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Real Estate How’s the Market? Q3 Real Estate Review The frenetic pace of Seattle-area real estate continued in Q3, with the number of sales and median sales prices both up across the region compared to this time last year. Seattle condo sales saw a healthy year-over-year jump as they continued to recover from the COVID slump we saw in 2020.   While buyers still […]
Market Updates How’s the Market? Q2 Real Estate Review Buyers found no relief as our region’s extreme sellers’ market continued skyward. Strong home buyer demand simply outpaced the number of available properties for sale. Fierce competition drove prices up 15% in Seattle and a staggering 38% on the Eastside as compared to Q2 of 2020. While COVID played a factor in early 2020; all […]
Buying Thinking About Buying a Second or Vacation Home? Here are a few tips to make sure it’s worthwhile… These days, having your own home away from home is a compelling concept. There are many clear benefits including being able to use your home how you wish, decorate to your taste, and include your furry friends in your time away. There are also challenges […]
Market Updates How’s the Market? Q1 Real Estate Review… An extreme sellers’ market, driven by too few homes for sale and incredibly low mortgage interest rates, led to the most aggressive multiple offer bidding wars we have experienced in our region. There are simply dozens of buyers for nearly every home that comes to market. To be competitive, most buyers did their home research […]
Market Updates How Did Seattle Real Estate Fare in 2020?   Our local real estate market overcame all odds in the surreal and tumultuous year laid at our doorstep. Despite many economic woes, home sellers were the big winners in 2020 as too few homes for sale could not keep up with increased buyer demand, leading to the most aggressive multiple offer bidding wars we […]
Market Updates Q3 2020 Reports: Market Update   The volume of Q3 transactions made up for Q2’s fewer sales and then some. Truth be told, the market could have absorbed twice the number of transactions, if only there were more homes on the market to sell. Too few homes for sale is the defining character of the Q3 Seattle region real estate […]
Buying Home Buying Trends Emerging from COVID-19 Coronavirus has made many of us rethink what is important to us…and our homes are no exception. According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the top feature desired by buyers is now a home office (or even more than one). 22% of buyers are less concerned about their commute, which means homes in affordable […]
Buying Interest rates make a BIG difference when you buy…   You probably know that interest rates affect your monthly mortgage payments, but most of us aren’t aware of just how big an impact they really have on a home loan. Each 1% change in interest rate equates to roughly a 10% change in buying power. This means you can qualify for a much more […]
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Market Updates Q2 2020 Reports: Market Update   Q2 was a story of resilience for the Seattle market. It began with our region fully entrenched in a new normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but ended with a strong seller’s market and historic low interest rates. Buyers have returned in droves to battle for the limited supply of homes for sale. With a […]
Buying How to Buy and Sell Safely in the New Normal   While buying and selling real estate was recently deemed essential in Washington State, the landscape looks very different than it did before the COVID-19 outbreak. Real estate offices remain closed to the public with agents (like me) working remotely and hosting virtual client meetings. Important safety regulations prohibit in-person open houses and limit the […]
Market Updates Q1 2020 Reports: Market Update   As we are fully entrenched in a new normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to note that the Q1 stats you see are based on pre-coronavirus closed sales activity and therefore largely untouched by our current market reality.   While Q1 serves as a pre-coronavirus benchmark, Q2 and Q3 will more accurately […]
Market Updates Economic Insights from Matthew Gardner   As we all hunker down through these challenging times, it is comforting to remember that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. A voice of calm and reason in this time of uncertainty has been our Windermere Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner. While he is expecting an economic slowdown accompanied by a […]
Living & Trends Remodeling Cost vs. Value   Every year, Remodeling Magazine evaluates which projects bring the most return at resale in different markets around the country in their “Cost vs. Value” report. While returns have dipped nationwide due to growing costs and consumer anxiety, Seattle still saw better pay-off on remodeling than the national average. The chart below shows cost vs. […]
Market Updates Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2019   A strong local employment sector, very low mortgage interest rates, and the most balanced market we’ve seen in two decades each contributed to increased sales velocity in 2019.   While the number of homes for sale increased overall in 2019 as compared to 2018, the higher rate of sales throughout the year resulted in […]
Market Updates Q3 2019 Reports: Market Update   Q3 was the most stable and balanced market we have seen in years. With very low mortgage interest rates compelling buyers to act and fewer homes for sale than we saw last fall (when a flood of homes came to market), buyers and sellers are each finding their own place in a more equitable […]
Market Updates Q2 2019 Reports: Market Update   Changes in the home lending environment drove down mortgage interest rates in Q2 to their lowest levels in years, giving buyers more buying power for their money and stimulating demand for available homes on the market.   The number of homes for sale is up markedly, especially in Seattle, as is the number of […]
Real Estate New Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) Rate (eff. 1/1/20)   Now that Washington State Senate Bill 5998 has been signed into law, our local real estate excise tax—the tax paid when you sell a property—will be getting a facelift in 2020. The flat rate of the past will make way for a new tiered system which gives owners a tax cut on the first […]
Market Updates Q1 2019 Reports: How’s the Market?   Be forewarned, this quarter’s report looks somewhat dismal. There are two very relevant facts that should be taken into consideration when reviewing it. The first is that Q1 is nearly always the worst performing quarter of any year because the sales completed in Q1 typically went under contract between late November and the end […]
Market Updates Annual Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report: A Look Back at 2018   An increase in homes for sale coupled with rising interest rates have created a far more balanced market than we started 2018 with. This is a good thing as it will help our region tame affordability and create a sustainable marketplace. More homes came to market in 2018 than in any year since 2011. […]
Market Updates Q3 2018 Seattle-Eastside Real Estate Report   As Q3 comes to a close, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are at their highest levels since April 2011—now averaging just above 4.7%. Even so, they are still far lower than their 30-year trendline. A 1% increase in mortgage interest rates decreases buying power by 10%. Or said differently, a 1% rate increase has the same […]
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