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Found 216 blog entries tagged as Cary Porter.

Home buyers and sellers face the prospect of major changes to how much and in what way they pay their real-estate agents, following the historic verdict against the National Association of Realtors and large residential brokerages.

There are many new rule changes regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). Those changes could range from minor tweaks to the commission system to a more radical restructuring of the residential real-estate industry, such as more people buying homes without using agents or buyers paying their agents by the hour.

By way of a quick summary, a federal jury found NAR and large brokerages conspired to keep costs artificially high and awarded $1.8 billion in damages, which…

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Market Recap

The new year kicks off with some hopeful signs for buyers within the real estate market. Interest rates proceeded to drop through the month of December to a current rate of 6.61% from the November level of 7.1%, with the Fed signaling additional cuts on the horizon. Yet inventory remains stagnant in accordance with typical seasonal patterns, and low inventory persisted to pressure home prices in the region, which were up about 5% year-over-year. According to Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, “strong home price gains over the course of the year indicate that home prices in most Washington state markets have fully recovered from 2022 losses and are reaching new highs once again.”

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index forecasts another…

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The Federal Reserve played Santa for Christmas this year and delivered the best gift for homebuyers nationwide, leading to lower mortgage rates. The 10-year yield and mortgage rates fell together after the Fed meetings, which gave us mortgage rates under 7% last week.

  •          Mortgage Rates hit 6.95%
  •          Median List Price up 1.5%
  •          Time on Market drops 4 Days.
  •          New Listings UP 6.8%

Homebuyers have a lot to be joyful for right now with mortgage rates have dipping below 7% for the first time since August.

For the week ending Dec. 14, rates for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged 6.95%, according to Freddie Mac.

And odds are, mortgage rates will continue their long-awaited downward trend, providing some…

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Will 2024 will be the year the housing market finally becomes unstuck. The answer is sort of…

At long last we finally are set to say goodbye to 2023. This was a year where interest rates went from 6% to briefly topping 8% back in October. Adding to that, many builders worried about the economy scaled back the number of new homes being built. Additionally, millions of homeowners who locked in historic rates near 3% during the pandemic felt little compulsion to sell their homes and consider buying new homes at higher interest rates.

And all of this left buyers with few choices and the homes available continued to climb in price along with interest rates due to the lack of available inventory.

Looking back in a few years I honestly believe we…

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Market Recap

A slight decrease in interest rates has raised cautious optimism – interest rates now sit at around 7.2%, in comparison to 7.8% in October 2023, and a continuation of that decrease would have a positive impact on the market in general. However, the decline in seasonal inventory continues to drive home prices upward, spurring an increase of 4.6% in prices from November 2022:

  • NWMLS brokers reported 4,367 closed sales in November 2023, which is a 16% drop from closed sales in November 2022 (5,194). However, this is a slight improvement from October’s year-over-year change in closed sales, which decreased 18% when compared to October 2022.
  • While most counties in the NWMLS report (19 of 26) saw a decrease in the number of homes…

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Homebuyers who brave the cold to get out there and shop for homes right are finding something strange, really good news!

First up, increasing inventory.

A new report has found that 7.5% more home sellers listed their homes in November than this same month last year. It’s actually “the first-time inventory has increased this late in the fall season since our records commenced in 2016. This turnaround is a big deal, “ending a four-month streak of annual inventory declines,”. Plus, seasonal housing stock in November increased by 2.4% above October levels, which is another first.

November saw the first annual growth in newly listed homes in 17 months. If you look at total inventory—of both new listings and old—that’s improved, too, with the…

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Thanksgiving is almost here! So, before you sit down and eat your Thanksgiving meal, let's find out how well you know your Thanksgiving history...

1. FACT OR FICTION: IN 1863, ABRAHAM LINCOLN BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO PROCLAIM A NATIONAL DAY OF THANKSGIVING.

2. FACT OR FICTION: NATIVE AMERICANS USED CRANBERRIES, NOW A STAPLE OF MANY THANKSGIVING DINNERS, FOR COOKING AS WELL AS FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES.

3. FACT OR FICTION: ONE OF AMERICA’S FOUNDING FATHERS THOUGHT THE TURKEY SHOULD BE THE NATIONAL BIRD OF THE UNITED STATES.

4.FACT OR FICTION: THE TRADITION OF PLAYING OR WATCHING FOOTBALL ON THANKSGIVING STARTED WITH THE FIRST NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE GAME ON THE HOLIDAY IN 1934.

Ready to check your answers?


1. Fiction - George…

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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…

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Home buyers and sellers face the prospect of major changes to how much and in what way they pay their real-estate agents, following Tuesday’s historic verdict against the National Association of Realtors and large residential brokerages.

Those changes could range from minor tweaks to the commission system to a more radical restructuring of the residential real-estate industry, such as more people buying homes without using agents or buyers paying their agents by the hour.

By way of a quick summary, a federal jury found NAR and large brokerages conspired to keep costs artificially high and awarded $1.8 billion in damages, which could be tripled to more than $5 billion under antitrust rules.

The Cascade Team provides buyers and sellers with…

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Overcome Your Fears About Today’s Housing Market.

You don’t need to be scared when buying or selling a home. Even though there are fears that can make things seem a little “Scary”, The Cascade Team is here to help clear away the cobwebs!

The truth is the only thing scarier 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…

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