Archive for the ‘Real Estate Information and Statistics’ Category
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Jun
17
Posted by Larry Cragun
New laws went into effect recently regarding appraisals of home sold. This was supposed to help consumers and solve problems of inflated appraisals in the home buying process. It is turning into a big problem for both buyers and sellers and home values.
Below is a link to a video that expains how this came about. There is a petition you can sign. This system is wrong and needs to be fixed. Please take time to watch the video. Larry Cragun
Click here for an important video:
If appropriate sign the petition.
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Jun
12
Posted by Larry Cragun
NEW ISSAQUAH HIGHLANDS LISTING BY LARRY - SCOTT AND I ARE WORKING IT TOGETHER: CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE INFO, WEBSITE, VIRTUAL TOUR
Yes, Issaquah homes for sale had some buyers in May. Closed homes that were listed for sale numbered 35. That isn’t in the 60’s we used to see but it sure beats the heck out of the 15 homes that sold in April.
The price ranges are as follows:
charts courtesy of Northwest Multiple List
Look at the statistics chart above and ask - do you want to sell your home in 0 to 7 days? If the answer is yes, price it under $300,000. The stats are bad news if you are in the $500,00 to $550,000 range as the days on market averaged 588 days.
How about condos, condominiums, or condo, condominium? The answer: 25 sold in May versus 11 condos sold in April. Again, we used to hit over 60, but this news would be settling if it continued.
We close tomorrow on a condo we had listed. The sellers were serious sellers. They priced their condominium to be the best deal of its size in Issaquah Highlands. The buyers were tough but our sellers were serious.
We did everything we could besides price to capture the interest of the buyers: this included planning ahead on wall colors, what new carpet to put in, what it needed in accessories, etc. Once we had an offer our sellers responded as a serious seller would. There a lot of homes for sale, lots of condominiums. If you have your home listed and not sold, speak to your REALTOR on what it takes to be competitive.
Here is the breakdown of the condos that sold in may:
Almost a third of the condos sold in Issaquah were in the $200,000 to $250,000 range. Days on market were pretty decent statistics: 58.
So how many homes and condominiums are currently listed for sale in Issaquah at this time? The answer is scarry: 357 homes with an average day on market of 112 and 222 condominiums are listed in the MLS with an average days on market of 96.
Truly, it is still a buyers market when it comes to Issaquah Real Estate.
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May
20
Posted by Larry Cragun
In looking at the King County closed real estate statistics I see that Issaquah isn’t seeing the same improving results seen in most of King County. Home sales are down 63% (15 sales vs 41) and condo sales are down 42% (11 vs 19) from April 2008.
This compares with the following areas Number of homes sold/percent change:
Ballard: 48/-4%
Bothell/Woodinville: 24/-14%
Capitol Hill: 5/-17%
Federal way: 32/-24%
Green Lake/U District: 84/-17%
Issaquah: 15/-63%
Kent: 68/-15%
Kirkland/Redmond: 72/-23%
Maple Valley: 25/-31%
Mt Baker: 20/-5%
Renton: 86/-7%
Sammamish: 29/-29%
South Seattle: 70/-14%
West Seattle: 61/-25%
Condos are in similar ranges to homes percentages in most areas.
Our neighbor Bellevue is down 43% with 51 homes sold and Condos are down 46% with 22 sold.
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May
11
Posted by Larry Cragun
Are you selling or thinking about doing so? It is still a buyers market. And for a fact buyers are buying in Issaquah. Our Issaquah Highlands office sold three homes over the weekend. In all 3 cases these were homes priced to be the best value for the money. That’s the way it is with so many homes for buyers to choose from.
This is a picture of May 11th activity for the entire MLS. 
This weekend in Issaquah 4 homes went into a pending status. This is the first step or status when an offer is mutually agreed to. From here the next step is getting past the inspection. Financing is almost always a contingency at this point. Three of the 4 homes were 4 bedroom. The asking prices were between $399,950 and $ 559,900. All had at least 2.5 baths.
Contrast this with the number of homes available at this time: 567 - enough said?
