Everyone knows now is not the ideal time to put your house on the market. But, if you find yourself in the position to sell, take comfort knowing Issaquah Highlands is one of the most desirable locations to live in the Puget Sound area. May you also find comfort knowing that there are many free resources available to market your home right here in Issaquah Highlands; such as 2nd Saturday Home Tours, regular real estate agent training and www.issaquahhighlands.com.

On the second Saturday of every month the Issaquah Highlands marketing department sponsors a 2nd Saturday Home Tour event. Every for-sale home, new and resale, in the community is encouraged to be held open from 1p.m. to 4p.m. The monthly event is promoted in a variety of media including e-blast announcements to a data base of real estate agents, special directional A-boards placed throughout the community highlighting the event, and an article and/or ad in the New Home Saturday Section of the Seattle Times and Connections News.

Occasionally the 2nd Saturday article and ad promotes a special incentive around a seasonal theme to increase interest and traffic. One recent example of a special promotion was Sweetheart Deals. Every for-sale home, new and resale, was offered one-dozen, red, long-stemmed roses, at no charge from the New Home Information Center, to present to potential buyers visiting their open house on the February 2nd Saturday, which happened to be Valentine’s Day. It was a beautiful day and the Issaquah Highland sidewalks were dotted with buyers walking from one open house to the next building their bouquets as they searched for a Sweetheart Deal on a new home.

Special Open House A-board toppers are available to all Issaquah Highlands listings so you can connect your open house to the 2nd Saturday Home tour. The toppers are complimentary and your agent can pick up one for your home by visiting the New Home Information Center. As a resident you appreciate all the amenities that make Issaquah Highlands such a special place to live; built green homes, great schools, fun parks, over ten miles of trails, the community garden, community events, great restaurants, and easy access to I-90, just to name a few. However, not all agents are as aware so we regularly offer Issaquah Highlands 101. Real estate agents who attend Issaquah Highlands 101, hosted at Blakely Hall, receive a Certificate of Masters Program for Issaquah Highlands Sales Training. A list of certified agents can be found at www.issaquahhighlands.com. Is your agent Issaquah Highlands certified?

Did you know that your real estate agent can give the New Home Information Center permission to post your listing on Issaquahhighlands.com? It’s free and can be regularly updated should you make a price change, for example. Why post your listing on the community website? In February, the average web traffic on Saturdays was 139 unique visitors to the website. On February 14, 2009 an ad and article in the Seattle Times New Home Saturday section increased unique visitors to the website by 29%! In March the Seattle Times Saturday article increased unique web traffic by 33% over the average. On average www.issaquahhighlands.com receives over 3,500 unique visits with the resale page being the third most popular page behind the Home page and the New Home page. Seventy-five percent of the web traffic to issaquahhighlands.com comes from Google. Clearly, buyers are starting their home search online. Issaquahhighlands.com is kept content rich and regularly updated so the community is easy to find when key words are entered into a search engine. An emphasis on information buyers are looking for when comparing one community to another is the filter used when updating the website.

Today, YouTube is the second most used search engine. Issaquah Highlands has over 44 videos available for viewing on YouTube and on the website. These videos highlight various aspects of the quality of life buyers can expect if they move to Issaquah Highlands. To view the videos click movies in the upper right corner of the www.issaquahhighlands.com home page. Ensure your agent is certified as an expert on the community. Take advantage of the complimentary 2nd Saturday Home Tour tools available at the New Home Information Center and encourage your agent to post your home on Issaquahhighlands.com so buyers can find your listing and learn why this is the best place to live!

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A little drizzle did not keep Issaquah Highlands families from enjoying this year’s Egg Hunt festivities! Hosted at  Blakely Hall and the Village Green on April 11, over 1,000 people, (mostly children) scooped up over 7,000 stuffed
plastic eggs over the course of three age specific hunts! The event began at 10am and there was plenty to do while waiting between egg hunts. The Issaquah High School Jazz Band and Icon Church volunteer musicians kept the crowd energy high on the damp and cloudy day with great music. Other activities included a visit and picture with the Easter Bunny, (played for the third year in a row by IHS student and resident, Alec Jacobs), face painting, coloring table, carnival games, and giant inflatable slide and bounce house. The big hit of the day and new this year, was the farm animal petting zoo!

The event was closed by a lovely ballet exhibition inside Blakely Hall. Local MK Ballet Studio dancers performed to a standing room only crowd. Every child was mesmerized by the beauty of the costumes and graceful dances. “I know every little girl was tugging on their daddy’s sleeve and saying ‘I want to do that too daddy!’”, said Pastor Paul Dean of Alathia Community Church. Pastor Barry Odom of Mosaic Church was the emcee for the event. Barry awarded the Annual Coloring Contest winners from three age specific drawings. The winners are: 0-PreK: Miranda Schafer, K-2nd: Ang Pima Chin, 3rd-5th: Anna Gretchen Robertson. Winners can pick up their prize at Blakely Hall during normal business hours by May 15.

Port Blakely Communities, Highlands Council, and local business sponsors, Accent Insurance, and John Thompson Real Estate provided the financial resources to get the event into production. Ticket sales covered the remaining
costs with all proceeds benefiting Eastside Baby Corner (www.babycorner.org). No homeowner dues were applied to the production of this community event and of course, the event was 100% volunteer run!

Alathia Community Church, Icon Church, and Mosaic Church wish to thank everyone for volunteering, including members of the respective congregations, community members, and most importantly, the hardworking students
from Skyline High School, Issaquah High School, Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus, and Issaquah Middle School! “All of the students had a great time while working very hard to keep the event on schedule and maintain a safe environment.” Volunteer and Event Coordinator, Christy Garrard also adds, “Most of the students arrived at 7am to help set up and were the last to leave at the end of the day; we could not have done it without their help!”

The churches are also grateful to the residents who donated candy and toy prizes for the egg hunt and to Clif Bar for donating 1,000 Clif bars for free giveaways. Special thanks to Wyldlife, a middle school branch of Young Life, for hosting the concessions for the event. Everyone enjoyed the Krispy Kreme donuts, hot coffee and hot chocolate.

The Egg Hunt festivities ended at noon for the elementary set but Blakely Hall and Village Green came alive again after sunset when Wyldlife hosted a middle school flashlight egg hunt for over 100 area students! This event was  another great example of the success of the urban village development concept. Residents, their friends, and family enjoying the holiday in the park, just steps from their front doors.

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