November 15, 2007
November 2007 Market Supply Update
These numbers come a bit late in the month but are useful to all of you buyer's and seller's out there. This information will give you an idea where the market stands for the supply of homes that is available in both King and Snohomish County. This data covers all price ranges, both single family homes and condominiums and both new and resale properties.
As of November 1st, Snohomish County is definitely in the buyer's market zone with a drop to a 9.0 month supply from a 9.6 month supply in October.
King County is definitely leaning towards a buyer's market with a 6.3 month supply of homes down from a solid buyer's market of 7.0 months supply in October.
Keep in mind that this information is fairly broad and the month supply information starts changing once you start breaking it down by price range, areas and housing types. If you are in need of a particular set of statistics go ahead and contact me and I'll let you know if I can be of assistance.
Snohomish County as of November 1, 2007
King County as of November 1, 2007
Posted by beaubetts at 11:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 25, 2007
Seller's or Buyer's Market?
We are in an interesting spot right now regarding the real estate market. In some areas and price ranges, homes stay on the market for a lengthy amount of time, in others, there are multiple offers and the homes do not stay on the market hardly a week. Both of these scenarios I've experienced within the past month. So is it a seller's market or a buyer's market right now? Well, that depends on what price range you are wanting to buy in and what areas. Let's take a look at the month supply of homes that's currently available in King and Snohomish County. The month supply of homes is the of the amount of homes currently available on the market divided by the amount of pending sales. Available Inventory / Pending Sales = Month Supply . When the month supply of homes is above the six month mark that usually signifies a seller's market. When the month supply of homes is below the 6 month mark that shows a buyer's market. So where are we at right now?
I've included a chart for both King County and Snohomish County that shows what our current month supply of homes are in ALL prices ranges, both new construction AND resale, and for both single family homes AND condominiums. I decided to keep things simple and just show one chart. However, keep in mind these statistics start changing when looking at different prices ranges and whether or not you are interested in resale or new construction. If you would like specific information regarding these different scenarios, be sure to email me at: beaubetts AT johnlscott.com.
Snohomish County as of September 1, 2007
King County as of September 1, 2007
Also, I will try to keep these charts updated for you to see as the months go on so you can see where we are at.
Posted by beaubetts at 11:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 20, 2007
Renovating Your Home with the Seattle Weekly
Ardell DellLoggia and I did an interview with the Seattle Weekly regarding renovating your home, titled Renovate Your Home, Increase the Value for the Sound Living Insert in this week's issue. The article focuses on things you can do and pitfalls to avoid when renovating your home while trying to increase it's resale value. The article is on Page 26 of the Sound Living section in the print edition. You can see the online article here.
Posted by beaubetts at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 11, 2007
Where Buyer's Found Their Information For Home Purchased
This information was provided by Herbert Research and the information was sourced from home purchases. It would be interesting to see how these numbers change yearly. I'm sure there is a dramatic difference from just five years ago.
Agent Introduced 40%
Internet 30%
Drive-by 22%
Friends 5%
Newspaper 3%
Posted by beaubetts at 1:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 10, 2007
What it means when the Fed's cut rates
From the desk of Barb Huber at Golf Savings Bank:
There is a very important Fed meeting on September 18th. The consensus is that the Fed's are going to cut interest rates. I want to remind everyone what this really means:
Fed rate cuts will help lower rates on Home Equity Lines of Credit, personal loans, auto loans and commercial paper, but a rate cut by the Fed may actually cause fixed rate mortgage rates to worsen. So we need to pay close attention to the Fed comments at the Sept 18th meeting......
If the Fed says they are comfortable with inflation being contained, bonds will improve...bonds up, interest rates down. If the Fed indicates they are cutting rates in the face of inflationary fears, bond prices will likely move lower causing home loan rates to rise!
Posted by beaubetts at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
August 7, 2007
Redfin vs. Deborah Arends UPDATE
Remember all of the hullabaloo back in May regarding the 60 Minutes piece about the changes the internet is bringing to the real estate industry and how Redfin is an innovator and one of the driving forces and champions behind this change and how 60 Minutes also interviewed Deborah Arends from Re/Max and represented her as having the "old school" real estate mentality and didn't really portray her in the most positive light?
Well, I just started laughing when I was browsing the mls just now looking for home for a client of mine and saw a house that I think could possibly be a good candidate for them. One thing that I noticed was that the home had been on the market for almost 100 days. Here's the amusing part, the home was originally listed by Redfin back in late April and they just lost the listing to none other than Deborah Arends. I'm sure that's making her feel good. Beautiful...just beautiful.
UPDATE:
After being on the market for 94 days with Redin, Deborah Arends was able to get an offer on the same property within 3 days of being listed with her. While the property did sell for $7k less than asking (this could be due to the seller crediting the buyer for issues with the home), Deborah did tell me the seller's were happy with the outcome. There are some people who think that just by listing the property on the mls means that the property will sell and when all is said and done it's just a waiting game so the services of a real estate broker are ridiculous and expensive. Obviously this could be true if a seller has all of the time in the world to sell a home and no real motivation to move. Why not just try selling it $50k above what the market will bear? Because it won't sell until the market catches up to that price. I asked Deborah what she did different. Why was she able to sell the house and Redfin couldn't? She told me that she directly and actively markets a home (at the right price) to agents who work in a particular neighborhood, community or area, has broker's opens, etc. The key it seems is to price and market the home to the right people.
