March 18, 2008 by Joe Kennedy.

It never ceases to amaze me what some real estate “professionals” or self proclaimed “trusted real estate advisors” will write to try to make a buck.  In this post, a “trusted real estate advisor” from John L. Scott writes about how “the media” is constantly attacking the real estate industry.  As both a real estate broker and a member of “the media” (who by the way won the Media of the Year Award from the Seattle King County Board of Realtors in 2006 - the most recent year they awarded it), I am personally insulted that anyone - especially a Realtor would attempt to make a case for “the media” causing the impending imploding of the real estate market.  In many cases, these are the same people who have been telling their clients that they can continue to expect double digit appreciation each year on any home they purchase - the same clients who have a better chance of losing a ton of money as the local market “readjusts” to more reasonable prices.

I should write here that before writing this post, I spent a good amount of time writing a comment on the “trusted real estate advisor”’s post - and as I predicted, it was deleted without even a response from the original author (who I do not personally know - or have any desire to).  One thing I wrote in my comment is that I’m sure she did not give “the media” credit in the past few years when she was selling listings for more than asking price in less than 24 hours - of course not.  It was because she is a “trusted real estate advisor” and such a professional - in her mind it had nothing to do with the fact that money was so easy to borrow, that anyone who simply stated they made $100k per year could qualify to buy homes that were valued way too high.  As pointed out in the following post, many of those buyers are now losing their asses - but their “trusted real estate advisor” still got paid.

Despite real estate professionals like this who have their heads in the sand, have been ignoring all the warning signs of doom and are grasping at straws and blaming “the media” - there are some who are actually living through the problems brought about by the good times of the past few years - and telling it as it is: as one broker put it -  “The reality is, our real estate market is in the tank,”.

In my humble opinion, the Eastside may not be quite there yet, but our real estate market is in for real trouble.  This broker and member of the media, has been warning people for over a year that the local market is greatly overvalued - and it saddens me to hear stories like the one in the PI article linked to above, who lost over $100k in less than 6 months.   I’m afraid we are going to be hearing a lot more of those stories in the next few years - and will be doing what I can to help these people out of their problems - and warn them to be careful when choosing a “trusted real estate advisor” - or when listening to anyone who blames the media for reporting the news.

Posted in Blaming the media, real estate market in the tank, Bubble, Media, Blogging, REALTORS, Bellevue | No Comments »

November 19, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

As anyone familiar with Bellevue knows, there are a number of huge high-rise condo projects being built, with well over a thousand new units scheduled to come on the market over the next couple of years alone. Here are some of the projects currently under construction:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Residential, Condos, Bellevue | No Comments »

October 13, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

I just received quite a pleasant surprise this morning.  Real Estate Blogging Queen and Washington Broker of Brio Realty, Ardell DellaLoggia accepted my LinkedIn invitation and I am her first LinkedIn “Connection”.  I know that Ardell has been very busy with her recently acquired duties as broker of Brio and if she’s anything like me, probably has an email inbox that is constantly full.  Not sure how long ago that I sent the invite, but glad that she’s now a connection.  She’s really very highly thought of in the real estate industry, a very smart lady with a lot of great real estate experience and a great blogger.  I wish I was as good a blogger as Ardell, but am sure I am not as focused (or as good as a writer) as I would need to be.

I’m glad that Ardell has decided to explore LinkedIn and hope that it is of benefit to her and her business(es).

Posted in Blogging, Bellevue | 2 Comments »

October 2, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

Last week I had a call from a gentleman here in Bellevue who was very excited about our $500 Flat Fee Listing program. We still haven’t officially announced or launched it, but he had read about it in a post on one of my blogs and gave me a call.

Apparently he has been trying to sell a family house as a FSBO (for sale by owner) for the past two or three months with no success. First of all, he should not feel all alone - there are many homes in our area that have been languishing on the market for months - and they are listed on the MLS and represented by agents!

I explained to him that it is very important for his property to be exposed to as many potential buyers as possible and that in my opinion, the best way to do this is by getting the house listed on the local multiple listing service (MLS). He agreed that’s what he needed to do and went to AAAListsHomes.com to get the forms to fill out to get listed.

A short time later, he called back to ask about the selling broker commission. With a Flat Fee Listing, no listing commissions are charged or paid, but the seller does need to offer selling brokers (or buyer’s agents) a commission for their work. Our FSBO didn’t want to pay the buyer’s agent at all - in his opinion that should be up to the buyer!

I explained that real estate commissions, while always being negotiable, are traditionally paid as a percentage of the sales price of a property - and from the sales price. That means the seller generally pays the sales side of the commission, even if that agent is working for the buyer. Another thing that I mentioned to him is that buyers are having a hard enough time finding financing, without having to come up with another big pile of cash to pay commissions.

AAA Properties is happy to be part of changing the real estate industry by eliminating listing commissions, but the fact is there are still thousands of agents out there who represent most of the buyers. We want those buyers agents to show our listings to our buyers, so we recommend that those who use our flat fee service offer a full 3% to any agent who brings them a buyer. This is truly the only way to make sure that your property gets full exposure to the market and will bring the best price possible.

In the end, it is unknown if our FSBO will be listing his house or not, whether he’ll choose to offer a selling broker commission, how long it will take him to sell the property or whether he will get a good price for his house. What would you do? What do think will happen in his situation?

