The Cascade Team Blog - The Cascade Team

More Than 1 in 4 Homeowners Believe They’ve Lived in a Real 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!

Written by Jaime Dunaway-Seale

Nearly 3 in 4 Americans (71%) believe some properties are inherently more likely to be bewitched. Although hospitals, graveyards, and theaters are prime haunts for ghosts, so are American homes.

The turrets and trims of Victorian-style homes are most closely associated with haunted houses, but paranormal beings can take up residence in a variety of dwellings. Thanks to popular social media accounts such as Zillowtastrophes, the horrifying interiors of seemingly ordinary homes are just a click away.

More than…

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What’s Scarier Than Today’s Real Estate Market?

Homeowners Reveal the Frightening Facts About Haunted Houses:

Written by Jaime Dunaway-Seale

ARE HAUNTED HOUSES CHEAPER?

Nearly 2 in 3 home buyers (63%) would only offer below market value for a haunted home, with 1 in 3 (31%) offering at least $50,000 less and 1 in 9 (11%) offering at least $100,000 less.

UFOs sightings. Alien invasions. The zombie apocalypse. Paranormal beings are top of mind for many Americans in 2023.

With these topics dominating the cultural conversation — and the highest levels of government — belief in the supernatural is growing. Three-fourths of Americans (75%) think otherworldly beings exist — a 9% increase from 2022, when 69% said the same.

As Americans increasingly consume paranormal media on their…

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Indicators point to a continued market slowdown, optimism on the horizon.

 KIRKLAND, Washington – October 5, 2023 – Northwest MLS, the source for the most current, accurate market listing data in Washington state, today released its Market Snapshot for the month of September 2023.

Market Recap As we head into the fall season, the number of transactions in Washington counties continues to decline, with limited growth in year-over-year median prices.

•          When compared to the same month last year, September 2023 experienced a -20% change in active property listings on the market in Washington counties covered by the NWMLS.
•          Most counties covered by the NWMLS (23 of 26) saw a decrease in the number of homes sold, with changes ranging from -2% to -50% year over year with an average decline of -24% and…

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Seattle Active Housing Inventory Sees Huge Plunge

 Active inventory fell by 32.6% year over year in Seattle last month — that’s among the highest rates of decline in the entire country, according to the latest NWMLS report.

 A year ago, prospective buyers had over 8,000 properties to shop through. Last month, however, active inventory fell to 5,422 properties.

Housing availability continues to plague the Puget Sound market, with buyer numbers growing month-over-month while the number of homes listed continues to languish. Contributing factors include seller disappointment that their homes have slipped in value since the last market peak and reluctance to trade a low-interest mortgage for current high rates.

Housing Market Locked Down

To illustrate, in the current market, a borrower…

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When Will Mortgage Rates Come Down? Here’s When 9 Experts Say It Will Happen.

•          High mortgage rates make it difficult for prospective homebuyers to enter the market.
•          Mortgage rates could decline if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates next year.
•          Here are nine projections from experts on when the Fed's first-rate cut will come.

High mortgage rates have effectively frozen the US housing market. And while lower rates could be on the horizon, Americans might have to wait awhile.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is over 7.4%, up from roughly 3% at the beginning of 2022. This has deterred prospective first-time homebuyers from taking the plunge and made existing homeowners reluctant to sell their homes and buy another — they'd rather stick with the super low rates they…

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Busted! Myths Both Buyers and Sellers Believe About The Current Market

In today's wild market, there are plenty of bad ideas on both sides of the buyer/seller equation. Here's how to correct those misconceptions so that everyone can get what they want.

The current market has buyers and sellers on pause. Interest rates have certainly put a damper on many would-be buyers and sellers’ plans. Depending on their budget, where they want to go or what kind of property they are looking for, inventory may be a concern, as well as insurance. 

Everyone seems to be in a state of flux. Many would-be buyers who are renting are continuing to do so, even though the landlord raised their rent, and while not ideal, they don’t know what else to do.

Sellers, despite being able to cash out and make some good equity, cannot make the…

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3 Reasons To Lock In A Mortgage Rate Today!

Following months of encouraging signs that inflation was finally cooling, a new report showed that it ticked back up in July. With the benchmark interest rate already at a 22-year high and mortgage interest rates the highest they've been since 2000, many buyers may elect to sit on the sidelines and wait for the rate environment to improve. That said, there's no clear insight into when that improvement will actually take place. Nor do experts know how much rates will even fall. With this forecast unclear, it may still make sense for buyers to act now.

3 reasons why it's worth locking in a mortgage rate now.

There are multiple compelling reasons buyers may want to lock in a mortgage rate now. Here are three things to consider. 

Rates could go…

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Cruel Summer Of Increasing Home Prices & Mortgage Rates Comes To a Close—Why Fall Should Bring Buyers Hope

By Margaret Heidenry

Mortgage rates just jumped to their highest level in 20 years, averaging 7.09% for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan as of Aug. 17, according to Freddie Mac.

In addition to home loan rates hitting their highest levels in two decades, home prices edged upward for the week ending Aug. 12 compared with this same time period last year.

“For the third consecutive week, the median home listing price maintained a slight upward trajectory,” says Realtor.com® economic data manager Sabrina Speianu in her analysis.

Why record-high mortgage rates affect both homebuyers and sellers.

Record-high mortgage rates aren’t just weighing down buyers—they’re tethering sellers to their homes, too.

Speianu explains that most homeowners…

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Housing market downturn “inevitable” with higher rates, but brokers find bright spots.

KIRKLAND, Washington (August 7, 2023) –A downturn in the housing market was inevitable given higher mortgage rates, acknowledged broker Dick Beeson, but he and others who commented on the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service noted some positives for both buyers and sellers.

The Northwest MLS statistics summarizing July activity for 26 counties in the report showed declines in listings, pending sales, closed sales and prices when compared to 12 months ago. The same metrics, which include single family homes and condominiums, were also down from June, with the exception of total active listings and months of inventory. Both showed slight month-over-month improvement.

 Buyers could choose from 10,982 active listings at the end of…

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As mortgage rates hit 7%, Is There a Magic Interest Rate Number That Will Convince Homeowners to Sell?

Story by Aarthi Swaminathan

Homeowner Marie Cantu, 35, lives just outside of Seattle, and has been looking to buy a single-family home outside of Boston to be closer to her family.

The mom-of-five has been “seriously looking” for three-bedroom homes for the last six months. Cantu is hoping to rent her home in Washington, and move roughly before the school year starts, so that her children can adjust better to the new neighborhood. Cantu, a stay-at-home mother, homeschools her children. 

Higher rates make housing more expensive — and less affordable — for aspiring homeowners. They have also been a major factor in keeping would-be home sellers out of the housing market.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark rate by 25…

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