Real estate agents are known for always saying, "Now is a great time to buy!" Well, that's not always the case for every potential home buyer. A lot of factors go into whether it makes sense to buy a home or to continue renting. For instance, the 2009 outlook for Seattle real estate appears to show that prices will level out or perhaps dip just a bit more. That combined with historically low interest rates might point to 2009 being a great time to buy a house. However, if the current economy makes your employment situation look troublesome...or you don't want the potential headache of home maintenance, then perhaps renting for now is best.
While systematically paying down a mortgage is a proven wealth building technique...and homeownership has many emotional benefits...the decision to buy a home must be taken on a case by case basis. The Seattle Times has a great article highlighting two different families who took different paths.
Read the full article here.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Residential Architecture Snapshot: Federal
Federal-style architecture dates from the late 1700s and coincided with a reawakening of interest in classical Greek and Roman culture. Builders began to add swags, garlands, elliptical windows, and other decorative details to rectangular Georgian houses. The style that emerged resembles Georgian, but is more delicate and more formal. Many Federal-style homes have an arched Palladian window on the second story above the front door. The front door usually has sidelights and a semicircular fanlight. Federal-style homes are often called "Adam" after the English brothers who popularized the style.The main floor windows are usually up off of the street level so the well-to-do homeowners weren't forced to look at and be on the same level as the common street-dwellers. This style of home can be found in parts of Capitol Hill and Queen Anne but also scattered through the city of Seattle.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Architecture $.05
Need some cost-effective advice on an upcoming home remodel? Visit the Ballard Sunday market to see John Morefield. This is a sober, yet slightly humorous, article from the Seattle PI about a young architect who finds himself as another victim of this struggling economy. Morefield has been laid off twice in the last year but chooses to have a more optimistic view of his situation. The last few weeks he could be found at the Ballard market offering advice and attempting to secure longer consultations for eventual design work. At the very least, we can all agree this is a creative idea. Just the sort of thing we want from an architect...
Monday, January 5, 2009
First-time home buyer tax credit
Okay all you first-time Seattle home buyers! The federal government released this tax credit last summer, however it's an important one to remember now that the new year has arrived. While the tax credit is a huge bonus for would-be first-time home buyers, it's not going to last forever. As it stands now, a buyer must close on their new house by July in order to qualify for the $7500 tax credit.
The Seattle Times published a recent article outlining some of the highlights of the credit. Remember: If you haven't owned a house in the last 3 years, you are considered a first-time home buyer and can qualify for the money! This makes buying your first house in Seattle even more enticing when you can receive money from Uncle Sam instead of owing him. Currently, this credit acts as a no interest loan. However I've heard some rumblings that part of the rumored stimulus package from the incoming administration will specify all or a portion of the credit will not need to paid back. Even better!
Read the full article here.
The Seattle Times published a recent article outlining some of the highlights of the credit. Remember: If you haven't owned a house in the last 3 years, you are considered a first-time home buyer and can qualify for the money! This makes buying your first house in Seattle even more enticing when you can receive money from Uncle Sam instead of owing him. Currently, this credit acts as a no interest loan. However I've heard some rumblings that part of the rumored stimulus package from the incoming administration will specify all or a portion of the credit will not need to paid back. Even better!
Read the full article here.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Latest on Seattle and national home prices...
One of the more prominent indexes that track home prices across the U.S. released their latest report this morning. Standard and Poor's/Case Schiller 20 city index fell by a record 18% from October of 2007 to October of 2008. Their 10 city index fell 19.1%. While it might not make us feel better, Seattle real estate continues to weather the storm well.
On a semi-bright note, Seattle only fell 10.2% year over year in October. This was the first double digit loss for our city since the inception of the index in 2000. Of course, October was one of the worst months in history for U.S. stock markets and President Bush was forced to sign a $700 billion bailout plan to help ease the global financial panic. Since then, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates and helped drive down mortgage rates to historic lows.
Many people lost significant sums of money in their investment portfolios during the huge market declines in October. In some cases, it only took a week to lose 40-50% of a persons nest egg. That makes 10% loss in home value look benign. As a Seattle real estate agent, I admit I am biased. But using real estate as an investment vehicle is a wise and proven method. Not to mention, it's not as volatile as the stock market can be.
Read the full article here.
On a semi-bright note, Seattle only fell 10.2% year over year in October. This was the first double digit loss for our city since the inception of the index in 2000. Of course, October was one of the worst months in history for U.S. stock markets and President Bush was forced to sign a $700 billion bailout plan to help ease the global financial panic. Since then, the Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates and helped drive down mortgage rates to historic lows.
Many people lost significant sums of money in their investment portfolios during the huge market declines in October. In some cases, it only took a week to lose 40-50% of a persons nest egg. That makes 10% loss in home value look benign. As a Seattle real estate agent, I admit I am biased. But using real estate as an investment vehicle is a wise and proven method. Not to mention, it's not as volatile as the stock market can be.
Read the full article here.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
FHA rehab loans
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing...I highly suggest you peruse this Seattle PI article. Especially if you or someone you know is considering buying a home in the Seattle area. Once upon a time FHA loans were reserved for low income home buyers or those with poor credit. The last several years, the program fell out of favor more trendier loan programs (the infamous subprime loans). This past year, Washington has seen a major increase in loans through the traditional FHA program as well as their rehab loan program.
In a very basic sense, the FHA rehab loan provides up to $35k in additional funds to fix or rehab the purchased home. As we've seen a slight increase in foreclosed homes and homes remaining vacant for a year or more...these rehab funds are great! FHA loans are very good option for first-time home buyers in Seattle and King County.
Read the full article here.
In a very basic sense, the FHA rehab loan provides up to $35k in additional funds to fix or rehab the purchased home. As we've seen a slight increase in foreclosed homes and homes remaining vacant for a year or more...these rehab funds are great! FHA loans are very good option for first-time home buyers in Seattle and King County.
Read the full article here.
Seattle Real Estate 2009 Outlook
I saw this article over my time off over Christmas. It's an article from the Seattle Times regarding the upcoming year in regards to the Seattle real estate market. Everywhere you turn, another source's cyrstal ball seems to say something different about where Seattle's housing market is headed. Bottom line is nobody knows with any certainty.
The only thing we know for certain is that Seattle home prices are down to where they were 2-3 years ago. While this isn't great for more recent buyers, it's not the end of the world. Not to mention people who have owned for 1o years or more are still sitting on a fat pile of equity. In addition to more affordable prices, interest rates are at historical lows.
While this article is an interesting read...please take from it that the future looks rosier than last year but we're not out of the woods quite yet. The old saying, "Buy low, sell high." is repeated more often than it is followed. Now is a low point for Seattle housing and low interest rates make it that much more prime to buy now.
Read the full article here.
The only thing we know for certain is that Seattle home prices are down to where they were 2-3 years ago. While this isn't great for more recent buyers, it's not the end of the world. Not to mention people who have owned for 1o years or more are still sitting on a fat pile of equity. In addition to more affordable prices, interest rates are at historical lows.
While this article is an interesting read...please take from it that the future looks rosier than last year but we're not out of the woods quite yet. The old saying, "Buy low, sell high." is repeated more often than it is followed. Now is a low point for Seattle housing and low interest rates make it that much more prime to buy now.
Read the full article here.
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