Skidoodleski, Hair Farmer Joe

Posted in MLS, Residential, FSBO, Commissions, Listing, Bellevue | No Comments »

October 1, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

As predicted a number of months ago, the number of homes in Bellevue listed for sale under $500,000 has continued to increase. Today there were 54 single family residences (SFRs) listed for sale here in Bellevue for less than half a million dollars. These are all properties listed on the NWMLS and does include a few townhouses, but doesn’t include the many for sale by owners (FSBO) around town.

I look for this number to continue to increase for some time, as it continues to get tougher to qualify for a loan and prices drop back down to some normalcy.

Has anyone else noticed how many places are for rent lately? Do you think these could be people who thought they’d have sold their properties for huge profits by now? Will the availability of these rental units and many under construction have a lowering effect on rents? Or will the real estate sales slowdown turn a lot of would-be buyers into renters again and cause rents to rise?

If you want to search homes that are on the market, try the new Seattle Home Search site or on the Eastside, check out the place to find Eastside Real Estate for sale.

Posted in Residential, NWMLS, Listing, Bellevue | No Comments »

October 1, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

There was a great article today about video blogging for real estate at RISMedia by Barry Hurd, of Seattle-based Social Media Systems .  (Barry is also a member of BizNik).

Does anyone out there have any stories of how you have used video blogging?  Have you considered the effort successful?  Any real estate video blogs you can recommend?

As an experiment, I’d like to find one FSBO in Bellevue or Mercer Island who would allow me to do a short video blog on their property.  FREE of charge.  I would post it on YouTube and on this blog.  It will be interesting to see what kind of exposure this helps give the property.  Any takers?

Posted in Video Blogging, Blogging, Mercer Island, Bellevue | No Comments »

September 25, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

I had a call this morning from a very nice man who will probably become a client.  He had stumbled across one of my blogs and applauded my honesty and innovation in service.  He and his wife have been trying to sell an estate home in Bellevue for the last month or so, without much luck.  He said they had advertised an Open House in the Sunday Seattle Times and only got one visitor from the ad.  Another Open House produced only one passerby - a neighbor from down the street.

He has realized that the local market has slowed down a tremendous amount and also that prices are softening.  I think he also realizes that to have the opportunity to sell the property, and at the best possible price, he and his wife need to have it exposed to the local multiple listing service.  I expect that he will continue to do research for the next day or two, and then call AAA Properties to get a $500 Flat Fee Listing.

Posted in FSBO, Listing, Bellevue | No Comments »

September 23, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

AAA Properties is now offering $500 Flat Fee Listings with more personal service than is offered through the competition.  Instead of simply listing your property on the local multiple listings service, AAA also provides a yard sign, lock box and takes professional digital photos of your property for your listing.  A flat fee listing with AAA can be for up to a year, can be extended at no charge or canceled at any time.  As an added bonus, if your property is on the Eastside, AAA Properties will advertise your property in the print edition of Eastside Business until it is sold.

Currently covering most properties in Washington state and all properties in San Diego County, California.  To list your house or condo today, call 425-455-5478 or 800-441-LIST.

In order for a home seller to get to price for their property, it is necessary to expose the property to as many prospective buyers as possible.  THE way to do that is to have it listed on the local MLS, which is used by thousands of real estate agents to help find homes for their buyers.  It will cost you a $500 upfront list fee and a commission for the selling broker, but the amazing exposure provided through the mls will undoubtedly help you find the buyer who is willing to pay the highest price for your property.

If you are a buyer who wants to save money, AAA Properties offers a commission rebate program which enables buyers to put thousands of dollars of cash into their pockets at closing.  AAA Properties is currently developing real estate search sites for WA and CA at DeLuz.com and YourEastsideBroker.com - visit these sites today to see how many properties are for sale in your city.

Posted in Eastside Business, NWMLS, Commissions, Listing, Bellevue, Condos, SFR | No Comments »

August 16, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

This morning there are 33 single family homes in Bellevue listed for sale on the NWMLS for less than $500k.  There are 4 listed for $400k and less.  These are still not huge numbers, but they are increasing and its a trend I believe we will be seeing for awhile.  There still don’t appear to be too many great deals for buyers out there, but it is becoming more of a buyers market.  I believe that those who want or need to sell their homes have already waited too long to get top dollar.  Still the same, there are some buyers out there and with proper marketing, advertising and (most importantly) proper pricing, properties can still sell.  If you are waiting to decide to sell, I’d encourage you to list your home asap - or simply wait for changes in the market (realizing that this part of the cycle could take a number of years).

Posted in Listing, Bellevue, SFR, Uncategorized | No Comments »

July 18, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

Today there are 29 SFRs (single family residences) listed for sale in Bellevue for less than $500k.  Two of them are actually under $400k.  This number is actually creeping up slightly, but not as fast as I thought.
There seem to be a lot of sellers out there who may be late to the game and still be fishing for prices that were only a figment of their (and their agent’s) imagination.  There are at least three that I know of on my street alone.  For now, that seems to be one of the main reasons that the average number of days on market is also going up.  For today’s SFR listings in Bellevue, the average days on market is 41 days and I look for this number to continue to get larger.

What’s the pricing like in your neighborhood?  Do you think sellers are being reasonable?

Posted in Eastside Business, Bellevue, SFR, Uncategorized | No Comments »