Narrows Home Blog

2010-08-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

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?

Musings on the Real Estate Market

2010-07-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

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!

Economic Recovery in Washington State

2010-06-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

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.

Who Can Negotiate a Short Sale?

2010-06-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

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.

1 in 10 Homeowners Missed a Payment

2010-05-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

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

Gig Harbor Gets a New Park

2010-05-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

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!

Realtor Association Giving Back

2010-05-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

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!

Short Sale vs. Foreclosure

2010-04-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

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.

WaMu Goes to Washington

2010-04-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

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.

You Heard It Here First

2010-04-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

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...

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Thankfully Not Going Up

2010-03-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

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...

California Housing Market on Rebound

2010-03-16T12:15:00.001-07:00

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

Helping Homeowners from Foreclosure

2010-03-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

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.

Pendings are WAAAAYYYY Up

2010-03-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-03-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

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!

Fence Sitting

2010-02-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

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...

Goodbye Le Bistro

2010-02-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

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.

Underwater

2010-02-10T14:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Hill Day in Olympia

2010-01-27T11:17:00.001-08:00

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...

Lookin' for a Duplex?

2010-01-20T13:55:00.001-08:00

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!

Sweet new listing in Gig Harbor

2010-01-14T12:50:00.001-08:00

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!

Website of the Week

2010-01-12T13:22:00.000-08:00

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

Something to smile about...

2010-01-10T13:20:00.002-08:00

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

Tacoma, Wash. (+2.44%)
Memphis, Tenn. (+0.99%)
Pittsburgh (+0.89%)
Charleston, S.C. (+0.18%)
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.

Real E-State of the Union

2010-01-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

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

#1 In Washington!!!

2009-12-29T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have said it before and I'll say it again, "My office is really cool." At our weekly sales meeting today, my broker announced that Windermere Professional Partners is now the #1 Windermere office in the entire state of Washington. Holy cow. I knew we were the big rising star in Windermere, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so fast. Especially in this market. We are selling more homes than far more established offices in Downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, etc. The affordability factor in Pierce County is definitely a factor, but I've got to give a big congrats to my broker, who has worked his butt off to improve our training, customer service and market knowledge.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T21:42:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all!!!! And, to all a good night.

Website of the Week

2009-12-17T17:27:00.000-08:00

If you read the previous post, then you will know a little about WordPress (if you didn't already). My website of the week is related to it. It's called StudioPress.com and they design and sell themes, aka templates, for WordPress blog-sites. Their designs are very elegant and also very functional. Check them out. You never know when you are going to start your own site...

StudioPress.com

Transitions... WordPress...

2009-12-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

So, I have been thinking about reworking my blog and using WordPress. I have mostly been thinking about this, not because I am unhappy with my current host (not thrilled with them either), but because it means I can think about something besides the NUMEROUS and frustrating short sales I have going on right now. I know, I know... I should be happy to have the business, but short sales can even test the patience of really patient people like me. We are just going to have to cycle through this. Hang in there clients! I am looking out for you.

This brings me back to WordPress. I attended a very interesting tutorial on the system today and was so impressed with what it offers. There's definitely a bit of a learning curve for a non-techie like me, but I like the idea that I can become a better techie because of it. Has anyone had any experience with WordPress? It very seemlessly allows you to create a "blog-site", my new term for blog based websites. I could provide video clips, rotating photos, more dynamic graphic design to my blog. Very interesting...

New Windermere Professional Partners Website

2009-12-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

My office just debuted it's new website: http://www.windermerepropartners.com. Not that I want to direct you away from my website, but it's got a lot of useful information. I especially like the "Open House Search." Now that so few agents advertise open houses in the newspaper, the web is becoming the go-to place for that info and I think there has been some confusion about the best place to go for the listings. The new Windermere Professional Partners site allows you to search specific areas for ALL open houses, not just our offices. If an agent has placed the open house times on the Multiple Listing Service site, then it will automatically sweep over to my office's website. It's very convenient and super easy to use.

