The Cascade Team Blog - Real Estate News Blog

Sammamish, Redmond, Issaquah, Mercer Island, Kirkland Ranked in Top 100 Best America’s Small Cities

Led by Sammamish at No. 12, five towns in the Seattle metro area ranked among the top 100 Best Small Cities in America, according to a recent analysis by WalletHub.

WalletHub compared more than 1,300 cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 across five metrics, including affordability, economic health, education and health, quality of life and safety. The cities were also compared across 43 livability indicators, including housing costs, quality of school systems and number of restaurants per capita. 

Sammamish was No. 12 overall among the 1,300 cities measured, finishing 30th for safety, 75th for education and health, 89th for economic health and 183rd for affordability. 

Redmond was No. 21 on the list, boosted by its ranking of…

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“Oh, Hell No!” Mortgage Rates Hit 6.66% Just in Time For Halloween

I personally would say “Hell No” to this rate. Up or down a fraction of a percentage please before I locked this one in!

The rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.66% this week, down from 6.70% one week ago, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac reported on Thursday. Last year at this time, the typical rate was 2.99%.

The interest rate on the most popular home loan in America has fallen for the first time in seven weeks, ending a streak that pushed borrowing costs to their highest point since 2007.

Yet even with the decline, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate is still more than double what it was last year.

Text “BOO” to (425) 223-4655 for a Free Value Analysis

Unfortunately for borrowers, this week’s dip was just a small…

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A Real Estate Agents Haunted House

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 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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Seattle The Fastest-Cooling Housing Market in the Country

As real estate and real estate-related companies continue to cut their workforces, it's become clear that it's no mirage -- the housing market is indeed cooling. Another sign? The real estate giant Redfin has experienced a nearly 92% drop in stock value since last year.

While homes are still more expensive today than they were before COVID-19 changed the world, demand is slowing, and prices are dropping. Redfin recently released data showing which markets are cooling at the fastest rate. What was a seller's market is quickly flipping to a buyer's market in these areas of the country:

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ATTENTION HOME OWNERS! New Real Estate Commission "Now Compensation" Rules Start October 3rd 2022

You may be aware of a new rule change from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service regarding “Offering” a Buyer’s Agent Compensation (We no longer use the term Commission). While it’s a confusing topic for both consumers and real estate agents alike, The Cascade Team has put together some Questions and Answers on the topic.

What is a “Fair” amount to pay for real estate compensation?

“Fair” is whatever you and the agent decide is fair, and just as you are not under any obligation to pay more than you want, the agent is not under any obligation to do business with you if they are not going to earn what they expect.

The Cascade Team will charge a total of 2% compensation to sell your home if the buyer comes unrepresented.

This includes full…

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Buyer’s market vs. seller’s market: What’s the difference?

Ben Luthi

The real estate market has two opposing sides: buyers, who want to keep their costs low, and sellers, who want to maximize their profits. Depending on the inventory of available housing, one of those sides might have bigger advantages — and greater bargaining power — than the other. Understanding the difference between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market can be tied back to one of the fundamental laws of economics: supply and demand.

What is a buyer’s market?

When there is a surplus of homes and low demand for them, you’re in a buyer’s market. Prices tend to go down in these conditions, because there’s less competition. Additionally, homes are likely to stay on the market for longer, putting pressure on sellers to…

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Fall Housing Market Predictions For 2022

After a tumultuous summer for real estate, autumn is nearly here. As of mid-September, the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average is hovering just north of 6 percent, and skyrocketing home prices are finally starting to drop, and in some area literally tumble.

Here are our prediction on which directions the housing market will head in as the leaves start to change.

The Housing Market Is About to Be Hammered

That’s a tough opening statement and it’s meant to get your attention. Here is how the pros back that up.

The market seems to be cooling dramatically, and Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM Data Solutions, says the signs are undeniable. Case in point: July marked the seventh consecutive month…

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30-year fixed tops 6% for first time since 2008

The 30-year fixed-mortgage rate topped 6% for the first time since 2008 in the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended Sept. 9. 

Mortgage applications declined 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week, the MBA said, citing its Market Composite Index, while the association’s Refinance Index slid 4% week over week and 83% year over year. 

“Higher mortgage rates have pushed refinance activity down more than 80% from last year and have contributed to more homebuyers staying on the sidelines,” MBA associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting Joel Kan said in a press release. “Government loans, which tend to be favored by first-time buyers, bucked this trend and increased…

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Mortgage Rates Hit Highest Level Since 2008 As Seattle Area Housing Market Shows Signs of Decline

•          Pending sales drop nearly 22% from a year-ago
•          Closings were down about 24% from a year ago
•          Economist Gardner expects prices will soften.
•          trend toward a more balanced market.
• Mortgage rates are at their highest level since the Great Recession, according to data released by Freddie Mac Thursday, as housing affordability continues to slump.
• The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is now 5.89%, according to Freddie Mac, up from 5.66% last week and 2.88% at this time last year.
• Mortgage rates are now at their highest since November 2008, when Freddie Mac reported a 6.04% 30-year rate.
• Mortgage rates have climbed as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to tame inflation.

Surprising Fact

 The…

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Odds of Homes Prices Continuing to Fall in Greater Seattle Area Elevated to “VERY HIGH”

What's going on? High-cost tech hubs, like San Francisco and Seattle, are getting hit hard by the tech slowdown. Not only are their high-end real estate markets more rate sensitive, but so are their tech sectors.

Back in June, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear to reporters: The Pandemic Housing Boom was over. Heading forward, he said, spiked mortgage rates would push the U.S. housing market into a slowdown.

“We saw [home] prices moving up very very strongly for the last couple of years. So that changes now. And rates have moved up. We are well aware that mortgage rates have moved up a lot. And you are seeing a changing housing market. We are watching it to see what will happen. How much will it really affect residential investment? Not…

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