Washington

Oh when the Saints- Go Marching in.....

02-09-10

Bill Black CMP

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Office: (360) 326-8891

Mobile: (360) 910-3290

Bill Black CMP
Loannetwork LLC, Vancouver
1001 Main Street Suite A
Vancouver, WA 98660
bill@billcblack.com
360-326-8891

www.aofdowntown.com

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February 9, 2010

What is another 800,000 or so…

The job market lost 820,000 jobs last month. Well not exactly last month. This number included the "adjustment of statistics" for the past year. In this column we will not get into how the government miscounts so badly. However, we will point out that it just makes the deep recession we are coming out of even deeper. Eventually we must replace all of these jobs and we have dug ourselves quite a hole to climb out of. Certainly this makes the jobs programs proposed by the Administration more likely to become law as the next phase of stimulus kicks into gear.

And certainly, the fact that there would be such a significant adjustment is one reason the stock market became so volatile this week. Thursday was particularly brutal, especially when we mixed in concerns about the debt of foreign governments. When you remove this big adjustment, the numbers for January were not all that bad. The loss of 20,000 jobs is not positive, but it still is much better than the hundreds of thousands of jobs we were losing just a few quarters ago. However, it is still a long way from recovering from seven million jobs lost. This does help by way of the fact that it takes some of the upward pressure off of rates, oil prices and other commodities, at least in the short-run.

The Markets. Rates continued to be stable in the past week. Freddie Mac announced that for the week ending February 4, 30-year fixed rates averaged 5.01%, up from 4.98% the week before. The average for 15-year fixed rose slightly to 4.40%. Adjustables were mixed with the average for one-year adjustables falling to 4.22% and five-year adjustables rising slightly to 4.27%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 5.25%. “Rates remained relatively stable for a second week amid news of a strengthening housing market," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “Residential fixed investment rose for two consecutive quarters over the last half of 2009 following a steady quarterly decline since the beginning of 2006. Pending existing home sales rebounded by 1 percent in December from a record drop in November that was due in part to the original expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors. Even more encouraging news came from the Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, which reported that banks have generally stopped tightening standards on most types of loans in the fourth quarter of 2009, with commercial real estate as the exception.” Rates indicated do not include fees and points and are provided for evidence of trends only. They should not be used for comparison purposes.

Current Indices For Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Updated February 5, 2010

	Daily Value	Monthly Value
	February 4	January
6-month Treasury Security	0.16%	0.15%
1-year Treasury Security	0.32%	0.35%
3-year Treasury Security	1.34%	1.49%
5-year Treasury Security	2.29%	2.48%
10-year Treasury Security	3.62%	3.73%
12-month LIBOR		0.906% (Jan)
12-month MTA		0.463% (Jan)
11th District Cost of Funds		1.828% (Dec)
Prime Rate		3.25% (12/08)

The FHA-backed 203(k) rehab loan is an increasingly popular option in today’s market because so many available properties, especially foreclosures, are in need of repair. A streamlined 203(k) provides money to pay for improvements such as a new roof, appliances, furnace, energy-efficient windows, and cosmetic improvements like carpet, paint, and remodeled kitchens and baths. The maximum loan available is $35,000. The buyer must put down 3.5 percent of the acquisition. At closing, the seller is paid and the remaining money goes into an escrow account to pay for repairs. A licensed contractor must complete the work within six months. Some lenders allow the borrower to do minor cosmetic work like painting themselves. We also offer a Home renovation loan that is similiar but only on Fannie Mae owned properties.

Green market research firm SBI Energy forecasts that in the next five years, the market for energy-efficient home renovation products will grow 15 percent, 50 percent faster than the renovations market as a whole. According to the report, the energy-efficient market will reach $35 billion and claim 15 percent of all home renovation dollars spent. "The growth will come as a result of the tax credits, new incentives, and the reality that more agencies and utilities are promoting the fact that adding improved energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to decrease home utility bills," says Norman Deschamps, author and SBI Energy analyst. Source: SBI Reports

Falling prices for real estate and the declining value of the dollar are luring investors from all over the world to purchase properties for as little as half what they might have paid four years ago. "This could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity for real estate investment," says Arthur Wong, whose Calgary, Alberta-based U.S. Real Estate Fund has invested $5 million in properties in the U.S. Southwest and plans to buy millions more. Buyers from countries like Brazil, Canada, France, and the Netherlands, whose currencies are particularly strong against the dollar, are spending millions on luxury condos in New York City, Las Vegas, and Miami. Foreign buyers also find the warm climates of California, Texas, and Arizona attractive. Peter Zalewski, a principal with Miami-based Condo Vultures, says he has sold foreign condo buyers seven bulk deals in downtown Miami alone, with investors coming from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Italy, Norway, and Venezuela. Source: MSNB

2 Comments

Clutter must go or your house may not sell!