My office is so cool. : )

The Weather May Be Cold, But Condos Are Warming Up

2009-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

This week The Esplanade, a new upscale condo development in downtown Tacoma, has its grand re-opening after going through the foreclosure process. The bank is now selling off it's condos at greatly reduced prices from where they were a year ago. In fact, one of my clients put in an offer on a sweet 1 bedroom. This is the first new construction or condo conversion I've sold in almost 3 years and I sell more condos than the average agent. So, I got to thinking about the condo market in Tacoma...

Three years ago there were numerous new construction and condo conversions for sale in Tacoma. One might even call it a glut of condos. Developers were asking astronomical prices for many of these condos. At least, I felt they were astronomical. They were not much less than prices I had seen in West LA before I moved up here in '06. Except, and I love/hate to say it, Tacoma is not LA. It's an awesome place to live but the circumstances that keep West LA prices so high just don't exist here. We don't have a large population of singles and couples (childless or empty nesters) earning well into the 6 figures. In LA that's very common due to the high cost of living. We also don't have an industry like Hollywood attracting talent and executives who demand staggeringly high compensation. (We don't have the bad attitudes that go with it either!) Finally, we don't have the enormous amount of foreign money found in West LA. I lived in the West LA area for 17 years, including 6 years in my Brentwood condo, and a big percentage of my neighbors were from the Middle East, Asia and South America and they had paid cash (big bucks) for their condos. When Tacoma developers started asking sky high prices for condos there just weren't enough buyers who either could or would pay the prices.

Now, combine that with a mortgage meltdown and a provision that condos developments with less than 50% owner occupancy could not qualify for FHA approval, therefore buyers couldn't get a loan, and we had almost total stagnation in the Tacoma new construction condo market.

Good news! It's warming up. A few things have happened... Some developers were able to slash prices dramatically and that allowed enough cash buyers to come in and get the condo developments FHA approved. Some condo developments went into foreclosure and are now back on the market at greatly reduced prices. But, best of all, FHA is starting to loosen up their restrictions on owner occupancy rates for new construction. Just yesterday 505 Broadway closed 5 units.

In fact, since November 1, there have been 23 total condo sales (new and existing) in the city of Tacoma.

Now if the weather would just warm up a little...

Finally, A Busy Open House

2009-11-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

I held my townhouse listing open yesterday afternoon and expected to have plenty of time to blog because, let's face it, open houses have been REALLY SLOW the last couple of years. Needless to say, I was pretty pleased to have a nice turnout. And real buyers to boot. The $8000 first time home buyer tax credit is definitely moving the under $300,000 housing market. Hopefully it won't all fall apart when the credit ends next April.

I thought I'd crunch some numbers for housing sales in area communities. Below are the active vs. pending sales percentages. I derived these percentages by dividing the number of active listings into the number of pending listings (homes with offers accepted). For example, if a community has 200 actives and 25 pendings, that equals 12.5%. Here's what the percentages mean:

0%-45% is a buyer's market
45%-55% is a neutral market
55%-100% is a seller's market

What does that mean for local communities? Here are the percentages for some:

Gig Harbor 19%
North Tacoma 21%
Lakewood 29%
University Place 20%
Spanaway 55%

Basically, this is telling me that houses are selling. With the exception of Spanaway, it's still a buyer's market but the buyer's are buying when they see a good deal. Spanaway is a borderline seller's market and I'm not surprised because it's median home price is perfect for first time home buyers.

A funny thing happened on the way to Hollywood...

2009-11-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

My real estate career got busy again. Go figure. It turns out that it's next to impossible to get a film financed right now. The banks have stopped lending, just like they've stopped everywhere else. Meanwhile the first time home buyer tax credit has been doing wonders for the real estate industry. It's not exactly gang buster business, but it's a good start.

Last weekend the National Association of Realtors held their annual convention and Lawrence Yun, the NAR economist (and one of the most respected economists in the country), gave a talk on the state of the real estate market. He feels that the pendulum has swung too far and that many homes are selling greatly under value. I love this news simply because it means we have nowhere to go but up. Not that I don't expect plenty of hiccups along the way, but I think we may have made the turn. I'll crunch some numbers for Pierce County and post them tomorrow. Expect to see good news for the under $300,000 range.

