The Cascade Team Logo

Tips from The Cascade Team Agents

KIRKLAND, Washington (January 6, 2023) – Last year was a tale of two housing markets, suggested broker Dean Rebhuhn in commenting on the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

  •          In the first half of the year, we had low interest rates, rising prices, and little inventory
  •          The second half of the year brought increasing interest rates, some lowering of prices, and increasing inventory
  •          The local housing market in 2022 ended with a whimper rather than a bang
  •          Overall, the housing market is going to continue falling off the artificial ‘sugar high’ that was a function of the artificially low mortgage rates during the pandemic
  •          Gardner, the Windermere economist, expects prices will…

1943 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Mortgage rates are continuing their downward trend as investors keep a lookout for more signs of cooling inflation.

“This week, labor cost data provided a ray of hope as it showed that hourly compensation was lower than previously reported in the second and third quarters for all sectors except manufacturing,” writes Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, adding that gas prices are also plunging.

Nadia Evangelou, NAR senior economist and director of real estate research, commented: 

“Mortgage rates continue to move down. According to Freddie Mac, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.33% from 6.59% the previous week. Housing affordability rose about 8% in the last four weeks as mortgage rates moved closer to 6%. If…

2263 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Stuff happens! That’s especially true during the holiday season. With guests coming and going, the fireplace regularly blazing, and packages arriving at your front door by the truckload, this is a particularly precarious time.

New data reveals that porch pirates (aka nefarious folks who sneak up to your doorstep and steal your packages) are among the most dreaded holiday-related worries, according to a survey from home security company SimpliSafe.

Almost half (45%) of the respondents reported they have had packages stolen from their front porch or home.

Porch pirates

The United States Postal Service estimates it delivers more than 13.2 billion parcels between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. And with more people doing their holiday shopping…

4954 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

With snow in the forecast over the next week and the possibility of a foot of blowing snow and frigid temperatures we wanted to help make sure everyone had an idea on how the city of Sammamish plans for such events.  But no matter what this storm brings to Puget Sound, cities around the region like Sammamish say they are making special plans to make sure everyone, pedestrian to drivers to firefighters, can get around safely.

Here are the published routes for snow and ice removal and plowing from the City of Sammamish!

Sammamish

Sammamish has a plowing priority system in place to clear our 400 miles of road. The plowing time required depends on several variables such as the snowstorm intensity, duration, wind, and the temperature. The Snow…

3224 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

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!

Here are 5 TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME AROUND THANKSGIVING

1. Make Curb Appeal a Top…

2320 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

What a difference just a few months can make. As the year comes to a close, the red-hot housing market has been brought to its knees by soaring mortgage interest rates.

  •          “Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco could all see 20% price drops.”
  •          Wolf, of Zonda, expects prices could fall by 15% nationally over the next year
  •          “A really important thing to remember is housing is cyclical,” says Wolf. “We came from a massive run-up in prices, sales, demand in the housing market, and now it’s contracting. This is not new.”
  •          Nationally, home list prices rose 40.6% in just over two years’ time
  •          So, a 10%, 15%, or even 20% drop over a two-year span isn’t as significant as it might seem at first.

It now…

2304 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

“As for the interest rate ‘elephant in the room,’ the time has come for buyers and sellers to revisit financing methods from previous markets,”

  •          “Mortgage programs are offering below-market rates with various buydown options – something we have not seen for years!”
  •          Buydowns, adjustable-rate loans, carrying back second deeds of trust, and closing cost allowances as possible options.
  •          Sellers need to be “laser focused on price and condition
  •          “What your neighbor’s house sold for six months ago has very little bearing on your home’s value today.”
  •          This is the new normal until interest rates go down.”

KIRKLAND, Washington (November 7, 2022) – Brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service…

2865 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

It’s the witching month once again, and as Halloween approaches, now’s the time to tell tales of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. But some scary stories aren’t fake — and real estate professionals have some of the creepiest real-life anecdotes.

Anything can happen when you’re out in the field, and we’ve heard horrifying tales of vacant properties where “someone’s home,” ghostly figures in listing photos, and ghastly encounters during home tours.

  • I had a first-time home buyer with a limited budget, and we found a small Cape Cod that was completely redone from top to bottom and being offered at an incredible price. This home showed like brand-new: new drywall, doors, windows, roof, carpeting, kitchen, and baths. My clients were so excited as they…

2218 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

2022 Study: More Than Half of Buyers Would Purchase a Haunted Home in a Competitive Market October 10, 2022 by Jaime Dunaway-Seale

As Americans spend less time at home in 2022, fewer people believe they’ve lived in a haunted house. Among those who have not shared a house with ghosts, however, two-thirds (67%) believe it’s possible for a home to be haunted.

Read on to discover how Americans’ beliefs in the supernatural have changed and how that affects their home-buying preferences in a still-competitive market.

REAL HAUNTED HOUSE STATISTICS

  •          About one-fourth of Americans (24%) believe they’ve lived in a real haunted house, down from the 44% who said the same in 2021, when they spent more time at home during the pandemic.
  • …

3004 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

By: Melissa Dittmann Tracey

Find out what designers say, and consumer surveys show are becoming tiresome trends in the home.

Every year, there are new and evolving home design fads that should “scare” you to death. Last year, there were moss-covered accent walls (gasp!), acrylic furniture (shriek!) and Tuscan-style kitchens (yelp!). This year, it’s the “cloffice”—a pandemic-era closet-turned-office—and many others. With Halloween around the corner, Styled Staged & Sold presents its annual countdown of the top 10 home trends of 2022 that are haunting our nightmares.

10. The classic farmhouse look

Many designers have called for the modern farmhouse trend to be put…

1907 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post