Real Estate

The house that timber built

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012, 10:25am

Have a spare $6.4 million? Tacoma's historic Haddaway Hall and surrounding property is still on the market - for a good million-and-a-half dollars fewer than originally reported in October 2010...

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A vote for Old City Hall could win $10,000 for preservation

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012, 2:40pm
A vote for Old City Hall could win $10,000 for preservation

The discussion of the fate of Tacoma's Old City Hall is perhaps one of the most frustrating for Tacoma-lovers, who long for someone to do something, anything with the historic building to keep it from going the way of the ill-fated Luzon Building.

The building currently stands empty, more than a year after a broken sprinkler pipe flooded it with major water damage.

Now, help could be on the way, via a partnership between Dwell Magazine and Sub-Zero called "rethinking preservation."

Says the magazine:

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Website 'reorg' aims to make Pierce County permitting process easier

Submitted by Kiersten Throndsen, KOMO Communities Reporter
Friday, December 30th, 2011, 5:57pm

Hoping to make things a whole lot easier for web users - officials just launched a newly improved website designed specifically for permitting in Pierce County.

The Planning and Land Services site went 'live' last Friday.

According to county spokesman Hunter George, the goal behind the updated site is to make the permit application process online more 'user friendly' by focusing on the needs and wants of the customer, and shooting for a 'four click' rule - four clicks and you can get your answer. George admits they are still ironing out all the kinks but people visiting the site should see a difference.

"One of the largest home-builders in the region told us they submit permit applications in jurisdictions all over Puget Sound and said our new online submittable system is by far the best. They said we 'hit a home run' with approach and ease of use," said George.

The website also provides a new online tracking system, allowing applicants to know the status of their permit applications.

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Study: Tacoma set to lead nation in home price increases

Submitted by KOMO Staff
Thursday, August 11th, 2011, 2:34pm
Study: Tacoma set to lead nation in home price increases

The city of Tacoma is in the national spotlight this week after a newly released study projected it would experience the highest housing price increases in the nation over the coming two years.

Tacoma is among several Washington state metro areas that are expected to see well-above-average home price increases through 2012 and 2013, according to the study, released by Fiserv Inc. using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Despite the gloomy picture for the national economy and housing market, residents of Tacoma are in for a 25 percent increase in home prices by spring 2013, according to the report.

In addition, home prices in three other Washington state metro areas will be among the top 10 in the United States for the period from 2011 through early 2012. Those cities are Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Spokane and Olympia.

Housing prices in the Seattle metro area also are also expected to bottom out this year and began climbing next year, increasing by as much as 10 percent through 2013.

Washington state's projected robust price increases are in stark contrast to much of the rest of the nation, which is expected to see an average 3.1 percent drop in housing prices through early 2012.

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Tacoma ranks among America's 100 best places to live

Submitted by Halley Griffin, KOMO Communities Reporter
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011, 2:52pm
Tacoma ranks among America's 100 best places to live

Online real estate and relocation guide RelocateAmerica announced today that Tacoma ranks in its top 100 places to live in America.

The survey showed that the cities "are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven overall economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community leadership and overall quality of life are strongly considered."

This is the survey's 14th year in publication, and people now have until July 31 to vote for their city to rank in the top 10 best places to live in America.

Winners will be announced Aug. 2.

The survey notes that Tacoma residents "enjoy the area's prime location and natural beauty. With so many things to do, both indoors and outdoors, residents sometimes have trouble choosing how to spend their leisure hours."

Cast your vote here and help get Tacoma into the top 10. At the very least let's beat Spokane, okay?

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Scenes Inside the Shoremont

Submitted by Tom Raver, Contributing Photographer
Thursday, August 26th, 2010, 1:15pm

I took these photos on August 24 inside the deteriorating Shoremont Apartments.

You can see the black mold problem and the overall interior condition of the Shoremont.

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Clean-up in South 12th Street neighborhood set for Saturday

Submitted by Ray Marcham, KOMO Communities Reporter
Sunday, March 21st, 2010, 5:49pm

The city will be sponsoring a neighborhood cleanup on Saturday in the South 12th Street area on Saturday, and they are inviting everyone who lives in the area to help out.

The area that will be worked on is bounded by 7th and 15th between Cedar and Sprague, and the area bounded by 13th and 18th between Union and Puget Sound.

Volunteers and city staff will be at Franklin Elementary School at 14th and Lawrence to take junk that homeowners and renters have removed from their property, helping make the neighborhood cleaner.

There are items that they can't take, however.  They include business materials, normal household garbage, hazardous waste, dead animals, riding mowers, boats and vehicles.

If you'd like to volunteer or have more questions, call 253-289-6876.

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