Is it market-rebound or spring? What's the difference? The difference would be the permanent change in market versus the seasonal change in buying activity. The ratios this week continued their tightening trend. We had a slight decrease in the number of homes available last week, reaching 3215, and this week the number available is still higher than two weeks ago, but moving away from last summer's high of 4159. The pending sales keeps rising too, reaching 579 this week. That is actually quite a bit less than the high last June of 675. The odd thing is that we aren't seeing a whole lot of change in the numbers that reflect actual sales. Last week we had 48 sales recorded in the system. Compare that to a high in August of 61 and a low in January of 18.
Interpretting the numbers isn't a straight-forward task. Especially when the total numbers of transactions are as small as ours are right now. So, some of those pendings may be sales, some may be failed sales that should be listed as active. While the ratios are helpful to suggest market trends, I dare say prices are going to be more affected by a change in actual closings. And that number isn't improving real fast.
With that being said, maybe there will be a surge in closings soon. I was noticing that many of the 'green certification' homes are still pending after many weeks. Why is that? Aha - they are under construction! That's why the big accumulation of pending? Stay tuned.
What about short-sales? Of the 3215 available homes, 794 require third-party approval (about 25%); we can assume 90% of those are short-sales. Of the same available number, 159 are bank-owned (about 5%). In the sold category, 5 of the 48 homes that closed were bank owned (about 10%). And 15 were short-sales (31%). Do you see something new here? Many weeks, we have more sold-bank-owned than sold-short-sales by a large percentage. Could this be a sign that the banks have started processing the short sales faster? Stay-tuned for next week's numbers!
Whether you're looking for your first home, or possibly your last, or selling either of them, I have the patience and experience to help you make the best choice in Vancouver Washington. The Natural Choice in real estate is working with a professional real estate agent (me!) at Krogseng Real Estate who listens to your needs and works as a trusted advisor to get the best solution to your housing needs. We will give you a new attitude about real estate. If you are concerned about living a more sustainable lifestyle, Vancouver Washington may be the city for you. I specialize in knowing the neighborhoods in Vancouver Washington that have great walkscore ratings. Whether you want the low-maintenance condo lifestyle, a home that gets you off the grid, or a home that is something in between in Clark County, the natural choice in real estate will be someone that can help you find just the right home and neighborhood. If you're looking for homes that have been certified as green, you'll want to know I keep informed of the newly constructed homes and their various green certifications. Visit Kroseng Real Estate for more information.
You can find practically any beer you've ever tasted from this fabulous little store on Evergreen. I'll wager there are beers you've never tasted here too! More on that later though. Today, I just want to introduce you to By The Bottle. And to Dave and Arlene.
Amazing selection of beer, warm and friendly 1st class service, plus (recently announced) weekly tastings! It can't hardly get much better.
If you'd like to live near this extraordinary store, give me a call and let's see how I can help!
Whether you're looking for your first home, or possibly your last, or selling either of them, I have the patience and experience to help you make the best choice in Vancouver Washington. The Natural Choice in real estate is working with a professional real estate agent (me!) at Krogseng Real Estate who listens to your needs and works as a trusted advisor to get the best solution to your housing needs. We will give you a new attitude about real estate. If you are concerned about living a more sustainable lifestyle, Vancouver Washington may be the city for you. I specialize in knowing the neighborhoods in Vancouver Washington that have great walkscore ratings. Whether you want the low-maintenance condo lifestyle, a home that gets you off the grid, or a home that is something in between in Clark County, the natural choice in real estate will be someone that can help you find just the right home and neighborhood. If you're looking for homes that have been certified as green, you'll want to know I keep informed of the newly constructed homes and their various green certifications. Visit Kroseng Real Estate for more information.
March's First Friday Art Walk (in Vancouver, Washington) was especially fun for me this month. I was joined by three of the most fun women in town. Better yet, they allowed me to tell them everything I know about the art walk, the Vancouver murals, and even what I know about some of the history of a couple of the local buildings.
As we wandered, we saw these smartly dressed dogs.
The glass blowing at the Firehouse is always a favorite. I'm glad I can count on them being there on First Fridays. Sometimes the characters outside are as entertaining as the art being created!
Several of the 2009 spring and summer art walks will have a big reception. Stay tuned and come down the first Friday of each month. Can't make it? Then come down during the day. Different art every month and most galleries time their new shows to coincide with Vancouver's First Friday Art Walk. I've included the specific dates for the rest of 2009 for your convenience.
Or! You can send me an email requesting a reminder for art walk, and I'll send you an email the day of each art walk. How's that for a deal!
Whether you're looking for your first home, or possibly your last, or selling either of them, I have the patience and experience to help you make the best choice in Vancouver Washington. The Natural Choice in real estate is working with a professional real estate agent (me!) at Krogseng Real Estate who listens to your needs and works as a trusted advisor to get the best solution to your housing needs. We will give you a new attitude about real estate. If you are concerned about living a more sustainable lifestyle, Vancouver Washington may be the city for you. I specialize in knowing the neighborhoods in Vancouver Washington that have great walkscore ratings. Whether you want the low-maintenance condo lifestyle, a home that gets you off the grid, or a home that is something in between in Clark County, the natural choice in real estate will be someone that can help you find just the right home and neighborhood. If you're looking for homes that have been certified as green, you'll want to know I keep informed of the newly constructed homes and their various green certifications. Visit Kroseng Real Estate for more information.
