Why Proctor?
We listed an interesting home this month. There are a few places where updates are needed, but sometimes that is the best kind of home to buy–the kind where someone hasn’t already imbued it with their personal taste.
The property is unique for its size, first of all. The home measures 4,736 square feet including the unfinished basement and the lot is 9,000 square feet, which is roughly double the size of a common Tacoma lot. But two factors make it even more unique. First, the owner spent over $60,000 almost fully encircling the home with a covered porch–a promenade really! One doesn’t merely walk around the home on this porch. On this porch, one strolls. It expands the amount of living space and extends it outside. Wide areas exist to set up wicker table and chairs and sit in the shade on a warm afternoon with lemonade. It features rounded corners, clear fir decking, and attention to detail. I think it is one of the two central selling features of this grand historic home. The other would be its location in the Proctor District. It sits merely a block off Proctor on North 34th, just before 34th falls precipitously toward Commencement bay.
Proctor, as you may know, is one of the more desirable parts of Tacoma in which to live and spend time. What makes it great? Well, for starters, many agree that it is great and therefore hang out there. There is a good energy to it. Passing through you will likely see people milling about in front of Wheelock Library, enjoying lunch on the tables outside Metropolitain Market, our local gourmet grocer, or ratcheting up their caffeine levels at Starbucks. You are likely to see a few dogs on leashes. There are things to do. You can catch a movie at the homey and venerable Blue Mouse Theatre, built in the 1920s, or bowl a few frames at Chalet, and there are a handful of good restaurants from which to choose. The relatively small and quaint Proctor district contains more than 100 businesses. Every Saturday for most of the year Proctor hosts its farmers market, where you can find fresh produce, live music, and throngs of people enjoying the heck out of where they live. And as I mentioned, just down the hill is Tacoma’s fabulous waterfront and all that it has to offer. I am not a paid PR person for the Proctor District, but I am a fan nevertheless.
If you would like to see photos and learn more about the home I mentioned, find it here.
Home sales continue to be strong. There were 67 pending north end sales as of the end of September, which was 5 more than last month and 19 more than the same moment in time last year. Also notable, those sales this year spent about half as much time on the market as the sales from last year– 67 days as compared with 130 in 2011.
Happy Halloween!