It’s All About Inventory: “Exceptionally Low” Inventory Results In Steep Price Hikes Around Greater Seattle Region.

KIRKLAND, Washington (January 5, 2018) – The year 2017 may be in the books and for many members
of Northwest Multiple Listing Service it was a memorable one with December’s activity being no
exception. Brokers reported historic lows for inventory and year-over-year price gains in most areas.

1. Historic lows for inventory
2. Inventory down 19 percent
3. Lowest level of homes for sale in a decade
4. King County prices up nearly 16%
5. System wide prices up 11.4%

“I’ve never seen inventory this low in Kitsap County in 27 years,” remarked Northwest MLS director
Frank Wilson, branch managing broker at John L. Scott Real Estate in Poulsbo. That county’s number of
active listings last month plunged nearly 40 percent from year-ago levels.

At month…

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2018 Real Estate Market Trends - Seattle Area Prices Continue Upward March

If there’s one thing most early forecasters agree on, it’s that home prices will continue to rise. Where they differ however, is how much they will rise.

The median price of a home across the Seattle metro area has now soared 80 percent since bottoming out five years ago, and its up 20 percent over the old pre-bubble peak a decade ago.

As Seattle marks a full year as America’s hottest housing market, with no end in sight, recent predictions from housing analysts suggest that the Seattle real estate market could continue to outpace the nation well into 2018, in terms of home price appreciation.

Seattle is now a full year into its reign as the hottest housing market in the country, an unusually long surge that doesn’t look likely to end…

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Tax Reform And How It Affects Real Estate

First of all I want to make it clear that this blog is intentionally working to be nonpolitical and non-partisan. We're just going to directly state the changes to the current tax policy, how they are projected to affect the average home owner or buyer and of course those of us in the Real Estate profession. And while countless Americans will be impacted by the new laws, both for better and for worse, homeowners in particular will see a number of key changes take effect in the very near future. If you own property, here's what you can expect. 

At the bottom of the page is a little more detail on three of the most important changes and how they affect Real Estate Transactions and Buyers and Sellers:

Increased standard deduction: The standard…

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Star Wars: Awaken The Real Estate Force Within You (This is Star Wars Week After all!)

May The Home Selling Force Be With You!

Leveraging The Latest In Real Estate Marketing Technology

A solid real estate marketing plan is very important. It takes more than a MLS listing, sign, some paper flyers, and an open house to sell your home in today’s market. Make sure your real estate agent has real leading edge housing market intelligence. Our leading edge marketing plan is designed to sell your house as quickly as possible.

Likability is a powerful force to get prospects and your peers to trust you more. Deceit isn’t behind the following tricks to make you more likable, recently featured at Forbes.com, but a few traits to keep in mind that can unconsciously influence others to see you in a new light. Here are a few:

1. Use…

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Holiday Home Market: Looking ahead to 2018

The Seattle market is inundated with technology workers, both newly relocated and those that have been
renting and are ready to set down roots. Additionally, Investors both large and small are stepping
up their purchasing, signaling strong confidence in the Greater Seattle area.

Strong demand is not confined to Seattle.

The velocity of market means that every time a new listing is added all eyes focus like a laser beam to
see what just happened. If a worthy property comes on the market, buyers know it instantly as the information is
streamed through every device known to man. Buyers step up and buy, quickly and efficiently.

In King County the median price for single family homes and condos combined jumped 15.6 percent,
from $497,254 to…

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What’s Hot: Home Trends in the Pipeline for 2018

  Every industry tracks innovations in its field, and housing is no different. As a real estate pro, here are the need-to-know products and services promising to transform homes and your clients’ lifestyles over the next year or so.   December 2017 | By Barbara Ballinger  

The big-picture view on housing trends in 2018 center around integrating technology and creating healthy and connected living environments. That’s why building materials, systems, and products that speak to these concerns are expected to generate greater buzz in the coming year. And with more generations living under the same roof, home-related features that provide an extra pair of hands or calming—even spiritual—influence are also being enthusiastically…

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Holiday Shopping Crowds – In The Local Housing Market!

KIRKLAND, Washington (December 6, 2017) – “Normal seasonal slowdowns” are reported by some
real estate leaders with Northwest Multiple Listing Service, but other brokers say this holiday season is
still drawing crowds at open houses along with competitive bidding in some neighborhoods.

• Accepted Deals Outpace New Listing Again
• Inventory Levels Continue To Tighten
• Home Values Continue to Escalate “Up 10.8%”

Both inventory and pending sales dipped to their lowest levels since April, while prices still increased by
double-digits in most of the 23 counties served by Northwest MLS.

MLS members reported 8,304 pending sales of single family homes and condos, a slight (1.6 percent)
gain over the year-ago figure of 8,173. Last month’s mutually…

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When Selling Your Home For The Holidays? Don't Be A Curb Appeal Scrooge

Written by Jaymi Naciri

Thanksgiving means turkey and all the trimmings and family get-togethers and football and the Macy's parade and eating until you can't breathe. It also means you're going to be seeing your neighbors up on ladders in the next few days putting up their holiday lights. If your house is currently for sale or if you're considering listing it, you may be wondering whether you should bother at all with holiday decorations this year. In a word: "YES", But there's more to it than that. There's a long way between Scrooge and The Griswolds.

"It's hard to argue with the fact that glitter lights and colorful accents make a home look more cheerful and inviting," said Realtor.com. "But you also probably know that if you're trying to…

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Please Join The Cascade Team For the Snoqualmie Annual Tree Lighting Saturday November 25th

Please Join us for our 12th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting in Snoqualmie!

Located at Railroad Park in Downtown Snoqualmie: 7971 Railroad Avenue SE, Snoqualmie WA

Saturday, November 25th at 5:00pm

Children of all ages will enjoy this special evening of community holiday fun!

Enjoy Cookies, Cider, Caroling and Live Holiday Music!
Watch for Santa's Arrival on a Reindeer Fire Engine
Free Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides
And, Free Pictures with Santa!

From 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 25, come to Railroad Park for an evening of caroling, choir music, Horse Drawn carriage rides provided by The Cascade Team Real Estate, visits with Santa and refreshments. Santa arrives to light the tree at 6:30 p.m. and then to visit with children.

Along with the Horse Drawn…

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Let’s “Talk Turkey” About Selling Your Home During The Holidays

With everything going on from Holiday parties to shopping and visits from the in-laws we know that it’s easy to turn away from listing and selling your home during the holidays. Plus almost everyone says the market slows down in the Winter and you should just wait until Spring, right? WRONG!

While it’s true the market is usually slower around the holidays, the current market trends of constrained inventory and desperate buyers have in fact made the Holidays an excellent time to put your house up for sale. With fewer sellers listing during the Holiday period, buyers are left sitting around with pre-approval letters in-hand just starving for inventory!

Need more incentive? Here are 12 reasons selling your house during the holidays is an excellent…

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