Seattle Real Estate Blog

NWMLS: October 2011 Seattle Housing Market Report

November 6, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

Housing activity during October shows mixed results with sales up, prices down, buyers still hesitant

KIRKLAND, WA, November 3, 2011. Befitting October and Halloween, last month’s housing activity had both tricks and treats. Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported solid gains in pending sales (up almost 21 percent from a year ago), consistent demand in many price ranges, a shortage of homes in a few categories, and some resurgence of move-up buyers.

Despite those encouraging indicators, prices were down almost 11 percent area-wide compared to a year ago and brokers say there is persistent “hesitancy” in the market.

“All the pieces (for a recovery) exist — low interest rates, lots of choices, increasing loan availability as well as purchasing programs, yet as a whole the housing market has stalled in many places,” said Northwest MLS director Frank Wilson.

“What is holding back the housing market has little to do with houses,” Wilson stated, pointing to uncertainty in the stock market and volatile global economies, along with a more complicated, prolonged transaction process and lack of job creation.

Continue reading the NWMLS October housing news release – click to download (pdf)

Filed Under: Market Update

NWMLS: September 2011 Market Report

October 13, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

Northwest MLS brokers say September activity reflects “healthy activity, positive trends”

With inventory at its lowest level since May, members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service report “stiff competition for move-in ready homes” in some neighborhoods. Other key indicators in the latest statistical report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show upticks in sales and some leveling off on prices.

Pending sales for the Northwest MLS service area, which encompasses 21 counties, are up more than 20 percent from a year ago. Following typical August-to-September patterns, the volume of pending sales (mutually accepted offers) tapered off last month (down 9.6 percent) compared to the previous month.

Brokers reported 4,988 closed sales during September, beating the year-ago volume by 991 transactions for a gain of almost 25 percent. The number of completed transactions in the four-county Puget Sound region (King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap) jumped 32 percent from twelve months ago.

>> Continue reading the current month article at nwrealestate.com

Filed Under: Market Update Tagged With: Market Update

NWMLS: August 2011 Market Update

September 20, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

Northwest MLS brokers notch this year’s best monthly tally of sales during August

KIRKLAND, WA, September 6, 2011. August now ranks as this year’s best month for both pending and closed sales around Washington state, according to the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Last month’s volume of pending sales was the highest number of mutually accepted offers since April 2010 when the homebuyer tax incentive expired.

Northwest MLS brokers reported 7,632 pending sales during August, a gain of more than 26 percent from the same month a year ago when they notched 6,037 pending sales. Last month’s total for the 21 counties in the MLS service area surpassed July by 450 transactions.

Thirteen counties had double-digit gains from a year ago, led by Snohomish County where pending sales jumped more than 46 percent.

>> Continue reading the current month article at nwrealestate.com

Filed Under: Market Update Tagged With: Market Update

What Buyer’s Market?

August 27, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard news reports that Seattle housing market is in the dumps, with a glut of inventory and falling prices. And, there’s truth to that…to a degree.

Unfortunately, whenever those housing report are mentioned, they cover a rather large geographic area. Generally, most of the reports include stats from the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area…meaning King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.

The problem with using such an expansive geographic area is that real estate, namely housing trends, are localized. The housing market in Seattle is quite different from Everett, or Bellevue, or Tacoma or Puyallup. And, even within Seattle, it can vary widely by neighborhood, pricing tiers and property type (single family houses vs. condos).

When we look specifically at Seattle’s housing market – the results are striking. The overall market (SFH & condos) is in a balanced market climate based on the absorption rate, and for single family homes, it’s a borderline seller’s market. Absorption rate (inventory supply rate), is the rate at which the inventory will sell out at the current rate of demand (sales). It is used as an indicator to gauge the market environment.

