Relocation

Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

I work mostly with retirees who have been planning to move to the Great Pacific Northwest, and the question almost all retirees have been asking goes something like this, “Is now the time to buy a home in the Northwest?”  Their question reflects concerns about the economy, the real estate market, their retirement funds, interest rates, and whether home prices have bottomed out. I’ve noticed a change in the last couple of months as we head into the spring buying season.  Most of the retirees moving here are in their 50’s and 60’s, and they’ve been sharing a common theme that goes something like this: “Look, we don’t know what the future holds, and things could get worse, but we are in our sixties, and we are not going to put our lives on hold forever.  We don’t know how much time we have, whether it is 30 years or 3 years, but we want to spend our retirement years together in our dream home in the most beautiful place we could live, Pacific Northwest.  We could be wrong on the timing, but we won’t find that out for years.  It might turn out our timing to buy now is perfect.  But we aren’t making our decisions based on... 

Residential Housing Statistics in King County December 2009

I was just asked this week how is the Real Estate Market in King County since I mentioned earlier about Snohomish County. Well here is information which was requested about King County. Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reported as following statistics for Dec 2009. Jan 2010 stats will be published in the coming weeks. We still got 21 months of inventory in King County while Snohomish County got 19 months of inventory of homes for sale. UNITS ACTIVE PENDING SOLD DEC 09 UNITS 6,918 1,413 1462 DEC 08 UNITS 8,707 911 929 Total Unit +/- -1789 502 533 Difference DEC % -20.55% 55.10% 57.37% YTD 09 UNITS 33,744 23,019 16,022 YTD 08 UNITS 38,889 18,895 15,991 Total Unit +/- -5145 4124 31 Difference YTD % -13.23% 21.83% 0.19% As seen above chart, Residential active listings units dropped 20.55% from 8707 units in 2008 to 6918 units in December 2009 while Pending Residential units increased 55.10%, as Dec 09 pending listings were 1413 units compare to 911 units in December 2008.  There is a huge increase in sold units at 57.37%, 1462 units closed in 2009 vs 929 units in 2008.  Snohomish County Sold... 

Residential Housing Statistics in Snohomish County December 2009

What is going on with the real estate market in Snohomish County? As being a Snohomish County resident and a Real Estate Agent, I feel as I need to share the factual numbers which are published every month by Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS)  with my clients. I often get calls from my active buyers asking “when to buy”. My sellers are asking me “when you sell”. Each party wants to know how long to wait before pulling the trigger.  My answer is “when it is the right time for you, your budget and your family”.  Each person has a different life event that calls to buy or sell real estate. Northwest Multiple Listing Service (MLS) reported as following stats for Dec 2009. ACTIVE PENDING SOLD DEC 09 UNITS 3,533 628 654 DEC 08 UNITS 4,362 455 346 Total Unit +/- -829 173 308 Difference DEC % -19.01% 38.02% 89.02% YTD 09 UNITS 15,025 9,979 6,644 YTD 08 UNITS 17,483 7,693 6291 Total Unit +/- -2458 2286 353 Difference YTD % -14.06% 29.72% 5.61% As seen above chart, Residential active listings units dropped 19.01% from 4362 units in 2008 vs 3533 units in 2009 for the month of December while Pending... 

Historic Downtown Snohomish Living

As the Antique Capital of Northwest, Snohomish, WA is home to nearly 450 antique dealers. Snohomish, with a population of 9145, was founded in 1859 and is listed in  National Register of Historic Places. This quaint river-side towne is famous for its Historic Homes and Gardens. Snohomish architecture contains a delightful variety of styles.  As an example, Blackman House is a must see. A Dutch colonial style with Queen Anne Towers, it is located on the corner of Fourth Street and Avenue D. Snohomish architectural collections reflect Queen Anne Victorians, English Tudors and Dutch Colonials as a testament to the diversity of Snohomish pioneer residents. Historic Homes Tour are offered for those who appreciate a stroll among gorgeous historic homes.  Snohomish Garden Club held its 25th Annual Snohomish GardenTour on July 26th 2009 featuring gorgeous gardens among Historic Snohomish Homes on a lovely Sunday afternoon.  Do not miss this Summer’s 2010 Garden Tour. Historic Downtown was a busy hub for milling, timbering and farming in 1860s. Today, there are delightful varieties of charming shops on First Avenue where visitors can take a day and…   Discover antiques, collectibles... 

