Columbia Partners Real Estate
Someone recently asked me how I find awesome homes for the buyers I help. Honestly, my answer was lame: once I get to know a buyer, I intuitively know “the one” when I see it. I think I have a knack for finding awesome homes, but there is a method. That conversation inspired me to pull back the curtain and reveal how I go about doing things in the world of real estate.
Over time I have encountered several sellers who are evaluating real estate agents to hire. Unfortunately, few know what to look for, and there’s tons of bad advice online. Here are the top mistakes when selecting a listing agent.
Buyer anxiety is rising as the pace of home sales is faster than brokers are able to replenish inventory, according to members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Figures just released for March show 11,408 pending sales during the month while only 10,505 sellers listed their homes for sale during the same period. [Read more…]
The Downtown Seattle Association just released the 2015 State of Downtown Economic Report. Don’t let the name of the report scare you away from opening it. The report is a beautiful and easy to read summary of the Downtown neighborhoods, major development projects, and stats on transportation, housing, employment, and demographics. Flip over to the section on construction and you’ll see billions in construction projects.
A few facts from the report:
I admit I have a problem. I bought my Seattle condo in the International District/Pioneer Square neighborhood when I had no clue about real estate back in late 2007. I thought I was getting a great deal, but we all know how that turned out. To make matters worse it was a new conversion. New conversions and construction are sold at a price premium. In other words, I paid a heck of a lot for this Seattle condo and prices have yet to fully catch up. [Read more…]
KIRKLAND, Washington (Feb. 5, 2015) – Home sales this super bowl season outpaced a year ago as sidelined buyers emerged to compete for limited inventory, according to brokers who commented on January activity.
New figures from Northwest Multiple Listing Service show year-over-year increases in pending sales, closed sales, and prices, while inventory fell by double digits.
“The current inventory of homes available for sale has never been lower in my 22 years as a real estate broker,” lamented MLS director George Moorhead, designated broker and owner at Bentley Properties.
The number of active listings of single family homes and condominiums fell from the year-ago figure of 19,195 to 17,082 at the end of January, a decline of 11 percent. Twelve of the 23 counties in the MLS system reported double-digit drops. For the four-county Puget Sound region, the selection was down 12 percent. [Read more…]