Kelly Nutt - Greater Seattle Real Estate Blog

It is a scary thing to see how many more people now are facing foreclosure, or are having trouble making their mortgage payments.  As the foreclosure rates rise we are seeing many more homes on the market that are short sales, or distressed homeowners “Pre-Foreclosures.  This also helps adds to the higher levels of inventory, but is not the driving point.

Many people who are facing foreclosure or are having a hard time making ends meet need to be extremely careful of who they seek out for help.  Make sure that you are researching the different groups that say they can help.  There are ethical groups available to help, and many times you do not have to sell your home.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/370176_foreclosure10.html

As we have seen many loan programs disappear, FHA has become very appealing to many first time buyers, and other buyers who do not have a lot of money for a down payment.  With zero down programs vanishing, FHA loans have stepped in to replace zero down.  With 3% down, a person can purchase a home with a very good interest rate.  The amount a borrower can borrow through FHA is $567,500, this is roughly $100,000 above the median price in King County.  As the inventory levels remain high, many buyers are finding great opportunities, and with FHA being extremely appealing, many buyers are finding their home, and getting a great deal!

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2004474354_fhaloans13.html

Downtown Bellevue has changed dramatically in the past four years, with over 2million square feet of office space and thousands of condos and apartments being added, Bellevue has become quite the city.  Bellevuehas added many attractions to the local residents, and with many condo/apartment residents moving to Bellevue, it has become that much more appealing to people who are looking for the city lifestyle in a very affluent area.  The lease rates are higher then Downtown Seattle, and many business are moving to Bellevue to be closer to their employees who live on the Eastside.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/366203_bellevue07.html

As the inventory continues to rise for available homes on the market, many buyers are finding sweet deals out there.  As far as selling your home in today’s market, you need to be reasonable, everything is relative and you most likely won’t get 06/07 prices for your home, but you won’t be paying 06/07 prices for a new home either.  We all want to make the most money from selling our home and we all want to save the most when buying a new home, but we need to be reasonable.  Also, with selling a home today it is very important to have the best marketing, pricing, presentation and representation.  It is very tough in today’s market to just go throw up a for sale sign and hope that an offer will come in the first week.  With the correct representation you will be in the best hands for today’s market.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/365949_housing06.html

This article from the Wall Street Journal is a great piece to follow up with the article that was posted yesterday.  With rates being low right now, all signs are pointing to the mortgage rates will be on the rise.  Most likely they will stay up for sometime…So, if you are looking to buy today or in three months, look to lock in your rate today.  This could save you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.

WSJ.com - Attention Home Buyers: Lock in Your Rate

The mortgage rates have fallen due to the economy, and the silver lining is that the great Seattle area has the 4th strongest economy and Real Estate Market.  Taking advantage of these rates give people a great opportunity to get into the home they have always wanted.  This is also great for first time home buyers, with rates relatively low, many people can afford to purchase their first home.  To read more, please view the link below.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/364448_real24.html

In today’s market it is not as important to do an all out remodel to sell your home.  There are many factors to why it is not the best return on your money.  Still Americans will spend 166 Billion dollars on remodeling their home this year, but for people who are remodeling their home to get top dollar they should think twice.  The best return on a major remodel today is about 70% to the dollar, and remodeling is becoming more expensive due to our economy.  The same remodel in 2004 that would cost roughly $14,000 would now cost you around $21,000.  In today’s market we are seeing that minor updates are what’s really working.  Making the landscaping look great, fresh paint, adding color to the home, new fixtures, and sometimes adding new windows to the home.  These things will help maintain the value of the home, and have the greatest return on the dollar.  For more information please view the link below to read the article in the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ.com - Will Upgrading Your Home Help You Sell It?

May 31st the Grand Opening of the Mukilteo Station.  The Sounder train will have four services a day between Mukilteo and Seattle.  The services will begin June 2nd for everyone.  The first design plans were completed in December of 2006 and the project cost $19.2 million. 

The new Sounder Services will be great for the residence in Mukilteo who work in Seattle.  As we all know how bad I-5 can be during rush hour, many people will be relieved to ride the train instead of burning expensive gasoline sitting in traffic.  The new service will benefit many people, and will hopefully help many people commute to Seattle with much more ease.

To read more about the Sounder Services please view the link.

http://www.soundtransit.org/x1889.xml

As this article came out on Tuesday, there is more to follow.  We can predict markets all we want, and hopefully the trend will stick.  Every market is different, and many areas are still weathering the negative publicity from the media.  Numbers are down, but major depreciation in our area is less likely to happen.  We are on of the top three strongest Real Estate Markets in the country.  We have already seen statistics show that we are leveling off, and some areas are seeing appreciation in the median price.  Still there is a high number of inventory, and more buyers are taking advantage of the great deals that are available.  Please enjoy the second part of the article from the Wall Street Journal.

The Housing Crisis Is Over?

In the Wall Street Journal, a column was written explaining the housing crisis is over.  This does not mean that we are going to see huge jumps in appreciation, but what the article is explaining is that there are statistics, and information pointing to the month of April to be the last month of a slide, and that the month of April is the bottom of the market.  Here in the greater Seattle market I feel the market is sustaining.  Yes we have high amounts of inventory available, but we also have a great local economy that is creating jobs.  More jobs means more people need places to live especially close to work with gas prices on the continual climb.  Prices are down compared to the last year to year and a half, but we are seeing many buyers shopping around looking for the home they could not get into a year to two years ago.  There are still great rates for loans and we are seeing a lot more FHA buyers.  I feel that it is a great time to be purchasing a home.  Please view the link below to check out the article posted on the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ.com - Opinion: The Housing Crisis Is Over