Bad, bad blogger

2009-08-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been a bad, bad blogger. Neglecting my blog for weeks on end. I'd love to have an exciting excuse, but no... My "excuse" is that I have had my faith in the real estate business tested. I see signs of recovery, ABSOLUTELY, but is it enough to keep my business going? Two weeks ago I went back to LA to interview for motion picture work, my old job. Sounds glamorous, but I know it's not. It is lucrative, though. In the last year I have been ranked in the top 6% of all agents in Pierce County, but it's still not a steady income. I'd love to be all RAH RAH right now, but that's not the case. Do I give up my years of hard work in real estate and go back to Hollywood? aka Crazywood?

Will Ferrell and the Eye Socket

2009-06-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

As many of you know, I am a vegetarian. So, tonight I was watching MAN VS WILD and came across an interesting (at least to me) question... Why is Will Ferrell eating a reindeer eye socket any weirder than me eating tofu? I have been a vegetarian for about 5 years and have received no end of questioning and criticism. Like somehow eating vegetables and brown rice is a bad thing.

Tonight I was watching MAN VS. WILD with guest star Will Ferrell and they had to cook dinner. Dinner, of course, is northern Sweden road kill, a reindeer. They toasted the head over a fire and eat the eyes. BLEH!!!!!! Tofu is grosser than this? I think not!! How can this, IN ANY WAY, be nicer than eating an apple, pinto beans, peas, and who knows what else.

Will Ferrell, by the way, is a Trojan. I hope he sees the light soon... Or, there is always East LA road kill...

Can I Help You?

2009-05-27T19:55:00.001-07:00

This is my final week of Census address canvassing. My feet are tired. My stamina is increased. I am still frustrated with the plethora of unfenced dogs roaming Gig Harbor.

One of the things I have pondered during my Census experience is the use of the phrase, "Can I help you?" Other than being polite when a store clerk asks me that question, I have never given it much thought. I have heard it MANY times while address canvassing. Today, I was standing in front of a house in a fairly upscale neighborhood, verifying the address, and a woman in a van pulled up next to me and said, "Can I help you?" I wasn't in distress. I didn't look like I needed help in any way. What she was really saying is, "Why are you in my neighborhood and what are you doing?" It had absolutely nothing to do with offering me help. If I had been on private property I would have completely understood that, but I was standing on a county road in a populous area. I don't exactly look like I am casing the neighborhood and I carry a large book bag that says CENSUS.

Earlier in the day, I had a discrepancy with a street name and some addresses (was it 79th Ave or 79th Ave Ct?). No big deal. I knocked on the door of the only home on the street that looked like anyone was home. Dogs barked (of course) and I could see a lady approach the door. The door jiggled and the latch turned. She locked it! Didn't even answer. This is a nice neighborhood and, honestly, I do not look threatening. It was the non-verbal equivalent of "Can I help you?" Have we become more paranoid or am I just more aware of it now. The lady obviously felt safe enough to leave her door unlocked, but became frightened? unfriendly? when I dared to ring her doorbell?

And, I may never know if it was 79th Ave or 79th Ave Ct...

Explaining the new credit card legislation

2009-05-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a post from an MSNBC.COM blog regarding the new credit card regulation passed by Congress yesterday. I was pretty confused, and apparently mislead, about how the legislation will affect credit card holders. This blog post helped clear things up.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/05/dispelling-confusion-over-credit-card-legislation-.html

WSJ House of the Week

2009-05-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Every week the Wall Street Journal website picks a "house of the week." As you can imagine, they don't pick houses in lower price points (like under a couple of million). The houses are always interesting, but the house this week got me to thinking. The sellers are the parents of 4 competitive snowboarders. They are selling to better accommodate their kid's training schedules. The asking price? $8.495 million. Check it out. It's not exactly decorated like a teenager's hangout. Who the heck lived there?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124205330348006895.html

Sci Fi vs Art

2009-05-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am a bit of a Star Trek fan. Not a die-hard Trekkie, but I love my Trek. Now, in case you haven't guessed, this is not a real estate related post. Sometimes I have to think of other things. : ) Therefore, I was watching Star Trek: Next Generation tonight on Tivo and I started to think about the impact of Star Trek.

