Motivated buyers

Motivated buyers returning to the housing market

Dramatic increases in open house activity and shrinking inventory are fueling optimism among members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Commenting on the just-released MLS report on January's housing activity, one director stated, "There is a strong belief in the industry that the worst is behind us and we can look forward with confidence."

We had more than 15 buyers visit our Open House in Parkside, Mill Creek on Sunday. We have experienced tremendous activity in the past 6 weeks for motivated buyers and investors. Sellers are also taking advantage of the opportunity to buy up while rates are still historically low.

Market update

According to statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), the number of homes that went under contract in October was up slightly in the Puget Sound area when compared to last month, with Snohomish County seeing the biggest month over month jump of 8.16% Overall, home sales were up nearly 5% from September, in large part due to the 8% sales jump in King County.
The year over year comparison shows pending sales down 22%, and closed sales down 27%. This large gap could be attributed to October 2009 benefiting from a large spike in sales because of the original expiration date of the federal tax credits for homebuyers.

Stable Prices & High Inventory
The Puget Sound continues to trend towards a buyer’s market, with prices stable, inventory up, and low mortgage rates increasing buying power.

Mill Creek Market Update

Mill Creek sales have been strong in the past 2 weeks with 19 pending sales and 7 closed sales.

Update on the local interest rate markets…there is speculation that last week may have served as the bottom of the interest rate market. Rates began to trend slightly upward and the general consensus is although they will stay low for quite some time, they are not likely to sink any lower than current market.

Qualified borrowers are going to receive rates in the lower 4.25% ish range for 30 year fixed. Clients seeking 5 year arm loans are going to see rates available around the 3% ish range.

Now is a great time to respond to these low markets!

Market Update

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE The big news of the week revealed housing starts down 10.0% in May to an annual rate of 593,000 units. Closer inspection of the report reveals that all the drop came from the South. In fact, housing starts were actually UP in all other regions of the country. The South suffered in May with the Gulf oil spill disaster and major flooding. It's understandable that these unfortunate occurrences would make everyone, including home builders, more risk averse than usual. In any case, starts are UP 24.3% above their low a year ago April, with single-family starts UP 15.3% in the last year.

Market Update

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported the Pending Homes Sales index rose in April for the third month in a row, registering a 6% increase over the upwardly revised March figure. This index measures the number of homebuyers signing purchase contracts. April Pending Home Sales hit their highest level since October 2009 and are UP 22.4% year-over-year. Like Existing and New Home Sales the week before, a good part of the gain was put to the tax credit expiration that required a signed contract by April 30. The NAR also forecast new home sales will be UP 18.5% for the year.

April construction increased 2.7%, its fastest gain in a decade. This includes commercial, government, and home construction. Home improvements led the residential gain, but new single-family homes were up as well, showing increased confidence among home builders.

Seattle #2 Best City for Next Decade

10 best cities for the next decade

In researching our 2010 Best Cities, it became clear that there are three elements to the innovation factor. Mark Emmert, president of the University of Washington, put his finger on two of them: Smart people and great ideas. But we'd argue that it's the third element -- collaboration -- that really supercharges a city's economic engine.

When governments, universities and business communities work together, the economic vitality is impressive.

And it's no coincidence that economic vitality and livability go hand in hand. Creativity in music, arts and culture -- plus neighborhoods and recreational facilities that rank high for "coolness" -- attract like-minded professionals who go on to cultivate a region's business scene.

The 10 cities on our 2010 Best Cities are not just great places to live, they're also great places to start a business or find a job.

Here's a closer look at Seattle, the #2 city:

#2. Seattle

Rain City? We say Brain City. It's home to a well-educated work force, a world-class research university and such über-innovators as Microsoft (MSFT, news, msgs), Amazon.com (AMZN, news, msgs) and Boeing's (BA, news, msgs) main aircraft production facility. (Microsoft owns MSN Money.)

Seattle boasts a host of risk-taking, garage-tinkering entrepreneurs, and the city crackles with creative energy. "We only have two products here: smart people and great ideas," says Emmert.

Households Unfazed by Expiring Tax Credits

Households Unfazed by Expiring Tax Credits

The expiration of the home buyer tax credits won’t deter optimistic households who believe the market is improving, according to a survey released Wednesday by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services.

More than 90 percent of those surveyed believe the home buyer tax credits have helped both first-time buyers and the overall housing market, but 65 percent say that end of tax credits won’t reduce their personal interest in buying a home.

Over the next five years, 79 percent expect real estate prices to increase, and 20 percent expect prices to rise substantially. Only 12 percent believe prices will decrease.

Among renters, 75 percent believe owning a home is a better long-term choice for them than renting.

The majority of consumers also believe that homeownership is a good investment, with 75 percent saying it is better than stocks or bonds, 72 percent preferring it to mutual funds, and 74 percent saying it surpasses savings accounts.

Source: Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. (04/28/2010)