4 Challenging Visitors You Get at Open Houses

Posted by Cary W Porter on July 15th, 2016

When you invite the public to view your listing, you attract many potential buyers who are on the fence and so will give you the runaround. Here are some tips for recognizing some of the people you’ll meet and how to tap into what they want.

The Dodger

He shies away from interacting with you, hoping you’ll leave him alone while he looks around. He doesn’t stay for long and tries to leave without giving you his name or contact information.

The bottom line: He hasn’t committed to making a move but is considering his options, and he’s afraid you’ll try to force a sale on him. He needs to make these decisions on his own time.

How to handle him: Give him space and watch for whether he lingers over a particular feature of the home. Pop over to…

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It’s a Pokémon Go Open House Weekend with The Cascade Team!

Posted by Cary W Porter on July 14th, 2016

Seemingly everyone is playing Pokémon GO. If you’re not already playing it yourself, you’ve no doubt heard about it. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the new mobile and augmented reality game from Niantic Labs and The Pokémon Company is having an enormous impact on people’s daily routines. This has obsessed Pokémon players taking unusually long walks with their canine friends, people visiting Pokémon Gyms,  and a co-pilots double-fisting smartphones while you’re driving to dinner (please don’t drive and hunt Pokémon — get someone in the passenger seat).

For those not yet in the know, Pokémon GO uses your phone’s GPS and camera to turn the real world into a massive hunting ground for the iconic creatures, but it also transforms local…

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Housing Inventory Levels Improve in King County but still down 17% YTD While The Cascade Team Is UP 32% in Listing Inventory YTD

Posted by Cary W Porter on July 11th, 2016

Market showing signs of adjusting, but buyers still see double-edged sword

• King County Prices up 14.7% to $573,522
• The Cascade Team Average List Price Hits $648,230
• Inventory shows signs of improvement but still 17.1% below last year's levels.
• The Cascade Team Listing Inventory Level is up 32% OVER last year's levels!
• 80% of new listings selling in the first 30 days on market over-all.
• 89.3% Of The Cascade Team Listings Sell in the first 10 Days!
  

 
KIRKLAND, Washington (July 6, 2016) – Home sales around Western Washington continued at a torrid pace during June, but a 10 percent year-over-year increase in new listings has some brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service suggesting a little relief may be emerging.

  
In…

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$100,000 Price Drop on Custom Sammamish Home For July 4th Weekend

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 30th, 2016

Property Website HERE

3907 222nd Ave SE, Sammamish

Price: Now $1,400,000

Beds: 5

Baths 6.25

Sqft: 4,210

Stunning Sammamish custom home on exceptionally large and flat lot within Issaquah School District. The materials and details put into crafting this beauty are extensive. Start with the driveway comprised of Roman and Mediterranean pavers, exterior consists of Western Red Cedar shingles, clear cedar tongue and groove enclosed soffits. Custom stone work all around with artistic details. Metal railing on the deck and throughout the house is work of a local Redmond Artist. The reclaimed wood timbers on the deck and entry come from a barn in Vancouver WA. Exterior paint is Miller ‘Evolution’, a lifetime product and the roof is a 50…

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What Really Ticks Off Buyers and Sellers

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 30th, 2016

Missed appointments, the impersonal nature of modern real estate transactions, scheduling struggles, and sellers lingering during showings are just a few of the common gripes from buyers and sellers, according to a recent article in The Washington Post. 

For example, one couple says they received a text message from their real estate agent saying that potential buyers wanted to view their home within a certain time frame. The couple made their house available, despite the hassle of the husband having to conduct a two-hour work call from his car and the wife having to keep the pets out of the house for two hours. But when the buyers never showed up, the sellers got angry and even more upset when the buyer’s agent never contacted them to…

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Snoqualmie, North Bend, Duvall, Carnation and Covington Warned By State to Slow Growth

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 22nd, 2016

  Snoqualmie Ridge, perched idyllically above Snoqualmie Valley below. Several small cities like Snoqualmie in King County have seen their 20-year growth plans be rejected by regional leaders because they want to grow too much. (Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times)   By  Lynn Thompson Seattle Times staff reporter

Leaders of the small cities — Duvall, Carnation, North Bend, Snoqualmie and Covington — say they, not a central planning agency, should determine how they expand within their own borders. And they say that without growth they can’t keep the lights on and the roads paved.

“We have a right to grow, a right to revenue to support our city,” said Snoqualmie Community Development Director Mark Hofman.

Much…

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Americans Believe Real Estate is the Best Long-Term Investment

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 17th, 2016

Some Highlights:

• Real estate outranks stocks/mutual funds, gold, savings accounts/CDs, and bonds as the best long-term investment among Americans.
• Real estate is ranked as the best long-term investment among all age groups.
• Millennials rank both real estate and savings/CDs at 26% when it comes to the best long-term investment.

Just remember: Browsing the listings for months is one way search out the deals, but weighing the investment potential of each property can be difficult, and many homes for sale are never listed publicly.

The Home Buying Process

As you begin to think about buying a home, you're probably acutely aware that this is likely to be your greatest investment ever (short of children or a good marriage), and…

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Sammamish Neighborhood Update: Trossachs

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 16th, 2016

Get To Know Trossachs

Everything You Need to Know About Your Trossachs Neighborhood

Here are the answers to your questions about Trossachs!

1. How much have home values in Trossachs increased just since January 1st of this year? Price per square foot in Trossachs has gone UP from $256.49 per sq ft to $276.08 per sq ft. Sale prices have gone UP from 99.40% of the asking price up to 103.61% of the asking price. That is an increase of 7.2% OR on an $800,000 home an increase of over $57,600!

2. What is the average number of days a Trossachs home takes to sell? 19 Days

3. What is the price per square foot difference between a Buchan and a Murray Franklin Home in Trossachs? Sold Buchan Homes are going for: $287.68 per sq ft with a median…

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Sellers: What Every Buyer Wants to Know about Your Home

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 14th, 2016

  By Suzanne De Vita

Home sellers are in an advantageous position this summer, with demand high and sales at their strongest in close to a decade. Planning to list your home in the coming weeks? Get the most for your house before the season’s up by making it accessible to buyers—with information.

Every homebuyer wants to know specific aspects of homes they’re considering purchasing—information that may seem premature to advertise initially, but could ultimately be determining factors in their decision to make an offer.

This information may include:

• How old is the home? When was it last renovated? How old is the roof?

• What structures or fixtures are included in the list price? (Appliances, ceiling…

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The Cascade Team is On Fire! 70 Transactions This week!

Posted by Cary W Porter on June 10th, 2016

70 total transactions for The Cascade Team this week! Thank you to everyone out there making it happen, being involved, and to our behind the scenes staff of Coordinators, stagers and photographers for giving it everything you've got!  

• The Cascade Team listed 24 properties for sale this week.
• Closed 28 Transactions &
• Added 18 more Mutually Accepted Contracts!

From our first listing in Spokane, to $1million+ properties in Woodinville and (3) in Sammamish The Cascade Team also listed homes in North Bend, Kirkland, a Seattle Condo's, Bothell and more than a dozen other cities including in Buckeye Arizona..  View our newest Listings HERE   We also happily added two new Team members this week!  

But the real winners…

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