I've seen and admired the structure from outside many times. The art-deco features are probably why I like the building so much. That and the lights that have their own local history too. If you visit the Kiggins website, you can read the great little Kiggins history.
I've included some pictures of my visit today. And I can't decide if this post should go on about what a nice experience I had or talk about why we need to make conscious efforts to put our consumer dollars in our local towns.
Okay - there'll be another post later about BUY LOCAL and why it matters so much to your future. Meanwhile, let me tell you that my son has been requesting for two weeks to visit The Kiggins. Only he couldn't remember the name and was calling it Egan, Giggles, Ginnens, and other funny things. I was thrilled that there was a line at the ticket booth, just because I want the Kiggins and other downtown businesses to succeed. I don't know what their normal Saturday traffic is like, but today was some sort of special fund raiser and adults without children under 18 weren't allowed in. (and there is a rant about paranoia and fear I'll get to later...).
The first thing I noticed was the charm of the little candy and popcorn counter. The folks behind the counter were bustling and friendly. And great little hand made menu boards informed us of various popcorn-pop-combos and price. For Chris and me, it was a number 3 - medium popcorn and 2 small drinks for $7.50. Plus, Junior Mints (small box). Yum! Yum! And notice the little fund raising jar.
Next was the series of curtains that separated the theatre from the entry area. We sat just a couple of rows inside, but had great view of the screen. For the dozens of children in there, it was pretty easy to hear the movie. I was relieved at that.
After the movie was over, I took the pictures here. I think it's lovely enough that I might go back to get some more. I hope I've included some information that will get you to visit the Kiggins too. And don't forget to drop a little change (and maybe even some folding money) into their jar. The new seats are lovely and heaven knows, the theatre has used the ones they've got right to the very end.
The lovely staircase leads up to the bathrooms. And you know what, this place has class. Class the way I wish more buildings had. Craftmanship is apparent, even decades after creation and that's another good reason for the Kiggins. Please visit, and while you're downtown, spend some time walking around. Have lunch, buy some unique clothes, look around, stay awhile.
If you like what you see, I can help you find a good home in the area!
Whether you're looking for your first home, or possibly your last, or selling either of them, I have the patience and experience to help you make the best choice in Vancouver Washington. The Natural Choice in real estate is working with a professional real estate agent (me!) at Krogseng Real Estate who listens to your needs and works as a trusted advisor to get the best solution to your housing needs. We will give you a new attitude about real estate. If you are concerned about living a more sustainable lifestyle, Vancouver Washington may be the city for you. I specialize in knowing the neighborhoods in Vancouver Washington that have great walkscore ratings. Whether you want the low-maintenance condo lifestyle, a home that gets you off the grid, or a home that is something in between in Clark County, the natural choice in real estate will be someone that can help you find just the right home and neighborhood. If you're looking for homes that have been certified as green, you'll want to know I keep informed of the newly constructed homes and their various green certifications. Visit Kroseng Real Estate for more information.
Wow! I took my eyes off the ball for a couple of weeks, and look what happened. This week, we have 3212 homes available in the main Vancouver residential area. There were 3249 two weeks ago. Currently, five-hundred-fifty-six of the available homes are in pending status. Last week, 46 homes actually changed ownership. That's suggesting a slightly tighter market for buyers. The trend is fewer homes on the market, more homes getting offers, and steady number of completed transactions.
What's keeping you out of the market? If you've been waiting for bottom, how will you know when you get there? Generally, you only know where the bottom was - as in, when the market has started going up again, you see where the bottom was and it's too late to 'buy at the bottom'.
Don't sit and wonder - find out if this is the time to sell or buy real estate. Call me for one hour consultation - no charge, no obligation for the first hour. Let's see if this is the market for you to move into!
Whether you're looking for your first home, or possibly your last, or selling either of them, I have the patience and experience to help you find the best choice in Vancouver Washington. Working with a professional real estate agent (me!) who listens to your needs and works as a trusted advisor to get the best solution to your housing needs will give you a new attitude about real estate. If you are concerned about living a more sustainable lifestyle, Vancouver Washington may be the city for you. I specialize in knowing the neighborhoods in Vancouver Washington that have great walkscore ratings. Whether you want the low-maintenance condo lifestyle, a home that gets you off the grid, or a home that is something in between in Clark County, I can help you find just the right home and neighborhood. If you're looking for homes that have been certified as green, you'll want to know I keep informed of the newly constructed homes and their various green certifications. Visit my website for more information.
Looking for real estate in walkable communities, green-built or energy-efficient homes, and homes that are part of sustainable lifestyles? The natural choice in real estate is right here!
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