RE: Homes not sold - The lowest price home is at $229,800 in May Valley that has been on the market for 241 days. The best deal in our opinion is the home we wrote about last week at 1.2 (I should say Homes) -
this one
at $1,250,000
By the way, we do this blog for fun and business and as a service to the community: Just know this “I would love to be your Realtor.”
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Feb
16
Posted by Larry Cragun
One of my good friends, Thomas Wolter has taken an interesting career direction with his real estate practice. After several years as a high producing ReMax residential agent, Thomas has concluded that real estate can still be a good investment. In doing so, Thomas has joined Colliers International.
I thought it might be worth mentioning.
I opposed the flipper mentality in the early stages. I also opposed the panic to buy properties 0 down and then flip. I went ballistic on Real Estate Undressed when the NAR announced in 2005 that 25% of the home purchases were second homes. Owning a mortgage company, I knew that these second homes were only second homes to get the best interest rate. In fact, they were investment properties. Second homes balony, these were investment homes.
In my career I spent several years as head of real estate for a mini storage developer. To me that is a real estate investment. There are others too. However, they take more than buying a deal to flip.
Tom is focusing on several aspects and has thusly joined Colliers International. You might follow Toms two new undressed network blogs: Snoqualmie Pass Undressed and Hood Canal Undressed. He might just drop a hint or two about current market places to be in real estate. I could give a hint or two. How about TIMBERRRR - or REO - or developing shared ownerships - or is that three? Actually Tomas has more than four.
Thanks to Flickr and by nick_hardcastle for the blog this license on the great photo.
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Jan
14
Posted by Larry Cragun
The weather outside was frightful, sure the snow itself was delightful -
But selling houses was (shall we say near impossible).
Maple Valley…
So now to some facts on real estate sales.a
The number of the entire MLS listings in December 08 vs December 07 = an increase of 17.5% and Issaquah has an increase of similar 16.3% increase in listings.
The NWMLS in its entirety has an average of 10.7 months of inventory. (Down from last months 12.8) while Issaquah has a similar number: 10.4
The homes sold numbers
Issaquah: Down from 44 in 2007 to 35 in 2008.
Here is the graphic:
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Dec
09
Posted by Larry Cragun
For a Lifestyle, more than a condo visit Bentley House Undressed.com, a member of our Issaquah Undressed Network of consumer blogs.
Issaquah Condo sales are down by 50% over a year ago, including pending sales. This is as reported by the NWMLS. A study of the graph above shows the last 14 months in available inventory of condominiums, pending, and closed sales.
The graph below makes visible the volatility of months of supply of condos. In one month it went from 4.9 months inventory to 11.7. That swings in and out of what type of market real estate condominiums are in.
One of our advertisers, Tanglewood Condos in Klahanie, is fortunate. They are in the final stages of selling a very nice project priced right for the market. In addition to being well done and having great amenities, they are in the lower price range, not suffering so. Note the charts below.
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Nov
08
Posted by Larry Cragun
Sponsored by Bentley House Undressed
and the $300,000 +- Value Leader: Tanglewood in Klahanie.
This is the second Saturday and homes not in the MLS are open - Second Saturday Issaquah Highlands Tour Of Homes
The map of open houses is updated and quite handy. Well over 1000 folks have logged into our map. There are quite a few homes open this weekend, condos too. Some of the homes for sale and open this weekend are new listings and some show serious price reductions. Click here for the map.
Also, the October real estate statistics are available. The entire MLS shows that there is a 10.6 month inventory of condominiums listed for sale in King County. That shows it is still a serious buyers market.Interestingly, Issaquah is bucking the trend with a 5.7 months inventory of condos. See the chart below, and note this is fluctuating. One reason for this is the number of condos listed dropped by 45 and the sales increased from 28 to 38. The number of condos listed is the lowest number in the last 15 months.
Don’t get too excited: It was the opposite statistic for homes for sale and sold in Issaquah. Inventory was up to a 13.2 supply compared with a county wide statistic of 9.7 months.
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Oct
25
Posted by Larry Cragun
I would say the open house volume is low. Why? Simple. Agents feel it is a waste of time as not many of you are looking now. Why? You say. Here are the mapped locations of those agents who placed their homes as open in the MLS. By The way - it is a great way to enjoy the fall weather and do a little dreaming. Click here or the photo to go to the map.
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Oct
03
Posted by Larry Cragun
Tanglewood In Klahanie is our opinion of the current best value in Issaquah Condominiums.
Issaquah is about to discover the Ultimate In Condo Living. You will see it announced in a booth at Salmon Days, you will see it advertised on this Issaquah blog, in fact - it will have it’s own undressed blog. Again I ask, take out your pen and paper - write down what it would have if it were your vision of the ultimate in condo living. Make a list and check back here often, it is going to be nice.
Click here for the Tanglewood Condos in Klahanie Website
Click here for an article Kathleen wrote after visiting Tanglewood Condos.
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Oct
02
Posted by Larry Cragun
The Chart below shows a huge drop in the average days on market for the current condo inventory for sale in Issaquah. Condominium days on market has dropped to less than 65% of September. The 63 average days on market are the fewest since last October.
The percent of asking price went from 96% to 98% of listing price.
Last month there was almost a years worth of condominium inventory on the market and it has dropped by 1/4th in one month. I will post each month how this trend is shaping up. I know from other blogs I write on that a large amount of non home owners out there are looking for the bottom. This is only one month, but very interesting.
If you are a potential condo buyer you might also find it interesting that the average price has risen from $240 to about $268 per square foot, back to where it was in June 2007.
Pardon the push for an advertising customer - Tanglewood Condominiums in Klahanie - but they recently dropped prices by close to 10%. You might want to check out this property with more amenities than you can imagine for the price.
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Sep
23
Posted by Larry Cragun
We just posted a 14 month graph of the Issaquah Real Estate Stats.
As you might expect 14 months ago numbers are the best for sellers or their listing agents. January 2008 had the least sales but also the least number of listings. Note the number of homes sold a year ago is down from 59 to 43. To see real estate information regarding homes for sale, number of homes sold, number of pending sales, month by month for the last 14 months click here.
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Sep
08
Posted by Larry Cragun
Already people have been contacting me about the Fed take over of Fannie and Freddie. What will that do to us or for us is the question? ………..From Dan Green who I respect: Sunday, the government announced that it will takeover Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and assume their respective operations. Mortgage-backed debt is now government debt.But for all the front page stories today, there’s suprisingly little coverage about how the news impacts homeowners in need of a mortgage.Mortgage rates are down sharply today, and possibly forever.…………..another good article: These are potential benefits:
- Lender balance sheets will be cleaned up and thinned out.
- Mortgage rates and fees should get cheaper as a result.
- Mortgage paper will be turned into Federal paper, establishing much needed confidence from foreign investors. Its a global market, keeping foreign investment money flowing through our economy is vital to its existence in 2008 (and going forward).
- Federal paper will allow borrowers to potentially ‘work out’ their delinquent loans with far more flexibility than they could with lender owned mortgage paper.
Loan ‘work-outs’ were/are generally not in the interest of lenders, especially those who’ve retained mortgage servicing companies or run the divisions internally, since these profit centers are paid to keep homeowners in their current situation and/or handle the foreclosure process. If the business model is to keep borrowers making payments they can’t afford and/or pushing them into foreclosure, well its easy to see where the misalignment of objects and conflict of interests arise.
The government can effectively work with homeowners to restructure payment terms any way they see fit, keeping more people in their homes, substantially reducing the number foreclosures that have fostered the rapid depreciation in many housing markets around the country.
- Reduction of Wall Street volatility in what has historically been a stable segment of the bond market. Consumer confidence needs to be restored to the mortgage market, volatility and consumer confidence usually don’t coincide with each other.
