Tag Archive for 'Selling'

Higher prices are good news for home sellers

Published by Louise on September 13, 2005 in Signs & Portents. Closed

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) issued its monthly recap of sales figures for the Seattle area and surrounding counties. While the median sales price of a home in King County increased by 17% from August 2004 to August 2005, median sales prices rose even more dramatically in Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap Counties (21 – 24%). Low interest rates combined with fewer homes on the market account for the increase in prices. Also noteworthy is the shortened length of time a home stayed on the market - approximately 7 days less than a year ago for all of the counties mentioned above.

What does this all mean? For one thing, it’s an ideal time for sellers (higher prices, shorter time on the market, and lots of demand), but it’s tougher on buyers. Higher prices, no doubt, force many buyers to purchase homes farther and farther away from Seattle, in areas where affordability may not be an issue. But that affordability comes with a different kind of price tag: long commutes mean higher stress, more pollution, and more burden on the infrastructure.

Click here for The Seattle Times summary of the report.

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ShackPrices.com - a powerful new online tool for evaluating comparable prices

Published by Stuart on August 30, 2005 in Reference. Closed

Full Disclosure: ShackPrices.com was created by a friend of ours. We’d think the site was wicked cool even if it hadn’t been.

We’re pleased and honored to be among the first to let you know about a new online tool available to home buyers and sellers in Seattle and King County. ShackPrices.com uses an interactive Google Map to display historical sales data for area homes. The site is still in beta, and the authors warn that the sales data should still be considered “riddled with flaws and inaccuracies,” but the promise of ShackPrices is enormous.

When you first load up the site, you’ll see a map of King County with icons representing houses that have been sold in the area within the last three months. Using the drop-down boxes on the side of the page, you can customize the search criteria to your liking. Once the map has been refreshed, just click on a house icon to display the most recent sales date, the purchase price, and other vital statistics. Links in the dialog bubble also let you view the sales history, or send you off-site for more information about the property and surrounding area.

On the whole, ShackPrices.com’s interface is clean and intuitive, and the design is well thought-out. There are a couple kinks to work out, though. For example, the median price display on the top center of the page is confusing. It seems to reflect the median price of the houses displayed on the map, not necessarily the houses reflected in your search criteria. So if you zoom in on a house, the median price changes, a fact a casual observer might miss.

However, such glitches are to be expected in an early release of a new tool, and the main features of the site work beautifully. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to visit the site and leave the developers some feedback. We’ll be keeping an eye on how the site progresses. We’re sure that, in time, ShackPrices.com will become an indispensable tool for anyone in the market for a home.

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Does Remodeling Pay?

Published by Louise on August 2, 2005 in Selling. Closed

I’m often asked by clients whether they should invest in remodeling their current home or sell it and “move up” to a bigger, better house. Here’s an article from The Real Estate Journal that addresses some of the finer points of that question. Keep in mind that the figures the article cites for recouped costs can vary greatly from one market to the next. A real estate agent can provide a market analysis of the current market value of your home, as well as an estimate of market value once remodeling is completed.

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The Price of Selling Your Home

Published by Louise on August 1, 2005 in Selling. Closed

First-time sellers take note. Sunday’s Seattle Times ran an article by Ilyce Glink outlining potential closing costs for sellers (also available here, at the author’s website). Not all of the items mentioned apply to Washington residents, however many of them do. A good rule of thumb to remember is that it can cost up to 9% of the purchase price to sell your home (when listing with a full service real estate brokerage): generally 6% for both the listing and buyer’s agents’ commissions, 1.78% excise tax, and other costs such as title insurance and escrow company fees. Remember, though: that 9% does not include any mortgage pay offs, home equity lines of credit, or credits paid to the buyer.

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