Spencer Rascoff's Discussions

Am I the only one in Madison Park who gets excited when the Madison Park Times shows up in my mailbox? (BTW, how does it show up there in the first place? Do they mail it for free to every address in the area? Guess so.)Anyway, I always turn to the crime section (usually page 2) to see what has happened in the area. Is this strange and morbid? Does anyone else share this odd behavior with me?

Anyone know what the status of the renovation of the Park is? When will construction begin? More importantly, when will it end?

Here's my rant for the day: I think that the stores and restaurants of Madison Park aren't living up to their potential. We have terrific homes in the neighborhood, and the location is fantastic. But why do our shops and restaurants stink so much? Sure Nishino is good (though it's not really in Madison Park, is it?), and I like Thai Ginger and Madison Park Cafe (for brunch). And Bert's and Starbucks are institutions. But other than that, there are about 20 stores that are just so-so. I jealously look at stores and restaurants in nearby Capitol Hill (e.g., 15th Avenue) or Queen Anne and wonder why we can't do better...Am I being too critical?

Anyone have an opinion about the whole "Madison Park" vs "Washington Park" issue -- i.e., what do people on the south side of Madison St call their neighborhood? I just call the whole thing Madison Park, but I guess Washington Park is a more prestigious address so sometimes I see people calling it that.

According to Zillow, our "Zindex" (the median Zestimate in our area) was $790,302 for 1Q07, up 11.71% year over year. (Learn more here: http://www.zillow.com/quarterlies/QuarterlyReports.htm)Do you think home prices in Madison Park will continue to appreciate? Or are we in for a flat or down period?

I'm curious whether homeowners with Make Me Move prices on Zillow are typically willing to pay buyside agents a commission. I am. Just curious what other homeowners think.

Anyone out there with successful Make Me Move stories, please share them! We have about 65,000 Make Me Move prices on the site, and we think that about 10% of MMMs have been pinged by interested buyers. We think that more than 100 transactions have actually occurred via MMM. But we always love hearing stories first hand, so please share!

Hi Michael -- Spencer here. Thanks again for your contributions to Zillow. It's good to see you in the new Discussions section of the site.

"Zillions" + "Pillows" = Zillow.It's all about the tons of data that we have, but also a recognition that the soft squishy side of real estate is important also ("pillows", where you rest your head at night.)

Wow, I hadn't heard about Sostanza becoming a coffee shop. Thanks for the tip Dhiren.