Why People Buy

There are three main reasons why people buy homes. The first is the economy and ours is great! We have three major hubs - technology, aerospace, and medical research. Boeing has orders for the next 22 years, is currently hiring like crazy and their employees are on mandatory overtime. Costco is looking into major expansion in our area. The Port of Seattle estimates that their container traffic will be doubling in the coming years. I could go one and on, but the main point is that as long as our job market is strong and people will continue to move to the Seattle area.

The second reason why people buy is the interest rates. Rates are still great for anyone who qualifies for a loan. We were cushioned from the "mortgage meltdown" primarily because our market does not have the flood of investors that are seen in Arizona, Las Vegas, Florida, or California - the areas that did get hit hard with foreclosures.

The third reason why people buy is about the consumer confidence. This is where we are lacking and I think it is because (as a general statement), the media does not report on the LOCAL markets. How are sales in your local neighborhood? For most parts of King, Snohomish and Skagit County, I think you will be pleasantly surprised about how strong our market really is.

The other thing I see a lot of is that most media reports talk about "sold" homes. If you think about the process to sell your home, it takes on average 30+ days to actually sell your home. If all you look at are the "sold" numbers, you are a month or more behind what the market is actually doing. As a Realtor®, I personally track "Pending Sales" for my markets. These numbers indicate what our market is doing TODAY, and that is what my clients need to know in order to make an informed decision.

The most important thing to remember is that real estate is LOCAL. I am a Realtor® in Stanwood and on Camano Island. The sales that we have seen in 2007 are equal to the sales we saw in 2006. Our local market is still strong.

We certainly don't have the crazy seller's market that we saw in 2004-2006, but that is not necessarily the best time to buy. Now is when you should be buying. Our market is stable, our economy is strong, and interest rates are low. Add to that the fact that the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver, and we have even more people who will be drawn to our area and will want to buy.