Seattle region home sales held at a four-year low in May, with the sharpest declines in the lower price categories. The median price rose slightly to a new record, but the annual rate of increase was about half of last year's, a real estate information service reported.
A total of 6,864 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in May in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area encompassing King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. That was up 11 percent from April but down 16.7 percent from May 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems of La Jolla, Calif. The firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records. Read more...
Friday, July 13, 2007
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Housing Prices Around Washington State Rising at More Modest Rates
KIRKLAND , Wash. ( July 5, 2007) – With inventory at an all-time high in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service system, buyers are becoming more selective and sellers are receiving fewer multiple offers, according to MLS officials. Condominiums remain a bright spot, they noted.
Mid-year figures show the volume of pending sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) is down about 7.3 percent from a year ago, while prices climbed 9 percent. Through June, members have reported 43,543 closed sales, off 3,430 units from the year ago total of 46,973. The median price for completed sales area-wide (through six months of 2007) is $326,000, up $27,000 (9 percent) from this time last year.
For single family homes (excluding condominiums), the year-to-date median sales price is $345,000. That’s a 10.2 percent increase from a year ago, but the trend is pointing toward single-digit increases, except perhaps for condominiums.
June marked the third straight month of single-digit gains in sales prices overall, although several counties are still reporting double-digit jumps. Read more and the figures...
Mid-year figures show the volume of pending sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) is down about 7.3 percent from a year ago, while prices climbed 9 percent. Through June, members have reported 43,543 closed sales, off 3,430 units from the year ago total of 46,973. The median price for completed sales area-wide (through six months of 2007) is $326,000, up $27,000 (9 percent) from this time last year.
For single family homes (excluding condominiums), the year-to-date median sales price is $345,000. That’s a 10.2 percent increase from a year ago, but the trend is pointing toward single-digit increases, except perhaps for condominiums.
June marked the third straight month of single-digit gains in sales prices overall, although several counties are still reporting double-digit jumps. Read more and the figures...
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Net's real-estate benefits unrealized, panel says
WASHINGTON — State laws and real-estate agents' business practices are preventing consumers from getting the full benefit of the competition that the Internet was expected to bring to the real-estate industry, federal regulators said Tuesday.
In a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), regulators said discount brokers and other rivals to traditional agents have been constrained in their ability to use the Internet to reduce fees and improve service. Read article...
In a new report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), regulators said discount brokers and other rivals to traditional agents have been constrained in their ability to use the Internet to reduce fees and improve service. Read article...
Monday, May 14, 2007
60 Minutes Questions the Full Service 6% Commission
There are many alternatives to the 6% commission and we think you as a consumer should understand them all.
Some sellers really need to pay 6% and receive the services provided by a full service agent but for the rest of you there are many options available.
60 minutes ran a special on Sunday evening describing the programs available through a discount broker in Washington. Their program provides sellers with an alternative to 6% but we feel you need to know that there are even greater savings to be had for the same service.
Our Extended Listing Program provides Sellers with all the tools necessary to get their home sold including Broker assistance with their transaction from beginning to end. The seller pays one flat fee of $999 and received the following:
Some sellers really need to pay 6% and receive the services provided by a full service agent but for the rest of you there are many options available.
60 minutes ran a special on Sunday evening describing the programs available through a discount broker in Washington. Their program provides sellers with an alternative to 6% but we feel you need to know that there are even greater savings to be had for the same service.
Our Extended Listing Program provides Sellers with all the tools necessary to get their home sold including Broker assistance with their transaction from beginning to end. The seller pays one flat fee of $999 and received the following:
- Listing in the Multiple Listing Service until sold with unlimited changes
- Yard arm and sign professionally installed with rider for your phone number so buyers can contact you directly for property information (posting unavailable in some areas)
- Flyer box installed on sign
- Up to 15 photos submitted to the MLS - photos submitted by Seller
- Electronic MLS lock box rental for the duration of the listing
- Listing on Realtor.com, FlatList.com and many local real estate company websites including Winderemere.com, Johnlscott.com, etc.
- Color Flyer emailed to seller to print as needed
- 2 directional arrows
- All required state and federal Seller's disclosures provided
- Broker support available for assistance with offers from Agents. Ongoing transaction support until closing including all necessary addendums, dislcosure statements, verifcation of earnest money and escrow setup and title order.
- Blank purchase and sale forms to be used if Seller find a Buyer not represented by a Buyer’s Agent. If Seller sells the property to their own buyer not represented by an agent, Flat List RE will not assist in that transaction.
The price of this package can't be beat by any competitor in the market today.
Too good to be true? Call us and we will be happy to give you references who have used this program to sell more than one home!
Monday, January 22, 2007
December Market Watch
December Housing Activity Continues Pattern of Growing Inventory,
Fewer Sales, Higher Prices
KIRKLAND , Wash. (Jan. 5, 2007) – December brought few surprises in housing activity around western Washington as buyers, sellers and members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service turned their attention to holidays. The storyline of recent months continued with brokers reporting growing inventory, fewer sales and rising prices.
