Many neighborhoods are becoming within reach for the average family according to this Seattle Times article.

With the decrease of home values in many areas, especially those to the north and south of Seattle, there are many neighborhoods that were once too expensive for the median income-making family that are now affordable. This is particularly driven by the foreclosure market, lower interest rates and amount of homes on the market. As with all cycles there are silver linings and this one is that if you are looking to buy a home, now might just be the right time. Click here to see the entire Seattle Times article on housing affordability.

Beacon Hill - bright spot in Real Estate according to Seattle Times. Also, see which areas increased in value and which decreased.

The prices actually climbed in the Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley neighborhoods. This growth is attributed to a lower cost to buy in those areas and the demand for those areas has grown due to the pending light-rail train that will be running soon. Great interest rates are helping buyers enter into neighborhoods that were cost prohibitive in the past. Click here to read the entire article from the Seattle Times about Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley.

Interest rates increase in the Seattle Times article.

If you were planning to re-finance your current mortgage but were waiting for rates to go lower than the 4.75% they were hovering around then you might have missed the golden opportunity. They have gone up @ 1% in the last couple of days. Rates do fluctuate but they have not been this good for @40 years so only time will tell if they are going to come down again. I've strongly recommended to my clients that they watch the rates more than the price of a home because a small increase in the rates can strongly lower their buying potential. Click here to see the entire Seattle Times story on interest rates.

Clients lose bidding war for house in Ballard priced just under $500k.

My clients saw this house the first day it was on the market, not much to look at on the outside but with a cool Mid-Century feel on the inside. They wanted to think about it overnight and the next day we wrote up an offer. That night at 11:00 I presented the offer to the Sellers in person (I was the 3rd of 3 offers for the house). We lost the house as the other two offers were willing to go higher than my clients comfort level. Multiple offers are still going on out there. We lost a 2nd house as well, it sold just 2 days after coming on the market and before we even had the opportunity to write up an offer. Now we are working on our 3rd...hopefully 3rd times a charm.

US home sales in April up 2.9%, fueled mostly by First-time-Buyers and foreclosure sales according to Seattle Times.

Median prices continue to lower mostly due to the fact that homes in the lower price point are moving more than homes in higher price ranges. Since most activity is in the lower price range the median price will probably continue to sink a little longer before starting to climb. In Seattle there is a ton of activity for homes/condos under the $500k range. Click here for the entire Seattle Times/Associated Press article.

Analysists predict recession is coming to an end by end of this year.

The Associated Press article claims that most economists believe the recession is coming to an end by the end of this year. To see the entire article about the recovery click here. I believe it will continue to be a bumpy recovery but a recovery will come. There are signs around and personally I'm busier than ever with my Buyer and Seller clients.

Seattle ranked 50th best place to live...in the WORLD according to Mercer.

Mercer publishes an annual report of the best places to live in the world. This survey is conducted to help corporations and governments place employees on assignments all over the world. Of the 251 cities in the survey our very own Seattle ranked 50th. European cities dominate the top rankings. Click here to see the entire list from Mercer and a video on how they rank the best places to live.

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC's) are getting harder to secure and more costly according to the Seattle Times and New York Times.

Banks are charging higher rates and are not granting as many HELOC's as in the past. Concerns still linger over a house being upside down financially (owing more on the house than what it is worth). If you do have one already don't be surprised if the bank wants to reduce it or increase the rate on it. Currently rates are over 5%, higher than many long term loans. Banks are hoping the higher rates will curb the use of these loans. Click here to see the entire Seattle Times/New York Times article on HELOC's.

Home prices may be lost for a generation as Baby Busters and Gen Xers have less money to spend, according to the Seattle Times and Bloomberg News.

Demographics may keep housing prices from increasing significantly for at least a generation. Those born post Baby Boomer years have less buying power and will probably choose to purchase smaller homes. To read the entire Seattle Times, Bloomberg News article about slower equity growth click here.

State's unemployment holds steady for April 2009 according to the Seattle Times.

Unemployment is holding steady for the state and slightly dipping in the Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma area. It's too soon to know if this is a tread so we have to continue watching next month.

To read the entire Seattle Times unemployment article click here.

My new Buyers, Kris and Shanon.

It's great working with first-time home buyers. It's even better when you get to work with your friends to help them buy their first home. That's what I got to do with Kris and Shanon over the last couple of months. We closed on their new home on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, after a couple of months working with the bank to purchase this home in Short-Sale. I feel great that I was able to provide the service I like to provide even under these circumstances. A Short-Sale seller has nothing more to lose so it was a challenge to ensure that Kris and Shanon got a home that was clean and ready to move into. I did have to negotiate with the listing agent to have additional cleaning and carpet cleaning done before closing. There was also a lot of junk around the house that I wanted removed for them, which for the most part was gone. It's a beautiful house that needs some TLC, which I know can be provided by them. I wish you many years of happiness. Congratulations!

I finally closed a Short-Sale.

It actually happened, I closed a Short-Sale in Lynnwood for my Buyer clients (albeit closed about a month later than originally planned.) I've read that only about 25% actually close and that doesn't surprise me. The Listing agent does a lot of work in the north end and does a lot of Short-Sales. His personal experience is that they can and do fall apart all the time, even up to the day before closing. Lessons learned; don't plan on hearing quickly from the lien holders on the house and once you do they usually want very quick action. Short-Sale Sellers have nothing to lose so it's have to hold them to the contract. You have to be VERY diligent to make sure the contract is followed and the home is clean and trash-free by closing. If they don't perform your only recourse is to walk from the deal, which would usually be within days of closing.

Vulcan's Rollin Street Lofts being converted to apartments.

Everything is a cycle in real estate and it follows supply and demand. Just a couple of years ago many apartment buildings were being converted to condos due to demand. Now, some of those with poor sales are converting back to apartments. I've talked to 2 different developers who bought buildings with the intention to fix up and convert to condos. They bought, they fixed up and now are selling as an apartment/investment building. Vulcan's Rollin Street Lofts on Westlake and Denny are converting to apartments since they had low sales and now there is a higher demand for rental housing. It's just a cycle... Click here to read the entire Seattle Times article on Rollin Street Lofts.

New homes that can't be sold are torn down in CA. Seattle Times article.

There are some areas that were heading for trouble because of how much new housing was being built, mostly in Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona. Because they have area to build...they did. Now with homes, some partially completed, sitting on the market some developers are deciding to raze the homes and recycle the materials. To see the entire Seattle Times article click here.

Is recession coming to an end? Some chief economists say yes in this Seattle Times article.

There are some positive signs in the economy. In general recovery will be slow but steady though unemployment will continue to climb before leveling off. It's normal for unemployment to lag behind any recovery and is usually the last component to "correct" itself in a recession. Click here to see the full Seattle Times article.

Sales surged April up 11.4% from a year ago and 21.3% from last month. Seattle Times article.

Purchases by First-Time Buyers are making April sales the best month since Sept. 2008. Here is the press release from the NWMLS. Seattle Times also had an article today, with pretty much the same information. Homes over $1m still sluggish. I've had several clients who have lost out on properties in the lower price range, the properties sold while my clients were trying to decide what to d

Wall Street Journal article about Short-Sales.

The truth about Short-Sales is that some lenders will still go after Sellers for the unpaid balance on the loan even after the Short-Sale or Foreclosure is completed.

Click here to see the full Wall Street Journal article about Short-Sales.