Marguerite Giguere Specializing in Tacoma, WA

Everyone loves a good year end wrap-up. Me included! Here are the sales stats for The City of Tacoma for 2008:

Homes Sold in Tacoma in 2008: 2, 237

Condos Sold in Tacoma in 2008: 305

Average Sales Price for Tacoma Houses: $249,512

Average Sales Price for Tacoma Condos: $193,990

Average Bedrooms/Sq Ftg of Sold Tacoma Houses: 3 Beds/ 1722 sqft

Average Bedrooms/Sq Ftg of Sold Tacoma Condos: 2 Beds/ 1202 sqft

Average Days on the Market (Sold Houses): 83*

Average Days on the Market (Sold Condos): 86*

These statistics are for all houses in Tacoma. Since the sales prices ranged in price from less than 100k to over 1.5 Million, they're really pretty useless for judging how your home is doing. For this reason, I will be profiling sales data by neighborhood over the next week, one post at a time. Stay tuned!

* = You might have noticed that the DOM (Days on Market) of Sold Properties is significantly lower than that of listed properties. This reflects that the people whose homes (or condos) have sold tend to be more motivated and price more aggressively. The average DOM for currently listed homes and condos in Tacoma is 128 Days.

For more Tacoma Real Estate information, visit my blog, Get Real Tacoma.

Here is a great post on the blog QVisory about the difference between a fixed and adjustable rate mortgage.

It’s mortgage rates 101: the difference between a fixed and adjustable rate home loan. Just like it sounds, a fixed rate mortgage stays at the same interest rate for as long as you are paying down the loan, regardless of whether interest rates, in general, go up or down. Conversely, an adjustable rate mortgage can go up (and sometimes down) based upon the overall interest rate market. Sometimes it is possible to get an adjustable rate mortgage at a much lower interest rate than a fixed rate mortgage, but the rate could skyrocket in a matter of a few years.

Also, there is an explaination of what "Points" on a mortgage are. Useful information for first time homebuyers and homeowners alike! Thanks to my #1 Client Mary for sharing this with me on Google Reader!

For more information on Downtown Tacoma Real Estate visit Get Real Tacoma.

It's been a couple weeks since we reviewed the Downtown Tacoma Condos that have sold, so here you are. There were 9 condos that closed, 6 of those I already wrote about earlier this week located at The Esplanade.

CitySteps continued the great townhouse blowout with 2 sold this week, both for $219,990. They were units #105 & 106 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, with 1113 square feet. One was originally listed at $259,990. The final condo was over with Survon at Marcato, unit #319. A 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1040 square foot that was originally listed at $369,000. It sold for $309,000. For information on Marcato check out another of last weeks posts here.

I believe it is worth mentioning that right now there are 225 condos listed for sale in 98402, 98405, & 98403.There are 24 that are pending sale. That gives us an 11% sales ratio- which is DEFINETLY a buyers market. If you want a good explanation of a sales ratio, I recommend reading Tacoma Realtor Tom Hume's post on the topic. He explains it well. Basically, less that 50% is a buyers market, more than 50% is a sellers market.

It is also worth mentioning that in the past 2 weeks int the same downtown area, 1 condo listing was cancelled, 1 was temporarily taken off the market, and 4 expired. That's one way to get the inventory down.

Between the Christmastime Parties and all the Shopping, 27 people found time to close on houses and condos this week in Tacoma! Here is the breakdown:

• 22 Houses sold. 5 Condos sold.
• All 5 condos were located at The Esplanade.
• The average days on market for the houses that sold were 130 days. Those sellers accepted offers at an average of 97% of the list price.
• The average price per square foot of sold homes across the whole city was $130/square foot.

The problem here is that there are currently 2,199 houses and condos actively for sale in Tacoma. That number is probably a little low, as I know many of the new construction houses and condos are not on the MLS as builders will just put up a few to represent the whole building/neighborhood. There are 315 pending sales, which puts us at a 14% sales ratio for the city at large.

Stay tuned for a post comparing the Pricing and Days on Market of Sold Homes & Condos with those of the Currently Listed Homes & Condos! For more Downtown Tacoma Real Estate info visit www.GetRealTacoma.com.

I'm of the opinion that Tacoma is a City that feels like a small town. That doesn't mean it's always easy to stay on top of everything that's going on.

It helps that Tacoma has so many great blogs. Here are some of my favorites:

www.Exit133.com It's all about what's going on in Tacoma. It's a great place to find info about upcoming events, new restaurants and businesses opening up, and of course local politics.

www.FeedTacoma.com This website is "fed" by people from all over Tacoma. It has all different kinds of information and opinions, and can be a great source of interesting information.

www.TacomaUntapped.com Written by local Real Estata Agent Jacob Rose, this blog is a mix of breaking business and real estate news and interesting information about zoning, development, and real estate.

www.ErikEmery.com A local Tacoma writer and business owner writes about things that run the gammot from transportation to the weather, but it's always interesting.

http://weeklyvolcano.typepad.com/spew/ The Weekly Volcano's Blog, covering all kinds of crazy stories from all over Tacoma and the surrounding area.

www.Tacomamama.com - Restaurant reviews, where to take the kids, etc. Great Blog.