By MyNorthwest.com

When it comes to the holidays, we should all make friends with people in Bellevue. Residents in that city are expected to have the largest holiday budget in the state.

In fact, with an average holiday budget of $2,367, Bellevue takes third place in the nation for spending between now and Dec. 25.

Find Western Washington holiday events and more with this Holiday Map

Credit and finance website WalletHub which dove into its data to rank the holiday spending of the nation’s top cities — a total of 570 — between the middle of November and Dec. 25. Bellevue came in just under Naperville, Ill. with $2,381, and Sugar Land, Texas with $2,368. And because you know you’re wondering — at the bottom of the list is Flint, Michigan with…

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As we all prepare to celebrate the wonderful holiday known as Thanksgiving — aka, Turkey Day, over indulge just a little bit, and also bring our families near let us also remember... Being around your family can be just as incredible as it can be super stressful when you're trying to make sure everything goes according to plan for the holiday. So remember, they're family nonetheless, and they have many moments when they make you feel amazing along with those moments of stress. 

As a way of helping through those more stressful moments The Cascade Team would like to offer a few motivational quotes along with some fun Turkey Day trivia you can use to lighten any moment in need of "Breath or two and Zen-Like stress relief" 

1. "Be thankful for what…

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Please Join us for our 12th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in Snoqualmie!

Located at Railroad Park in Downtown Snoqualmie: 7971 Railroad Avenue SE, Snoqualmie WA

Saturday, November 25th at 5:00pm

Children of all ages will enjoy this special evening of community holiday fun!



Enjoy Cookies, Cider, Caroling and Live Holiday Music!
Watch for Santa's Arrival on a Reindeer Fire Engine
Free Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides
And, Free Pictures with Santa!

From 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 25, come to Railroad Park for an evening of caroling, choir music, Horse Drawn carriage rides provided by The Cascade Team Real Estate, visits with Santa and refreshments. Santa arrives to light the tree at 6:30 p.m. and then to visit with children.

Along with the Horse Drawn…

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While not in our 50's yet, my wife and I are about to send our two kids off to college in the next 6 months which naturally has us thinking; "Do we stay in our 4 bedroom home just the two of us?"  We love the home and location, but things will definitely be different without the kids. What home improvements might we consider?

Like us as we approach the nest phase of our lives, more homeowners are taking on projects that will allow them to age comfortably in their current home, according to the “2017 Aging in Place Report” from HomeAdvisor. But they don’t like the term “aging in place.”

Researchers, who surveyed those 55 years old and up for the report, found that many of these homeowners are completing projects that put more emphasis on…

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Even with early seasonal snow and the expectation of our usual seasonal slowdown October key housing indicators continue trend upwards.

  • Seattle, year-over-year prices jumped 17.6 percent.
  • On the Eastside, the median price for a single family home rose 10 percent from a year ago.
  • Buyers outnumbered new listings, with 10,586 of them having their offers accepted compared to only 8,466 New Listings further shrinking available inventory.
  • Buyers may find themselves in a quandary as the year winds down as they contemplate limited supply, possible upticks in interest rates and tax reform.

Pending sales rose nearly 8 percent from a year ago, closed sales were up 5.2 percent, and prices jumped about 8.2 percent, with 14 counties reporting…

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It's about to become nighttime a whole lot earlier as Daylight Saving Time ends and numerous Americans and people across the world will get an "extra" hour of sleep as their clocks change from 2 a.m. back to 1 a.m. on Sunday. For the world of Real Estate that means an extra hour of homes sales and home appreciation, but how did we get to the whole "Spring Forward" and "Fall Back" idea anyway?

SEE: 6 Benefits Of Buying Or Selling Your Home In The Fall

The clock will change back to Standard Time which the United States will follow until March 2018 when Daylight Saving Time will kick in again.

When you change your clocks or "fall back" an hour Sunday, Nov. 5, in the U.S., you will be following Standard Time once again which this nation has been…

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PumpkinsDoes “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat” ring a bell? No doubt, one of many adults’ greatest childhood memories entails dressing up on Halloween and collecting a pillowcase full of candy.

Kids all over the country partake in this one-night event, after weeks of anticipating the moment they can put on their costumes. For many children, Halloween serves to provide a first altruistic experience when they collect donations from the homes they visit on behalf of UNICEF or other charities to help undernourished children.

Since this is an early-evening event, parents tend to walk alongside their kids — especially the younger ones — as they go door to door to ensure they are safe. Along with child safety, many other factors about…

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In the "Spirit" of the season we wanted to share with you a few Halloween Fun facts that you might find interesting and if you are in the Sammamish/Issaquah area please come by and join us for Terror At Trossachs on Halloween evening from 5:30 until 8:30!

  • "Halloween" is short for "Hallows' Eve"  which was the evening before All Hallows' Day celebrated on November 1.
  • Ireland is typically believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.
  • The word "witch" comes from the Old English wicce, meaning "wise woman." In fact, wiccan were highly respected people at one time. According to popular belief, witches held one of their two main meetings on Halloween night.   
  • According to Irish legend, Jack O'Lanterns are named after a stingy man named…

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spooky house at night

October 2017 | By REALTOR® Magazine Staff  

Real estate professionals are a brave bunch. You walk into unfamiliar homes every day, prepared to deal with whatever lurks inside. Hopefully, the scariest thing you find is a seller’s outdated sense of style. But some properties have more insidious issues that staging can’t fix.

No strangers to haunted houses, many practitioners have real-life horror stories of dealing with creepy, ghostly circumstances in the course of their daily work. With Halloween around the corner, REALTOR® Magazine asked its readers to share their most frightening experiences in the field. From paranormal occurrences during showings to apparitions in listing photos, read on ... if you dare.

‘It Wanted Me…

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Every house has a story, but these may be the most terrifying.

In honor of Halloween, take a closer look at the real-life dwellings that inspired or set the scene for some of your favorite scary movies.

A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984.

"One two...Freddy's coming for you."

No, it's not "only a dream." Nancy's house from the 1984 slasher film really does exist.

PHOTO: The home located at 1428 N Genesee Avenue in Los Angeles, from the film 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' (Zillow Listings)

Located at 1428 N. Genesee Avenue, in Los Angeles, California, the 2,700-square-foot colonial was sold in 2013 for $2.1 million.

It appears that not much has changed about the three-bedroom house except the blue door has been painted red…

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