In between shopping and severe storms, Northwest MLS notched 5,744 pending sales last month and added 5,357 new listings to inventory. December’s pending sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) fell 9.8 percent from the same month a year ago. Of those transactions, condo sales improved on year-ago totals, rising 5.3 percent, but single family homes slipped by about 12.5 percent.
At month-end, prospective buyers could choose from 28,307 properties offered for sale across 19 counties. That’s up more than 37 percent from a year ago when there were 20,595 listings system-wide.
Every county has more inventory than 12 months ago – and higher asking prices.
Sales prices also jumped from a year ago. The median price for sales of single family homes and condominiums that closed during December was $315,000, up about 9.4 percent from twelve months ago when the median sales price was $288,000.
For single family homes only (excluding condos) the area-wide sales price was $330,000, up $29,000 (9.6 percent) from a year ago, but a $1,000 less than November’s median sales price.
Condo prices rose more sharply, climbing to $240,000 for last month’s completed transactions. That’s up 14.6 percent from December 2005 when the median selling price was $209,450. In November the area-wide median sales price for condos that sold was $249,900.
In King County, the median sales price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes (only) was $440,000, up about 12 percent from a year ago. Condo prices in King County jumped 21 percent, rising to nearly $270,000 from the year-ago median selling price of about $223,000.
Fewer Sales, Higher Prices
KIRKLAND , Wash. (Jan. 5, 2007) – December brought few surprises in housing activity around western Washington as buyers, sellers and members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service turned their attention to holidays. The storyline of recent months continued with brokers reporting growing inventory, fewer sales and rising prices.
In between shopping and severe storms, Northwest MLS notched 5,744 pending sales last month and added 5,357 new listings to inventory. December’s pending sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) fell 9.8 percent from the same month a year ago. Of those transactions, condo sales improved on year-ago totals, rising 5.3 percent, but single family homes slipped by about 12.5 percent.
At month-end, prospective buyers could choose from 28,307 properties offered for sale across 19 counties. That’s up more than 37 percent from a year ago when there were 20,595 listings system-wide.
Every county has more inventory than 12 months ago – and higher asking prices.
Sales prices also jumped from a year ago. The median price for sales of single family homes and condominiums that closed during December was $315,000, up about 9.4 percent from twelve months ago when the median sales price was $288,000.
For single family homes only (excluding condos) the area-wide sales price was $330,000, up $29,000 (9.6 percent) from a year ago, but a $1,000 less than November’s median sales price.
Condo prices rose more sharply, climbing to $240,000 for last month’s completed transactions. That’s up 14.6 percent from December 2005 when the median selling price was $209,450. In November the area-wide median sales price for condos that sold was $249,900.
In King County, the median sales price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes (only) was $440,000, up about 12 percent from a year ago. Condo prices in King County jumped 21 percent, rising to nearly $270,000 from the year-ago median selling price of about $223,000.
Flat Fee MLS Basics
Traditionally, real estate companies and their agents charge 6% commission to list a property. In return, they place the home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), market the property in newspapers, hold open houses and do all the leg work involved in the transaction when an offer is received. The 6% commission is usually split 50/50 between the Listing Broker and the agent who sells the property, also known as the Buyer's Broker or Selling Broker.
Listing for a flat fee provides you with the resources you will need to get your home sold while saving you the listing office commission that is traditionally 3%. At the same time, you reserve the right to sell the property as a for sale by owner otherwise known as fsbo. When you find your own buyer and sell for sale by owner you can double your savings and pay no commission.
The flat fee mls programs have been around for years but the internet really brought their use to the forefront of the market. When properties that are listed in the MLS can be found all all real estate websites, the consumer (buyer) has access to information that was traditionally controlled by the real estate agents, real estate brokers and Realtors. With the educated consumer the seller no longer had to rely on the real estate brokerage to get the exposure necessary to find a buyer for their home. They had access to a pool of buyers searching outside the assistance of an agent.
Even though many buyers still turn to a buyer's agent for assistance with their purchase, research has shown that 99% of those same buyers are searching the public real estate sites for homes they may want to view whether on their own or through their real estate agent.
Now you as a seller have access to the Realtor's MLS, plus many buyers that my want to purchase for sale by owner. This exposure helps you get the most money for your home in the least amount of time.
Listing for a flat fee provides you with the resources you will need to get your home sold while saving you the listing office commission that is traditionally 3%. At the same time, you reserve the right to sell the property as a for sale by owner otherwise known as fsbo. When you find your own buyer and sell for sale by owner you can double your savings and pay no commission.
The flat fee mls programs have been around for years but the internet really brought their use to the forefront of the market. When properties that are listed in the MLS can be found all all real estate websites, the consumer (buyer) has access to information that was traditionally controlled by the real estate agents, real estate brokers and Realtors. With the educated consumer the seller no longer had to rely on the real estate brokerage to get the exposure necessary to find a buyer for their home. They had access to a pool of buyers searching outside the assistance of an agent.
Even though many buyers still turn to a buyer's agent for assistance with their purchase, research has shown that 99% of those same buyers are searching the public real estate sites for homes they may want to view whether on their own or through their real estate agent.
Now you as a seller have access to the Realtor's MLS, plus many buyers that my want to purchase for sale by owner. This exposure helps you get the most money for your home in the least amount of time.
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