Many speculators made a lot of money by short selling Fannie and Freddie’s stock, accelerating their devaluation. The SEC put a stop to this in mid July 08, by then the damage (or rewards) had been realized. Months late and billions short(ed) I will be linking other valid articles to this article over the next few days, so come back and check if you are interested. Visit Agent Genius for the completion of the text above. …..From the Garrett-Watts blog: They will still be in business Monday, but with their existing shareholders no longer owning it.We tend to think there will be minimal impact on the day-to-day selling of loans to them.We can envision three things happening after there is a thorough review by the Treasury Department of all aspects of their operations.………………………………………. FHFA Director Lockhart Remarks on Housing GSE Actions From The Big Picture:I am still working my way through the details of the GSE takeover by Treasury, but here is my initial read of the details:
• FHFA will act as conservator of the two firms — meaning the US government has day-to-day control of Fannie and Freddie;• The conservator’s goals are to (1) put the company in a sound and solvent condition, and (2) carry on the company’s business and preserve and conserve the assets and property of the company.
• There is an immediate moratorium of the firms’ lobbying activities.
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Sep
03
Posted by Larry Cragun
Last night I received a couple of compliments at a public meeting about our Issaquah blogs. Thanks folks. We love writing about and photographing Issaquah. We hope we provide great local and real estate information for your review. If there is real estate data you would like that we don’t provide, please ask.
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Aug
26
Posted by Larry Cragun
Why are people still moving to Issaquah? Real Estate is still selling fairly well.
Hopefully some of these young ones will join us here. I have a special reason to want these kids to move in the area, they are some of our grandchildren.
The answer I would say is a combination of things. Prices are holding there own, the location is convenient to all parts of the county, the city is very proactive, there are a lot of things to get involved in. I invite you to study this blog, we have over 450 reasons to live in Issaquah that we have written about.
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Aug
16
Posted by Larry Cragun
This beautiful shot is from our home in Issaquah.
Click here for the open house map.
By the way, we were showing homes the last couple of days and many sellers are pricing their homes higher than their competition. Selling your home is a game of competition. A serious game if you are a serious seller.
I was asked on the P I blog I write for what makes home prices go up. The answer was simple - multiple offers.
The same goes for going down, multiple options. Our buyers had multiple options on similar properties. They were looking in a certain price range for a home with a swimming pool. The first home they thought they were interested in was soon devalued by $75,000.00. What caused the devalue? The home we went to 2 houses later. The fact they had more than one great option placed the owner of the first home in jeopardy of selling their house to our buyer. That home had been on the market for 280 days, so they obviously had a problem.
We are in a buyers market. Not enough listing agents are receiving offers on their listings. Buyers agents have clients that are in control.
To sell your home and not list your home so it is clearly the best value in its competitive market is asking to just list your home and watch it sit. Sorry for the bad news sellers - welcome to the good news buyers.
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Aug
09
Posted by Larry Cragun
Get that car out of the garage and see some open houses.
Visting Issaquah Open Houses (click here) can be fun and educational. Do too much of it and you may want to become a real estate agent. Each week real estate agents have the option to list their open houses in the MLS. The weekend open houses are posted on our map. Enjoy and let us know if you have questions.
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Aug
02
Posted by Larry Cragun
Click here for the map of Real Estate Agents open houses. These were announced as information in the MLS.
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Jul
18
Posted by Larry Cragun
My Realtor said I could just lay around (like he is today)
The market has picked up steam and the listing agents are home on the deck (Phone in hand). The sellers are out fishing and the buyers wondering what the heck happened – “they want more open houses”. OK lets reward the ambitious ones and visit them all. All 4 Condomiums for sale and all 7 homes in Issaquah for sale:
Yoooooo Hooooo Wherea are you? (Makes for a good commercial idea doesn’t?)
CLICK HERE FOR ISSAQUAH OPEN HOUSES: Click the balloon for more information
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Jul
11
Posted by Larry Cragun
What are the home prices like? The best way to know is see them first hand. The best way to find them in Issaquah is on our MAP. Click here for the weekend open houses posted in the MLS by the listing agent. Let us know if you need a buyers agent. Lar
Click Here for the open houses information map.
Tags: Issaquah, open+houses, mls, listing+agent, buyers+agent
