Published December 2004

Real Estate Briefs

Wal-Mart buys land in south Everett
Wal-Mart recently completed the purchase of more than 22 acres of land in south Everett off Highway 99 for more than $6.5 million to build a retail center, according to Towne or Country Real Estate, which represented two of the four landowners in the transaction.

The store, expected to be at least 4.5 acres in size, will face south and be accessible from 112th Street and Highway 99, the real estate office said, adding that Wal-Mart plans to uncover and redirect a nearby stream that had been in a culvert since the 1960s.

Access to the Chevron Station immediately south of the project also will be altered but is not expected to impair customers’ access, the real estate office said.

Construction for the Wal-Mart store is scheduled to begin in the spring.

Costco begins clearing land
for store in Maltby area
Costco is finally clearing the way for a new store near the junction of highways 9 and 522 after an appeal against the project was dropped.

Demolition of vacant buildings, formerly home to an auto salvage company and a business park, began in early November.

Costco plans to build a 149,000-square-foot store and adjoining gas station on the 15-acre property. The reported value of the project would exceed $7 million.

In August, the Sno-King Environmental Alliance and other appellants raised questions about the store’s impact on traffic and drainage in the area. The alliance has been active in fighting the proposed Brightwater sewage treatment plant in the same area south of Maltby.

The Costco appeal has since been dropped, however. Corinne Hensley, a spokeswoman for the alliance, said it was becoming overwhelming for the group to pursue the Costco issue while also challenging the Brightwater project.

Monica McLaughlin, a Snohomish County planner handling Costco’s applications, said a grading permit should be issued soon. The county expects to issue a building permit for the new store once it settles right-of-way issues with Costco.

Housing inventory tightens,
condo sales soar
Inventory remains tight and prices remain on the rise in the Snohomish County housing market. That’s the word from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which recently released its sales report for October.

During that month, there were 3,831 active listings for single-family homes and condos, down 14.35 percent from a year ago; 1,444 pending sales, up 11.76 percent from a year ago; and 1,331 closed sales, down 8.46 percent from a year ago.

For single-family homes only, there were 1,203 pending sales in October, up 9.26 percent from a year ago, and 1,116 closed sales, down 12.68 percent from a year ago. The median price was $258,500, up 10.97 percent from last year’s median price of $232,950. The average number of days spent on the market was 53, five fewer days than last year.

For condominiums, pending sales soared in October to 241, up 26.18 percent from a year ago, while closed sales were up 22.16 percent from a year ago, to 215. The median price was $169,900, up slightly from last year’s median price of $168,225. The average number of days condos spent on the market was 62, eight fewer days than last year.

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