Foreign investors taking advantage of U.S. market

Below is a Associated Press article on the current trend of foreign investors snapping up U.S. real estate at bargain basement prices. The Seattle area is experiencing a huge influx of buyers from Japan and China buying property, often times without even seeing it beforehand. The article points out that historically, buying property in the United States was only for the uber-elite of other countries. But our current down swing in the market has opened up ample opportunities for investors from all over the world to capitalize on real estate that is significantly cheaper than in their own cities.

Read the full article here: Seattle real estate deals for foreign investors...

Real Estate Red Flags

The Seattle Times published a great article this weekend on common items that can delay or jeopardize the closing of a real estate transaction. Many items can pop up without warning but as they point out, most of them can be avoided with forethought by the Realtor and lender.

Also interesting to note that several of their points occur on even the smoothest of transactions. For instance, the buyer's home inspection will most certainly open the door to further negotiations. Unless a home is highly coveted by more than one buyer and is so unique that buyers are willing to pay full price or more for an flawed home...then some form of negotiation will take place during the inspection phase. Another common issue are out of town appraisers. Lenders can no longer dictate specific appraisers to be hired so as a consequence, someone from Pierce County may end up appraising a home in Seattle. Such a drastic circumstance is somewhat avoidable by a quality loan officer but a Realtors should always be double checking the appraisers knowledge of the area and providing justification for the listing price.

Here's the link the full article.

King County home prices rise first time in 2 years...

King County home prices have posted a year over year increase for the first time in two years.

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service says the median price of a single-family home sold last month was $367,250. That price is a 0.9% increase from March 2009.

0.9% isn't anything to get too excited about...but at least it's something! Keep your eyes open for what the Seattle real estate market does after the spring buying season and tax credit deadlines pass.

Read the full article here.

Will historically low interest rates continue?

If you follow any media source that discusses the financial world, you are likely aware that interest rates are at historic lows. Much of this is driven by how the Federal Reserve acts. Since December of 2008, Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have kept the key federal funds rate at 0-.25%. The federal funds rate has a major impact throughout the financial world...but also affects mortgage rates.

The common theory in the real estate industry is that the Federal Reserve can't keep their rate at or near 0% for much longer. Otherwise, things like inflation or speculative investing start to creep in because obtaining a loan is so affordable. Many experts have thought the Fed would increase their rate in June or July, thus causing an upward effect on mortgage rates. When a mortgage rate increases even 1/2 a percent, this significantly affects a home buyers purchase power.

This morning, Ben Bernanke said that the Federal Reserve must commit to keeping key interest rate at or near zero in order to continue the nation's economic recovery. He said they must do this for an "extended period." No mention of specific time frames. So for those potential home buyers still awake and reading this post...pay attention to the news coming from our fearless Fed chief (Bernanke) because his decisions will likely have an impact on your ability to buy what you want!

Home buying tax credits aren't just for 1st timers...

Seattle home prices post small increase for October

According to the Standard and Poor's Case/Schiller index, Seattle home prices rose 0.44% in October. This is the first monthly gain for our area in 2 1/2 years.

The Case/Schiller index tracks 20 major metropolitan areas and Seattle was one of eleven cities to post a monthly gain in October.

Read article here.

U.S. home prices appreciate?

A major index that tracks home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas, called the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, is reporting a modest increase in September. Their index shows prices rose 0.3% in September.

Obviously this is not a major increase and does not represent home prices in every market. But it is more positive news after yesterday's favorable report on increasing existing home sales.

Read the full article here.