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

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.

Agent Introduced 40%
Internet 30%
Drive-by 22%
Friends 5%
Newspaper 3%

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!

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

Indulge in the rich luxury, comfortable living, and Puget Sound views offered by this 5,376 square-foot multi-generational Edmonds home. The mosaic-tiled entry leads to a great room with living and dining rooms and a gourmet kitchen with state-of-the-art amenities. This home boasts five spacious bedrooms and 4 ½ baths, with a luxurious master suite and fully equipped guest quarters. The lower level features a large multi-use media room. A wonderfully appointed home for the most discerning buyer.

Price: $1,950,000
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 4.5
3 Stories
Square Footage: 5,376 + 1,025 sq ft garage
Year Built: Remodeled and Rebuilt in 2007 - Original 1963

Click here to take a virtual tour and to view more photos of this exceptional property.

For a tour of this home please contact Beau Betts:

email - beaubetts@johnlscott.com
mobile- 206-953-BEAU

Beau Betts provides Edmonds real estate services. Contact Beau Betts in order to sell a Edmonds home or Edmonds condominium property for the best possible price....quickly and professionally.

Click here to see more details at the The Seattle P-I Blog: Seattle Real Estate Professionals.

This information comes from Loan Performance, a California company that tracks nationwide mortgage activity and Elizabeth Rhodes of the Seattle Times:

"The Seattle area is in the bottom 20 percent for subprime mortgages among 331 major metropolitan areas — far below other parts of the country, particularly parts of Texas and California's Central Valley where subprime accounts for nearly a fifth or more of all mortgages. At the top of the list was McAllen, Texas, where some 26 percent of loans are subprime.

By comparison, only 7.9 percent of all Seattle-area mortgages were subprime at the end of 2006 (ranking 278th out of 331), down from 8.7 percent the previous year.

And only a fraction of those loans were in trouble — some 7.6 percent at the end of 2006 were 60 days late or more, a sign foreclosure is looming. This put Seattle in the bottom 10 percent.

By contrast, Cleveland and Detroit had a quarter of their subprime loans seriously overdue at the end of 2006. Corvallis, Ore., had the fewest seriously overdue — just 3 percent."

Honestly, when I read the article the first thing I thought of was: "I wonder what Marlow is going to say about all of this." Sure enough, she posted on her blog a rebuttal of sorts with her take on the article which is gaining some traction in the blog world. Click here to view her take on their press release.

And here is some more Redfin Revolution commentary:

Cosmo Seattle

Bloodhound Blog

Future of Real Estate Marketing

Read the rest of my story on The Seattle P-I Blog: Seattle Real Estate Professionals.