Many lenders hold reserve accounts for tax payments.  The taxes are paid by the lender to the County twice a year.  Property taxes are fully deductible.  Remember, too,  about the pro-rated property taxes you may have paid at closing.These will show on your settlement statement and are also deductible.  If you do not have a copy of your closing statement, calll your Real Estate agent or Escrow Officer for a copy.  Thanks to the Seattle Times and Bankrate.com for this reminder!

March 16, 2009

Seattle ranks number 8 in the country for finding a job.  This is based on the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics Metropolitan Area Jobs Report from October 2008.  It considers unemployment rates as well as job-growth potential.  Madiscon, WI and Washington, DC rank one and two, respectively.

This is the actual text of an email I sent to President on March 10, 2009 via a "Contact Us" link on the White House website.  I'll let you know what I hear back.

"While I would love a reply, certainly none is required.

As a 50 year old Real Estate Broker, I have spent 29 years in the Seattle area Real Estate Market.  I worked 12 years in Title Insurance and Escrow and the past (nearly) 17 as a Realtor.

I won't waste your time with an editorial about the current mortgage mess, but I do have an idea that might be worth considering.

As a sales agent, one of the biggest problems in my market and many other markets around the country is handling properties in a short sale situation.  Is is very difficult for sellers, buyers and both agents to work with the lender and successfully close the sale; even with a ready and willing buyer.

I am told that the reason many lenders take so long (2-5 months) to review and approve these sales is that the lender Short Sale Departments are greatly understaffed.  Because of this timeframe and the generally difficulty in working with the lender; many sales are not approved and the properties end up in foreclosure.

Just yesterday I learned of a property with a valid offer (short-sale) of $620,000 which was not approved before the lender ended up selling at foreclosure for $400,000!!!  That's a loss of over $200,000 on one property.

The short sale department and the foreclosure department were not talking to each other.

It seems that by taking that $200,000 loss and hiring 4 staffers at a healthy $50,000 salary and completing the appropriate short sale paperwork for this and many other properties, the lender (and the seller, buyer, agents and overall real estate market and economy) would come out way ahead.

I read that FNMA was working on a test program in Orlando where the lender could approve short sale pricing before a potential buyer actually wrote an offer; saving a great deal of time for everyone and increasing the likelihood of a closed sale.

It would be great to expand that program or something similar to banks around the country.

By spending some money up front (the banks or possible government funded or trained staff) to get short sales approved and closed, everyone would be better off.

Thank you and good luck.

Sincerely,
Betsy Weyer
Windermere Real Estate
Kirkland, WA
Associate Broker and Certified Residential Specialist"

The Seattle Times reported March 7, 2009 that "Affordability hits 40-year high in housing market".   When home prices were at their national peak in the summer of 2005, the national median sales price of a home was nearly 8 times the average per capita after-tax income of Americans.  In January of 2009, with incomes up and prices sharply down, that factor fell to less than 5.

In King County, the average home sales price for January 2009 was $375,000; the lowest since May 2005.  That average is more than double the national average; while income levels are nearly 60% more.

Seattle was slower than many cities to see its property values increase after the slowdown of 2001-2002.  Seattle's values continued going up when many parts of the country, which are now stabilizing, were on a downhill slide.  Seattle appears to be slightly behind parts of the country in stabilization of our real estate values.

In similar news, according to MSN's Market Watch,  home prices are closer to stabilizing today than at any time in the past nine years.  Further information can be reached at this link.

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=18279824&gt1=35000

Did you know that Habitat for Humanity now operates a Home Improvement Outlet in the Sodo area of Seattle?  Consumers can donate or purchase home improvement items and the proceeds go towards construction of new Habitat for Humanity Homes.  The Seattle outlet is at 21 Nevada Street.

For more information on the work of Habitat for Humanity International, go to www.Habitat.org

The low prices, high inventory and low interest rates makes this a great time for buyers.  Even better, first time buyers (no home ownership in the last 3 years) can take advantage of the Stimulus Tax Credit of $8000.  This is not a loan (the 2008 "credit" was actually a no-interest, 15 year loan) but an actual credit that reduces tax owed.

For further information on what this means for loan qualification, call Steve Tedrow at Winderere Mortgage Services.  Steve can be reached at 425-576-5461.

March 7th's Bellevue Reporter printed some more positive Real Estate news.  It reported that single family closed sales and pending sales both were up (volume) in February as compared to January of this year, for West Bellevue (West of 405).  Condominium sales in both West and East Bellevue were steady in number, but up in price.

For the past several weeks, my Windermere Broker has been sending email messages of encouraging news he comes across, to our office agents.  He calls them Glimmers of Hope.  Sometimes it is a great new listing, sometimes a listing that sold quickly or with multiple offers.

Thursday, March 5, I unfolded the Seattle Times to a huge glimmer (can you actually have a huge glimmer, or does it become something else completely?) of hope!  The NWMLS (NorthWest Multiple Listing Service) releases their monthly sales statistics about the 5th of each month.  You can be sure that Real Estate will be on the front page of the paper as soon as they get these statistics.  After so many months with little to cheer about, I was really happy to see this headline...."Encouraging signs in battered market".  It did report that sales prices are down, but that there are some multiple offers and quick sales of properties that are priced right.  Sales volume is down and prices are still down, but the number of new sales in my office does seem to be taking a slight upturn.

Agents and sellers now have a year's worth of down-turning market information that they can review when they determine the likely sales price and the target list price of a property.  The more information the agent and seller have, the better job they will be able to do in pricing the property.  We all need to remember that the list price is a combination of what the agent recommends and what the seller believes is the current market value.

For February, median prices for Seattle homes were down 12.6% over kast year and for the Eastside, prices were down 18.5% over last year.  Eastside condominium sales prices were down 7.6%, while Seattle was down 12.6%.

Forbes Magazine recently reported that the Seattle Area Real Estate Market is the 10th best market in the country.  New York City and Washington D.C. top the list.  This certainly does not mean that prices are up or even stabilized, but it does give us some context as to where we stand with other large cities.  The NWMLS reported that our prices dropped about 14% over the last year.

Interest rates are great, there are many homes for prospective buyers to choose from and the First-Time Buyer credit will hopefully spur some activity in the entry-level homes, which should in turn, lead to activity for move-up purchasers.

When talking to sellers recently, I am pleased  to be able to show them a year's worth of statistics that can be interpreted to our current reality.  A year ago, sellers and agents were trying to price their properties looking back at a history of increasing sales prices.  Having data that clearly shows our current trend, makes it much easier to put a realistic price on property.

Farmers Insurance Group has ranked our area the Most Secure, Large Metropolitan US place to live.  Farmer's ranking takes into account factors such as crime, housing depreciation, extreme weather and job losses.  Olympia, WA came in first in the mid-sized city category.

Just one more reason this is a great place to invest in a home.

This could be a great time to buy a home.  Inventory of available homes for sale is up over the past few years and interest rates are historically low.  The recent addition of a true tax credit for first-time homebuyers is an added incentive.  Sellers also seem to be more realistic in their expectations than a year ago.  Home Builders are particularly motivated right now.

Affordability is better than ever.
According to the National Association of Realtors' housing affordability index, homes were more affordable in December than at any other point since the group started the index in 1970. The NAR’s affordability index is a measure of the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income.

Give me a call at 425-444-3305 if you would like to learn more about buying a home.