Some Information, My Real Estate Investor Clients Might Find Interesting. [infographic]

I really like [infographics]. Here’s one that nicely organizes pieces of information relative to investing in Real Estate at 40k feet.

Image Source: Safeguard Financial

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for Aug 2012

Continuing with a Seller’s Market for Aug 2012…this is very encouraging news, as the rest of the country has not had this strong of a comeback in the real estate market or this fast.  The rate of market value increases has been slow, but steady.  We’re seeing anywhere from 2-4% increase in market value over this time last year.  Remember, slow and steady wins the race!  Here’s some more

Aug 2012 Seattle RE Stats

facts and data:

•   Months Supply of Inventory              2.1                     -46% change
•   Total Active Listings                           1859                    -33% change
•   Pending (YTD)                                       6837                     22% change
• # of Closed Sales (YTD)                       4746                    19% change

Always available to share/explain this info in detail, so never hesitate to engage me.  Here’s to a very active and solid 4th qtr for our Seattle Real Estate Market!

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for June 2012

Seattle June 2012 Stats

What’s happening in your neighborhood?  Month over month, year over year, the real estate landscape is improving in the Seattle area…Again, the Seattle area is RED…0-3 months of inventory!  We continue to watch the Seattle Eastside (areas 500-600) @ 1.5 -2.8 months of inventory…So what’s the long and the short of it?  Low inventory, low interest rates, multiple offers and prices are rising!  Don’t get too anxious…this market is more reasonable than days of old…climbing slow & steady.  This is a market for buyers, because it’s not going to be this good as the months go on…as I’ve said before, the Seattle economy is diverse and thriving.  Are you ready for a better real estate market?

What’s the Seattle Real Estate Market Doing Right Now?

Seattle Real Estate Market

What’s the Seattle Real Estate Market Doing Right Now?  Have you wondered what is up with the entire Seattle Real Estate Market lately?  I get that question all the time.  Property is actually selling again!  YaaaHoooo!  And not only selling, but in some cases, selling  with multiple offers in record time!!

So what’s driving this “new” market we’re experiencing in the Seattle area again? In a word, it’s ECONOMY.  Our economy is strong.  What makes it strong?  Diversity!  Seattle just got tagged as the No. 1 in the Tech Job arena…From Microsoft, Amazon.com, Ebay, Google, Facebook and all of the others, tech jobs have put Seattle on the map as No. 1…!  Boeing is doing well and on a big hiring surge for tech professionals and engineers.  We’re a Bio-Tech region, supporting world-re-known healthcare facilities. How about Starbucks & Tully’s, Nordstrom & Eddie Bauer?  All of these make our world go ’round, both locally as well as  internationally.

I almost forgot to mention the still record low interest rates!

With all of that commerce, home builders are back in action too and having a hard time keeping up with demand.  Sellers have been slow to return to the market, so housing inventory is low.   What are you seeing in your neighborhood?

The Importance of Pricing Your Home to Sell in the Seattle Area

Priced To Sell

How important is pricing your home to sell?  Huge question… So huge, I chose this snowy picture to illustrate a point:  when priced right, you too can sign a Purchase & Sale contract during a snowy holiday…!  It’s the difference between drawing attention to your home from qualified, active buyers to no activity, or so you think.  Consider when you contemplate the purchase of a household appliance and you do your comparative shopping for that item.  You look at all the features, the colors, the upgrades, the attachments, the “things that make your item cool” and weigh that against the price.  Same goes for a house.  Whether it’s area/neighborhood/location/school district, size of lot, size of home, condition of the home/upgrades to the home…all of these things factor into how you price your home.  Your home may be the one that everyone is comparing to as the “overpriced” home…not the attention you want!

So what happens if you realize you’re priced too high…it can be a vicious cycle of chasing the Seattle market.   The chart below will depict this vicious cycle…It’s better to over-correct on your price and let the market react.  Otherwise you can be chasing your tail, so to speak.  The good part of our Seattle market right now is that when you are priced appropriate to the market, you just might see an offer in record time &/or see multiple offers…yes they’re back!

Overprice-Chart

So even though Seattle may be coming out of the “depreciating market”, now is not the time to put your house on the market using 2008  Seattle housing market values.  Our market is seeing a healthy, slow & steady uptick in prices.  That’s good for you and me and the economy…don’t hesitate in contacting me to discuss your particular real estate needs.

Carrying Costs in Real Estate

So have you heard of Carrying Costs when talking about real estate?  If I were to answer for you, I’d say most haven’t considered all of the aspects of selling a home, including Carrying Costs.  Does it have anything to do with how aggressively you price your home (or not)?

You first have to analyze your own moving scenario:  timing, if a job change is involved, relocation, down-sizing, up-sizing, change of scenery, change of household members and many more that might be specific to you.  Do you have a deadline to meet in order to make your move optimum?  In most cases, the answer is “yes”.  So have you considered the financial aspects of moving, or worse yet, trying to move yet not selling as fast as you’d like?  Here’s a list of those financial aspects commonly called “Carrying Costs”.