02-09-10

BethAnn Long, Realtor, e-PRO Spokane Wa Real Estate

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Office: (509) 362-4607

Mobile: (509) 362-4607
Secondary: (509) 362-4607

It is like those extra pounds that seem to creep back every time you lose them. Slowly but surely.

Clutter. It seems to appear almost overnight, and when your house is on the market it can be deadly to a sale.

Here is the deal...buyers always tell me " they can look past it". But if the truth is known, it is the spic and span homes that sell first, I think even when buyers say they can look past it, subconsciously they can't. Once they go into house beautiful, they quickly pass on the cluttered home even if it is a better deal. I have seen this over and over again.

If your home is on the market- or you are thinking of selling in the near future, here is some advice.

GET A STORAGE UNIT AND PUT A LOT OF YOUR THINGS IN IT!

Store away EVERYTHING that you don't use on a regular basis. Store all of the smaller pieces of furniture that make your rooms look smaller.

Store ALL of you off season clothing, Christmas decor, and all the boxes you are tripping over. Once you get it out of the way you will have an easier time keeping up on the daily grind of papers, books, ect... that creep into our lives.

EMBRACE SIMPLICITY. Less is more when your home is for sale!

ASK FOR HELP! If you are like me...you have WAY TOO MANY THINGS. Ask a trusted friend to HELP YOU GET RID OF THINGS. If you need to- hire a professional. It will pay off!

HAVE A SYSTEM for the stuff and fluff that must remain in the home while it is up for sale.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Hang in there, once your home sells and you are in your new place, you can be as messy as you want to! :) It is only temporary.

11 Comments

Bank Owned Homes in Seattle WA Sales Report - 02/09/09

02-09-10

Dan Edwards, REALTOR® Your NW Home reSource.™

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Office: (425) 837-4700

Mobile: (206) 818-8816

Bank Owned Homes in Seattle WA Some of the best deals in Real Estate are REO or Bank Owned Real Estate. Banks are in a hurry to sell a home and they intentionally price it 20% below the market. A Bank Owned home is property that goes back to the mortgage company after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. You see, most foreclosure auctions do not even result in bids. After all, if there was enough equity in the property to satisfy the loan, the owner would have probably sold the property and paid off the bank. That is why the property ends up at a foreclosure or trustee sale. Since what is owed to the bank is almost always more than what the property is worth, very few foreclosure auctions result in a successful sale. Then the property "reverts" to the bank. It becomes an REO, or "real estate owned" property.

I have broken down Seattle's sales from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service in 3 sections, Bank Owned, Shortsales(Pre-foreclosures), and "Arms Length" Transactions. Some points of interest; the median home sales price is $266,500 $365,000 & $409,500 respectivly making Bank Owned Real Estate(REO) the best value/deal for home buyers. While short sales may seem attractive they take longer to close. Bank Owned Homes(REO's) are already approved and a buyer is negotiating directly with the bank.

Seattle WA Bank Owned Market Statistics for January 2010

Active: 84

Pending: 62

Sold: 33

Other: 0

Total: 179

	Bedrooms	Bath	Sqft	List Price	Selling Price	DOM
Minimum	1	1.00	0	$89,900	$97,500	0
Average	3	2.03	1,791	$337,527	$280,014	51
Median	3	2.00	1,460	$279,000	$266,500	42
Maximum	10	5.00	4,740	$1,295,000	$750,000	189
Total Dollar Value					$9,240,450

Average DOM Breakdown and Average % of List Price received on Solds by Market time:

	0-30 Days	31-60 Days	61-90 Days	91-120 Days	120+ Days
No. of Listings	13	12	4	1	3
Breakdown %	39.39	36.36	12.12	3.03	9.09
Avg SP % LP	101.14	95.92	100.97	92.34	99.55

