on a Rainy Day…

Even though we’re in for grey skies and rainy days for much of the winter, here is a ray of sunshine to lift your spirits. The Seattle real estate market is picking up. I’ve seen it on the front lines: listings are selling quickly and hot properties are igniting bidding wars. Now we have some fresh data to back it up.

Windermere Real Estate is proud to partner with Gardner Economics to create a detailed analysis of the Western Washington real estate market.

This graph shows the price change year over year and it looks to me like we may just be scratching our way out of the depreciation we’ve seen in the last few years.  It’s only one year of growth but it’s certainly shift in the right direction.

Read the full report here: The Gardner Report

Numbers alone do not always give an accurate picture of local economic conditions; therefore the report’s goal is to provide an explanation of what the statistics mean and how they impact the Western Washington housing economy.

So how does this affect you? I would be happy to answer your questions and provide a detailed analysis of the home you want to sell or the area where you’re looking to buy.

Can you dig it? Let’s talk!

Check out my new project with Jennifer Nelson! We are going to take the buyer market by storm together in 2013. Two for the price of one folks! Trust me, you just don’t get any more entertaining than spending a day with us. We’ll add great things along the way but for now just spread the word!  www.homeschooledbyjandd.com

Click here to see more information on the Junction Association website.  But here are the deets!

Graph 1: Supply and Demand

There are 3 pieces of information in the Supply & Demand chart. The first is the supply of homes for sale over a thirteen-month period.
This is shown with GREEN bars (SUPPLY). The second is the number of homes sold in BLUE bars (SOLD). The third is the number of
pending sales , shown as a RED line (UNDER CONTRACT). This chart allows us to compare the most recent 3-months activity with the
same period one-year ago.

The Supply & Demand chart is utilized to help determine who is in the driver’s seat: the buyer, the seller or neither party. This is commonly
referred to as a buyer’s, seller’s or balanced market.  The type of market is determined by the supply of homes -in months.  This is calculated
by dividing the # of homes for sale by the # of homes that are sold.

Graph 2: Days on Market
The BLUE line denotes the average percentage of the current listing price the Seller sold his or her home for.  We call this “sold to
list price percentage”.  In other words, IF IT WERE AT 99%, the average seller has only had to discount their listing price by 1% to
attract a buyer. The listing price refers only to those homes that are closed, not average list price for homes still for sale or in contrace (pending).

The YELLOW bars show how long the property has been on the market before it received an acceptable offer. We call this
“days on market”. Days on market is based on homes that have closed already, not homes that are still pending. We do not count
all previous listing periods because they did not result in a sale. Also we do not count the time in escrow.

Graph 3: Average Price
The GREEN line denotes the average price for all homes for sale in a given month and a given area. The RED line denotes the
average price for all homes that sold (closed) in the same month and area.

Graph 4: Months of Inventory
The BLACK graph line denotes the months of inventory that were available in a given month/year.
This is found by taking the number of homes that were for sale in a given month and comparing
it to the number of homes that accepted an offer in the same month.

Please don’t hesitate to give me a call if you would like to discuss these charts or if you would like more specific information for your neighborhood.  I’m always happy to share information when I can!
Cheers
Domenica

Many of you know that I work at Habitat for Humanity for every referral I receive.  But you might not know that I also make a donation in the name of my clients every time I help someone buy or sell a home.  The Windermere Foundation does amazing work in our local community and I’m proud to be a continuing supporter of this work.

Thanks to all of you and the other support the Windermere Foundation has received so far this year, we have disbursed nearly $185,000 to qualifying social service organizations dedicated to serving low-income and homeless families throughout the Western U.S.  My fellow agents, staff and owners, along with public supporters like you, continue to contribute generously to the Foundation, making these disbursements possible.

Christina Wood at the Windermere Foundation would like to share a few stories of how your support is truly making a difference in the lives of those they serve…

Via: WINDERMERE FOUNDATION QUARTERLY REPORT

Cheers and Happy Spring (FINALLY!)…
Domenica

I know, I know,

A real estate agent telling you to buy a house is like a car salesman telling you it’s time for a trade-in right?

If you know me at all you know that I work very hard to give people advice that fits their individual situation and best interest. This advice is often NOT to buy or sell depending on the conditions of the market and their objectives.

This remains the same despite market trends. However, when the people that predicted the
housing “bubble” begin telling us that it’s now time to buy, I start listening…

John R. Talbott is a bestselling author and economic consultant.
When housing prices started to skyrocket in 2003, he published The Coming Crash in the Housing Market, correctly warning us that a real estate bubble was forming. Then in January 2006, he called the absolute peak of home prices in the US by releasing a new book, Sell Now! The End of the Housing Bubble.

Well, in a recent article, Homes – Buy Now! , Talbott simply explains:

“I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice. It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home or refinance your existing home with thirty-year fixed rate mortgage debt.”

So if you have been curious about buying a home but not sure the timing is right I can tell you that the market says it is.  Whether it’s right for you, well that’s something I can help you determine.  Give me a call to discuss your options.

Domenica