The Cascade Team Blog - Market Conditions

Haunted House Hunting Checklist

Looking for something a little “Extra” in your next home? Perhaps bats in the belfries, a strange thumping sounds in the walls, on voices from the basement? Well then you’re in luck… Just in time for Halloween The Cascade Team Real Estate presents our Haunted House Hunting Checklist!  

While some unexpected ghosts may come with a house, most of the surveyed consumers agree on one thing: They prefer to live in a home that is ghost-free. They’re much more willing to live next to a haunted house, though. Nearly 43% of respondents were willing to live next to a house they believed is haunted.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents say they had a feeling the home they wanted to buy was haunted, but they decided to move in anyway, the survey showed.…

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Selling Your Home Shouldn’t Be Spooky!

The only thing more scary than paying too high of a commission to sell your home… Is realizing that you don’t have too while getting even MORE service and support than most brokerages offer at a higher fee!

The Cascade Team Agents are Full Service. We are a real estate company like no other, because of the tools, service and savings we provide our clients with. We understand that in today’s fast paced environment, we need to provide a high level of service, utilize technology to keep our clients up to date at all times and provide added value to both buyers and sellers in the transaction. By leveraging these technological tools, it allows our agents to focus more of their time to servicing our clients, and also provide the most comprehensive…

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Bidding Wars And The Science of Buying in a Low Inventory Market

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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Your Home Is Your Greatest Investment! Asking These Questions When Picking an Agent Could Mean Thousands!

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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Summer 2020 Is A Seller's Market!

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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Western Washington Housing Market “Alive” and “Kicking” Despite the Economic Disruptions Stemming From the Coronavirus Pandemic

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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The Housing Market Is Uniquely Positioned to Help the Economy Recover

·         Expert insights are painting a bright future for housing when the economy bounces back – and it will.

·         We may be facing challenging economic times today, but the housing market is poised to help the economy recover, not drag it down.

·         Connect with your trusted real estate broker from The Cascade Team today, to make sure you’re informed and ready when it’s time to make your move.

With the Western Washington housing market adjusting to new ways of operating residential real estate activity around Western Washington reflected expected declines during April with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll. However, while a new report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows year-over-year (YOY) drops…

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Covid-19 Real Estate Market Update And Predictions

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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There is no need to fear putting your home on the market

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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WHAT THE GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY ORDER MEANS FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS

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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