Seattle WA Shortsales(Preforeclosures) Market Statistics for January 2010

Active: 258

Pending: 228

Sold: 35

Other: 0

Total: 521

	Bedrooms	Bath	Sqft	List Price	Selling Price	DOM
Minimum	0	0.00	430	$104,000	$145,000	0
Average	3	2.00	1,950	$392,972	$432,216	77
Median	3	2.00	1,720	$319,000	$365,000	58
Maximum	9	6.50	9,405	$5,650,000	$1,185,000	499
Total Dollar Value					$15,127,568

Average DOM Breakdown and Average % of List Price received on Solds by Market time:

	0-30 Days	31-60 Days	61-90 Days	91-120 Days	120+ Days
No. of Listings	11	4	8	3	9
Breakdown %	31.43	11.43	22.86	8.57	25.71
Avg SP % LP	96.88	96.46	98.52	87.23	97.90

Seattle WA Non-Bank Owned/Shortsale Market Statistics

Active: 1711

Pending: 512

Sold: 255

Other: 0

Total: 2478

	Bedrooms	Bath	Sqft	List Price	Selling Price	DOM
Minimum	0	0.00	286	$99,999	$120,000	0
Average	3	2.23	2,195	$646,736	$495,622	83
Median	3	2.00	1,853	$439,000	$409,500	47
Maximum	13	8.50	11,022	$14,950,000	$1,925,000	997
Total Dollar Value					$126,383,677

Average DOM Breakdown and Average % of List Price received on Solds by Market time:

	0-30 Days	31-60 Days	61-90 Days	91-120 Days	120+ Days
No. of Listings	80	60	39	26	50
Breakdown %	31.37	23.53	15.29	10.20	19.61
Avg SP % LP	97.59	96.10	95.06	93.96	94.50

See more reports for Bank Owned homes.
Kirkland WA
Redmond WA
Sammamish WA
Issaquah WA
Bellevue WA

If you are looking for a detailed list of REO(Bank owned real estate)properties, or short sales, simply sign up to receive King County WA Bank Owned homes & property updates.

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While the East Coast is getting hammered by Snow...

02-09-10

Julie Booth

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Office: (206) 429-2696

Yes, while the East Coast is getting hammered by snow, we in the Pacific Northwest are enjoying a very mild winter. In fact, can you even call it a winter?

The Olympic Winter Games are being held in Vancouver, BC, which is just 162 miles north of us. This is the warmest January in Vancouver history - really bad timing, but what can you do? Bring the snow in by helicopter and they have: 5,000 cubic meters so far!

Last year, we were hammered with the biggest snowfall I remember having here - ever. I took this photo at lunch today. What you are looking at is the Redondo (Washington) pier and some beachfront. Behind me is a very long boardwalk that extends for quite a ways with people jogging or walking up and down it.

Who says it always rains here?

Julie Booth

206-429-2696

2 Comments

Income property can have very stable, respectful and reliable tenants. Seattle, WA

02-09-10

Alf Gizzo

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Office: (303) 679-0634

Mobile: (303) 350-9488

Income property can have very stable, respectful and reliable tenants. Seattle, WA

Yes, that’s correct! It all depends on product, location and good tenant screening. If you don’t have all three, your vacancy rate will be too high. Let’s discuss product first. We recommend to our students that they furnish their properties with clean functional items, new linens and art work on the walls. What you are creating is an environment that is very pleasing to the tenant, one that not only the tenant will look forward to coming home to, but also one, through pictures on flyers, web sites and word of mouth, will attract new inquires. We are all for building and establishing a pipeline.

Many furnished rooms for rent are not clean and contain old, thread bear chairs, sofas, and soiled mattresses. Would you want to stay any longer than you had to in a place that does not support a good sense of self-esteem? Nicely furnished rooms engender good paying tenants, who stay for long periods.

Our favored tenant populations normally do not have their own transportation so proximity to public transportation is necessity.

Key to this equation within our system is good tenant screening, which strangely enough does not include credit or traditional background checks. Our tenants are referred to us, so we gain knowledge about them and their history though direct questioning of people who are familiar with each possible tenant individually. We discover personal background information and work experience. This type of screening done methodically will produce good paying tenants who stay for long periods creating a stable house.

To learn more about establishing transitional housing, please download our free Ebook from the side bar on our main blog site.

Don't hesitate to contact us with questions. Learn about us. Learn our system. Learn what others have to say about us and our system.

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