Eastside Real Estate Working-for-you!

The Coming Housing Shortage

Here is an interesting piece on the coming housing shortage.

 

Outrageous Real Estate Marketing

What do you think?  Is this effective?  Offensive?  Over the top?  

Would you like a video like this that features your property?

This is outrageous, for sure!

 

March Month End: Housing Inventory Tightens In Core Areas

By Greg Perry, 
Eastside Realtor

The core areas of King County saw a tightening of Residential (not condos) inventory in March.  Overall, core area markets kept pace with last year's market that was fueled by the government First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.  Both 2010 and 2011 had 10 NWMLS areas in King Count with less than 3 months of inventory at the current rate of sale.
 

For the Eastside NWMLS areas 500-600, RESIDENTIAL (not condos) Pending sales were down 8% from last year (807 in 2010 vs. 746 in 2011).  However, the available inventory (Active listings to sell) was also down 13% (2874 in 2010 vs. 2500 in 2011).  The Eastside Months Of Inventory  dropped to 3.6 months at the current rate of sale last year to 3.4 months of inventory this year.

Median prices on the Eastside slipped 2 % from last year coming in at $506,405, vs. $515,989 last year.

The nice inventory is selling quickly.  Doggy inventory and high priced inventory is just sitting.  There are plenty of forecloused homes and short sales properties to sell.  

 

The Condo market remains very soft.  Months of inventory came in the same as last year, however, the median Eastside condo prices fell a whopping 14% from last year coming in at $243,988 (vs. $284,736 in 2010).  Market time for condos is soaring.

 

Is it Time to Buy?

Mike Castleman, CEO of Metrostudy, sees a HOUSING SHORTAGE looming.  Here are a few excerts from a CNN Money Article:

Castleman is in a unique position to know. As the founder and CEO of a company called Metrostudy, he's spent more than three decades tracking real-time data on the country's inventory of new homes. Each quarter he dispatches 500 inspectors to literally drive through 45,000 subdivisions from Baltimore to Sacramento. The inspectors examine 5 million finished lots, one at a time, and record whether they contain a house that's under construction, one that's finished and for sale, or a home that's sold. Metrostudy covers 19 states, or around 65% of the U.S. housing market, including all the ones hardest hit by the crash: Florida, California, Arizona, and Nevada. The company's client list includes virtually every major homebuilder and bank -- from Pulte (PHM) and KB Home (KBH) to Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC). 

And

Today Castleman is witnessing an extraordinary reversal of the new-home glut that helped sink prices just a few years ago. In the 41 cities Metrostudy covers, a total of 78,000 houses are now either vacant and for sale, or under construction. That's less than one-fourth of the 343,000 units in those two categories at the peak of the frenzy in mid-2006, and well below the level of a decade ago. "If we had anything like normal levels of buying, those houses would sell in 2½ months," says Castleman. "We'd see an incredible shortage. And that's where we're heading."

To see the entire article click:

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real-estate-its-time-to-buy-again/?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29

Be Prepared! Emergency Resource Guide - Plan and Prepare!

By Greg Perry
Kirkland Realtor
www.425Realty.com

The images from Japan are sad and frightening.  My prayers go to those who have lost loved ones in the tragedy caused by the earthquake, tsumani and nuclear event.

As Washington residents, we know that our region is prone for a massive earthquake.  If a major earthquake strikes, do you know what to do?

The Washington State Department of Health has published an outstanding pamphlet called The Emergency Resource Guide.  It covers emergencies from natural disasters to common household danger and emergencies.  

It's time to PLAN AND PREPARE!

Download the Emergency Resource Guide. 

Greg Perry's Real Estate Report - Greg Perry Kirkland Realtor

By Greg Perry, Kirkland Realtor
www.425Realty.com

We all wonder about "what's happening" in real estate?   What are buyers thinking?  What are sellers thinking?  How about distressed properties?  What is the future of real estate?

Here is Greg Perry's Real Estate Report.  I think you'll find this a fun and informative piece.  Here you will find information compiled from the National Association of Realtors, US Census Bureau, Federal Reserve Board, Real Trends and Buffini and Company.

Enjoy the report!  If you have a real estate question, don't hesitate to call.  425.829.7012.  gregperry@working-for-you.com

Click on image to expand

If you a friend, co-worker or family member who has a real estate need, call me with their name and number and I’ll take good care of them.

 

QR Codes. What are they? How are they used?

It's fun to watch a technology hit a flash point.  QR codes have definately hit its flash point.  They're popping up everywhere!

What are QR Codes?   QR stands for "quick" response.  QR codes are a 2 dimentional bar code.  It is readable by barcode readers or camera phones.  It consists of black modules arranged on a white background.  The information encoded can be simply text, OR a common use today in marketing is a web address URL.

How are QR codes made?  QR codes are simple to make.  Just "google" QR code generator and you'll come up with many websites that will generate your QR code free of charge.  The QR code in this post is for 425Realty.com.  I used http://delivr.com/qr-code-generator to generate this QR code.  Again, you can create a QR code for text or for a destination website URL.

How do I read a QR code?  If you have a smart phone with a camera, you can download a QR code APP.  My favorite is Google Goggles.  It is a free APP.  Just take a picture or scan the QR code with the APP, and whatever is embedded in the QR code will come up in your phone.

How are they used?  They were originally used in tracking parts in manufacturing.  However, the marketing appications for QR codes are brilliant.  They can be used on signs, flyers, park benches, transportation busses, business cards and many other applicaitons.  I recently saw a business card from an auto mechanic that had a QR code that went to a discount for a service.  In real estate, we can direct people to our personal website.   We can also supply more information and photos by displaying QR codes on our listings and our real estate flyers.  Home buyers with smart phones can instantly get a detailed look at any property of interest.  We will work QR codes into all of our marketing.

