Friday, August 6, 2010

Anyone who has asked me in the last year about where I think housing prices are going has received the same answer... "We are either at bottom or very close to it and we should be see good recovery by 2014." This isn't just my best guess, it's what economists and real estate experts have been predicting. This week it finally appeared in the national press. Here's the an excerpt from the article "Top 10 Housing Markets That Will Be Strongest by 2014" from Yahoo/Business Week:

1. Washington
Biggest home price increase projected in 2014: Bremerton-Silverdale metro


The Bremerton-Silverdale area, on Puget Sound's Kitsap Peninsula, has the highest growth forecast of all MSAs in the country, with prices expected to jump 44.7 percent by 2014, according to Fiserv. Cathy Doney, general manger for Reid Real Estate in Silverdale, says the waterfront community has benefited from government employment, which has helped sustain the job market, and attracted buyers looking to live close to Seattle at a lower cost. Washington’s second-strongest market is Tacoma, with a growth rate expected to be 33.1 percent. Prices in the Seattle area are expected to grow 25.5 percent by 2014.

Index used to calculate historical home price changes: Case-Shiller


Housing values in Pierce County have dropped around 20% since 2006, so 33.1% growth is very good news for anyone who purchased or pulled equity out of their home in the last 8 or so years. Hang in there!

Let's see... With this news and interest rates hovering around 4.25%, when might be the best time to buy?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Musings on the Real Estate Market

Oh my goodness, I have been a bad blogger of late! There has been a lot to talk about too. Once again the media is writing all this doom and gloom about a double dip recession, but when I ran my sales numbers for various areas of Pierce County we really didn't see a big drop off from April to June (as was being predicted). Also, several expensive waterfront properties in Gig Harbor have gone under contract in the last 2 months and we haven't seen anything like that since spring/summer of 2008. I am not too surprised because interest rates are ridiculously low and jumbo loans are getting affordable again. I have no idea how long interest rates are going to stay low. I stopped predicting a few months ago when everyone was convinced they would rise to 6 or 7% by May and the opposite happened. I am just grateful for where they are now!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Economic Recovery in Washington State

With all the bad news today about the bleak jobs report sinking the stock market, I thought it would be good to look at the positive things going on. There is an interesting website called www.recovery.wa.gov and shows how much money the Federal Gov't is pumping into the state and how it is being used in each county. CLICK HERE for the Pierce County report. A lot of jobs are being created though the funding of road improvement , clean water improvement, education and numerous other projects. The only way the economy in Washington State is going to improve is through the stabilization of the real estate market and good jobs lead to a more stable market.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Who Can Negotiate a Short Sale?

With so many people attempting to short sale their home, rather than face foreclosure, I thought it would be good to let you know who is legally able to do the negotiation. There are some opportunists out there who a trying to make a quick buck by charging a fee to do the negotiation. Here are the only people legally able to negotiate a short sale, other than the homeowner, in Washington State:

1. An attorney licensed by the Washington State Bar Association.
2. A real estate agent licensed by the State of Washington, though the agent cannot received any compensation above and beyond the regular real estate commission.
3. A loan originator licensed by the State of Washington and working for a company authorized to do so in Washington.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

1 in 10 Homeowners Missed a Payment

An article I found today on msnbc.com states that from January to March 2010 one of every ten homeowners missed a mortgage payment.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37232151/ns/business-real_estate/


I am not at all surprised by this number. It's a national statistic, but it's probably pretty to close to what we are experiencing in the South Sound area. The scary part is that many of these homeowners have traditional conventional loans, not the subprime loans that started the mortgage mess. Part of it is that even though homeowners could technically afford their home they still extended themselves when they bought it or re-fied. The other problem is, of course, there are a lot of people who are just struggling. I see it so often in this business. Hard working people who's hours have been cut back or their own small businesses are barely making it. They are not unemployed, just under employed.