New Taxpayer Credit Signed Today

Today, President Obama has signed  law legislation prolonging and expanding the  first-time homebuyer tax credit of $8,000. This is being considered a victory for consumers and the housing industry. The new legislation allows homebuyers to qualify for the tax credit until April 30, 2010 (as long as they have entered a binding contract by that time), and gives the homebuyer an additional 2 months  to close the transaction. In addition, the borrower’s income limit has been increased.  It will be $125,000 for single purchasers and $225,000 for couples (up from $75,000 and $150,000 respectively under the current program). In addition this bill provides a tax credit not exceeding $6,500 for move up buyers, as long as they have owned their current home at least five years.   This is a whole new category of credit which ought to make many prospective buyers glad!   Thanks to Katsumi Masuda of  Seattle Pacific Mortgage, Inc. for providing us with this fastbreaking news.  You can contact him for loan quotes or talk over what your mortgage payment would be for a given purchase price at www.KatsumiMasuda.com.  

What is a Buyer’s Agent and Why Do I Need One?

WHAT IS A BUYER’S AGENT AND WHY DO I NEED ONE?   Q:  How do Buyers’ Agents Get Paid?   A:  Their services are free to the Buyer.   Q:  How does that work?   A:  When the Seller’s Agent signs a listing agreement with the Seller, they negotiate a commission.  They then offer a part of that commission, usually half, but it varies, to the Buyer’s Agent.  This is listed in the Agent part of the MLS.  So when a Buyer chooses a home and purchases it, the total commission is subtracted from the Seller’s side of the totals, and is paid out to the Seller’s Agent and the Buyer’s Agent.   Q:  But if the Buyer’s Agent gets paid by the Seller, do they really work for me?    A:  Good question!  Actually the Washington State laws have changed.  It used to be that both parties worked for the Seller!  Even though you might pick out your own agent to tour and help you, they would still be obligated to guard the best interest of the Seller of any property you saw.  That was deemed unfair to the Buyer and the law has been changed.  The Buyer’s Agent by law owes the Buyer confidentiality and fiduciary loyalty… i.e. has a responsiblity... 

AMAZING lodge for sale in Chilliwack, BC

I was up in the Vancouver BC area last week and my friend Laura Howren took me with her to see a property she just listed in Chilliwack. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, it’s a city in the Fraser Valley region in BC about an hour and a half away from Vancouver (home to the 2010 Winter Olympics!!) with an abundance of recreational activities…hiking, fishing, golfing, water sports, you name it. This log home is currently a short term executive rental, rented out on a nightly or weekly basis, and is in a perfect location as it’s only 35 minutes to Harrison Hot Springs and 25 minutes to Cultus Lake, a popular camping destination. Think 26′ ceilings with ceiling-to-floor windows that take advantage of light, beautiful Hans Rhodes natural rock fire place, large recreation room in the daylight basement and a private master suite on the upper level…it’s literally the perfect Getaway! With the exchange rates today at $1.08, with US dollars it’s like getting an 8% discount right off the top of the purchase price. The listed price is $969,000 and the home has 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, about 2600 sqft and is just shy of 2.5 acres,... 

What’s it Like Living in Seattle?

Is Seattle a nice place to live? The other day, I was asked by a client what kind of city Seattle is and why would I live there?  Now that’s quite a question and not one normally that can be answered without writing volumes and volumes.  Having lived here the majority of my life, I take things for granted.  So I started to think what makes Seattle the city that it is.  For one thing, it is one of the most culturally rich and diverse cities in the country, especially for the pacific rim countries.   With Boeing, Microsoft and a slew of other internet based companies, plus the rich and fertile farms in eastern Washington, that ship some of the world’s finest apples throughout the country and world.  It is a mecca for international relationships.  As a result of the impact Seattle has internationally, we have some of the finest and broadest arts communities in the country, which will be the subject of this blog. Where do  I start, well the most obvious to me is the abundance of museums, from Museum of History and Industry for a look at the how the area became Seattle to the Seattle Art Museum for those interested in the variety of classical and modern...