Blog

Do you know your City’s Walk Score?

Do you know how “walkable” your city is?  For those who walk for exercise, one of the first features in selecting your next move or neighborhood may be how “walkable” is this new hood.

If you would like to know the “walk score” of the city in which you currently reside or maybe where you may be considering your next move, click on the link below for more details!

Click here to find your cities walk score…..

Tax Credit Spurs Home Sales Surge

Tax credit spurs big surge in Western Washington home sales

KIRKLAND, WA, November 5, 2009. Credit the tax credit and its impending expiration deadline for a surge in home sales last month. Members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported a 63 percent jump in pending sales during October compared to the same month a year ago, a gain many brokers attribute to a tax credit that is set to expire at midnight on Nov. 30.

Every county except Okanogan reported double-digit gains in pending sales (mutual acceptance of an offer). Collectively, NWMLS brokers notched 7,235 pending sales during October. A year ago, they reported 4,445 pending transactions.

“As anticipated, October saw a surge in home sales thanks to the federal tax credit. The hope of the real estate industry is that the credit will be extended until there is more equilibrium within the economy and the housing market can stand on its own two feet,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.

The new figures from Northwest MLS show continued signs of some stability in the market and improving consumer confidence. Inventory is at its lowest level since December 2008, and the year-over-year price decline, at 7.2 percent area-wide, is the smallest drop since June 2008.

Brokers added 9,344 new listings of single family homes and condominiums to inventory during October, the fewest number since December 2008 when the area was experiencing record snow accumulations. At month end, there were 38,159 active listings in the NWMLS database, a drop of 17.4 percent from the same month a year ago. At that time, the inventory included 46,189 residences.

For the four-county Puget Sound area (King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap), inventory has shrunk 20 percent since twelve months ago. The selection of single family homes (excluding condominiums) in the four-county area is down 22 percent.

Despite a smaller selection than a year ago, there are plenty of choices across the price spectrum. The inventory includes two dozen listings priced under $30,000 and a dozen properties with asking prices of $10 million or more.

The median price on the 5,512 homes and condos that sold and closed during October throughout the NWMLS market area was $269,995, about 7.2 percent less than the year-ago figure of $291,000.

Prices vary widely across the MLS counties, both in dollar amounts and changes measured by percentages. The lowest median selling price, at $136,000 for single family homes and condos (combined) is found in Grays Harbor County. At the other end of the spectrum is San Juan County, where the median sales price for last month’s completed sales was $454,250.

A comparison of price changes measured by percentages shows a range from a decline of nearly 17 percent in Jefferson County to a gain of 15 percent in San Juan County.

The median sales price in King County for last month’s completed transactions was $349,950, down about 2.4 percent from twelve months ago when the median price was $358,500. For single family homes, the median price on last month’s closed sales in King County was $377,500.

Northwest MLS directors who commented on October activity support extension of the tax credit that allows first-time home buyers who purchase a principal residence between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 a credit of up to $8,000.

“I believe the $8,000 homebuyer credit set off a great chain reaction. The first-time homebuyer creates a move-up buyer,” explained MLS director Meribeth Hutchings, the broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Lake Stevens. “The tax credit was the engine that started driving the market again,” she remarked, adding, “It was a great October; hopefully the tax credit extension will be approved and the market will stay strong through the winter.”

NWMLS director Kathy Estey, managing broker at John L. Scott’s Bellevue office, cites a combination of factors for boosting activity, including the tax credit, stabilizing prices for entry level homes and diminished inventory. “Sales are not just fueled by the first-time buyer stimulus,” she said, noting it prompted procrastinators to jump into the market and others to bail out of short sales that had not yet been accepted by lenders, opting instead to purchase homes that are not in the “distressed” categories.

“The fourth quarter is one of the best times for buyers, so we expect the positive activity to continue,” Estey remarked, noting sales in her office were up again in October, “a month when we expect to see a slight decline.”

Estey credits soft prices for contributing to the uptick in sales for homes priced at a million dollars or more. Her office participated in 10 sales priced at over a million dollars last month, calling that volume a “great improvement” from earlier in the year. In King County, 86 homes and condos fetched prices of $1 million or more, up from the year-ago total of 62 such transactions, according to NWMLS data.

“The compression of prices has created great values in that price range, the stock market has replaced much of what was previously lost, and there is reasonable financing for jumbo loans (20 percent or more down and good credit required),” Estey observed, while voicing hope for an extension of the tax credit. Noting the lending and escrow process takes at least 25-45 days, she said “The window has probably closed for buyers hoping to get in on the [current] tax credit.”

Some builders are offering to pay the stimulus dollars to buyers who will miss the opportunity because the homes will not be completed by the expiration date of the existing tax credit, according to Estey.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member brokers, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 24,000 brokers and agents. The organization, based in Kirkland, currently serves 19 counties in western and central Washington.

Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary – October 2009

October 2009 Single Family Homes + Condos	LISTINGS		PENDING SALES	CLOSED SALES
	New Listings	Total Active	#Pending Sales	#Closings	Average Price	Median Price
King	3764	12321	2951	2234	$421,521	$349,950
Snohomish	1474	5171	1197	825	$304,444	$280,000
Pierce	1456	5591	1174	880	$237,553	$219,700
Kitsap	405	1795	380	266	$284,650	$248,500
Mason	123	735	70	65	$192,512	$167,500
Skagit	208	1282	140	102	$287,600	$235,495
Grays Harbor	120	833	85	73	$149,155	$136,000
Lewis	133	763	75	49	$148,859	$138,000
Cowlitz	123	675	83	57	$167,386	$168,000
Grant	120	696	63	63	$166,629	$147,000
Thurston	437	1729	295	290	$243,430	$225,172
San Juan	25	439	20	14	$479,500	$464,250
Island	162	1087	116	101	$318,332	$280,000
Kittitas	76	550	41	33	$237,065	$218,000
Jefferson	50	577	34	32	$322,574	$284,428
Okanogan	38	379	15	21	$171,214	$150,000
Whatcom	364	1821	315	225	$278,738	$250,900
Clark	69	310	65	63	$238,726	$225,000
Pacific	51	378	27	28	$183,689	$166,000
Others	146	1027	89	91	$230,487	$205,000
MLS TOTAL	9,344	38,159	7,235	5,512	$325,245	$269,995

4-County Puget Sound Region Pending Sales (SFH + Condo combined)
(Totals include King, Snohomish, Pierce & Kitsap counties)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2000	3706	4778	5903	5116	5490	5079	4928	5432	4569	4675	4126	3166
2001	4334	5056	5722	5399	5631	5568	5434	5544	4040	4387	4155	3430
2002	4293	4735	5569	5436	6131	5212	5525	6215	5394	5777	4966	4153
2003	4746	5290	6889	6837	7148	7202	7673	7135	6698	6552	4904	4454
2004	4521	6284	8073	7910	7888	8186	7583	7464	6984	6761	6228	5195
2005	5426	6833	8801	8420	8610	8896	8207	8784	7561	7157	6188	4837
2006	5275	6032	8174	7651	8411	8094	7121	7692	6216	6403	5292	4346
2007	4869	6239	7192	6974	7311	6876	6371	5580	4153	4447	3896	2975
2008	3291	4167	4520	4624	4526	4765	4580	4584	4445	3346	2841	2432
2009	3250	3407	4262	5372	5498	5963	5551	5764	5825	5702

__________
Copyright © 2009
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior permission.

Tax Credit Extended

The First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit that was set to expire on November 30, 2009 has been extended.  An additional element of this tax credit that was unfamiliar to most consumers was also the $6500 credit for move up buyers who already own a home.  Please see the link below to learn more about this excellent opportunity if you are a first time homebuyer or looking to upgrade your current home and take advantage of great buys on real estate. 

Click here to read more…..

Going green?

What does it mean to be green?

Awareness of all things green is at an all-time high. While awareness is growing, many consumers are not really sure what “green” means. Different industries and organizations define green in different ways.

For some the term is an environmental movement. For others, it means a political movement. For most consumers, “green” is earth friendly.

A favorite term used in the Pacific Northwest is “green washing”. Green washing is one of those fun new words used to describe a new phenomenon. Plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic water bottles.

How do the products we use affect our “greenability” and how should we define green? What does it mean to be green? The articles below are a couple examples of “going green”.

Build a Rain Garden

Make Your Home More Efficient

What is a Short Sale?

What is a Short Sale?

In a nutshell, a short sale is when a person sells their home for less than what is owed on the property. In a short sale, the underlying lien holder agrees to take less than what is owed on the property – hence, a short sale. In our current economic climate, short sales have become a vehicle to help sellers in depressed markets and in distressed situations sell their home.

Are all short sales successful?

No. Lenders decide on a case by case basis whether to accept a short sale. There is no set rules or formulas. Short sales are time consuming and require patience and diligence. If you are considering a short sale, please understand all your options and make sure you are working with a reputable company. In order to be successful with a short sale, each lender has a different set of rules and guidelines and each lender requires the sellers fill out specific forms.

See this article to further answer questions you may have about short sales. Our company has successfully closed many short sale transactions this year. We understand the intricacies of short sales and protecting the seller. Please give us a call if you feel you may need help with a short sale.

Welcome to our New Site

Thank you for visiting Burien RE/MAX All City! Please excuse our mess while we build our website.

Contact us for service.