First of all, I LOVED the new Star Trek movie. Really fun. Star Trek is always fun! But there is a bigger reason (more than fun) for Star Trek to have been a constant in my life since I was a small child. I think it's creativity. I am the product of a "creative" education. I went to film school. Not just anywhere. I went to USC, the best film school in the country. (Maybe the world, but students in Prague would argue that.) Schools today put so much effort into teaching science and math, and I think that's great, but they also need to develop the creative side of the brain. "Creative" progams in schools are being slashed or eliminated and I think that's a tragedy. Ask any die-hard Star Trek science geek what inspires him or her and he/she will say the "creative science side." The transporter beam, Vulcans, warp drive, the food replicator... All products of a creative mind. Our own President, as the story goes, looked at his wife's jewel encrusted belt and called the jewels dilithium crystals.

I am not stating anything profound here. Just remembering that it often takes someone thinking REALLY, REALLY far outside of the box to find something truly interesting and challenging that encourages us to meet those challenges. If we don't encourage creative thinking then how can we expect the science to catch up? Creative thinkers set goals for science. These thinkers don't care about boundaries, sometimes to their detriment and we need them. The creative, pie-in-the-sky ideas makes us aim higher.

Now I need to apply my creative thinking to real estate...

The Reality of Foreclosures

2009-05-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

It seems like every real estate company you drive by these days has a sign out in front saying "Foreclosure List Available." One office in Gig Harbor put one of those signs out last month and had over 100 walk-ins asking for the list. There are foreclosure tours (be wary), articles about grabbing a great foreclosure deal and just all kinds of talk about foreclosure opportunities these days. Recently my office put together a list of pre-forclosure homes because it's such a hot market. This information is all public record because the home's auction date must be registered with the county and made public. I was scanning through the list yesterday (all 70 pages) and, while many agents see opportunity, I have to say I just felt a bit depressed. Looking at all of the names and homes made it much more real and personal. I recognized a few names of people I didn't even know were in such trouble. The truly sad part is that the majority of people on the list are only about $15,000 behind in payments and fees. I don't know everyone's situation and why they are losing their home, but that seems like a small amount to lose a home over. Hopefully some of these folks will be able to sell their homes or work out a new payment schedule with the banks before the auction dates.

So, where are all of these soon to be foreclosed properties? Primarily in East Tacoma, Spanaway and Puyallup. Not so much in North Tacoma, UP or Fircrest and practically none in Gig Harbor.

Why a 14.5% drop in home prices isn't so bad

2009-05-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

The headline in today's News Tribune is PIERCE COUNTY HOME PRICES TUMBLE 14.5%. Very true. They have fallen significantly over the last year. Now my question is... how quickly and how high did they first climb? In January 2004 the median home price in Pierce County was $188,000. Prices peaked in July 2007 at $294,000. That is an increase of 36.1% in 3 1/2 years. Whoa! That's insane! In 2004 prices increased 13% from January to December. In 2005 it was another 14% increase, followed by a 6.5% increase in 2006. Our market spun way out of control (for many, many reasons) and what we are experiencing now is a necessary market correction. Is that a bad thing?

Unfortunately, if you bought in 2005-2007 your home is probably not worth what you paid for it. If that's the case, I feel your pain. I bought in Sept 06. I could cry in my beer (or, in my case, white wine), but the thing is, unless you absolutely have to sell right now, just wait it out and the value will go up again. It won't go up as quickly because that perfect storm of market conditions/lending/appraising, etc doesn't exist anymore. I am looking forward to the day, which is coming, when our real estate market is stable and boring again.

FYI- The stats and numbers were sourced through the NWMLS and Trendgraphix.

I love dogs, but...

2009-05-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been address canvassing for the 2010 Census for the last few weeks. I am not supposed to say where, but let's just say that we canvass near our homes and you can kinda figure out what town I live in from this blog. Anyway, as a Realtor I have always been careful about looking for loose dogs when I am out previewing properties. You never know when a neighbor's unleashed dog will get a little territorial. Well, the Census work has given me a whole new view on the serious nature of this problem. The area I have been canvassing is both rural and suburban and I am astonished at the number of dogs just running around. (And every SINGLE one has barked at me.) It was cute for about 2 days and now it's just plain frightening. I have been growled at, snipped at and plain old threatened by a large number of dogs. My theory is that the book bag and hand held computer I carry must somehow look threatening. A golden retriever even growled at me.