If you are one of these folks and are curious about possible options/solutions check out this page on my CDPE website. It talks about loan modification, reinstatement, short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosure and other options.

http://hosted.cdpe.com/57868/Foreclosure-Solutions.aspx

Friday, May 14, 2010

Gig Harbor Gets a New Park

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/05/14/1185939/sehmel-homestead-park-party-set.html

It's been 8 years in the making, but the new park in Rosedale is set to open this weekend. Can't wait to check it out!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Realtor Association Giving Back


Were you one of the thousands of people who donated food through the US Postal Service's food drive Saturday? I have no idea how much food was collected in Pierce County, but it was definitely a lot because I sorted a bunch of it this morning at the Emergency Food Network distribution center. I was one of about 50 volunteers from the Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors helped sort all kinds of donated food and we had a great time. There are literally 10's of thousands of donated food items that will need to be sorted over the next week. It's amazing to see the generosity of Pierce County residents. I learned a few things to about what the best food items are to donate and what might not be the best idea. If you plan on donating again next year, here a few things to keep in mind:

1. The bags of collected food are piled up in large crates, so anything in a glass bottle can break easily. We learned this the hard way when we found a bottle of salad dressing had broken in one of the bags and then drenched a bunch of other items. I still smell like Italian dressing.

2. Boxed items, like cereal and pasta, get crushed easily. Put them in a separate donation bag from the canned items and they seems to survive better.

3. If it expired a few weeks ago it's still okay to donate, unless it's baby food. However, if it expired in 2006 please do not donate it. It has to be thrown away so you might as well do it yourself.

4. The food banks cannot accept food that it not commercially packaged. Several people donated bulk food items, like dried beans, that they scooped into plastic bags at the store and then closed with a twist tie. It's a shame to have to throw good food away, but apparently the food banks can accept that.

5. There are at least 5 different kinds of canned lunch meat. I had no idea there were so many. They all looked kind of gross. (I'm a vegetarian.)

6. Pets need food too! You can donate cat and dog food.

A big "Thank You" to all the Realtors, lenders and title reps who donated their time today! You did a great service to your community!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure

With one in five active Pierce County listings a short sale there are a tremendous amount of people either actively engaged in a short sale or, at least, thinking about one. Ever wonder how a short sale differs from a foreclosure? Here's how each can affect a seller's credit, among other things. Sourced from the Distressed Property Institute, LLC.

Credit Score
Short Sale: Only late payments will show and after sale mortgage will be reported as paid or negotiated. This will lower the score as little as 50 points, if all other payments are being made. A short sale's affect can be as brief as 12-18 months.
Foreclosure: Score may be lowered anywhere from 250 to over 300 points. Typically will affect score for over 3 years.

Credit History
Short Sale: A short sale is not reported on a credit history.
Foreclosure: Will remain as a public record on a person's credit history for 10 years or more.

Security Clearances
Short Sale: Does not challenge most security clearances.
Foreclosure: Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance outside of a conviction of a serious misdemeanor or felony. If a homeowner has a foreclosure and is in a position that requires a security clearance in almost all cases clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated.

Current Employment
Short Sale: A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.
Foreclosure: Employers have the right and are actively checking the credit regularly of all employees who are in sensitive positions. A foreclosure in many cases is ground for immediate reassignment or termination.

Future Employment
Short Sale: A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.
Foreclosure: Many employers are requiring credit checks on all job applicants. A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items an applicant can have.

Future Fannie Mae Backed Loan
Short Sale: Eligible 2 years after short sale.
Foreclosure: Ineligible for at least 5 years.

Now for the obligatory disclaimer: Neither I (Cathy Hodges) or The Distressed Property Institute assumes responsibility nor guarantees the accuracy of the above information and are not engaged in the practice of law or give legal advice. But do feel free to give me a call if you have any questions about this. I can answer some questions and let you know when it's time to speak with an attorney.

Monday, April 12, 2010

WaMu Goes to Washington

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wamu-inquiry13-2010apr13,0,324316.story

The US Senate is finally exposing what everyone in the real estate industry already knew.

It's easy to pin this all on the mortgage lenders, but I think everyone (lenders, buyers, real estate agents) all need to take some responsibility for this.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

You Heard It Here First

The headline in today's News Tribune is about the surge in Pierce County home sales. Click here for article. If you have been reading my blog (all 5 of you, ha ha) then this headline comes as no surprise. My March 1 blog was all about the spike in the number of homes that have gone pending. Yesterday I ran the numbers for pendings over the last 30 days and I would fully expect strong home sales in April too. In fact, the $250,000 and under market is very competitive now.

Curious to see what happens when the tax credits expire...

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Thankfully Not Going Up

The headline in today's New Tribune states that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll will not be raised in the foreseeable future. Whew! The idea of a higher bridge toll had Gig Harbor residents shaking in their boots. I personally feel that the threat of the toll rising has kept the housing recovery from blossoming in Gig Harbor the way it has started to in Tacoma. Here's the part that I find interesting... The bridge toll does not (in most cases) make it more expensive to live in Gig Harbor. On the contrary, Gig Harbor is less expensive. Why? Property taxes. If you take comparable homes tax assessed at $400,000 in Gig Harbor, Tacoma and University Place, Gig Harbor has much lower property taxes. Here is the approximate breakdown:

Gig Harbor $3900 per year
Tacoma $5200 per year
University Place $5700 per year

So, it costs Gig Harbor homeowners $1300 less than Tacoma in taxes and $1800 less than University Place. Now, if you calculate tolls for a commuter with a Good to Go Pass who crosses the bridge 5 times a week for 50 weeks a year (they need 2 weeks off for vacation) the cost is $687.50. Add in a second family member who crosses 3 times a week for 50 weeks (they get a vacation too) and you have a grand total of $1100 per year in tolls. Not bad. A savings of at least $200 per year.

I applaud the Transportation Commission not raising the bridge toll during this recession. I also think that as Realtors we need to counsel our clients who refuse to live in Gig Harbor simply because of the bridge toll that they need to calculate their total cost of living. They may find that it saves them money to live in Gig Harbor. Plus, it's so darn pretty over there...

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

California Housing Market on Rebound

My father, who was a commercial real estate broker for 25 years, always said that real estate trends start in California. If that's the case then this article from today's LA Times is very promising for Tacoma area home values. Check it out...

California Housing Market on Rebound

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Helping Homeowners from Foreclosure



I am very proud to announce that I have just earned the Certified Distressed Property Expert designation. There are so many homeowners in some kind of distress right now that I decided to get additional, extensive training in how to handle short sales. The primary goal is always to keep a homeowner in their home, but unfortunately that is not always possible. When that is the case then saving a home from foreclosure through short sale has a far less negative impact on a seller's credit history and ability to purchase a home again in the future. If you or anyone you know are a distressed property owner (or may become one) please give me a call and we can discuss your options.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Pendings are WAAAAYYYY Up

I was looking at the NWMLS hot sheet this morning and noticed that a lot of houses went "pending inspection" over the last few days, including one of my listings. In fact, I have noticed a definite increase in pendings over the last few weeks. Also, there has been a real increase in open house traffic on Sundays. All the Realtors in my office have been commenting on it. So, I thought I'd take a quick look at how many Pierce County homes went "pending inspection" in December, January and February. By the way, "pending inspection" means that a buyer's offer has been accepted by the seller and the buyer is formally under contract to purchase the home. Here are the results:

December: 27 homes went "pending inspection"

January: 123 homes went "pending inspection"

How many do you think went "pending inspection" in February? How does 386 sound? Holy smoke! That's a huge jump. I had to run my numbers twice to make sure I didn't make a mistake. It's great to know that consumer confidence in the Pierce County real estate market is improving.

Gig Harbor Cuisine is Diversifying


Be still my beating heart... Gateway to India has opened a restaurant in Gig Harbor. Finally Gig Harbor has Indian food!!! And a great vegetarian menu too. The kabuli channa is awesome. (That is garbanzo beans slow cooked in a spiced tomato sauce.) I often made the trek to 6th Ave in Tacoma for my Indian food lunch buffet fix. Now there is no need to cross the bridge. Here's the address: 6565 Kimball Dr. See you there!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Fence Sitting

I just had to post this photo. It's the view from my office window. I took it today and is shows a very rare and precious event in Tacoma... blue sky. Sorry, sometimes the Californian in me comes out. Nothing like Spring weather in February!!

It was a great day to tour new listings. Thursday is the Gig Harbor tour day and I saw a couple of great places with spectacular views. Pricing is still feeling kind of high to me, though. That's the big problem right now. It seems like every agent I talk to has a buyer sitting on the fence waiting for "a great deal." I can't say that I blame the buyers. No one wants to feel like they overpaid for a house. It's hard for sellers too. They know what their homes were worth just a few years ago and the new values are kind of hard to stomach. Still, it's been statistically proven (and my personal experience) that a home priced correctly from the start will attract more buyers and encourage full price offers (or at least close to full price). At least interest rates are low! As they start to drift up buyers are going to qualify for lower and lower amounts. Food for thought...

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Goodbye Le Bistro

A Gig Harbor landmark burned to the ground last night. Here's the News Tribune article.

I hope they can rebuild it. It brought such character to the waterfront.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Underwater

I apologize for my lapse in blogging over the last 2 weeks! The short sales have hit the fan. I have 4 on my plate at the moment, 2 listings and 2 buyers, and they can be REALLY time consuming. For those of you who are wondering what a short sale is, it's when the seller owes more money on his home than he can sell it for. That means I am negotiating with the lien holders on the house. In many cases it's not just one lien holder, but multiple lien holders all with different procedures for short sales. Ugh!!! For example, House A may have an offer of $300,000. The current homeowner refinanced the house in 2006 (peak of the market) and at the time it appraised at $425,000 so the homeowner refi-ed and received a new adjustable rate 1st mortgage of $350,000, plus a 2nd home equity line of credit for $50,000 (which they use to put in a new deck and do some landscaping.) Flash forward to 2009 and the homeowner has been laid off, the adjustable rate mortgage is about to have an interest rate increase and, of course, the real estate market has declined about 20%. The homeowner has not made a payment for some months and is behind $15,000 in interest and penalties. Here's where it gets tricky... The bank offers to refinance the $15,000 in interest and penalties, the homeowner accepts and it is actually refinanced by a 3rd party lender. Therefore we have 3 lien holders on the property. I am the listing agent on the house and we have an offer of $300,000 so I have to submit it to all three lien holders. The lien holders in 2nd and 3rd position can do nothing until the first lien holder agrees to the terms and offers a payoff amount (usually about 10% of what is owed) to the 2nd and 3rd lien holder. They then have to decide whether they will accept it. Naturally, every lender has different procedures, none of which are ever clearly explained, and I get to navigate this fun world. And we haven't even had the home inspection yet...

By the way, I want to make it very clear that the above scenario is fictional. Just a good idea of how short sales happen. So, I apologize for not blogging in awhile and if, you will excuse me now, I have to go fax a short sale "Affidavit of Arms Length Transaction" addendum to Wells Fargo so we can get payoff approval.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Hill Day in Olympia

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Washington Association of Realtors' Hill Day at the State Capitol. It's an annual event, but my first time. Over 600 Realtors (the largest showing ever) came together discuss the state of the real estate market with legislators. With a massive state budget deficit, the real estate industry can be an easy target for new taxes. The current ones being considered in Olympia are to tax real estate services (commissions) as a sales tax and to double the current excise tax by making buyers, in addition to sellers, pay it. Needless to say, both of these would be devastating to the recovery of the real estate market in Washington. Many sellers are barely selling for more than they owe and a sales tax could turn a regular sale into a short sale very easily. On the buying side, first time home buyers are driving that market (I have 2 in escrow right now) and many of them are scraping together every last penny to pay their down payment and/or closing costs. Adding 1.78% tax to that could price them out of the market. It has been statistically proven that since 1960 the real estate industry has led Washington out of recessions. It makes no sense to me for our state to impose a crippling tax on the industry that must regain strength so the state can start growing again. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox, but as you can see it's a vitally important issue to our economy.

