To attract the maximum number of buyers and increase your home’s value, you want to offer a home that’s move-in ready and won’t require updating or maintenance. You also want to make sure your home delivers a knock-out first impression. To accomplish both, grab your tool belt and work your way down this list. send us an. Email to office@reddoorteam.com and we will send you the list.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Update on Interest rates
WASHINGTON —The average rate in the U.S. on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered near historic lows this week, making home-buying and refinancing more attractive to those who can qualify.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the U.S. rate on the 30-year loan increased to 3.92 percent. That's up from 3.88 percent the previous week. The rate touched 3.87 percent four weeks ago, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.16 percent, up from a record low of 3.13 percent last week.
Rates on the 30-year loan have been below 4 percent for three months. Low rates are among the positive signs emerging that suggest this year could mark a turnaround for the depressed housing market. Still, many people are unable to qualify for the rates.
Builders are more optimistic after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. Construction has picked up and builders are requesting more permits to build single-family homes. And the supply of homes on the market is falling, which could send home prices higher.
A key reason for the optimism is the improving job market. Employers have added an average 244,600 net jobs per month from December through February. That has helped lower the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, the lowest level in nearly three years.
Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said Thursday the positive February jobs report caused yields on U.S. Treasury bonds to increase over the week. Mortgage rates then to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note.
Even with the improvement, home prices continue to fall. Millions of foreclosures and short sales - when a lender accepts less than what is owed on a mortgage - remain on the market. And the housing crisis and recession have also persuaded many Americans to rent instead of buy, which has led to a drop in homeownership.
Economists say housing is years away from returning to full health.
To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed loans were 0.8, unchanged from 0.8 last week.
For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate rose to 2.83 percent from 2.81 percent, and the average fee edged up to 0.8 from 0.7.
The average on the one-year adjustable loan rose to 2.79 percent from 2.73 percent, and the average fee was unchanged at 0.6.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
About the Truth . . .
Stumbling Over the Truth
So I am on my way to the office on Wednesday morning to attend my weekly staff meeting. It consists of agents, our office broker, our team leader and other assorted important smart people. It a time of learning, swapping stories, making fun of each other and more times than not, it’s just good to get together with the people you work with. One thing that we do is review real estate statistics (what’s selling, how many, interest rates, prices, blah, blah, blah). On this particular morning I was pleased to find out that inventory for homes in our area was low, less than 6 months worth. In real estate talk it means that people are buying homes and our inventory is down – a seller’s market. This is good. People buying and selling homes is good – for our economy, for me and the rest of the people in that meeting that make a living doing this.
So off I am to make my fortune that day and I turn the radio on just in time to hear the most dismal forecast about a double dip recession, home sales down with no hope in sight and if something doesn’t change soon we will all die. You know the drill, turn the radio on – get depressed. So what’s up with this?
I don’t want to get political here – I’m not good at it and when I am done writing it won’t change a thing. However! Do you think something is wrong here? I am in a meeting getting actual statistics, real bottom line dollar figures, talking to real people buying real homes at good prices and a pay check to boot. But the news is telling me I have been smoking something and my reality is not intact. Folks, hear me when I say this! If you haven’t picked up on this yet, the news is not the best way to plan your life and your investments. Find yourself a “good” real estate agent (just like you would a good doctor) and ask him/her to give you the latest statistics about home sales in your area. Don’t listen to the news and decide to wait (1st blog on waiting) until things get better. If you rely on the news to form your reality the reality you end up with will insure that your reality tomorrow will be different.
As a side note did you read in the paper about the woman that gave birth to a 300 baby! It’s just so hard to believe!
It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper. Jerry Seinfeld
Friday, March 2, 2012
Untitled
Doing Nothing While Expecting Something to Happen
When I look at the world of real estate and the people who think about it daily (which is most of us) it is interesting to see a common trait known as “waiting” on both sides of the real estate playground.
