Seattle Afloat: Seattle Houseboats - Floating Homes On Lake Union: October 2009

Eastlake is interesting because although there are single family traditional homes, most of them don't come up for sale very often.  That has been the case for the last six month of sales and also for the current Eastlake homes for sale that are available now.  Excluding Eastlake condos, single family Eastlake homesare comprised of mostly townhouses, then houseboats, then regular single family traditional homes. Eastlake Townhomes have been the dominating factor for single family residential in this Seattle neighborhood recently.

Current Eastlake Homes for sale:

There are currently 25 Active or Contingent homes available in the NWMLS in the Eastlake Neighborhood.  24 of them are Active and 1 Townhouse on Minor Ave E is listed as Contingent.  Out of these 25 Eastlake homes, there are only really three traditional historic Seattle homes-historical and not floating because we all know that houseboats are extremely historical.  Speaking of Seattle houseboats, there are three available in Eastlake right now that are Active. The other 19 Active listings are for townhomes or very townhome like homes.  You can see this is a major part of the market!

Eastlake Homes Moving!

There are 8 Eastlake homes in escrow right now marked as some type of Pending status in the MLS - four townhomes, 3 floating homes, and one home which is probably a tear down on Louisa right behind Louisa's Bakery.  It is pending feasibility right now because the prospective buyers probably need to find out if the height restriction on one portion of it will work for their building plans (this history on that one is kind of cool).

Eastlake sales:  There have been 13 in the last six months that have closed. Houseboats and townhomes are really driving that number with 6 closed Seattle houseboats and 6 closed townhomes in the last six months!  One 1921 little cutie sold as well - a traditional single family residence with 1 bedroom and 1 bath.. more townhomes there?  I hope not - it was so cute!

If you are interested in Eastlake real estate we are happy to help you find your perfect Lake Union home! 

Seattle houseboats:  Got storage?  On a recent tour through some of the Seattle floating homes in Eastlake, I decided to take a picture of one of the creative storage solutions.  Seattle houseboaters are creative by nature - I have seen cute little vegetable gardens in old floating dingies and tires, but storage is always a problem living in tight quarters.

Seattle floating homes storage issues...

Imagine just painting a room and having a few inches of paint left in the can.  Most of us would throw it in the garage for touch ups, but storage is a true premium in the Seattle houseboats community.  One well loved houseboater, Terry Pettis is remembered for his statement about having to get rid of an old pair of shoes when you got a new pair.

Because storage is at a premium in Seattle's floating home community, I thought it would be cool to show you one of the solutions that a Seattle houseboat owner came up with.  See the wood stairs?  Look pretty normal, right?  But do you see the tiny little hinges?

Look closely....

See them?

Smart Houseboat!  Okay, so let's see how this works... hmmm...  Very cool.  The stairs are the garage.  All the things I would think of to store in the garage - tools, etc. are in the stairs!  Each individual stair opens up to reveal a compartment for storage.

This is just another ingenius find in the Seattle floating home community. If you have a storage secret from your floating home, I would love to see it!

Another reason to love this ultimate Seattle waterfront homes living situation!!!!

Got storage?

Lake Union Waterfront:  Lynn Street Park in Eastlake Seattle WA

Seattle has a lot of parks and the Eastlake neighborhood is no exception.  The Eastlake Community has been really great about setting aside open space for the public - even if in tiny spots so that everyone who loves this neighborhood can enjoy Lake Union. 

 Lake Union Waterfront:  Lynn Street Park is no exception and a wonderful spot to rest and watch the lake go by.  It is located at the base of Lynn Street at the intersection of Fairview and Lynn right in the heart of the Seattle floating homes community. There is a nice artsy feel to this one and a great little rough boat launch for your kayak. It is pretty much across the street (kitty corner) from Pete's which is arguable the best wine shop in Seattle and a favorite grocery for locals.  Come down and take a peek at this great spot - stop in to Pete's for a sandwich and enjoy the shores of Lake Union in the Eastlake portion of town! 

Want more info on Seattle houseboats, Eastlake real estate, or other parts of Seattle real estate?  We are happy to help!

***I took these pictures on a wintery day last year - everything was so blue!

 Eastlake Floating Homes are just one of the Eastlake Seattle WA sites on the Lake Union Loop:  Officially the Cheshiahud Loop, this historic trail circles Lake Union including the Seattle neighborhood of Eastlake.

 Walking around Lake Union: We walked through the Eastlake portion of it last month after showing Eastlake Townhomes and houseboats.  I decided to take a few pix along the way.  The route is marked, but nothing at this point as easy as walking around Green Lake (putting the distance differences aside).  It is just more urban and street based.  Here Is one of the "trail" markers.  I also got a great shot of Gas Works Park looking West. The Aurora Bridge is in the background over Lake Union.

  Seattle houseboats on the Lake Union Loop: Peeking through the boats is the first glimpse of Seattle floating homes in Eastlake.  You can find out more about these on my Seattle houseboat blog as well if you are interested: SeattleAfloat.com is a great central place for houseboats around Seattle including Eastlake floating homes, Westlake floating homes, and Portage Bay (including the University District docks on Boat Street).   If you are looking for information on what I consider the ultimate Seattle waterfront living situation, then a floating home might be for you!

 Seattle floating homes in Eastlake - more peeks at this Seattle lifestyle! The water was pretty calm this day and overall it is calm - especially for the floating homes that are docked closer to shore. The closer to shore you are the less you feel the movements of Lake Union. 

Lake Union Moorage:  Look at all the boats, too!  Free moorage usually comes with floating homes - free moorage right next to the side of your houseboat!  Each dock is different and each house is different, but what a perk!

Are you interested in Seattle houseboats or other Seattle real estate?  Let us show you the Eastlake Floating homes for sale on the Cheshiahud Loop!  Lake Union homes are amazing!

Seattle Houseboats:  Looking for a 2009 Seattle floating home update?  Houseboats in Seattle have actually sold pretty well this year.  Seattle's floating homes have weathered much of the lending issues associated with other homes because they have always been tricky for financing - requiring more money down, etc.  Despite this fact, there have been some very affordable floating homes in the Seattle real estate market this year.

Seattle Houseboats:  Current Numbers:  According to the numbers I just pulled out of the MLS, there are 18 Active Listings for Seattle houseboats.  Not all of these are floating homes, though.  Seattle houseboats is a broad term used to generally describe vessels, barges, and floating homes. Seattle floating homes are the only true residential category here. The active houseboat listings range in price from $60,000 for a vessel to $2,490,000 for an elaborate floating home.  The average price is $515,211 and the median is $349,450.  The average days on market for these is 157 days.  There are some nice choices in both Lake Union floating homes and Portage Bay.

You can find active Seattle houseboat listings here:

Seattle Houseboats

There are 5 Pending houseboats for sale right now in Seattle.  These range in list price from $149,000 to $2,200,000 with a median of $795,000 and average days on market of 116 days.

Seattle houseboats sold in the last six months: 14 of them!  They range from $48,000 - again for a vessel to $1,350,000 for a floating home (these are the final sales prices).  The average sales price was $550,175 and the median was $491,750.  The average days on market for these houseboats that sold was 87 days!

Are you interested in buying a Seattle houseboat?  We are happy to show you around some of our favorite neighborhoods in Seattle!

Even though this post is written for Virginia Waterfront property, many of the same things apply to Seattle waterfront living so I wanted to post it because it is good info and well written!  Seattle Waterfront homes including Seattle houseboats require special attention.  This is a great list: