Debi Braulik (Federal Way to Tacoma, WA)

September and October were busy months in South King County and North Pierce County. I am finally able to catch up on posting stats.

Edgewood, WA had six homes closed in September 2009.

Here are the averages-

The average square footage was 2182.

The average $ per square foot was $145.88.

The average days on market is 276.

The average original list price was $384,168.

The average list price at contract was $313,835.

The average sold price was $306,167.

The average sale price to list price percentage was 97.56%.

The lowest sales price was $190,000 and the highest sales price was $360,000. Four of these sales in Edgewood were over $300,000 which is great news because for a long time the $300,000 price point was a kiss of death.

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Edgewood, please feel free to contact me via cell phone, text msg, email, facebook or twitter.

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.