It's all about active marketing, not just posting a sign and spending $500 to list your home on the mls. Hire an experienced agent who knows the neighborhoods, knows the inventory, knows how to showcase a home and knows how much money a homeowner will pocket at the end of the day.
Previous Articles:
Waiting for the Dust To Settle - 360 Digest
60 Minutes Aftermath: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Realtor Scorned - Redfin Blog
Redfin on 60 Minutes – Something to Monitor - Rain City Guide
60 Minutes’ Redfin.com story delivers 400 hits in 60 minutes flat . . . - Bloodhound Blog
Posted by beaubetts at 1:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
July 20, 2007
Second Quarter 2007 Western Washington Real Estate Market Update
From John L. Scott HQ:
A Balanced Market
A shifting market has created a change in approach for both buyers and sellers in Western Washington. As inventory grows, sellers are seeing fewer multiple-offer situations and are pricing their homes accordingly. Increased inventory means more selection for buyers, but home price appreciation is still on the rise, creating a sense of urgency for many of them.
April
The spring got off to a mixed start. Pending sales (offers accepted but not yet closed) on single-family homes were down 7.5%, but condo sales saw an increase of 4%. The median price for a condo was up almost 20%, while single family homes were up only 11%.
May
The median price of a home in King County in May was $469,000, up 9.6% over last year. In Pierce country, the median price was $281,000. While pending sales were on the decrease, sales of million-dollar-plus homes was up 28.5%.
June
The last month of the second quarter saw much of the same activity as the previous two months. New listings were up 51%, pending sales were down 12%, and the median price of a home was up almost 6%. Economists expect healthy appreciation to continue through the end of 2007.
Second Quarter Overview
Though pending sales are down in our area, Western Washington continues to demonstrate its real estate health when compared with much of the nation. Nationwide, the average supply of inventory is almost seven months. Overall in Western Washington, supply is five months. In King County, supply is about three months.
The increase in inventory can be misleading. Homes in close-in neighborhoods, particularly those in the price range a median income family can afford, are quite limited. Homes that fit those two criteria are still seeing large open house attendance and, in some cases, multiple offers.
What’s Your Home Worth
If you are interested in finding more information about the value of homes in your neighborhood, or more specifically your own home, please feel free to contact me at anytime.
I’d be more than happy to discuss a comparative market analysis of your current home. I can help you map out a successful property marketing and price strategy plan. And together we can work to make your vision for your next home come true as well.
Posted by beaubetts at 2:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Zillow Frustrations
I received an email today from a woman who contacted me through my website because she is absolutely fed up with Zillow. She currently has a listed home on the market (nwmls and not listed through me). The issue is, and I've heard about this time and time again, is that Zillow is not showing the correct information on their website regarding the house thus showing a substantially smaller Zestimate than what the home is currently listed at. The square footage on the county website shows the correct amount but Zillow shows less, resulting in a lower Zestimate.
Zillow's attempt to help solve this kind of problem is to allow owner's to make changes to their Zillow data. That's great and all, but the issue still remains, that when a buyer types in a property address to see what the value is, one of the first thing they see is the Zestimate compared to what it's listed at and that's going to turn off a lot of potential buyers if the price is way off. She's sent emails to Zillow (not sure about phone calls) with no response. I recommended she seek some legal counsel to see if they can't get Zillow to modify their data.
What would you recommend this seller do since Zillow is hurting her chances of selling her home? Are you a Seller or Realtor who has had this issue with your clients? What have you done to help rectify this situation?
Posted by beaubetts at 2:15 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
July 16, 2007
Westwood Townhome
West Seattle townhome featuring the space and comfort that you desire while just minutes to downtown Seattle, a quick walk to Longfellow Creek p-patch garden, trail, community pool and all that Westwood Village provides. This updated home features vaulted ceilings, new carpets, new appliances, wood laminate flooring, fireplace, dining room and windows that overlook your own private patio and garden space and drench your living space with sunlight. In a park-like setting with the amenities of an urban area.
Price: $248,000
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1.5
Square Footage: 1,014
Year Built: 1979
For more photos, please click here.
For a tour of this home please contact Beau Betts:
email - beaubetts@johnlscott.com
mobile- 206-953-BEAU
Beau Betts provides Seattle real estate services. Contact Beau Betts in order to sell a Seattle home or Seattle condominium property for the best possible price....quickly and professionally.
Posted by beaubetts at 3:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
June 5, 2007
North Seattle Condominium
Well-maintained top floor, one bed / one bath home featuring vaulted ceilings, fireplace, skylight, open living/dining floor plan and private balcony. The spacious kitchen boasts plenty of cupboard and counter space, a garden window and beautiful new wood laminate flooring. Lush central courtyard features a patio and fountain. Located near the UW and North Seattle Community College and only a few blocks south of the Northgate Bus Transit Center and I-5, this home can help ease your commute.
Price: $185,000
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Square Footage: 630
Year Built: 1982
For a tour of this home please contact Beau Betts:
email - beaubetts@johnlscott.com
mobile- 206-953-BEAU
Beau Betts provides Seattle real estate services. Contact Beau Betts in order to sell a Seattle home or Seattle condominium property for the best possible price....quickly and professionally.
Posted by beaubetts at 11:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
