Market Update

The tax credits are gone but the buyers aren't! The tax credits had an impact, there is no question about that. April pending numbers are up 36% from April 2009 which is the highest volume in this area since August 2006, but fresh on the heels of the tax credits is rising consumer confidence in the market.

Interest rates are still low and everybody agrees they are going to go up, but nobody knows when. 

We do know when some other things are going up though:

If you or someone you know is thinking of selling, the buyers are back in the market!

Contact me with their names and numbers and keep them out of the hands of agents who will not be looking out for their best interest and let me guide them through the process so that they can take full advantage of the opportunities that exist!

 Interest rates are still low but we don't know how long they we remain there and there still are some good deals to be found so if you know of anybody looking to buy or sell, please get their permission for me to contact them so they can take advantage of these new market conditions.

I just wanted to let you know that Estate Attorney David Sitlani, a Preferred Partner of mine, will be holding two Free workshops covering estate planning in Washington State.

Estate planning is a critical step for all of us no matter what age.  David will discuss the basics of estate planning including the importance of having a Power-of-Attorney, the difference between a Will and a Trust and what can happen if you haven’t planned for you estate.

He will then address the Federal and Washington State death tax and planning beyond the basics for business owners. The workshops are intended to be free flowing and interactive, so please bring plenty of  questions.

They will be held on:

February 3rd from 5-7 pm at the Mosaic Coffeehouse, 4401 2nd Ave NE Seattle, WA 98105

and,

February 10th from 5-7 pm at Thinkspace in Redmond, 8201 164th Ave NE Redmond, Washington 98052.

If you are planning on attending one of these workshops, David would like you to RSVP directly to him at:

drs@sitlanilaw.com

Thank you and have a great weekend!

 
I just wanted to let you know a couple things that happened in the last month. 

First, I was named a Five Star: Best in Client Satisfaction Real Estate Agent for 2009. Seattle Magazine contracted an independent market research company to administer a survey of over 22,500 recent home buyers and after the survey fewer than 7 percent of all the licensed real estate agents in the Seattle area were selected. This places me as one of the top 100 agents in Seattle (The list was published in the December issue of Seattle Magazine). 

Second, I became a Certified Residential Specialist (CRS). The requirements are strenuous and involve years in the business, volume of sales and volume of transaction thresholds. Fewer than 4% of the Realtors in the nation have qualified for the CRS and yet we account for over 24% of all the transactions.

 It is not my intention to toot my own horn, rather I believe that both the award and the designation point to my passion to serve my clients to the best of my ability and to strive for excellence at all times.

 If you know of anybody who would appreciate this level of service, I would be happy to serve them as well.

· The US government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been buying most of the mortgage back securities on the secondary market for some time and that combined with the Federal Reserves policy of keeping the discount rate at 0% has artificially kept interest rates low. At the end of the first quarter of this year the government will no longer be buying these mortgage backed securities and private investor will demand higher rates of return will means the interest rates WILL GO UP.

· The tax credit for the first time homebuyers (up to $8,000) have been extended to the end of April to be under contract, closing by the end of June. They then added a new credit for move up buyers (up to $6,500) that has the same deadlines.

· Our housing inventory of available homes for sale has dropped dramatically over the last year which means buyers will have fewer choices.

All of these factors combine to provide opportunities for both buyers and sellers. For buyers, now is the time to take advantage of these low rates and affordable home prices before they both go up.   For sellers, now is the time to put your home on the market while the inventory is low and the buyers will be coming out.

Sales activity has been increasing every month since August and many signs in the economy point towards a recovery so it appears we have passed the bottom and it is time to move.

Please let me know if you know of anybody looking to buy or sell. Time is of the essence.