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“Information and statistics derived from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.”

  • Even as more homes come on the market for this popular sales season, they're flying off fast.
  • Home prices have now surpassed their last peak, and at the entry level, where demand is highest, sellers are in the driver's seat.

Spring homebuyers are pounding the pavement at a furious pace, but the pickings are getting ever slimmer.

Even as more homes come on the market for this traditionally popular sales season, they're flying off fast, with bidding wars par for the course. Home prices have now surpassed their last peak, and at the entry level, where demand is highest, sellers are firmly in the driver's seat.

Northwest MLS figures for last month show a…

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Be careful: You and your buyer may be under surveillance when touring a property. Some sellers are using surveillance cameras inside their home to record the sight and sound as prospective buyers walk through. 

The increase in these home recordings—many from security systems that owners already have installed—are raising some concerns surrounding privacy in real estate transactions, MarketWatch reports. 

The trend has spurred what Joan Rogers, a broker with Windermere Realty Trust in Portland, Ore., calls a “Hey, be aware of this” conversation among her colleagues and counterparts. Rogers says the discussion started in her area about three years ago, “about the same time that integrated home media and security became a thing, with devices that…

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The spring selling season is upon us, and while it’s traditionally the busiest time of year for real estate, this spring promises to be even more competitive than usual—particularly for first-time home buyers. With ultra-tight inventory and continually increasing home prices, it’s imperative that your buyers be ready to make an offer and move forward on a purchase contract at a moment’s notice.

The Cascade Team is a real estate brokerage whose focus is centered on customer service.  Our customers are our number one priority and our local agent team works hard to not only find properties that meet your needs and wants, but also leverages their local market knowledge to help guide you through the home search process.  Our commitment to excellence in…

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The Offer Countdown Timer:

When we at The Cascade Team receive an offer on your listing, we will now activate the offer countdown on your property website with just a couple clicks. The property website will prominently display the timer counting down second by second until the offer review deadline. This will help us promote your home and let potential buyers know that they have a limited amount of time to get an offer in if they would like to potentially purchase your home.

The property website is linked from all kinds of sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Yahoo Homes, Google and many more. In addition we will also promote your listing and the countdown to make offer through social media such as Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn,…

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Homeowners who’ve been through multiple winters know that this time of year isn’t a time to be slacking in home maintenance. There’s more to March madness than just basketball—in housing, it’s the time to make sure owners are staying proactive in tending to their homes through these next few springtime months. 

HouseLogic shares four tasks all owners have to do in March:

  1. Patch up spots on the lawn. As spring showers start to arrive, be sure to cover any bare areas on your yard. This is a crucial task to take care of as snow and ice continue to melt away, and doing so will keep mud and water out of your house.
  2. Use binoculars to inspect the roof and siding. It’s important to look for signs of damage on your home’s roof and siding. To save…

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Looking back at 2017, the number of homes on the market in the Seattle metropolitan area had dropped 10 percent from the previous year—fueling Bidding Wars and a tough market for buyers that was felt all year long. Now, at that same time in 2018, inventory is even worse, dropping an additional 19 percent from this time last year, according to the latest reports.

In the metropolitan area, which includes King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, that inventory drop drove bidding wars in 2017 with 52.4 percent of home sales ended up above asking. Now in 2018 we are faced with an even bigger inventory crunch, that’s not expected to stop anytime soon. Adding to that slowly raising interest rates and buyers are becoming more and more aggressive and in fact…

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2017 was a record year for The Issaquah Highlands. Some sections of the housing market increased by nearly 30% with the over-all price for a home increasing just under 18% for the year. Take a look at an in-depth review of The Issaquah Highlands market from the number 1 listing brokerage in the Issaquah Highlands and see where the housing market has grown, the highest priced SOLD home, the home that went the MOST over asking price, and also get an idea of what to expect in 2018.

See Full Issaquah Highlands Housing Market Update HERE

With record low inventory literally causing a Housing Shortage Crisis We have many buyers out there looking and with a lack of inventory, we may just have a buyer for your home.  All it takes is 30 seconds to fill…

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With inventory low and eager buyers driving prices up faster than traffic backs up on the 405 during rush hour, how can a seller best strategize for a successful home sale--and avoid pitfalls?

Do your research, choose your listing price, and watch the buyers line up.

Unlike the cost of a gallon of milk or a flat-screen television, a home’s price can be hard to pin down. It’s complicated because each home is unique, and has its own story to tell.

When it comes to setting the price of a house, the only thing to do is to look at the recent sales and active listings of similar homes in your area. Combine this research with the inside market knowledge of a local real estate agent, and you can confidently choose your list price.

In this market…

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And this time the crisis is all about one thing: supply

Western Washington and specifically (King County) is in the midst of a housing crisis. But the affordable housing crisis isn't just hitting Seattle. It's spreading to outlying areas, where fewer and fewer people can now afford. This is largely the result of lopsided supply and demand. According to recent real estate reports, housing markets across King County are still suffering from a lack of inventory. There are plenty of buyers entering the market, but not enough properties to go around. Last year King County prices soared over 11% on average with some areas nearing 30% appreciation in just 1 year.

So what can home buyers expect from the King County, Washington real estate market in…

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What does selling your home have in common with online dating? Probably a whole lot more than you think.

There may be plenty of potential prospects out there, but it’s not always easy to find the perfect match. Sound familiar? If your place has been sitting on the market for a while, or your last deal unexpectedly went kersplat, it may seem like you’ll never find that elusive happily ever after.

Fortunately, there are more than a few life lessons sellers can learn from dating services like Ok Cupid, Match.com, and Tinder to ensure their home attracts the best possible buyers who appreciate its worth and treat it well. And who, most importantly, won’t leave you high and dry before the closing.

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