A Funny but True Story

An agent who shall remain nameless, no it wasn’t me, had a very interesting time one day previewing homes.  This agent picked up the list of brokers open houses that the office made available to the agents each day.  He went into a home which had lots of people there and some food was being served. This is not uncommon for a broker’s open house.  The agent proceeded to eat some food then started to walk upstairs when asked by one of the people, “were you a friend of the deceased?”  The agent apologized and upon looking at the brokers open house list saw it was for the previous day.  The “broker’s open house” it turns out, was actually a memorial service.  

Where Should You Put Your Money?

Here is an interesting chart from MSM Money.com, Case Shiller.  This report is not a prediction but what actually happened between January 2000 and June 2012. It shows cash on cash return.  In other words when buying a home for $300,000 a buyer puts down $15,000 (5%) to $60,000 (20%). When the home appreciates by 5% then that home is worth $315,000. That is a gain of $15,000 return on one’s investment. If $15,000 which equals a return on investment of 100%. Putting $60,000 down that 5% appreciation equals a return of 25%.

This differs from investing in the stock market which requires full payment for any stock investment.  That same $15,000 in stocks with a 5% return means the investor has gained $750. The $60,000 invested would mean a gain of $3,000.

In addition normally there will be taxes to pay when selling the stocks. Selling one’s personal residence would result in a taxable event if the gain is more than $250,000 for a single person and $500,000 for a married couple.

How “Walkable” is Your Neighborhood?

Real estate has changed over the years. Back in the mid-1980s Seattle proposed Urban Villages, areas of development within the community. As an example, West Seattle has many including, Endolyne, the Alaska, Admiral, and Morgan Junctions. Some are small and some larger. These are places where one can walk to and enjoy the amenities. Back then it caused a big stir locally because as the naysayers put forth “we don’t want to be told what to do” mentality. Now people want to live close to them and will pay more for the convenience.  Click on the link below to see your neighborhood’s walk score.

Link:  Find your walk score

Have the Underwater Homeowners Turned the Tables on the Banks?

Here's a very interesting and very real developing demographic from an unlikely place. The article addresses the political and ecomonic clout the underwater homeowners carry when organized. Click the link below to see the whole article.

40 Million Strong:Underwater Homeowners Can Fight and Win....If They Get Organized

Actual Factual Seattle Home Statistics

I like to watch statistics and trends so today I updated the different areas in Seattle. You can see the difference since last year. The “Pendings” section includes both Pending inspection and Pending sales combined. The "Sold" homes are closed sales for the last 6 months.

Notice the changes in the inventory and prices from last year. Less homes (supply) and more buyers (demand) are pushing the prices up again.

On a side note the interest rate on a 30 yr fixed rate is currently 3.625%. Let’s use the example of a buyer who qualifies for a $300,000 mortgage at 3.625%. They will make the same payment at 4.625% but will get them a $266,000 mortgage. Just a few years ago a 5.625% loan was considered a great rate. However that 5.625% rate would mean a loan of only $237,000 for the same payment as a $300,000 loan today. That is a huge difference in the kind of home and location. Why wait call today to find out more details and to see how much home you can afford.

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What I Love about Living in Seattle

My family moved to West Seattle in 1966 and I never left. Here are some reasons that I love living here.

What are your favorite things about Seattle?

What to Believe?

It seems like every other day we read in the national and local media that the real estate market is stagnant. Then we hear that things are picking up and the values are going up in some cities. Then we hear that housing starts are down. Next the increase in sales volume month over month is increasing.

My head is spinning is yours too?

I can’t tell you what the market is like in Tennessee, Vermont, Idaho, Nevada or even in Olympia because it is not in my market place. What I can show you are the current stats that have just come out today for Seattle, the market that I know well. Check out the two charts below.

Here is a portion of the article from the Seattle PI on Tuesday, June 05, 2012:

“Rising sales and low inventory helped push Seattle house prices up by 10.5 percent in May from a year earlier, according to a new report. The median price of a house in the city was $425,500 in May, up from $385,000 a year ago, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported. The median price was just $500 lower this April. The King County median house price was $362,000, up 4.9 percent from May 2011 and 0.6 percent from April 2012.

Sales of houses and condos rose by more than 24 percent from last year in the city and county. Pending sales, which don't all close but can be the best indicator of recent activity, were up by 16.2 percent in Seattle and 22.5 percent countywide. Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market dropped by more than 40 percent in the city and county. That amounts to 2.1 months worth of inventory at the current sales pace in Seattle and 2.5 months worth countywide, down from 4.3 and 5.2 months of inventory a year ago.

Things that are in good condition are selling, they're selling quickly, and they're selling at good prices, from the seller's point of view," said Glenn Crellin, associate director of the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington.

So the bottom is clearly past, right?"

Click on the “Local RE Stats” tab on this site to see the most current actual statistics for King County, the City of Seattle, West Seattle, Burien/Normandy Park, Downtown/Belltown, Queen Anne/Magnolia, Ballard/Greenlake, U-District/North Seattle, CD/Capitol Hill, Beacon/SODO, and SE Seattle/Seward Park. How is your neighborhood doing?  What are your thoughts and predictions?

Seattle's Economy Looks Promising

Seattle economy ranked third strongest in U.S. over long term – Puget Sound Business Journal

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area economy ranks as the No. 3 strongest in the nation, as measured by independent economic research firm Policom Corp.

Policom bases its rankings on the longer-term performance of city economies. The study measures 23 different economic factors over a 20-year period, determining how an economy has behaved over an extended period of time with data from 1991 to 2010 used in its latest rankings.

The strongest economy according to the ranking was the Washington, D.C., metro area, followed by Des Moines, Iowa. Nashville and Austin round out the top five after Seattle.

"The top-rated areas have had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time," Policom president William Fruth said in a statement. "The rankings do not reflect the latest hot spot or boomtown, but areas which have the best economic foundation."

Salt Lake City, Madison, Wis., Kansas City, Sioux Falls, S.D., and San Antonio round out the rest of the top 10.

via Seattle economy ranked third strongest in U.S. over long term - Puget Sound Business Journal