It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged about Real Estate. I’ve been working on my current remodel, and keeping an eye on the market. Which, while slow, is still going up in price in Seattle proper. However, the surrounding areas are seeing some significant downward pressure on price.

A new blog has popped up at the Seattle Times, called the Real Estate Deal:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2004343248_cindy13.html

I’ll be keeping an eye on it to see if there’s any good advice.  Speaking of good advice, read this article for information on picking a lender. I also found this great Realtor’s site on pet friendly buildings in Seattle, a great niche for an agent, and a great resource for those of us who love our pets.

Now for the numbers….

Seattle single-family home prices in March were unchanged from the previous month, but sank 2.2 percent from the same time a year ago.

The median price for in-city condominiums was 4.9 percent higher than in February with a 4.1 percent increase from the same period in 2007, according to figures released Friday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

In March, the median price of a Seattle single-family home, which includes many townhouses, was $450,000, exactly the same as in February, but $10,000 less than in March 2007.

King County’s median single-family home price was $439,900, a 2.3 percent jump over February, reversing a downward or flat trend that began last July. But it remained 3.3 percent lower than in March 2007. Condo prices in King County increased 4.6 percent over last year.

In Western Washington overall, the median price for a single-family home was $325,000, a slight drop from February and well below the year-ago price of $345,000.

There still were far more homes on the market than a year ago. House and condo listings increased 61 percent from 2007 in Seattle, 64 percent in King County and 35 percent in Western Washington.

Pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums in Seattle and King County were down sharply, compared with last March, by 29 percent and 39 percent, respectively.

Ask anyone who lived in Bremerton for a few years if you should have bought a condo in Kitsap County for almost half a million dollars, and they’d have told you that it was nuts.

Apparently it was…

 http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2008/feb/10/kitsap-condo-prices-slide-from-a-year-ago/

It costs a lot less to buy a condominium today in Kitsap County than a year ago, according to new real-estate tracking figures.

The January median closing price of $299,900 was down $135,000 from a year ago. The average closing price fell nearly $87,000, to $346,980, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

Even with the lure of new bargains, low interest rates and plenty of choice, the Kitsap condo market has slowed. Only five condo sales closed last month in Kitsap, down from 33 in January 2007.

A Web site for the one of the largest condo complexes in Kitsap — the 180-unit Harbor Square on Bainbridge Island — advertised one unit marked down from $545,000 to $449,000.

Maureen Buckley, owner and broker at Buckley & Buckley Real Real Estate on Bainbridge Island, characterized the island’s condo market is “moseying along” after undergoing big price drops last fall.

Elsewhere in Kitsap, a West Bremerton condo sold for $210,000 last month, and one near Poulsbo closed at $150,000.

Unlike condos, prices for single-family homes in Kitsap County held steady last month compared with a year ago. The median closing price now is at $278,553 and the average at $333,597.

Condos can be very good investments, but you better have some knowledge about what you are doing, and have an agent that has bought a few condos before who can advise you about things the possible pitfalls.

When you buy a condo, you are technically buying “air space,” and while they can go up in price quickly, they can also fall very quicly.  From special assesments to housing bubbles, condos are risky, and those buyers who are looking to buy it and “forget about maintenance” are taking a big risk. Researching a condo purchase means doing your homework. Does the condo association have a long term track record of being run well, maintained, and is there an active home owner’s association? How much money is there in the association’s reserve account? I personally recommend that potential condo buyers talk to other owners in the building to find out how they like living in the building, how long they’ve owned a condo in the building, how do they like the home owner’s associations, etc. Living in a condo does not necessarily guaruntee that you will have “worry free” home ownership.

But doing your due diligence up front will help. Personally, I have always recommended that my clients think long and hard before they buy a condo.  Buying real estate should be a long term investment and a home, and both factors should be weighed out when judging which home and location is right for you.

A good buyer’s agent, one who knows the area in which he or she works may help you avoid costly mistakes. Maybe you love the location, and you are going to live in the same condo for the next 20 years. Well then, brand new construction, that might dip 150,000 dollars in the short term, might not be a big concern, because in 20 years it will ultimately regain that loss, and probably triple in price on top of it… but if you are planning on selling in a few years, risky condo speculation might not be for you.