The real (and serious) reason I am writing this is after being growled at and followed in a threatening manner by a pit bull today I realized how little county law enforcement is doing to protect people. After the pit bull threatened me, I happened across a neighbor and mentioned the dog. The neighbor told me that the dog is always loose and a danger to children. It bit someone and they called law enforcement (I am assuming either animal control or the sheriff) and they were told that there were too many loose running dogs for them to handle so they wouldn't do anything about it. Does a child have to be mauled to death before someone gets the message? I love dogs. But, dogs need need to be fenced in or leashed. Invisible fences are a great invention. I would love to hear what people think about this. Am I over-reacting? I don't think so.

By the way, I have a whole new respect for the mailman I had growing up. He didn't have the luxury of delivering mail from his Jeep. He had to walk it, dogs and all!

Heck yeah, houses are selling

2009-05-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought I'd take a look and see how many homes are currently pending in Pierce County. The number might surprise you. There are 6214 active homes for sale (no offers on them) and, drum roll please... 1835 houses pending (under contract)! That's a lot of homes for this "down" market. Now, the reality is that a VERY large percentage of the pending homes are either bank owned or short sales and short sales, especially, spend a long time in escrow, sometimes as much as 3-5 months. I thought I would break down the pending homes in several parts of Pierce County. By the way, I have included condos in these numbers.

Tacoma 1921 active & 527 pending
Gig Harbor/Fox Island 786 active & 137 pending
Lakewood 321 active & 94 pending
University Place/Fircrest 218 active & 52 pending
Spanaway 325 active & 173 pending
Puyallup 818 active & 303 pending

As you can see, Spanaway is no longer a buyer's market, it's even. This is due to a couple of factors: affordable inventory for the average buyer and quite a few bank owned properties in the area driving prices down. As opposed to Gig Harbor where homes tend to be more expensive (fewer available buyers) and there are not nearly as many bank owned and short sales.

Stay tuned, the traditional strong housing season is just getting started...

Website of the Week

2009-05-03T13:47:00.001-07:00

This is a very cool website if you are wanting to redecorate your home and are struggling for ideas. It's called getdecorating.com and it has thousands of photos of professionally decorated rooms and exteriors. You have to be a member to view all the photos, but it's only about $16 for one month. They have photo galleries for every type of room, plus window coverings, doors, etc. One of these days when I get a few bucks in the bank...

http://www.getdecorating.com/

Open Houses this weekend

2009-04-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

I will be hosting two open houses this weekend and please feel free to stop by.

Saturday's (May 2) is a sweet NE Tacoma 2 bedroom condo with sweeping views of Tacoma Harbor. Totally updated by the current owner. Click here for a preview. I could hang out on that deck all day!

Sunday's (May 3) is a beautifully updated craftsman in the North End of Tacoma. Charming!! Plus it has a great yard, sports court and deck. Click here for the preview.

They are both awesome listings and well worth the visit!

Website of the Week

2009-04-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

If you need a good dentist here you go!

John Hodges, DDS click it

Buyer's market?

2009-04-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

This graph shows the Pierce County housing market up to $250,000 from January 2008 through March 2009. Whoa Nelly! Things are picking up! The little triangles represent pending sales and they leapt up in March. As of today, the standing inventory for homes for sale under $250,000 in Pierce County is below 7 months. 6 months is considered a neutral market. The "buyer's market" is gone in Pierce County in this price range. In fact, several agents in my office have experienced multi-offer situations repeatedly. It has been bank owned properties and short sales driving this improvement in pricing. Improvement? I know, I know. But even though prices have dropped and it is bumming sellers out, it's the only way we are going to see a turn around real estate. I am very curious to see how April turns out. Stay tuned...

Blister in a blister

2009-04-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, I have been hired to address canvass for the 2010 US Census. It's been really cool and I have learned sooooo many nooks and crannies in Gig Harbor and Fox Island. What I have also learned is that you can have a blister in a blister. Not kidding. I have walked a tremendous amount of area in the last two weeks and developed a blister on my little left toe. I have monitored it and a few days ago, at the recommendation of a friend, popped it. Today, after 5 hours on my feet, my blister returned. I popped it again and found, AGH!!!, another blister under it. This is not right!!! The really funny/odd part of it is that more than several people, while address canvassing for the Census, have thanked me for my work. I really appreciate this, though I would first remind them that a) I am being paid and b) I am not being sent to Iraq or Afganistan. The Census is part of our Constitution, so I totally appreciate their thanks, but, funny enough, my FEET appreciate it more!

