The slated start for year-round Elliott Bay water taxi is 2010. This will allow more waterfront real estate owners to have a stress-free commute from West Seattle to Downtown. Considering the impending construction on Highway 99/viaduct/tunnel downtown, this will be a very important transportation avenue for waterfront homeowners. Easy access to downtown will make watefront properties in West Seattle more valuable in the near future.
http://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/oto/water_taxi.html
"I'm just waiting until the market hits the bottom before I buy." A lot of agents have heard this line lately. Unfortunately, it not only creates a drag on the real estate market, it's also robbing a lot of first time buyers of their chance to get a great deal.
While it's logical to try to buy a home at it's lowest possible price, buyers need to think about how likely they are to actually buy at the perfect time. Talk to your financial advisor and ask him/her how often they buy and sell at the perfect time (not often). When was the last time you invested in a mutual fund or stock at its absolute bottom and sold it at its absolute peak?
Real Estate is fluid. We won't know that we've hit the low point on real estate prices until 6 months after the fact, when prices are already on record with months of consecutive increases. Now, as a buyer, you need to get pre-approved, find the perfect home, make an offer, get the house under contract, and go through escrow and closing. You could easily be close to a full year into the upswing.
In the meantime, interest rates can increase, increasing a buyer's monthly payment and negating any possible savings based on price. Rates right now are the lowest that they've ever been on record. They're not likely to get much better.
Get out there. Find a deal. Prices are already low. Bank owned homes are selling at steep discounts. Regular home sellers are pricing their houses and condos to move. It's a buyer's market, and it's not just a great investment. It's your home.
Sam DeBord
REALTOR, Director of Marketing
SeattleHome.com
RE/MAX Connected
206-658-3225
In new twist, a builder in Houston is now offering to buy a home back from the buyers within the first 2 years they own it if they decide to sell. Although the details are murky at this point, these $700,000+ homes are in a strong market, and the builder is counting on prices to remain strong. The builder will buy the home back at the same price they sold it.
There have been a lot of gimmicks that builders have used in the past to get inventory moving, but this one seems to be well-grounded in confidence in the local real estate market (even if it involves some risk). Whether or not this turns out to be profitable will be interesting, but it does promote the idea that the builder is tied into the same market as the buyer and they can both profit together.
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Seattle Real Estate Broker - RE/MAX Connected Dir. of Marketing, SeattleHome.com REALTOR, Green Certified Pro, Waterfront Real Estate
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