	1-3 months of supply:	Seller’s Market
	4-6 months of supply:	Balanced Market
	7+ months of supply:	Buyer’s Market

Seattle Absorption Rate (SFH & condos), expressed in months:

Based on the current rate of closed sales, Seattle has a 5.1 month inventory supply rate. Roughly, 20% of the inventory is being absorbed every month. As the graph indicates, Seattle has been in a balanced real estate market for most of 2011.

Seattle Single Family Absorption Rate, expressed in months:

Seattle’s single family properties have a 4.1 month inventory supply rate. Over the past several months, the market has been indicative of a balanced to seller’s market environment. Approximately 24% of the inventory is being absorbed every month.

Seattle Condo Absorption Rate, expressed in months:

Seattle’s condo market is another story. The absorption rate rose to 8.6 months of supply based on the number of July closings. For the most part, condos have exhibited a buyer’s market climate with about 12% of the inventory being absorbed. It’ll take the condo market a bit longer to recover. Fortunately, there won’t be any new units delivered for at least 4 years, which will allow the current inventory to dissipate over time.

So, what’s the story behind Seattle’ relatively normal real estate market?

There are several factors that are attributable to our local housing market, such as:

Employment. Buoyed by the tech sector educated, well-paid professionals are moving into Seattle with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Facebook hiring thousands. The Gates Foundation is also expanding.
Cheap money. Recently, mortgage interest rates clocked in a 50-year historic low, making it incredibly inexpensive to borrow money for home purchases. This past week, even FHA mortgage rates were down to 4.25% for a 30-year fixed.
Affordable home prices. The economic slow down, uncertainty, the bursted housing bubble and distressed home sales have deflated housing prices in Seattle over the past several years. While that may be a heartbreak for sellers, it’s been a boon for buyers, particularly when combined with low mortgage rates.
Shrinking inventory. Geographically, Seattle is confined by water; there isn’t a lot of available land to build massive developments like you’d find on the Eastside or South King County. When it comes to single family homes, Seattle can’t be over built. Additionally, loan modifications and government intervention have slowed the rate of foreclosures, cutting back on on the number of short sale and bank-owned properties. As such, Seattle’s available inventory is down 31% from a year ago (see chart below).

Data source: TrendGraphix

Filed Under: Market Update Tagged With: Absorption Rate, Market Update

Nationwide Open House Weekend

June 1, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

National Open House

The Nationwide Open House Weekend event is coming up this weekend, June 4th & 5th, across the country. In Washington state, it’s estimated that up to 7,000 properties will be participating in the event.

Most open houses will be easy to identify — they’ll have blue Realtor balloons.

Did you know you can search for open houses on Living Northwest? Just click on the open house search panel and select “This Weekend”. The search map will automatically update with open house listings (zoom out to expand and view more properties).

Search for Seattle area open houses

Filed Under: Buying Your Home

Land Use Activity – Apartments Galore

May 26, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

2nd & Pike Tower

With Seattle’s low apartment vacancy rate it seems everyone wants a piece of the action. I’ve highlighted a number of the larger downtown high-rise apartment proposals on the Seattle Condos and Lofts blog but it seems they’re sprouting up all over the city.

One real estate investment company filed applications for several projects in Seattle’s north end. Design review guidance meetings have been set for a couple of Goodman Real Estate’s projects. Goodman’s past residential investments include both apartment and condominium developments.

Leilani Lanes Parcel – 10201 Greenwood Avenue N – Greenwood

The proposed development will contain approximately 250 residential units, 4 live/work units and commercial space.

Meeting Date: Monday, June 13th at 8:00 pm at the Ballard High School Library

3606 Woodland Park Ave N – Wallingford

A 4-story 48 unit residential building including 2 live/work loft units.

Meeting: Monday, June 13th at 6:30 pm at the Ballard High School Library

6559 15th Avenue NW – Ballard

Application filed for a large 4-story building along 15th Avenue NW containing 101 residential units and 3 live/work units.

1260 Republican St – South Lake Union

AMLI Residential, a national apartment and corporate housing company, which recently proposed a large Ballard development now has another one in the works in South Lake Union. The SLU proposal is for a 7-story building with 174 residential units, retail and restaurant space.

