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I n the last few weeks we’ve seen an uptick in Buyer activity especially in the entry level home and investment home arena. There have been 23 homes under $300,000 go pending in Skagit County since 3/17/09 and that’s a huge number considering in December we had 34 the whole month, January had 51, February saw 71 and so far in March we are at 60 pending sales under $300,000. The combination of low interest rates, some hitting 4.5% fixed for 30 years, soft prices, high inventory and tax credits is moving a good number of folks from the sidelines to homeownership. All of the above conditions are temporary and when they are gone it will be some time before we see this same mix of circumstances again. If you have any thought of entering the homeownership market, and feel like your job is stable, I’d suggest going out and seeing what you can buy and speaking with your lender of choice to see what advantages today’s financial markets offer. Read this article from the Seattle Times printed this last weekend, it’s spot on.
Anacortes Spring Wine Festival
M ark your calendars, this April 11th from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce sponsored Anacortes Spring Wine Festival will be held at the Port Warehouse in Old Town Anacortes. This festival featuring 22 regional wineries including Sleight of Hand, Andrew Will, Woodward Canyon and my favorite Dunham Cellars; I can taste the Double River Syrah now! For a complete list of wineries click here. This great line up of twenty two wineries and will be accompanied by six local restaurants serving up an array of great appetizers for those tasting the fruit of the vine. The participating restaurants are; Star Bar, Café Adrift (Check out the remodel – looking good!), Cameron’s, Deception Pass Café, Bellissima Trattoria, and Randys Pier 61.
After the event, many of the participating restaurants, plus the Majestic Inn & Spa will be offering winemaker dinners pairing some of these fine wines, with special menus. Check with your favorite chef to see what culinary delight they plan, and be sure to make reservations as this event will likely fill the town.
Tickets to the festival can be purchased at the Chamber office, Compass Wines, or any of the participating restaurants.
Obama Launches Housing Plan
I f you are in danger of foreclosure go to this website now and check out the options that may be available to you. You can check to see if you qualify for either a modification of your current loan, or a refinance which previously you may not have qualified for due to either loss of income, or loss of value in your home. Banks are just now getting this information, so they may not be ready for your inquiry once you’ve found that you may qualify – but try to get yourself at the head of the line rather than wait for the Banks to catch up. Remember, that when dealing with foreclosure and credit issues, contact the creditor sooner rather than later.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Report
T he Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and a few other banks, put out its quarterly report on our nations housing the other day and there were a few interesting points I’d like to share. Washington State ranked 39th in appreciation with a loss of -7.42% in values over the last 12 months, -5.05% in the last quarter yet still showed a gain of 40.67% in the last five year period and a whopping 159.02% since the agency began tracking in the first quarter of 1991. So if you bought a $200,000 house in Washington State in 1991, on average it would be worth $518,040 today; not a bad return! These numbers were taken from the FHFA’s purchase only House Price Index which covers new purchase loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, these account for about 40% of all outstanding loans and this index gives us a broad measure of the movement of single family home prices in specific geographic areas.
Prices fell in 44 states and Washington DC, and price decreases exceeded 5% in 22 states over the last four quarters and exceeded 10% in 8 states. Prices in the Mount Vernon – Anacortes metro area ranked (more…)
Market Update
S kagit County wide the number of residential listings have gone down from a July 2008 high of 1290 to 933 in January of 2009, pending sales have increased from 50 in November of ’08 to 85 this January which is slightly less than the 97 pendings we saw a year ago in January of 2008. We had 50 closed sales this January in Skagit County versus 65 a year ago. So a total drop of 23% in solds January 2009 over January 2008. These are strictly single family residential numbers, not including condominiums.
How does Anacortes compare? Inventory has decreased since a high of 309 single family residential listings in August of 2008 down to 215 this January, which is actually up just a hair over January 2008. Solds are up 50% however over our 2008 numbers, but that still isn’t saying much as we only had 9 this year, compared to 6 in January of 2008. To put that in perspective we have (more…)
The Truth About The Housing Market
I found this an interesting read and thought I’d share; it’s an article from Today on some myths about our housing market by Barbara Corcoran.
The Truth About The Housing Market:
In today’s uncertain market, fear runs rampant on both the buying and selling sides of the fence. Many myths need debunking. Here are five untruths held by buyers, and five held by sellers.
Buyer myth No. 1: The longer the house is on the market, the more you can negotiate.
When buyers ask, “How long has this property been on the market?”, they think “six months” means they can negotiate the price down. It more often means the seller is stubbornly holding on to their price.
Buyer myth No. 2: The sellers today are desperate.
Most aren’t. Always ask why the sellers are selling. It’s the key to finding how motivated and anxious they are. “I’m being transferred to Dallas” is a very different answer than “We’d like to find something bigger.” The first homeowner is hot to trot.
Buyer myth No. 3: You can’t buy a home today (more…)
Anthony’s in Anacortes?
T he Port of Anacortes has put out it’s second Request For Proposal for development at the marina and Anthony’s was the only viable proposal that was returned. The first Request For Proposal only brought two; neither panned out. Anthony’s, started in Kirkland in the 70’s, also owns several other restaurants all focusing on fresh seafood. No news on what name Anthony’s would operate under if this comes to fruition, but one can guess that regardless Anacortes would get a nice new restaurant on the water, or at least within a stones throw, and that would be great for our town.
First Friday Art Walk!
G et out on the town and into some great galleries this Friday evening for the First Friday Art Walk. The galleries are open, and so are some wonderful restaurants, making the first Friday of each month a fun time in Old Town Anacortes! The Art Walk starts at 6:00 PM, come see some amazing local art and join the fun.
New Homebuyer Tax Break Approved Today! – read update at end of article
T he Senate just ok’d a new tax break of up to $15,000 to homebuyers in hopes of stimulating the real estate sector of our economy. This proposal will allow a tax credit of 10% of the value of a home, up to $15,000, for both new and existing residences. Currently the only tax break available was one up to $7,500 and only for first time homebuyers. Good news I’d say for both those shopping for a new home, and those hoping to sell! This proposed plan can still be changed, or even removed from the stimulus plan over the next week as it makes it’s way through congress, hopefully though that won’t happen and we’ll get a nice shot in the homebuyer arm.
UPDATE 02/12 In the latest version, which looks like the one that will make it through, the $15,000 is cut down to $8,000 and will only be for first time homebuyers. Still, a great credit for those buying homes, and can put some serious money in a buyers pockets over a few years time as it will be allowed to be spread over a few years if your income tax is less than $8,000.
Great values in new construction!
G reat values in Chaffey’s newest neighborhood, The Woods at Sunset Cove, located on the north west side of beautiful Fidalgo Island. Lot #3 is now $459,950 with all the detailed, quality finishes that Chaffey is known for. Ready and waiting, Chaffey’s popular “The Fairmont” plan with 2 beds, den with French doors and 2 full baths has been recently completed. A bonus room makes this the perfect floor plan, relax on the covered porch…you’re home! See some photo’s here, and then stop by and see it Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 12-5 or call for an appointment to view this exciting, new neighborhood!
