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Tips from The Cascade Team Agents

Understanding the Numbers When Buying in a Low Inventory Real Estate Market

As a homebuyer in today’s market, you’re no doubt at your wit’s end trying to find your dream home.

And when you find a home you love,  you’re competing with all cash offers and bidding wars driving the sales price above what it’s listed for, and many times, even above what the home is actually worth!

While there is nothing you can do to create more homes for sale, you can certainly arm yourself by understanding the trends and patterns in the areas you’re trying to buy in.

While it’s not quite rocket science, there is definitely a significant competitive advantage to those that understand the trends of a real estate market.

Sometimes, being competitive means not…

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Seattle area prices rising during pandemic

The Seattle Times was out with an article with the latest on the Seattle market and how pricing is still rising during the pandemic. I found this was particularly interesting:

Homes in the King, Pierce and Snohomish tri-county area saw average year-over-year price increases of 6.8% in May, according to the new release of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index — the sixth consecutive month Seattle-area price growth has topped national averages.

This is not surprising. We are seeing good homes in popular locations selling fast, often with multiple offers. Inventory of homes for buyers to choose from is still tight. Buyers who are ready to make a move and want to learn how to beat the…

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The health crisis slowed the market this spring, so buyers are jumping back into the market to make their moves this summer.

Despite the economic downturn and disruptions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, Northwest MLS member-brokers reported impressive improvement from April to May on some key indicators. The volume of new listings, including single family homes and condominiums, rose 29.2% and pending sales jumped more than 44% systemwide. “The pent-up demand from homebuyers returning to the market continues to support a recovery from the weekly declines observed earlier this spring,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist.

  • Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5% for the week and were a stunning 18% higher than a year ago, according…

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Despite the economic downturn and disruptions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, Northwest MLS member-brokers reported impressive improvement from April to May on some key indicators. The volume of new listings, including single family homes and condominiums, rose 29.2% and pending sales jumped more than 44% systemwide. “The pent-up demand from homebuyers returning to the market continues to support a recovery from the weekly declines observed earlier this spring,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist.

  • Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5% for the week and were a stunning 18% higher than a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
  • As the coronavirus outbreak was surging six weeks ago, applications by homebuyers were…

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It’s no secret that the real estate market has a long road of recovery ahead. As the day-to-day work of showing properties and building homes has slowed to a crawl, agents and others in the industry have started to look to the future and make predictions about the lingering effects the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the industry.

The current evidence supports more of checkmark-shaped recovery rather than a V- or U-shape — beginning with an immediate drop that lasts 3-4 weeks, followed by a gradual recovery.

Past analysis has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns will cause a significant dip in real estate activity. The latest U.S market data shines a light on what the dip and recovery will look like — a checkmark shape, with…

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Real estate will boom once coronavirus threat is gone -- Go ahead, put your house on the market

By Rogers Healy FOX Business

The stigma that has been historically associated with a home's "days on market," as it relates to home sales is soon to be a thing of the past.

The real estate market is definitely not operating in a traditional manner during the coronavirus pandemic but real estate professionals have been working behind the scenes to ensure that the industry remains a safe haven amidst an upside-down world.

There are still an incredibly large amount of unknowns out there but we are doing our best to operate after the shocking developments that came in March.

For people who have been considering selling, it might not be necessary…

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Real estate brokers may not:

 

  • Conduct any business outside of their home, including physically showing or previewing properties, conducting in-person listing presentations, taking property photos, staging homes, etc.  Any person who violates the Governor’s order not only puts himself/herself and his/her family at great personal risk, but also puts the real estate firm and his/her clients at risk.

 

Real estate brokers may:

 

  • Provide services to their clients remotely from their house; and
  • Use technology services that enable remote business, including online forms, electronic signatures, virtual tours, videos, and similar tools.

 

Last night, Governor Inslee issued a statewide “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order…

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The Elements of Choice and Service

Some consider that the internet has eroded the ‘human connection’ in relation to the search-to-purchase process of a property. Most home buyers today are visiting home listings to search and compare properties based on several parameters including size, budget, location, availability, and accessibility from the comfort of their homes. In consideration of the current coronavirus it is not only prudent but extremely important.  

Various studies reveal human intervention is almost becoming outmoded in the ‘search and discovery’ stage of property purchase. For those who are tech-savvy, there is no need for human interaction in the ‘search and discovery’ phase, as there are numerous property portals ranging from…

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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and many local State Department of Health such as in Washington (WSDH) are currently recommending people not gather in groups of 10 or more. Additionally, in WA. Governor Jay Inslee announced restrictions through the end of March on public gatherings larger than 250 people in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. These restrictions may extend beyond March and may affect other counties in Washington State as well as other State and local jurisdictions in the near future. With these thoughts in mind, please read the following recommendations from a number of area brokerages:



Open Houses:

  • When holding open houses, make sure to clean and disinfect all surfaces and have sanitizer placed around their home.…

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What is The Ultimate Selling Experience?

Efficiency, ease and value, what every home seller is looking for when selling a home.  From our retargeting and text platforms to our home search with real time InRix Drive Time and automated home feedback system, our clients experience the efficiency of our technology.  Coupled with our experienced and dedicated full-time agents and supported by the most advanced technology available you’ll quickly see the difference.

 

Staging Boost: Covering everything from staging to painting to cosmetic renovations and more all managed through your personal Staging Boost manager, our clients experience the ease of preparing their home to sell while reaping the maximum value for their home.

 

Preparing your…

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