A design review early design guidance meeting has been scheduled for 6:30 pm on Wednesday, June 15th at the Queen Anne Community Center Room #3 (1901 1st Avenue West).

802 E Thomas St – Capitol Hill

WRP Associates is planning a 7-story residential building in the heart of the Capitol Hill’s Broadway district. The proposed structure, called The Harvard Flats, will include 70 units and commercial space along the street level.

A design review board meeting has been scheduled for 8:00 pm on June 15th at the Seattle University Alumni Relations and Administration Building (824 12th Avenue).

1430 2nd Avenue – Downtown Seattle

The proposed development of the parcel at 2nd Avenue and Pike Street in downtown was for a combined hotel and luxury condominium tower. When the condo market hit a brick wall and construction financing dried up the original Candela Hotel & Residences project was shelved. Since 2010, a new proposal for a 35-story apartment tower has been making its way through the Seattle DPD. Presently, the developer, Urban Visions, is addressing environmental impact issues with the DPD over the proposed design. Though, I’m sure those will eventually be resolved.

Image courtesy of Olson Kundig Architects / Urban Visions.

Filed Under: Apartments, Land Use Activity

Improved School Information

May 20, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

We’re excited to announce improvements to school information with our home search feature. In addition to searching for homes by school district, we’re able to provide map boundaries of school districts and location of nearby schools.

To search by an individual school or district, use the “Schools/Districts” search panel.

To view locations of nearby schools in the search map, select the “Show School Info” button in the lower right hand corner of the map and check the “show” box.

When viewing a particular listing, you can see a list of nearby schools by selecting the “Schools” tab.

School district boundary maps have been added which can be accessed through the “Show School Info” button in the lower right hand corner of the map. Note, this option only shows the school district, it is not a search function. To search by school district, use the “Schools/Districts” search panel noted above.

Filed Under: Buying Your Home

Mortgage Rate remain low, historically

May 17, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

Recently, I’ve been hearing some fretting amongst home buyers about interest rates heading into the 5′s. It’s been a few years since rates have gone above 5% so many may not know how good they have it. The graph belows shows rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage over the past 20 years.

Even if the rates move into the 5′s this year, it’ll remain among the lowest rates available in decades.

Are you ready to begin your home search? The first step to is compare mortgage loan programs from various lending/banking institutions and get pre-approved. Let us personally introduce you to our mortgage partners, just contact us when you’re ready!

Filed Under: Mortgage Information

FHA to increase its mortgage insurance premium

March 16, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

If you’re currently looking to purchase your home (house, condo, townhome) with an FHA Loan, the cost of that loan will be increasing soon. Effective April 18, 2011, the FHA monthly mortgage insurance premium will be increasing 0.25% for all loans with case numbers issued on or after April 18th.

The net effect of the change is two-fold. First, the monthly mortgage payments will increase. That means more money out of pocket every month. Second, as the cost of the mortgage rises, purchasing power decreases. In this case, not by much; it’s likely less than $10,000. Though, if you’re close to your limit, that could have an effect on how much home you can afford. To avoid the fee increase, buyers should act quickly.

Most FHA buyers will finance a 30-year term with the minimum 3.5% down, resulting in a 96.5% loan to value, and therefore will be subject to the 1.15% mortgage insurance premium.

For a $500,000 loan, the monthly mortgage payment amount would increase $104.

This is the second time in about six months that FHA has increased the monthly mortgage insurance premium. Fortunately, the FHA mortgage insurance premium tax deduction has been extended through 2011, which will help ease the burden. As always, we recommend you speak with your mortgage and/or tax professional to get more detailed information on how the change will affect you.

Don’t forget about the Mortgage Credit Certificate. For qualified first-time home buyers, the Mortgage Credit Certificate tax credit can completely negate the amount of FHA mortgage insurance premium increase.