$8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

2009-04-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

There has been a tremendous amount of talk regarding the first time homebuyer tax credit for 2009, as you can well imagine. I think there is also a lot of confusion. The National Association of Realtors put together a good FAQ for it and you can click here for the link. It helps clarify how the credit is given. For example, if you qualify for the tax credit then next year when you file your taxes you will first have to see if you owe the IRS any money. Say you owe them $1500, then that would be deducted from the $8000 tax credit. So, instead of writing the IRS a check for $1500, you would receive a check for $6500.

One thing that I have not seen clarified anywhere is if the first time home buyer co-signs with someone else who is not a first time homebuyer. For example, a buyer who must co-sign with a parent in order to qualify for the mortgage. This is extremely common and, from what I understand, doesn't qualify for the $8000 tax credit. The lesson here is to consult with a tax expert if you think you may not qualify.

WASHINGTON STATE FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS READ HERE!!!!

On April 16, the Washington State Senate passed an ammendment making Washington one of only a few states that will allow you to use the $8000 tax credit for your downpayment. How does it work? First they created a $25 million fund. The buyer "borrows" $8000 from the fund to make the down payment and signs over his/her federal tax credit to the fund. When the buyer files his/her 2009 taxes the $8000 credit is delivered directly back to the fund. Needless to say, the buyer would be responsible for paying any additional taxes they owe that year.

You have got until November 30, 2009 to go out and take advantage of this!

Website of the Week

2009-04-19T15:04:00.001-07:00

I just tried a website called picnik.com. It's a photo manipulation website that mimics Photoshop. I love being able to play around with photography but never wanted to spend the big bucks on Photoshop. This site has a free version (that I used) and an upgraded version for a monthly fee. The free version had a bunch of options and I want to start experimenting with it. Here is my first attempt. It took me all of a minute to do. By the way, this is a self portrait of my nephew Connor. Apparently he got hold of my camera one day because when I recently downloaded pictures from it, I found several that I know I didn't take, including this one. I decided to give him a Quentin Tarantino look.

Accredited Buyer Representative Designation Earned

2009-04-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I have officially earned my first Realtor designation, the Accredited Buyer Representative. This is the result of 24 hours of clock hour courses, passing the tests and having enough transactions under my belt to qualify. What this means is that I have taken the time to learn how to better serve and advise my buyer clients so the home buying process is smoother and my client's best interests are served.

Gig Harbor Getting Interesting for Foodies

2009-04-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

I tried Sip at the Restaurant Wednesday night with a couple of friends and I am hopeful that Gig Harbor is finally going to get more interesting for foodies. The Tides is always good, my fish loving dad says they have the best grilled halibut sandwich he's ever had, and their new menu is showing some extra creativity. Anthony's has good food, but is really about the view. Also, as a vegetarian, their menu is too limited for me to give a true opinion. The Marketplace Grille, next to Anthony's, has a killer veggie burger, award winning clam chowder and a terrific view. Brix 25 has a spectacular wine selection, though I find their food sometimes in need of a little simplification. Complex doesn't mean throw in as many ingredients as you can. Also, not much available for a vegetarian.

Now, we have Sip, which opened a few weeks ago in Uptown Gig Harbor. I went with 2 friends, one a big time foodie from LA, and we were pretty darn impressed. There were a few things that still need some tweeking. My asparagus with black truffle oil was cooked perfectly but needed about a third of the truffle oil on it. Too heavy. My LA friend's white bean soup tasted great but has the consistancy of porridge. Just need to thin it out a little and perfection shall be obtained. My other friend loved her slider burgers and her french fries were sinfully good. We didn't really dig into the wine list on this trip, but it looks impressive. The thing I was most pleased with is that they are open late on Friday and Saturdays. 1am!!!!! Finally a place in Gig Harbor that doesn't start winding down at 8 o'clock. Now their is a great place to go after an 8pm movie.

What's coming next for Gig Harbor foodies... LeLe Vietnamese Food! More on that when it opens in Uptown Gig Harbor.

