The Cascade Team Logo

KIRKLAND, Washington (June 5, 2023) – Home buyers around Washington state found the largest selection of listings last month since December. Both pending sales and closed sales reached their highest volume in months. Brokers at Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) welcomed the uptick in activity but say rising interest rates are crimping activity.

  •          Year Over-Year Prices have dropped by as much as 20% in areas where bidding wars dominated.
  •          Our market pricing peaked in April/May of 2022
  •          However, King County residential has had an increase of 16.5% YTD for 2023.
  •          The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 6.79% from 6.39% the first week of May.
  •          Buyers remain selective with…

2467 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Here are a few of the many great reasons why you should consider selling your house right now. There aren’t many homes on the market so your house will stand out, we’re seeing an increase in the average number of offers sellers are getting, and your equity can help fuel your move.

Do to limited inventory (about 1.5 months of supply overall), it is an “excellent market for sellers.” As summer approaches, we expect to see increased activity with inventory “being snapped up as it comes onto the market and savvy buyers taking advantage of softening interest rates.”

The supply of housing remains limited due to a persistent shortage of available homes as fewer homeowners are putting their homes on the market after locking in low home mortgage…

2776 Views, 1 Comments

Read Full Post

KIRKLAND, Washington (May 4, 2023) – Market dynamics are influencing adjustments in housing prices, suggested an officer at Northwest Multiple Listing Service, but with “very constricted” inventory, he said homes that are well priced continue to receive multiple offers.

Commenting on the latest statistics from Northwest MLS, Frank Leach, vice chairperson of the MLS board of directors and the broker/owner at RE/MAX Platinum Services in Silverdale, said despite limited inventory (about 1.5 months of supply overall), it is an “excellent market.” As summer approaches, Leach expects to see increased activity with inventory “being snapped up as it comes onto the market and savvy buyers taking advantage of softening interest rates.”

The latest report…

2309 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The premise of a mortgage rate lockdown is simple: so many American households have such low mortgage rates that some will never move once rates rise, which then locks up housing inventory. Said another way; A homeowner planning to relocate or downsize might find the higher costs related to higher mortgage rates too much of a hurdle to clear.

This is something I’ve never considered in my real estate career because we hadn’t had a period where mortgage rates moved up so quickly and then held higher for an extended period. But now this is a real risk.

For many Americans, homeownership became a reality during the years of ultra-low mortgage rates following the 2008 financial crisis, an environment that essentially lasted all the way up until the…

2865 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Although slightly, mortgage rates dropped further this week. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.27% from 6.28% the previous week. With inflation moving closer to the Fed's 2% target, mortgage rates are expected to decrease further in the coming months, likely to be below 6% by year's end.

Meanwhile, these falling mortgage rates create opportunities for many buyers. A lower mortgage rate brings down the monthly payment for a home loan. If rates drop to 6%, 3.1 million more households will once again be able to afford to buy the median-priced home compared to the beginning of the year. And, 1 in 3 of these households are younger than 40. Last year, 1 in 5 mortgage purchase originations had a rate higher than 6%.

Some sellers…

2831 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fourth consecutive week and has dropped more than three-quarters of a point since hitting a 20-year high last month. This fourth week in a row of declines is leaving prospective buyers hopeful for sustained low rates throughout spring homebuying season.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate dipped to 6.33% from 6.49% last week. A year ago, the average rate was 3.1%.

The average long-term rate sat at 7.08% in early November but has since had the steepest 4-week decline since 2008.

“Though week-to-week rate changes can move up and down, the longer-term prospect on rates is for further improvement, with a clear possibility of going under…

2867 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

  •          Inventory in the King, Snohomish and Pierce counties region grew over 14% from February.
  •          March had “good sales activity on well-priced homes.
  •          Pending sales jumped more than 14.5% from February,
  •          Prices overall were down about 7.5% from a year ago.
  •          All signs point toward a rather unusual market through the end of 2023.
  •         Lowering prices, lowering interest rates, and longer days on the market signal some of the unpredictability of the current market.

KIRKLAND, Washington (April 6, 2023) – Real estate brokers around Washington state say the market is moving in a positive direction with the spring market “finally showing up in March.”

Newly-released statistics from Northwest…

2781 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

Calling all sellers. Do you want a quick home sale at a higher price, even in this troubled real estate market? Then open your calendar to April, uncap a bright yellow marker, and highlight the week of April 2–9th. This seven-day stretch has been identified as the best week to list your home in 2023.

Just how much extra cash can a seller potentially pocket and how fast can a home go from a new listing to the closing table?

During the best week to list, home prices are expected to be $8,400 higher than the typical week—and a whopping $48,000 above where we estimate price to be only 30 days later during May of 2023. Real estate listings are expected to receive 16.4% more views than in the typical week.

When is the best time to sell?

And…

3371 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

  •                   Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA): “Long-term rates have already peaked. We expect that 30-year mortgage rates will end 2023 at 5.2%.”
  •                   National Association of Realtors (NAR) senior economist and director of forecasting, Nadia Evangelou: “If inflation continues to slow down—and this is what we expect for 2023—mortgage rates may stabilize below 6% in 2023.”
  •                   Freddie Mac: Forecasts the average 30-year mortgage rate to start at 6.6% in Q1 2023 and end up at 6.2% in Q4 2023.
  •                   The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.57% on Monday, according to Mortgage News Daily.
  •                   If rates continue to drop now, buyers could return to the…

2185 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post

If you’re the type of homebuyer whose mood soars or plummets depending on the latest mortgage rates, then this week was a tough one.

Mortgage rates continued to climb this week, with the 30-year loan averaging 6.73%, Freddie Macreports. Rates began climbing more than a month ago and are now prompting concerns that they could again head back above 7%. This means today’s homebuyers will have to pay almost 50% more per month for home than they would have just a year earlier.

Still, economists are largely forecasting rates to trend downward in 2023, even if there are some blips ahead.

For now, “rates may rise further in subsequent weeks, depending on how strong other economic data is,” says Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real…

2462 Views, 0 Comments

Read Full Post