the map (available on a real-time basis here) looks like at this point:

Routes shown in red represent streets where recent (in the last hour) plowing and salting have occurred.  A suggested route out of Madison Park might be down E. Madison to ML King Way (which was plowed earlier this morning) and then an intercept with another plowed street to get wherever you're headed.

Best advice on this end:  stay home and enjoy the snow.  Starbucks, Tully's, Bert's and the other neighborhood conveniences are open. And Mr. Washington was out diligently shoveling snow and putting down rock salt in front of the Scoop du Jour when we meandered by. He opens today at noon--and based on his experience in the last big snow, he's says he expecting to have a busy day.

Afternoon update (2:00 pm):  Madison Street is relatively clear and drivable all the way up to 23rd Avenue E., but from there on it is a bit more treacherous.  We drove straight up Madison to work this morning (in a four-wheel drive vehicle) and found it doable until we reached Sixth Avenue downtown, where all of the smart drivers turned onto alternative roads. On our journey we noticed a lot of pedestrians crossing against the lights in the face of oncoming traffic, as well as several drivers running red lights in order not to have to stop their cars on inclines.  If you go out, be watchful!

The U.S. Weather Bureau reports that Seattle received 2.5 inches of snow in the latest dump, and no more snow is expected from the recent storm.  However, overnight temperatures are expected to be in the 30's, so ice conditions on the roadways are likely for tomorrow's commute.

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Let it snow !?

Of all the City's neighborhoods, Madison Park is probably the very best one in which to become snowbound.  The "winter wonderland" setting, plus the combination of a relatively flat topography and the immediately accessible (for most) amenities, can make a few days of waiting out the snow here a rather pleasant experience.  During the last couple of days, with snow in the forecast, we encountered plenty of people hoping for the seemingly-unlikely possibility of being snowed in.  With the snow falling fast and furiously this afternoon and a couple inches of it already on the ground, a snowbound scenario looks a bit more likely than it did just this morning.  It's white out there.

If you need for some reason to get in or out of the Park, however, the situation now is becoming a bit more problematic. As of early this afternoon, traffic was moving slowly and warily on E. Madison Street in both directions, though there didn't appear to be any blockages.

There was very light traffic on Madison Park's side streets, and some of the traffic on Madison seemed to be related to quick trips to Bert's, Starbucks, and other essential destinations in "The Village." Neighborhood eateries didn't appear to be packing 'em in when we made our site inspections around lunchtime.

With tomorrow's Marting Luther King, Jr. Day a holiday for many (including the students of McGilvra Elementary), the need to be on the road will be lessened.  For those who must travel, assuming that today's snow accumulations are still on the streets tomorrow as expected, they should check the Seattle Department of Transportation's weather response map for details of street conditions (the map, incidentally, was not working for us when we tried accessing it this afternoon using multiple browsers).

And as we reported last year, Madison Street, at least in our part of town, is not considered a top-priority street for snow clearing purposes. It is designated a "Level 2" street, which means that when SDOT gets around to clearing it the standard will be one lane in each direction "bare and wet," which is all we really need.  Level 1 streets are indicated in yellow on the snow-removal map, with Level 2 streets shown in blue (click to enlarge):

The complete City map is available here.  Bus weather-alert information, meanwhile, is available here.  Note that the snow removal for Madison Park includes all of route for Metro's Route 11 bus.  And if you need help in the snow or want to volunteer to help others, please contact the Madison Park Snow Brigade (information available here).

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