Marguerite Giguere Specializing in Tacoma, WA

One of my favorite parts of being a Realtor is Previewing. Previewing is just visiting homes and condos for sale keeping an eye out for bargains for your buyer clients, and building your knowledge of your market. I took a trip to Marcato at 1501 Tacoma Avenue. I had been there before, but I realised it had been about a year and a half and it was time to check them out again. I'm glad I did!

Marcato has had some big price reductions. There's a lot of condos to compete with downtown, and while Marcato is central within downtown- there is not much in the immediate area around 15th & Tacoma yet- so living at Marcato makes you a bit of a Pioneer.

The Realtor on duty is Survon Narcisse from John L. Scott, and he was very friendly and helpful. One of the things that I remembered most about Marcato were their cool amenities. They are still cool!

One of the biggest challenges for people who are downsizing out of a house and into a condo that may be half the size of their former house is envisioning how they will entertain. Rooms like this are great for super bowl parties, baby showers, book club, game night, whatever. The one at Marcato has a flat screen TV, a swanky eat in kitchen, dining table, and pool table. Just add friends.

I couldn't find a picture of it, but I love the Theater at Marcato. It's a real theater, you just bring your DVD and some friends and settle into plush theater seats. The best part is you don't have to be sneaky when you smuggle in your candy... not that I ever do that.

I asked Survon what he thought the two best deals at Marcato are right now, and here they are:

Unit #312 - 2 Bedrooms + Den - 2 Bathrooms - 1,228 Square Feet with views of Downtown Tacoma and the Marcato Courtyard. It is listed at $339,900.

Unit #314 - 2 Bedrooms - 2 Bathrooms - 1,120 Square Feet with views of Mt. Rainier. This is also a corner unit and has great light. It is listed at $305,900.

Considering the high number of available condos competing with these in Downtown Tacoma, I would consider these prices a jumping off point for some serious negotiating, but if you are the type of person that wants space, views, and zero maintenance- Marcato is something you should check out!

For more Downtown Tacoma Real Estate information, visit www.GetRealTacoma.com.

I'll never forget the first time I visited the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer parcel search website. I was shocked to find out that all you have to do is type in the address of a house or piece of land and it would tell you who owned it and how much they paid for it. This is a fantastic tool for first time buyers to use when researching homes they find online.

It's useful for homeowners as well. If there's a house on your street that is rented and the tenants are causing trouble, look up the landlord and send them a letter. Is there a house that appears abbandoned that you might be interested in buying? Look up the owner. I work with a guy who keeps an eye out for empty houses then looks up the owners on the parcel search. If they are out of state he sends them a letter offering to purchase their property. He turns them into rentals and he has made some pretty incredible deals this way.

For me and almost everyone I know, this was the week of the cold. Myself, my friends, my clients, we all coughed and blew our noses through this week. Fortunately, that didn't stop work from getting done. My clients wrote offers on 2 houses this week, and it looks like the rest of Tacoma found time to do some business as well.

24 Houses and 5 Condos sold this week! They ranged in price from $55,000 for this bank owned tear-down to $519,125 for a 5 bedroom 3 bath 3,711 square foot house with a view of the Narrows Bridge.

The houses averaged 159 days on the market. The condos averaged 96 days on the market. Both houses and condos sold for 94% of their currently listed price. The median sold price on houses was $207,000 and $222,000 for condos.

What I find most interesting is that 6 of the properties sold this week were bank owned forclosures and 2 were short sales. Both of the contracts I wrote for clients this week were for foreclosures. That was one third of all the sales in Tacoma this week. The high number of foreclosures is one of the biggest factors in the lower prices we are experiencing- so getting those sold and off the market is both good for communities (who likes living next to a foreclosed house?) and also good for helping us return to a more balanced marketplace for houses.

Remember that this is JUST for the City of Tacoma, and JUST for this week. Stay tuned for New Years Eve, when I break downt the stats for the entire year! For more Tacoma Real Estate information visit www.GetRealTacoma.com!

I get this question all the time. I'm sure every Realtor does. These days every accountant, grocery checker, and therapist probably does too. Sometimes I get it from first time homebuyers, sometimes from people who've bought and sold several houses. My answer varies. Sure, housing inventories are high and buyers are calling the shots on price and terms- but for a person who is serious about making wise decisions, the answer to your question depends on more than just the climate in the housing market. It depends on where you are financially, if you plan to move out of the area in the the next 3-5 years, of you're going to have 3 babies in rapid succession...

Other people just like to hear everyone else say it's a good time to buy. If you are one of those people, here is an interesting article from the New York Times.

Thanks to my #1 Client Matt for sending that over. For more Tacoma Real Estate information visit www.GetRealTacoma.com.

When buying a house, it is fair to say that the majority of my clients place an extremely high priority on commute time. For people who are still part of the workforce (sorry retireds and trust funders!) this consideration is usually second only to price.

Enter this awesome new website for calculating your ideal home location based on where you work, shop, play, and socialize! It works like this, you enter in the locations places you go. For example, I put in Suite 133, Crescent Realty, my 4 farthest away friends, Blackwater Coffee, and the downtown YMCA. I probably could have left the Y out as much as I go these days- but it made me feel cooler.

It ran a little formula and...TADA! I should be living in Downtown Tacoma. I live in the Lincoln District so I'm not too far from my ideal spot. Now obviously for me it's easy- I am single and have no kids. But they thought of that too! If you have others to consider, you just add their work, school, friends, etc in and it calculates the ideal spot for your whole family! It's fun to play with, so check it out!

Thanks to #1 Client Mary M for sending this my way!

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