1. Mortgage payment including interest
2. Taxes on your property
3. Insurance on your property
4. Utilities: gas, electric, water, sewer, trash, cable
5. Yard maintenance
6. Staging fees of the “For-Sale” property

What if your move is contingent on a new job in a new city?  You could have these costs to consider:

1. Temporary living expenses (rental) & utilities
2. Moving costs

What if you’re planning to make a purchase right away, or making that next purchase is the reason for selling?  What are the tangible costs of moving forward prior to selling your home?

1. Earnest Money & Down Payment
2. Closing Costs
3. The new Mortgage including Principle, Interest, Taxes & Insurance
4. Moving Expenses

So not to mention the significance of additional costs to moving without having your past residence sold, what is the real question here?  How can I avoid months of Carrying Costs when selling my home?  Maybe the answer is back at the beginning…How aggressively should you price your home?  You need to there by when…?

Have We Hit the Bottom of the Seattle Real Estate Market?

Have you been hearing we’re in the perfect storm for Seattle Area Real Estate for a while now…?  Well it really isn’t hype.  Have we hit the bottom of the Seattle Area Real Estate Market?  Here’s the secret; by the time we KNOW we’ve hit bottom of the turbulent real estate market, we’ll be on the way back up.  It’s fact; here are the signs:

• 3- quarters of record sales recorded in 2011 (qtrs 2, 3 & 4) over prior years
• Record low interest rates…sounds like a line, but it takes a 10% price reduction to make up for 1% of interest rate reduction…Interest rates are POWERFUL right now!
• Prices have come down since 2008, but the signs are there that we’re stabilizing at a Balanced Market (source: NWMLS)
• New construction is rising by approx. 40% for 2012 and even more for 2013 & 2014.  This has been stagnant since 2008.
• Seattle Economics are diverse and strong (consider all of the large companies here)

Where do YOU think we are?  Are you still waiting to find the bottom?

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for Sept 2011

Time has been a friend in the Seattle Eastside Real Estate world…by that, I mean we’re sitting on 22% less inventory than this time last year…Yes, that’s good news!  Serious sellers occupy the market and consequently, that’s the property that’s selling.  Here’s the monthly highlights:

• Pending contracts month-to-date are up 16%
• Pending contracts year-to-date are up 8%
• Closed sales month-to-date are up 34%
• Closed sales year-to-date are up 10%
• Median closed sales prices are down 5%

The key take-away this month is inventory numbers are continually dropping; both from sales and sellers thinking we’re headed into a slow market.  The real story is, we’re headed into a market of the most serious buyers we see all year.  Those that choose to move when inventory is low are often relocation buyers…serious buyers!  And basic principles of econ 101; when inventories are low, prices have a reason to rise…Oh ya, our job economy is highly active in the tech arena.  What do you think we’ll see?

  

Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for Aug 2011

Our Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for Aug 2011 are holding steady and most definitely moving in the positive direction.  Looking at the entire Seattle area, we’re sitting at a Balanced Market (yellow: 3-6 mo of inventory) with a few areas at a Seller’s Market (red: 0-3 months inventory)…and if you’ve been tracking, this has been the direction our market has been heading in starting with the most positive turn-of-the corner in Dec 2010 and every month since.

For the Seattle Eastside, prices are beginning to increase, with an acceptable 11% over last Aug 2010.  Sales volume is also up 33% from a year ago (Aug 2010) with a decrease in inventory of 35% from a year ago as well, meaning those homes coming on the market are selling much faster than a year ago at an average of 99 days.  Homes are now going under contract at an average of 74 days on the market, which is a decrease of time-on-the-market by 25% from Aug 2010.  Correct pricing is still a big key and I think will be for some time.  I don’t predict our prices to jump up drastically as we had seen in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.  Slow and steady wins the race…right?

Take a look at My Library and review the past stats:   going from mostly Green, to more & more Yellow to all Yellow with some Red…All of this is very good news, wouldn’t you agree!

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Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for July 2011

Well another good month of Seattle Eastside Real Estate Stats for July 2011!  The Eastside (areas 500-600) are all in a balanced market status (3-6 months of available inventory, i.e., Yellow) with area 530 in Bellevue at a 2.2 months supply (Red)!  That is wonderful news with all the other market fluctuations going on the past few weeks.  The Eastside is averaging around 2750 active homes at a July sales rate of 820 homes under contract, making an average supply of inventory of 3.35 months.  Put another way, if no more new listings came on the market, it would take approximately 3.35 months to completely sell the volume of current inventory at this same monthly pace.  That is HUGE info!  Anything under 3 mo of active inventory puts the market at a Seller’s market again…And put another way, inventory is low and homes are selling in our area.  Of course, price is king and only those preceived to be of good value are the homes that will sell first and fast.

That brings me to another topic, which is “good value”.  A good value is very subjective concept but generally one where the goods or services provided excedes the amount of money being paid.  In the case of a home for sale, if it needs updating (cosmetic or functional), is it priced low enough to attract a buyer in light of condition?  If it’s been updated, is it priced to reflect that without exceeding what the market will bear?  Interesting times we’re in…your thoughts?