On one side you have buyers who are waiting to see if home prices and interest rates are going to continue to decline. On the other side we have sellers who are waiting to see if the market stops declining and the worth of their homes begins to rise. Most people who are watching real estate activity find themselves in one of these two groups. But there is an interesting group in the middle, a group that few people pay attention to. And that group is shopping, buying, selling and moving. And that group is growing. How do I know? Because I work as a broker, as do over one hundred other agents in my office. And we are seeing an increase in activity, just in the last several weeks. So there . . . Now, back to those that are waiting.
Waiting can be defined as “doing nothing while expecting something to happen”. It is really contrary to the way most of us live our lives. If we utilized this concept when it comes to other areas of our lives, such as lawn work or raising children, the outcome could be disastrous! Yet waiting somehow makes us think we are accomplishing something. Let me give you my thoughts.
To sellers – folks, the price of your homes has been in decline for at least four years and the prospect of your house increasing in value anytime soon is somewhat dim. In fact if last year you decided to wait till this year to sell, then you your home is worth 5% – 9% less. The market may begin to level out according to some “experts”, but all are in agreement that it will take several years for homes to rise in value to any negligible value in relation to what they were. And the clock keeps ticking and everyone keeps waiting . . . .
To Buyers – just how low do you honestly think prices & interest rates will drop and what are your chances of hitting them at their lowest? By the way, there are many other buyers waiting for the same thing and, more likely than not, you’re going to end up in bidding wars over a piece of property that you could walk in and buy now for a great deal.
One final thought is in order and I believe it is the catalyst for the “waiting syndrome”. Let’s start with a thought that might be rattling around in your head as you read this. “Sure Dave, I know what you’re after here, a quick sale, a new client. You seem to have forgotten that we are in the worst housing market in our lifetime!” To frame that properly I would simply say to all involved. We have the lowest interest rates in history, or at least since the 1940’s (that’s 70 years!). Secondly and finally, “worst housing market” = “best time to buy and get great deals”. This also applies to those who need to sell. You may not get the price you had hoped for with your home, but that is out of your control. Where you might lose some of your capital on the sale you will most certainly realize a better gain on the purchase of a new home in times like these.
My encouragement and my practice? Get off the fence that keeps you in the group “who are doing nothing and expecting something to happen”! By the end of summer you will most certainly be glad you did!
Dave
The Seattle area real estate market is heating up.
Warren Buffett is praising buying investment properties. What you might not be seeing in the news is that the Seattle housing market has changed. We've been seeing multiple offers this month on nearly EVERY single transaction. It seemed as though it changed overnight, once the New Year began.. Please call us if you want to discuss a real estate investment or know someone wanting to sell their house. North King County does not have enough homes for sale right now – so please spread the word and let us have a chance at becoming the listing agents. WARREN BUFFETT QUOTE Well, if I thought I was going to live— if I knew where I was going to want to live the next 5 or 10 years I would— I would buy a home and I’d finance it with a 30-year mortgage, and it’s a terrific deal. And if I— literally, if I was an investor that was a handy type, which I’m not, and I could buy a couple of them at distressed prices and find renters, I think that’s— and again take a 30-year mortgage, it’s a leveraged way of owning a very cheap asset now and I think that’s probably as an attractive an investment as you can make now. http://www.cnbc.com/id/46541258
February 27th, 2012 on CNBC
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Bothell, WA rambler for sale-Welcoming and well cared for
http://www.reddoorteam.com/listing/mlsid/185/propertyid/291895/
New Energy Efficient Heat Pump & Furnace to keep you warm! Set back from road and private; fully fenced & gated with extensive landscaping featuring mature trees, level yard, and raised garden beds. Welcoming & warm with hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings w/skylights in family room. Kitchen boasts newer counter tops w/moulded double sink & breakfast bar. Jetted soaking tub in beautiful modern master bath. Oversized 2-car garage & lofted storage shed. Large covered back deck for use year round!
Friday, January 6, 2012
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