On the bright side, I had the chance to speak with 3 state legislators on Hill Day: Sen. Derek Kilmer and Reps Todd Kelley and Jan Angel. All three were very interested in the real estate industry and understood it's importance to the state's economy. This was the first time I've ever "lobbied" for any kind of cause and I really felt that it was productive. Definitely going back next year...

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Lookin' for a Duplex?




I have a new listing today. It's a sweet duplex built in 1910 and located very close to the Stadium District, Tacoma General and 6th Ave. It would be perfect for an owner occupier. It still has it's original woodwork and charm.

Click here to check it out!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Sweet new listing in Gig Harbor


Every now and then I see a new listing on the agent tour that compels me to blog about it. Sometimes they are spectacular waterfront homes that I want to show off. (Saw one of those today.) But a lot of the time they are just nice, charming well priced homes that I would be proud to show any buyer. (Saw one of those today too.) I am going to blog about the charming, well priced house because the listing agent is Michael Robinson and he owns my office. : ) It's in the Madrona part of Whitley Hills (Gig Harbor) and is good sized corner lot, fully fenced and nicely landscaped. The floor plan of the house is awesome. 4 beds, den and bonus room, but what I especially liked is the color palette of the home. It's kind of robin's egg blue with off white accents and dark wood floors. Very soothing and inviting.
Click here for photo gallery.

It's over 3200 square feet and listed at $469,000. Want to buy it? Give me a call!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Website of the Week

Every now and then I like to post something that has absolutely NOTHING to do with real estate. Even a Realtor needs a break now and then. This week's Website of the Week is a throwback to my previous career in motion picture marketing. Back then I used to fly domestically and internationally all the time. Too much of the time, in fact, which is why I left that business. This website celebrates something that is very near and dear to any frequent flier's heart... Airline food. It's a hoot! Ever wonder what Kenya Airways serves for lunch? (Probably not.) This is the website with the answer. They even have vintage photos from the 50's and 60's.

http://www.airlinemeals.net/index.html

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Something to smile about...

As many of you have probably read on the internet in the last day or two, Tacoma is projected to be the strongest real estate market in the country in 2010. These are the top five cities for projected growth according to Moody's Economic Forecast:

The top 5 cities for home prices

  1. Tacoma, Wash. (+2.44%)
  2. Memphis, Tenn. (+0.99%)
  3. Pittsburgh (+0.89%)
  4. Charleston, S.C. (+0.18%)
  5. Seattle (-0.50%)
It's kind of sweet to beat Seattle at something. ha ha

It's not a huge projected growth but it's definitely something to smile about. My feeling is that this modest growth will happen in the under $300,000 price range. Needless to say, this growth is off of current home values, not necessarily what you might have paid for a home in 2006, when the market was hot. So, here are two snap shots for Pierce County home sales. The first is sales under $300,000 for the last 6 months. The second is sales over $300,000. This includes residential single family homes, new and existing construction, no condos.



Monday, January 4, 2010

Real E-State of the Union

Here is a good, quick read from the Wall Street Journal about the state of real estate going into 2010. What I like about it is that it examines affordability based on interest rates and median home prices vs. median incomes. The conclusion is "homes are cheap." I would like to point out, though, that this is a very general look at the market, not specific to Tacoma. While we have experienced a decline in home values it's nothing compared to Florida, Nevada, etc which are factored in to his numbers. Click the link below.

HOMES ARE CHEAP