As the rest of the country is seeing huge declines in real estate prices and sales, the Northwest continues to be a bright spot both in Real Estate and the overall economy. Washington CEO states, “Compared to the rest of the nation, the King County economy is robust.”

While the Real Estate market has slowed, and houses are taking longer to sell, the current outlook is strong. Well qualified buyers may find the time is right to take advantage of historically low interest rates on 30-year fixed rate mortgages. But sellers shouldn’t worry too much, especially if they are selling a home in the lower-end price range (200 to 400k).

So yes the outlook is unclear, and no one has a crystal ball, but sticker shock in the Northwest is still not a thing of the past. And the outlying areas like Kitsap and Yakima counties are still showing pockets of strength.

http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290970606980460

While overall home prices are appreciating, Yakima’s real estate market has some pockets of weakness. Mid-range home prices and sales are slowing. Lower-priced homes, up to about $200,000, are selling rapidly.

And just as I’ve told many of my buyers and sellers, expect the market to pick up again around April, after everyone has finished their taxes:

http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/290970606980460 

“With all the snow, there aren’t a lot of buyers out there looking at houses. We were expecting something to happen in September-November period,” Kerr said. “The Realtors say there should be a lot of movement in April. We are sitting tight here.”

So my advice to buyers: buy now! And to sellers…. take the next two months to get your house in order, and contact me about listing it in April.

As the rest of  the country sees drastic reductions in prices, the Northwest Real Estate Market has seen a slight increase:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/350266_housing07.html

Ten people were lined up outside of a Ballard Craftsman just before an open house two Sundays ago, and three more arrived just after the doors opened.

“I’ve been hearing it’s better for the buyers now,” said Patti Studley, a Seattle resident who has looked at homes for about a year. “I feel a little bit of an advantage.”

Local real estate professionals say they have seen increased activity since the start of 2008, but January statistics the Northwest Multiple Listing Service released Wednesday still show a sluggish market, with an uptick in year-over-year house prices and the first condominium price drop in recent years.

This is a pretty good online mortgage calculator:

http://www.mortgagecalculator.org/

First time buyers should pay attention to how property tax, pmi, and homeowner’s insurance add into your payments. I like this calculator because it includes amortization schedules.

Thinking about buying… now’s a great time, with a buyer’s market in the Northwest and mortgage rates hitting historic lows:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a9WB2EDVStsc&refer=us

The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage declined to 5.31 percent today, the lowest since March 2004 when the Fed’s benchmark rate was 1 percent, according to Bankrate Inc., a research firm in North Palm Beach, Florida.

Seriously, Verity Credit Union of Washington State, is offering 6% interest on their checking accounts up to $40,000 deposited. So while the market may have you down, Verity could make you up to $200 a month just for opening a checking account with them. I did it!

And if you do, make sure you tell them Gentry Lange referred you to their bank, cause they’ll pay you $25 bucks for signing up, and they’ll pay me $25 for referring you. Sounds too good to be true…. but it isn’t!

As a real estate agent I often encourage my clients to read as much current news about northwest real estate as they can. So for those of you wanting to educate yourself about the current market here’s my top 10 recommendations:

1. The LA Times on Seattle’s Market
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-boom31dec31,1,2460412.story

SEATTLE — It’s the kind of house that a year or two ago would have been snapped up in days: a refurbished rambler in a woodsy residential neighborhood minutes from downtown.

The asking price: $559,000.But after seven weeks, Kristen and Al Dittmaier have not received a single offer on their Wedgwood home.

“I really believed there would be no problem selling,” Kristen Dittmaier said. “But the whole feel of the market has changed. We might have to drop the price.” 

2. The Seattle Times talks about the slowdown in the Seattle Market
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2004099309_reanxiety30.html

Until recently, Seattle-area homeowners could bask in the knowledge that their houses would appreciate handsomely. Median home prices rose 16 percent in 2005 and 21 percent in 2006, a Seattle Times analysis found.