If you have questions about the upcoming FHA mortgage insurance changes or are ready begin the home search process, please feel free to contact us.

Filed Under: Mortgage Information Tagged With: FHA Loans, Mortgage Insurance Premium

Pet Odor Can Chase Away Buyers

February 12, 2011 By Ben Kakimoto Leave a Comment

Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com
By: G. M. Filisko

Having pet odors inside your home can turn off potential home buyers and keep your home from selling. Ask your real estate agent for an honest opinion about whether your home has a pet smell.

If your agent holds her nose, here’s how to get rid of the smell:
Air your house out. While you’re cleaning, throw open all the windows in your home to allow fresh air to circulate and sweep out unpleasant scents.

Once your house is free of pet odors, do what you can to keep the smells from returning. Crate your dog when you’re out or keep it outdoors. Limit the cat to one floor or room, if possible. Remove or replace pet bedding.

Scrub thoroughly. Scrub bare floors and walls soiled by pets with vinegar, wood floor cleaner, or an odor-neutralizing product, which you can purchase at a pet supply store for $10 to $25.

Try a 1:9 bleach-to-water solution on surfaces it won’t damage, like cement floors or walls.

Got a stubborn pet odors covering a large area? You may have to spend several hundred dollars to hire a service that specializes in hard-to-clean stains.

Wash your drapes and upholstery. Pet odors seep into fabrics. Launder, steam clean, or dry clean all your fabric window coverings. Steam clean upholstered furniture.

Either buy a steam cleaner designed to remove pet hair for around $200 and do the job yourself, or pay a pro. You’ll spend about $40 for an upholstered chair, $100 for a sofa, and $7 for each dining room chair if a pro does your cleaning.

Clean your carpets. Shampoo your carpets and rugs, or have professionals do the job for $25 to $50 per room, depending on their size and the level of filth embedded in them. The cleaner will try to sell you deodorizing treatments. You’ll know if you need to spend the extra money on those after the carpet dries and you have a friend perform a sniff test.

If deodorizing doesn’t remove the pet odor from your home, the carpets and padding will have to go. Once you tear them out, scrub the subfloor with vinegar or an odor-removing product, and install new padding and carpeting. Unless the smell is in the subfloor, in which case that goes next.

Paint, replace, or seal walls. When heavy-duty cleaners haven’t eradicated smells in drywall, plaster, or woodwork, add a fresh coat of paint or stain, or replace the drywall or wood altogether.

On brick and cement, apply a sealant appropriate for the surface for $25 to $100. That may smother and seal in the odor, keeping it from reemerging.

Place potpourri or scented candles in strategic locations. Put a bow on your deep clean with potpourri and scented candles. Don’t go overboard and turn off buyers sensitive to perfumes. Simply place a bowl of mild potpourri in your foyer to create a warm first impression, and add other mild scents to the kitchen and bathrooms.

Control ongoing urine smells. If your dog uses indoor pee pads, put down a new pad each time the dog goes. Throw them away outside in a trash can with a tight lid. Remove even clean pads from view before each showing.

Replace kitty litter daily, rather than scooping used litter clumps, and sweep up around the litter box. Hide the litter box before each showing.

Relocate pets. If your dog or cat has a best friend it can stay with while you’re selling your home (and you can stand to be separated from your pet), consider sending your pet on a temporary vacation. If pets have to stay, remove them from the house for showings and put away their dishes, towels, and toys.

More from HouseLogic
Preparing your home for sale

Staging your home for sale

Spring cleaning guide

Other web resources
More tips on eliminating odors

G.M. Filisko is an attorney and award-winning writer whose former mutt Marley no doubt created a wet-dog aroma in her condo that still remains. A regular contributor to many national publications including Bankrate.com, REALTOR® Magazine, and the American Bar Association Journal, she specializes in real estate, business, personal finance, and legal topics.

Photo: CC Image courtesy of David Light Orchard on Flickr

Filed Under: Selling Your Home