The good news is that pending single-family-home sales in Magnolia and Queen Anne neighborhoods jumped 53 percent last month.

Melanie Smith, a John L. Scott associate broker who lives and works in Magnolia, said the area probably benefited from recent hiring at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is building its new headquarters near Seattle Center.

“There are people that are still moving here,” Smith said.

The bad news?  Sellers also are dropping their prices, she said.  Magnolia and Queen Anne experienced one of the steepest year-over-year declines in the county last month, MLS figures show.

“Our prices are $40,000 or $50,000 or $100,000 lower than they were a year ago,” Smith said.  “I have a neighbor who dropped his price $150,000 over 80 days.”

Just driving around Magnolia we certainly see lots of homes for sale.  This new construction house at the corner of Dravus and 28th Ave West has been on the market for quite awhile at $1,695,000.                                                                 If you want to see homes that have recently sold in Magnolia (and check out how much they were sold for) you can go to the Windermere website.   This house on 30th Ave West with two bedrooms and two baths sold over the weekend for $520,000.