Debi Braulik (Federal Way to Tacoma, WA)

The $8,000 tax credit is working it's magic. Buyer are getting off the fence and getting into the market. Which is great news!

But some Pierce County, WA sellers (specifically Bonney Lake, Sumner, Buckley, Orting, and others) need to be aware that even with this increase in buyer traffic, it is still a buyer's market. And to make matters worse, it is a declining market. Currently the NWMLS is tracking the rate of of decline at .9% per month.

So if you want to sell your home, it's not the time to say "the house down the street sold for X dollars, therefore, my home is worth that too." Because if the neighbor's home sold a few months ago, it's not. Current residential appraisal guidelines state the condition of the market; whether it's appreciating, or stable, or declining. And if the declining box is checked, banks expect that a time adjustment is made in the value of the comp. (for example, if a house sold in March for $299,950 then today's adjusted value would be $289,151. Four months x .9 = 3.6. $299,950 x .964 = $289,151 )

And if the buyer is using government financing (which 90%+ are these days) then the appraisal situation can get even stickier. VA appraisals stay with the property for 6 months. So if your first offer falls apart because of a low VA appraisal and you are unwilling to lower the sales price to the appraised amount- it will eliminate all VA buyers unless they have the cash to make up the difference between list price and appraisal price.

So the tough decisions sellers need to make are-

• do I really want/need/have to sell?
• what do I have to do/can I do/will I do to make that happen?
• what will I do if the appraised value comes back less than the list price?
• am I willing to let a deal fall apart? Can I handle it?
• can I wait for another offer?

Thinking about the answers to these questions will help you decide if now is the time for you to sell your home or if it is better to wait until the market has stabilized.

If you have any questions about your home in south King County or north Pierce County, contact me.

Debi Braulik, Realtor, Keller Williams Realty

Cell- (206) 949-4785, email Deborah@KingPierceHomes.com

Tacoma has over 600 homes that are bank owned, short sales, and under $200,000 so if you are interested in Tacoma, you will have to include a neighborhood (ie- Stadium District, Central Tacoma, UPS area) or geographical boundaries (Between North 6th and 12th) to narrow the search down.

Federal Way, Edgewood, Milton & Tacoma residents do you Tweet?

As I sit here and listen to the media talk about Twitter, I realize in the last few weeks so many of my family members and friends have asked me what Twitter is. They have no idea. Not a single person in my immediate circle of family and friends Tweet.

As I realized this, the wheels began spinning in my head and I wondered if the use of Twitter is more of a regional thing? I have professional friends in Seattle that use Twitter. And I know some people in Tacoma that Twitter. Is the area in between these two cities a no mans land?

I would love to get some feedback from the residents of Federal Way, Edgewood, Milton, Des Moines, Auburn, Kent, Fife, and Tacoma. So please tell me, do you Tweet on Twitter? if so, what do you use it for?

Federal Way, Edgewood, Milton & Tacoma homebuyers can now use $8,000 immediately!

"Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on Tuesday said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow home buyers to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment."

This is great news for people that haven't owned a home in 3 years or are first time home buyers in Federal Way, Edgewood, Milton and Tacoma!

The selection of available homes is at an all time high, interest rates are at an all time low, and home prices are at 2004 levels.

So if have been looking for a home in Federal Way, Edgewood, Milton or Tacoma, contact me. I'd be happy to help you take advantage of the government's $8,000 down payment.

For the complete article - click here for the Realtor.com article.

Federal Way home sales for April 2009 were quite healthy! In April, 41 home sales closed. Of these 41 Federal Way, WA homes 31 homes were priced under $300,000, six were priced at $300,000 to $400,000, three were priced from $400,000 to $500,000 and one sold above $500,000.

Sale prices ranged from $72,900 to $565,000 with the average being $266,813.

Days on market ranged from 0 days (new construction presales) to 834 days with the average being 131 days. There were 11 homes that sold in under 30 days (only two of those were new construction).

Price per square foot ranged from $50.63 to $235.00 with the average being $139.28.

Square footage ranged from 840 to 3,215 with the average being 1960.

The sales price vs. the list price ratio ranged from 78.72% to 104.68%. And on average these homes sold for 93.93% of list price. Interestingly the home that sold for 104.68% of the list price was a home that sold in 14 days. With the exception of two homes all homes that sold in under 30 days sold at full list price or above.

If you would like more information on Federal Way home sales statistics or current Federal Way homes for sale, please feel free to contact Debi Braulik at 206-949-4785 or email me.