Back in September I was showing a client homes in a new development in Sammamish. They were looking in the high $500,000 to low $600,000 range. When compared to resale homes they seemed a bit pricey. Today, six months later, the same new home model costs about 6 percent more and the inventory of comparable homes, both resale and new construction, hasn't improved. Read the rest of this entry »

There are two kinds of frustrated Seattle home buyers. There are the ones who can't find what they are looking for and the ones who are waiting for their transactions to close. What causes the low inventory? In a word: uncertainty. All you have to do is listen to the news. Who ever thought that sequestration would become a household word? Who, in this dysfunctional political climate would want to sell their home unless they had no other choice? So, who is selling? Three kind of home owners are selling.. Read the rest of this entry »

The Seattle area real estate market is looking up. Characterized by record low inventories, at first only the home owner who has to sell was selling. The obvious example is the short seller who is trying to beat foreclosure. That may be changing as sellers see opportunities especially in areas near major employers. With that in mind I took a closer look at five Seattle eastside cities: Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish. Read the rest of this entry »

Last month’s housing inventory around western Washington fell to its lowest level since February 2006, according to statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. The MLS report covering 21 counties also shows year-over-year prices on closed sales area-wide increased by double-digits for the first time since March 2007. Brokers reported 6,000 closed sales of single family homes and condominiums last month, outperforming the year-ago volume by 1,236 transaction for an increase of nearly 26 percent. Prices on October’s sales were up 10.4 percent compared to twelve months ago. Read the rest of this entry »

On June 18th I switched my company affiliation from Coldwell Banker Bain to RSVP Real Estate. I made this change to improve the services to my clients. My lower operating costs will allow me to allocate financial resources with greater flexibility. In marketing, RSVP Real Estate turns the traditional relationship between company and broker on its head. In that relationship, they put me, the broker, first so I, in turn, can put the customer first. Read the rest of this entry »