Website of the Week

2009-04-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

I had a really nice dinner Saturday night at Maxwell's Speakeasy and Lounge in downtown Tacoma. We caught a movie at The Grand Cinema and then walked down to Maxwell's. Our ticket stub served as a coupon for a free dessert. Their wine selection is very good and their happy hour food prices are excellent!

http://www.maxwells-tacoma.com/

Census 2010

2009-04-06T10:53:00.001-07:00

I have been pretty busy gearing up for the 2010 Census. About 6 weeks ago I read that they were hiring people with flexible schedules who would want to put in about 20-25 hours a week address canvassing. I thought, what the heck, that sounds like fun and it ties in well with my real estate career. Last week I completed my 5 days of training and learned, no, they want 30-40 hours a week. Yikes! Guess I'll be burning the midnight oil a little. Still, I am excited to get started. I already know the Gig Harbor area very well, but this will even improve on that. It's so important as a Realtor to have on the ground knowledge of your market. Many agents have become so reliant on the internet, but you just can't know a neighborhood until you've walked it.

Click here to read the News Tribunes article about the census starting.

Website of the Week

2009-03-23T15:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, she's my sister-in-law, but she's got a cool website for her photography business. Definitely worth checking out! KelliHodgesPhotography.com

Mortgage Modification

2009-03-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here's a good article from the LA Times about mortgage modification for people with adjustable rate mortgages who are having trouble with the payments. While it talks about the California market, it can really be applied anywhere. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cover22-2009mar22,0,7096135.story

Signs of life in Gig Harbor real estate

2009-03-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

The market ratio is at 11.51%!!!! What does that mean? You take the number of active listings vs. the number of pending listings and the market ratio is the percentage of pendings to actives. Does that make sense? Today there are 669 active listings in Gig Harbor & Fox Island. There are 77 pending listings, homes with an accepted offer on them. 77 is 11.51% of 669.

For the last 2 years Gig Harbor has had a market ratio under 10%. That is a horrible ratio if you are trying to sell a home. In the summer of 2007 the market ratio was about 6% and there were hardly any homes with offers on them. Too much inventory for the number of buyers out there. This jump in market ratio means two things: a. The inventory has dropped. b. Sellers are finally pricing their homes competitively for the current market. We still have a long way to go but we are heading in the right direction. I'd love to see that market ratio around 30%.

Twitter... Tweet? Twit? Twat?

2009-03-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

All of a sudden the world is atwitter! Okay, I signed up on Twitter yesterday. I officially have 2 followers. The big question I have been grappling with is, "What the heck do I do with it?" I'm still trying to get the blog thing down. There is a very helpful article on biznik.com that explains the Twitter basics. Click here to take a look. It explains how to send private messages, how to forward and reply, etc. Next I need to figure out how use it for networking and marketing. And, how to use it on my phone...

Modify Your Mortgage

2009-03-19T13:59:00.001-07:00

With so many people struggling to pay their mortgages right now (and most of them are real estate agents!), the federal government has created a new program for either refinancing or loan modification. It just launched today and here is the website: http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/

This isn't going to help everyone who is having trouble making their payments. For example, many real estate agents won't qualify because we don't have a steady enough income. Rats!! Still, if you are having trouble, please check the website out. There may be hope.

Website of the Week

2009-03-08T13:34:00.001-07:00

If you are new to the area or just looking to meet new people with similar interests, check out MeetUp.com. I have found a couple of interesting groups and have really enjoyed meeting the people.

Why I love Gig Harbor

2009-03-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

I currently have a listing on Warren Dr. in Gig Harbor. When I have an open house there I always stop and put a sign at the corner of 70th Ave and 32nd St. This is a fairly busy intersection with stop signs and yield signs so the traffic can still really move quickly. I park my car on the side of the road and put my blinkers on. The cool part is that someone usually sees my blinkers and slows down to make sure I'm okay and my car isn't broken. I find that so great! Having moved up here from LA, I find it almost unbelievable, too. People really check on their neighbors here, even if they are total strangers. Now THAT is a community.

Link to pictures of cool house with kick butt home theater

2009-03-08T13:25:00.001-07:00

Click here to view the photo gallery of the University Place house with the awesome home theater system.