Enterprising marketers are making QR code coffee mugs, t shirts, ball caps and other items.

Try it out!  If you don't have a QR code reader in your phone, download one free to your smart phone.  Scan my QR code in the post and you'll be on your way to understanding this neat technology.  Let me know how it works for you!

Greg Perry
Kirkland Realtor
www.425Realty.com

 

The Eastside's Most Expensive Home Sales in 2010

Did ever you wonder?  How much those Eastside waterfront mansions sell for?  Even though we're in a recession, it seems people still have the money to step up to purchase the mega-money mansions that pop up all over King County's Eastside.

Estately.com, a local search and informational web destination put together this fascinating Top Ten most expensive homes sold list for 2010.  This is well done and fun to read.  

BELLEVUE

Number one in Bellevue (and for all of the Eastside), located on Lake Washington for $5,574,400, was this charming 5 Bedroom, 7.5 bath, 11,750 square foot bungalow.   The mortgage calculator shows that the loan payments come in at $23,235/ month.  YIKES!  Something told me that a lot cash traded hands on this one!
Click on the links below to see detail on this house and the rest of the Bellevue's Top Ten. 

The 10 most expensive homes SOLD in Bellevue for 2010

REDMOND

Redmond is Microsoft Country and has Lake Sammamish waterfront properties.  Coming in number one for Redmond was this 6 bedroom, 5 3/4 bath, 7500 square foot beach house for a mere $2,300,000. 

For the remainder of The Redmond Top Ten most expensive homes sold in 2010 click the links below:

Redmond Top Ten most expensive homes sold in 2010

SAMMAMMISH

The City of Sammamish also has plenty of pricey homes that sold in 2010.  The east shore of Lake Sammamish produced it's number one entry with a 3 bedroom, 3 3/4 bath 4183 s/f waterfront shack that came in with a price tag of $2,305,000.  This home had the Eastside's highest price per square foot coming in at a whopping $562/ sq. ft.!

Click on below links to see the rest of the Top Ten most expensive homes sold in 2010 in Sammamish:

The top 10 most expensive homes sold in 2010 in Sammamish.

If you, or anyone you know is interested in purchasing an Eastside mega mansion, give me call or an email!  gregperry@working-for-you.com

 

 

More FORECLOSURE Fallout by State Supreme Court Decision?

On Friday, the Massachusetts Supreme Court in a unanimous decision upheld a ruling by Judge Keith c. Long that Wells Fargo and other banks that foreclosures were invalid because the mortgages were not officially recored as being owned by the foreclosing banks.

From an article written by Richard Zombeck:

"This simple statement would seem like a no-brainer, but as a result of fast and loose securitized mortgage lending practices, the ownership of a mortgage could potentially be divided and transferred multiple times by the lenders. As I pointed out in a post back in November, in one week alone there were 808 mortgage transfers in just one county in Massachusetts."

The ruling is RETROACTIVE, meaning foreclosed upon homeowners can make the argument that they still own the home!

Here is a link to a well written article by Richard Zombeck:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-zombeck/mass-courts-to-banks-on-f_b_806451.html

Here is a link to an excellent video explanation of this decision by "Think Big Work Small"

http://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/mypage/archive/1/56792/

Short Sale Advisory -- Washington Departments of Licensing and Financial Institutions

The Washington Department of Licensing and the Washington Department of Financial Institutions have issued a Short Sale Advisory.   A Short Sale happens when a homeowner needs to sell their home, but they owe more on their home than the home is worth.
Download Shortsales-consumers 

A short sale is a real estate transaction in which the sales price is insufficient to pay the debt(s) and obligations encumbering the property along with the costs of sale, AND the seller is unable to pay the difference.  Every short sale is dependent upon the seller's lender(s) consenting to the transaction and agreeing to release the lender's security interest in exchange for less than what is owed.  I some cased however, the lender's approval of a short sale does not necessarily mean the lender relieves the seller of liability for repayment of the entire debt.

Here are some of the highlights from the Short Sale Seller Advisory:

Before proceeding with a Short Sale

• Understand a Lender's creditors Options upon Loan Default
• Be aware of Predatory "Rescue" Scams & Short Sale Fraud. 
• Contact a Fee HUD-Approved Housing Counselor or Contact Your Lender Directly.
• Utilize Free Services Available to Washington Residents
• Obtain Legal Advice
• Obtain Tax Advice

Short Sale Considerations 

• First, Understand that a Short Sale May not Discharge the Debt
• You should know whether you will still owe your lender money after the short sale.  You should know this BEFORE you close the sale of your home. 
• Understand that a short sale may result in a higher tax debt.
• Contact a Qualified Real Estate Professional.
• Investigate Documentation and Eligibility (with you lender).
• Determine the Amount Owed On The Property.
• Determine the Estimated Fair Market Value of the Property.
• Consult Legal Counsel.
• Be Aware of the Impact on Your Credit Score.
• Understand There May Be a Waiting Period Before You Can Buy Another Home.
• Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) Program.

Options other than a Short Sale

• Consider All Options
• Loan Workout
• Loan Modification
• Refinance
• Deed-in-lieu of Foreclosure
• Work Out Sale
• Bankruptcy
• Foreclosure

To see the entire text of the DOL, DFI Short Sale Advisory click this link. Download Shortsales-consumers