When this year’s final numbers are tallied, the median annual increase will probably be more like 2 or 3 percent, Seattle real-estate economist Matthew Gardner says. That puts Seattle ahead of many cities; still, it’s the lowest appreciation rate in roughly a decade.

3.  Seattle Area foreclosesure rate, “Under Control” according to Default Research, Inc.
http://www.pr.com/press-release/66406

According to Default Research (www.defaultresearch.com), Pierce, Snohomish and King Counties had 1.11 percent, .70 percent and .49 percent of households enter some phase of the foreclosure process in the last 12 months. The Seattle averages for homes in foreclosure are far below other regions in the Default Research coverage area, such as Southern California and Phoenix, had approximately two or three percent of their households in foreclosure.

“Washington State foreclosures were under control in 2007,” said Serdar Bankaci, President/CEO of Default Research. “Seattle dodged the foreclosure bullet primarily because there was less speculative investing, a high median income rate compared with home prices, and not as much volatility in home prices.”

4. Seattle region’s economy poised to capitalize on weaker dollar, avoid recession.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/345513_regionaleconomy01.html?source=mypi

Among a handful of varying business leaders and economists, the consensus seems to be cautious optimism for now. Luckily for Seattle, the economy is different — more global and more diverse — this time around. Business leaders hope that the new economy, plus a weak dollar that makes airplanes and software more attractive to customers abroad, will save us from a three-year funk like the one that struck in 2001.

“We won’t see anything like the nation is seeing,” predicted Jim Warjone, chairman and chief executive of Port Blakely Cos. “Seattle is in a wonderful position because it is truly at the edge of the global market.”

The Pacific Northwest economy is increasingly tied to growth in Asia, including China, which has shown no signs of stopping, said Warjone, whose portfolio of businesses includes real estate, timber and international trade.

If anyone wins in the shakeout, it will be the companies that have embraced globalism — those whose health is least subject to domestic ups and downs, economists said.

So far, companies in this region are still hiring, and the average wage increases are outpacing inflation, said Steve Leahy, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce president.

5. A Portland writer predicts 2008, and makes a great point.
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=47551

Third, homebuyers need to understand that real estate is MARKET driven. And the “market” is local . . . not National! While such things are averages, and stats love to be broadcast on the evening news, it’s not a phenom with foreclosures everywhere. In fact, the Metro Portland market hasn’t seen plummets as other markets have. Housing STILL costs less then other West Coast markets (Seattle, San Diego, LA, San Francisco) for example.

6. More from Oregon, only three Cities avoid the national housing crunch.
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=42175&sid=5&fid=1

Only three cities reported rising prices: Charlotte, N.C., Seattle and Portland. The Eugene-Springfield area’s market resembles those in the bigger Northwest cities — inventories of unsold houses are up, but prices have held steady.

7. Deals on the rise, outside of Seattle area.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2004097138_reyearender30.html

“There are deals to be had depending on where you are. If you’re in Seattle and Bellevue, there are not that many,” Anderson says. “But in the hinterlands, people are offloading inventory like crazy.”

8. Seattle Area will slow not Crash.
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/12/31/focus12.html

King County’s housing market will maintain its “return to earth” trajectory next year, but the region also will continue to sidestep the collapse that has stung many other areas of the country, experts say.

9.  A great blog primer on real estate agent commissions, and how agents work with brokers.
http://agentgenius.com/?p=706 

10. What’s the biggest news for 2008 in Commercial Real Estate around the Puget Sound, check out this forum in February. http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/event/4173

Even though prices in the Northwest are continuing to rise. The fact is that a buyers’ market is emerging here in the Northwest. It is easier to buy a home now than it has been, in the region, in at least 10 years.  No longer am I forced to crawl over 10 other buyers for my buyers for every ramshackle cabin with a flooded basement.

The beginning of 2008 is a good time to be thinking about buying in the Northwest.

“The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 22 basis points last week to a four-month low of 6.28%, according to a national survey of large lenders by Bankrate.com”

–from http://www.thestreet.com/

If you are seriously looking for property currently, or refinancing existing debt, read the whole article if you have time.