Cool house on tour

2009-03-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, this photo has nothing to do with real estate. I just thought it was cute.

Every Tuesday morning area real estate agents tour new listings in Tacoma, UP, Fircrest and Lakewood. It's Thursdays in Gig Harbor and Fridays in NE Tacoma. Of all the houses I have toured over the years I have seen many home theater systems. As a former movie industry person I am pretty picky about these. Most fail miserably, usually because there is too much natural light in the home theater room. Why spend all the money to put in a kick butt home theater with blu-ray, plush seating and surround sound if you ruin the picture with sunlight. (In the Northwest it's light very late at night during much of the year.) FINALLY, last Tuesday I saw a great home theater room. The house is listed by Cal Mosher, an agent in my office. The custom home theater has as the right seating, projection and audio, but more than that it's sound proofed and has absolutely no outside light. Cal had the latest Batman movie playing and I felt like I was back in LA. I swear the house shook under the audio effects. Very cool.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

2009-02-24T16:32:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of hype and misinformation spread about the new first time home buyer tax credit that passed as part of the economic stimulus package last week. It's really great, but has several important "buts" and "ifs". The National Association of Realtors put out a pamphlet to help explain it and here the link to the PDF on the NAR website:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PDF

With really low interest rates and a sweet tax credit, it's a great time to become a home owner!

Houses Are Selling!

2009-02-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

Maybe just not a the prices we would like them to if you are a seller. The buyers are definitely out there and snapping up the bargains. Here are the stats for Pierce County in January:

5367 Active Listings
728 Pending Listings
297 Sold Listings

This makes for a 7.4 month supply of homes based on the number of pending sales. The lowest supply rate since June 2007. This is after we peaked with a 14.3 month supply in December 2008. Obviously some sellers got the message. Unfortunately, most of those sellers were banks.

Here are the breakdowns for some more specific areas of Pierce County in January:

Gig Harbor
605 Active Listings
43 Pending
15 Sold
14.1 month supply

Lakewood
271 Active Listings
17 Pending
17 Sold
7.7 month supply

Puyallup
976 Active Listings
98 Pending
81 Sold
7.2 month supply

Tacoma
1873 Active Listings
151 Pending
139 Sold
5.9 month supply

University Place
159 Active Listings
23 Pending
17 Sold
10 month supply

Needless to say, these numbers vary depending on the price, neighborhood, waterfront, view, etc. By the way, these numbers are culled from Trendgraphix.

Lighting the Narrows Bridges

2009-02-11T14:57:00.000-08:00

This week there was a big step forward towards permanently lighting the Tacoma Narrows Bridges at night. If you missed the article in The News Tribune click here for the link. I am actually a little surprised at backlash to the lights. There are some people who feel it is light polution and I think they have a valid point. Otherwise, the cost is pretty inexpensive and the power to run the lights can be generated through "green" energy sources. Most importantly, I genuinely think the lights will improve the value of homes that have a view of the bridges. That's a lot of homes! Currently there are no iconic images that represent the South Sound. Sorry, the Tacoma Dome just doesn't do it for me. Seattle has the Space Needle and Pike's Place Market. We have great museums, quirky neighborhoods, historic neighborhoods, but no one image that instantly tells someone where it located and makes them want to go there. The question I pose is "Do you think lighting the bridges will increase tourism in the area?"

Are houses selling?

2009-02-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

"Are houses selling?" This is the second most asked question I get after, "How are you doing?" The first question is usually asked with a cringe because they expect me to break down into a puddle of tears over my choice of career... Real Estate. Well, the answer is, "I am doing fine." More importantly, "Houses are definitely selling!" In the first 12 days of February, 104 houses and condos have sold in Pierce County. That's not exactly gang-buster business, but it's not a disaster either.

My goal with this blog is to keep you informed about the South Sound real estate market through hard facts, aka statistics culled from the NWMLS. I'd also like to have some fun with the blog. I'm not even sure what that means yet, but if I see a house I just LOVE or hear of an event that I think people would enjoy I will post it.

My sister in law snapped a classic picture last summer that I think sums up the two ways to look at the real estate market and our current economy in general. We can either see it as a wild ride with lots of opportunities or we can see it as a scary mess.

Which kid are you?