First-time home buyers success stories

This is another article from the Seattle Times (the city's last print newspaper) on a couple success stories involving first-time home buyers in Seattle. Every situation is different but there are certainly many deals to be had here in Seattle. Since when can a person buy a home for $350k in a great Seattle neighborhood?!

Read the full article here.

Homebuyers emerge for spring season

I hope that this blog can offer fair and objective takes on various aspects of the real estate market here in Seattle. The last thing I want this to be is a sounding board for every positive piece of news regarding real estate and nothing realistic or sobering. I especially have a distaste for "glass half full" people that like to skew statistics and information to make everything sound peachy! That being said, I have a direct investment in seeing this market turn around for the better...so I get excited when I see articles published such as the one below. This article does a good job of stressing caution when looking at the recent gains in home sales. Furthermore, since Seattle eased into the housing slump versus crashing into it, our area may also see a more gradual rebound.

Read the full article here.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Let's hope it's not a train! The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent in February compared with January. This pushes total activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. This surge is good news to analysts who where expecting continued declines. However, construction activity remains 47.3% lower than a year ago...so February's gains must be viewed with some expectation of more housing troubles to come. All area's of the country posted increases in construction activity except the west, which has been hit hard by the slump in housing.

Read the full article here.

House prices making mortgages more attainable...

Price declines for real estate nationwide are starting to make mortgage payments line up again with incomes. Especially in the Seattle market where sky high prices simply priced many would-be buyers out of the game. Now, low prices coupled with a few new incentives to entice buyers and stimulate the housing market are causing Seattle home buyers to get more serious. Home buying incentives:

• $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit of 2009
• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increasing the loan limits for larger loans. The limit increase -- from $506,000 to $567,500 in the Seattle area -- means people can get larger loans without entering the private jumbo mortgage market, where rates are much higher and standards much tougher than for conforming loans.
• Home prices in many parts of Seattle are back to 2006 prices.
• The Federal Reserve acting to keep rates low

Many mortgage professionals are hearing (yes, this is speculation) that rates will rise in the second half of 2009. Rising interest rates all but zero out any potential drop in home prices...possibly making the next 6 months one of the best times to buy a house in the greater Seattle area in quite some time.

Importance of Staging

Prepping a house for sale is of vital importance in any market but especially in a slower moving one like we're in right now. With so many houses for buyers to pick from, sellers must have every aspect of their home polished and perfect to grab buyers' attention. Staging the home prior to selling is one super common way to prep a house. If a home will be occupied during its time on the market, then a home stager can come in and consult on how to arrange furniture. One major component is removing unnecessary items to declutter the home. If a home is vacant, then stagers can bring in their own furniture and arrange it in a way that highlights the positive aspects of the home.

A Seattle real estate agent actually is credited for establishing the home staging industry in the 1970s. Homes for sale in Seattle are often staged in some way. If you're considering selling your home, it's a good idea to tour Seattle open houses of comparable homes to see the difference between staged and non-staged homes. Knowing your competition gives you perspective on where your house stands prior to putting it up for sale.

The Seattle Times has a great article on staging and its impact on selling quickly in this market.

Read the full article here.

Another one bites the dust...

The Marlborough is scheduled for foreclosure auction in May. This building is a 13 story Gothic-revival building built in 1927. Formerly apartments, The Marlborough is one of several projects for Live Historic. They were in the process of converting the building on First Hill into condos. You can see Live Historic's projects: here.

While they make a nice product, it looks like we can chalk this up as yet another casualty for developers. I'm not quite sure the building will fetch the $19.9 million in debt the company has towards this project since it will more than likely turn back to apartments for the time being.

The 4th quarter was a tough one for Seattle real estate but it's likely this project has been in trouble for some time.

Queen Anne High School Condos up for auction

The Seattle PI reports:

The 12 remaining unsold units at Queen Anne High School Condominiums will go up for close out auction on March 22. Nine two-bedroom units previously priced from $474,950 to $599,950 will have minimum bids of $245,000 to $325,000; a studio condo previously listed at $254,950 is down to a minimum of $145,000; and a 1,432-square-foot penthouse is down from $999,950 to a $650,000 minimum. Buyers who arrange financing from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and close within 30 days of the auction will get $2,500 toward closing costs.

The auction is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, 721 Pine St. Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson's Auction Group, which is hosting, has scheduled a "how-to-buy" seminar starting at 1 p.m. March 15 at the Queen Anne High School Condominiums Auction Information Office, which is open from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. daily at 201 Galer St.

The former high school has a total of 137 condos.

This project is interesting and I think a majority of the units in the building are pretty cool. Some of the smaller ones don't have some of the common ammenities such as a washer and dryer but it is a good use of an old building. Much preferable, in my opinion, than tearing it to the ground. Shoot me an email if you would like more info on the auction.