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.

In the past 24 hours there has been a lot of activity on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). There were 852 new listings, 185 properties place back on the market, 63 price increases, and a whopping 701 price reductions. On the plus side, there were 23 properties placed on contingent status, 316 pending sales and 467 sales that closed. The largest figure and perhaps a surprise to some was 1802 listings that expired.

My guess is that many of those expired listings come back on market in the next week - and I’d like to help them.  With a Flat Fee Listing home sellers can easier drop their sales price thousands lower than what they would have to try to get if they were paying a listing commission.

Posted in Residential, NWMLS | No Comments »

September 27, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

Here is a recent press release about MLS consolidation here in Washington state.  There are a number of companies working on putting together a national platform.  Some how I think one of these companies will be able to pull it off a long time before there is national consolidation of the existing MLS.

Olympic Multiple Listing Service is dissolving effective Sept. 30, but no disruption in service is expected, according to officials from Northwest MLS which will enhance its presence in Thurston County with the opening of an office in Olympia. 

Jerry Wilkins, manager of Olympic MLS since January 1997, and all three staff members of that service will become employees of NWMLS and be based at the Olympia satellite office, located at 556 Lilly Road Southeast, Suite D. 

“We expect this will be a seamless transition,” Wilkins remarked, noting planning has been under way since the first of the year when the Olympic MLS board voted to dissolve, ending 50-plus years of service (under various names) to local brokers and agents. Northwest MLS started offering services to Thurston County brokers in 1999, but until now its closest satellite offices were in the adjacent counties.

Wilkins expects most members of Olympic MLS who are not already members of Northwest MLS will affiliate with the larger, regional group.  NWMLS, based in Kirkland, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest.  It is owned by its member brokers and currently encompasses more than 2,200 companies with nearly 27,000 sales associates. Together, they serve 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state. 

Olympic MLS chairperson Jeff Pust, general manager at Van Dorm Realty, Inc. in Olympia supported the decision to dissolve and consolidate services.  “It’s a win-win for brokers, agents and their clients,” he commented, citing NWMLS’ reputation as a leader in technology and customer support.  There will be no interruption and service to the public he emphasized, noting NWMLS members have access to the “latest and greatest” tools to assist home buyers and sellers.

The move by the Thurston association reflects a trend toward regionalization of MLS functions that is occurring nationally and locally, according to Jack Johnson, president and CEO of Northwest MLS.  Such consolidation enables more efficient exchange of information, broader exposure of inventory that benefits both buyers and sellers, streamlined operations and other economies of scale for accessing standardized forms and state-of-the-art technology, Johnson explained.

Posted in Consolidation, MLS, NWMLS | 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 »

September 10, 2007 by Joe Kennedy.

Here is the latest press release from the NWMLS.  It doesn’t talk at all about the impending credit crisis, or predict what will happen next month, but there is just no way that home values can or will continue to increase like they have over the last few years.  If you think you may want (or need) to sell your house in the next five years, I would advise you to consider selling it asap, while prices are still high.

If you find yourself in a difficult situation because of the type of loan on your property or you have been trying to sell your own property and have not been able to sell for the price that you thought you would, please give me a call at any time.  I would be glad to give you my input and advice.  425-455-5478.

Here’s the press release:

Housing activity around western Washington during August resembled the pattern of the past several months with inventory continuing to grow, fewer homes selling and prices increasing compared to the same month a year ago.

New figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show pending sales in its 19-county service area dropped more than 22 percent from twelve months ago, while prices rose 2.8 percent.  Last month’s volume of pending sales, which totaled 7,751 transactions, was down about 10 percent from July when members reported 8,614 pending sales system-wide.

Brokers report plentiful selection in most areas, with inventory almost 46 percent larger than the number of listings offered a year ago.  At month end, there were 48,585 active listings of single family homes and condominiums in the Northwest MLS database, up from the year-ago total of 33,316. 

The total includes 14,500 new listings that MLS members added during the month – the fewest number since March. Those additions include 12,239 single family homes and 2,261 condominiums.

“The market is adjusting to a slower but steady pace,” said Northwest MLS director Dick Beeson, the broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Commencement Associates in Tacoma.  He noted savvy buyers are finding real values because they know motivated sellers are more flexible than they’ve been in a long time.

Despite market conditions that tend to favor buyers in many areas, home prices are still increasing, but at a slower pace.  For most counties in the NWMLS service area, the year-over-year gain was less than 7 percent, although five counties (Grant, Island, Lewis, Okanogan and San Juan) experienced double-digit price jumps compared to twelve months ago.

For the Puget Sound region encompassing King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap counties, selling prices rose about 5 percent from a year ago. The median price for the 5,975 sales of single family homes and condos in the four-county region that closed during August was $361,822; a year ago, the median selling price was $344,575.

A closer look reveals considerable variation in year-over-year price changes within the MLS service area.  In King County, for example, the median price of a single family home (excluding condominiums) that sold last month was $477,345, a jump of more than 9.7 percent from a year ago.  For single family homes in Pierce County, the median selling price rose 6 percent, rising from $275,000 to $291,500.  In Snohomish County, sales prices climbed from $368,875 to $375,000, a gain of about 4.5 percent.

Prices surged 30 percent for single family homes that sold in San Juan County last month compared to a year ago.  Sellers in Jefferson County experienced a similar gain (28.4 percent).

Condo prices also vary widely across the Northwest MLS service area. In eight counties, the median price of a condo that sold during August was under $200,000.

In King County, which accounts for about six of every 10 condo sales in the MLS system, the median sales price for last month’s completed sales rose 5.75 percent, increasing from $269,500 to $285,000.  Within King County, the southwest and eastside sub-areas had double-digit price gains on condo sales compared to a year ago. 

The highest priced condos continue to be found in downtown Seattle.  The median price for last month’s completed sales of condos in the downtown area was $430,000, a slight drop from the year-ago figure of $440,000.

Washington state continues to experience little fallout from loan delinquencies and foreclosures.  A recent analysis by the Mortgage Bankers Association pegs the state’s foreclosure rate on all loans at 2.6 percent, one of only six states with rates under 3 percent.  For subprime ARMS (adjustable rate mortgages) the default rate for Washington stood at 10.4 percent; only Oregon (10.2 percent) and Utah (9.4 percent) claimed lower rates of delinquencies.

Washington also fared better than most states for home price appreciation for the second quarter.  Surveys by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) shows Washington was one of only four states where homes appreciated at 9 percent or more between the second quarter of 2006 and the second quarter of 2007. 

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, based in Kirkland, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. The MLS is owned by its member brokers and currently encompasses nearly 2,100 companies with more than 26,000 sales associates. Together, they serve 19 counties, mostly in western Washington, plus Grant, Kittitas and Okanogan counties in the central part of the state.

Statistical Summary by Counties: Market Activity Summary for Aug. 2007

4-county Puget Sound Region Pending Sales (SFH + Condo combined)

(totals include King, Snohomish, Pierce & Kitsap counties)