Kirkland’s Winterfest is Upon Us!

Kirkland’s Winterfest is officially here! There’s a chill in the air but the sun is out so it’s a perfect day to come down and get in the holiday spirit! There are plenty of great shops to visit, in addition to carriage rides, the characters from Disney’sFrozen, live entertainment, the Argosy Christmas ships, and of course the tree lighting coming up at five o’clock this evening!

The horse carriage rides are an absolute blast, as people are enjoying a unique lift around the city:

Don’t forget to stop by the Connoisseurs of Life Showroom for a photo with Santa, from 4 to 6pm! We got an early start down at Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty  yesterday with Santa photos that proved just as much fun for the kids as they were for the business owners!

Above: Owner and Vice President Stacy Jones spends some quality time with Old Saint Nick.

Below: The owners of Asher Goods, Matthew and Jerry, take a break for a photo with Santa.

Happy Holidays and we hope you’ll join us in Kirkland today!

Kick Off the Holiday Season at Kirkland’s Jingle Bell Lane on November 29th & 30th

The City of Kirkland Comes Alive for the Holidays!

Join Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty on November 29th & 30th in kicking off the holiday season at the Connoisseurs of Life Showroom in downtown Kirkland. We will welcome our visitors with giving trees, delightfully decorated spaces, a tree-lighting party, awards for the best business and condo decorations, the Snow Run, horse carriages, and Disney’s Frozen live characters. We are excited to transform an already elegantly decorated office into a winter wonderland!

Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty’s Connoisseurs of Life Showroom is located at 15 Lake Street, #200 in Kirkland.

Net “In-Migration” Increases Across Puget Sound

A look at monthly in-migration trends courtesy of Dupre + Scott reveals a 16% year-to-date increase in population flow to the Puget Sound Area.  The data set considers the total number of new drivers license applications and reduces by the number of residents that are returning their license seeking a principal residence in another state.  This means a high number of people continue to move to the Evergreen state, which leaves just one question: why?

Well, for one, the Seattle metro area is seeing growth, particularly in the form of high-tech jobs that are drawing millennials to the area.  According to a recent report by commercial broker Jones Lang LaSalle, six of the 10 largest office tenants in the region are in the high-tech industry.  They cite Seattle’s talented workforce, collaborative startup environment (with ample venture capital) and no doubt, the lack of a state income tax as being contributing factors.   Meanwhile Bloomberg named Washington the “most innovative state in the nation” for similar reasons.   Then The Seattle Times recently reported, tech-giant Microsoft eclipsed Exxon and became the second most valuable company in the U.S., despite its sometimes rocky past. The article says, “the Redmond, Washington company has earned greater cachet on Wall Street over the last 18 months. Its stock has risen nearly 70 percent since April 2013 . . . and hit $50.14 on Friday, its highest point since early 2000.” High in-migration levels may also coincide with the growth of Amazon, as the giant recently filed plans to build up to three more buildings just north of downtown Seattle, in addition to the campus it is currently constructing.

Given the success of technology-centric jobs in the area along with Seattle’s quickly heightening status as one of the coolest cities in the U.S., we can definitely see just why the Puget Sound Region is experiencing this heightened population influx.