Lacey, WA

If you've turned on a TV or read a newspaper in the last year then you have likely heard talk that we are in the midst of a buyer's market in the real estate world. A buyer's market would lead you to believe that buyers are in control and are able to negotiate fantastic deals on their purchases. You may also be led to believe that sellers are desperate and that they will welcome all offers. While these things may be true in parts of the country, they certainly ARE NOT true here in the Olympia area! Unless you plan on purchasing a property that needs some good old sweat equity (in other words it is UGLY), you should plan on likely paying within 10% of the asking price.

Depending on what price range you are looking at, you may actually find yourself in the middle of a bidding war. In fact, the last 10 offers I have written with my buyer clients have been situations where there were competing offers on the house. Now logic will tell you that if you want to get a screaming deal on your house, competing with other offers is not ideal!

So, in what price ranges are you most likely to get a big discount from the asking price and in what price ranges are you likely to find yourself competing? The following chart will shed some light on that...

In this chart the green bars represent demand, or the percentage of total sales that fall in each price range. The purple represents supply, or the percent of active listings in each price range. You can see here that the price range where demand is higher than supply is everything under $300,000, and most dramatically in the $200,000-$250,000 range. This is the price range where you can expect to pay closest to the asking price (on average) and you are most likely to find yourself in competition with other offers. However, once you get above $300,000 the tables begin to turn. There is far more supply than there is demand. This means that sellers in this price range are going to be more likely to entertain a low offer and you may get a bigger discount on your purchase.

The most important thing for home buyers is to get connected with a real estate professional who is knowledgeable about local market trends, able to show you a detailed market analysis, easy to communicate with, and skilled in negotiating on the behalf of buyers. Finding the right agent will make your home buying experience far less stressful and should also save you money!

Are you waiting for mortgage rates to drop back down? It seems many potential buyers out there in the real estate market these days are trying to hold out until that perfect scenario presents itself: Low prices AND low rates.

Well here is my word of caution...don't wait TOO LONG! We've been fortunate over the past 15 years to have some extremely low interest rates available to homebuyers. However, when you turn the clock back a bit further things begin to look quite different.

Rather than rattle off a list of statistics and data I think this message is best told with a picture. I've created a chart which tracks the Annual National Average Contract Mortgage Rate Index. This index tracks conventional fixed and adjustable rate mortgages on resale single family homes, as reported by a sample of mortgage lenders. To get a good picture of HOW GOOD WE STILL HAVE IT, you have to look back about 30 years. So, here is my chart with average mortgage rates over the past 30 years:

STILL FEELING GREEDY?

Lacey Parks and Recreation Department has yet another action packed summer planned for kids and adults alike. Starting June 23rd, you can enjoy some great family friendly entertainment ABSOLUTELY FREE at Huntamer Park (map).

On Tuesday evenings at 6:30 you can enjoy the Children's Entertainment Series with events including Shakespeare in the Park, The Tom Question Show, and Recess Monkey.

Then on Wednesdays at noon, starting June 24th, there will be live musical performances in the park for "Lacey in Tune" concert series. Come out and see local performers take on jazz and swing, American pop, calypso & reggae, The Beatles and more.

On the weekends bring the whole family out for the Outdoor Cinema Series. Starting July 11, Saturday evenings will start off with 'Lacey's Got Game' at 7:00. The theme will be favorite TV game shows and audience members will be invited to participate and win prizes. Some of the games covered during the series are 'Let's Make a Deal', 'Family (and Friends) Feud', and 'Are you Smarter than a Grade-Schooler?'. After the sun goes down and the big screen comes down, you can settle in to watch one of the great movies offered like 'Kung-Fu Panda', 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', 'IronMan', and 'The Incredible Hulk'.

You can view the full schedule of events as well as some of the other programs offered for a fee by Lacey Parks and Recreation Dept. - Summer Event Schedule

This past Saturday we went to the Lacey Rotary Duck Dash in Tumwater Falls Park & it was a blast! I'm not sure how we managed to have not gone before this year since this is the 20th year it has been held, but I'm glad we got there finally this time. Our almost 2 year old granddaughter thought it was a great idea right from the time we parked and rode on the shuttle bus to the event (actually she has been wanting to ride the bus again ever since!).

The park had games, a giant slide, face painting, a fishing pond, balloons, a bouncy house, music, and local food booths to entertain the crowd while they waited for the actual duck dash to happen.

When the time neared for the ducks to be released, the crowd started moving into position along the river to see the big crane hoist up the container of ducks and then send them tumbling down to the river to race to the finish line.

The Duck Dash is a fundraiser for Lacey Rotary for their support of charities, scholarships and community events. People can purchase their duck for $5.00 and the fastest ducks to the finish line win their purchasers some awesome prizes - a 2010 Ford Mustang, cash amounts, 57" TV, fishing trips, gift certificates, etc. I don't think we won any prizes - our ducks might still be lurking somewhere hung up on the rocks and branches lining the river - but we definitely had a great time! Don't miss it next year - I know we will have it on our calendars to attend!

DUCK DASH IS HERE!

JUNE 6 at Tumwater Falls Park

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Feeling Lucky? If you are, or if you just want to contribute to a number of worthy local causes, come out to Tumwater Falls Park and participate in the festivities of this year's 20th anniversary of Lacey Rotary Duck Dash!

What do you do at a Duck Dash, you might ask... Its really pretty simple. You purchase a ticket for 5$ (or multiple tickets if you want), the number on the ticket corresponds to a number on one of the rubber ducks that get dumped from a giant crane into the Deschutes River. The ducks race down the river toward the finish line where the first 11 ducks are rewarded with great prizes.

All the money raised from duck sales goes back into the Rotary Club for community service projects. See where you can purchase tickets as well as what projects Rotary has planned at: http://www.laceyrotary.org/

In addition to the duck race there will be a food and fun fair with live music and entertainment as well as a Kid's World with face painting, waddle races, quack contests, costume contests, arts & crafts, drawings for free bicycles, and more fun!

This year's event is sponsored by a host of local businesses and the prize list is pretty amazing!

Grand Prize: An entry to win a 2010 Ford Mustang! - Lacey Rotary

First Prize: $2,500 CASH! - Venture Bank

Second Prize: 57" Mitsubishi 1080p High Def DLP TV - Desco Audio/Video

Third Prize: $1,000 CASH! from Lucky Eagle Casino AND 1 Night Family of Four Pack to Great Wolf Lodge

Fourth Prize: Tag Heuer Aquaracer Sportswatch - Ben Bridge Jewelers

Fifth Prize: $500 of Fishing Gear from Cabela's AND a Steelhead Fishing Trip from Riverman Guide Service

Sixth Prize: $1,000 Savings Bond - South Sound Bank

Seventh Prize: $500 Gift Card - Interiors by Carpet One Floor and Home

Eighth Prize: A Golf Pack to 4 Local Golf Courses - Capital City Golf, Home Course, Olympia Country Club, Tumwater Valley Golf

Ninth Prize: Two Season Passes - Harlequin Productions

Tenth Prize: $300 Gift Certificate - The Guardsman Menswear

Eleventh Prize: $250 Gift Certificate - Sportsman's Warehouse

Hope to see you there!!!