Tri-Cities WA Real Estate News by Don Havre

Living in the Country

Many home buyers prefer the larger lots for a sense of space or privacy. While many buyers prefer the larger lots, the city governments are encouraging developers to build smaller lots. The more homes an area has, the more tax revenue that can be collected. This dilemma is causing the larger lots to be found just outside city limits. The trade off for home owners is that city services are normally not found in the county areas. Such services include sewer and potable water. Cable TV and natural gas may not be available as well. County residents seem to be OK with this arrangement. Most frequently they have either a private well or a community water system. Satellite TV replaces cable. Propane replaces natural gas and septic systems replace city sewers. While propane may be suitable for cooking and fireplaces, it doesn’t seem to be economical for general heating. ..(read more)

Weekly Market Updates Assist Buyers and Sellers

I recently attended a course presented Denise Lones of The Lones Group. Denise specializes in providing market data research. She believes that in a turbulent market, agents should be doing weekly updates of market activity for all listings. Her technique is to divide the market into price ranges and then calculate a percentage by dividing the pending sales by the total listings. The result provides a percentage figure that assist identifying not only the direction of the market, but also its strength. A percentage of 0 to 45% is considered a buyer’s market, 45% to 55% a balanced market and 55% to 100% a seller’s market. Using this data and its updates, allows sellers and buyers make more logical decisions in the market place. The Havre Team will be adopting this technique for the benefit of our clients. To listen to November’s Podcast and four techniques to take advantage in today’s market click here ..(read more)

November 2008 Tri-Cities WA Market Update

Our market is showing a typical pattern during the start of the 4th quarter. Our sales are decreasing and we are starting to experience an increase in inventory. Our pending sales for October resemble the stats for Dec of 2007. December is frequently our slowest month of the year. It looks like our market is getting a little soft earlier this year. Our median sales price of $172,000 is nearly identical to a year ago. $225,000 and below our market is most active while homes above $375,000 seem to have fewer buyers. Twenty five percent of our inventory continues to be new homes.

How do you Find a Good Buyer's Agent?

The real estate business is very fluid. By that I mean agents are constantly entering the business and leaving after a few years. Agents leave the business for a variety of reason. It is very difficult business for those raising small children who require routine in their daily lives. With this fluidity, how does one find a “buyers agent” who can represent the interests of the buyer well? First I recommend that you find an agent who has been active in the market place for at least two years. Many times I have seen agents represent buyers who just moved to the community. Many of these agents know little about market values, trends and potential troublesome areas. Second, I would then eliminate agents who are representing builders. Agents who represent builders frequently have a primary allegiance to builders first and other clients second. Third, look for someone with strong negotiating skills and a ..(read more)

The Media Frequently Listens to the Wrong Source

Two weeks ago I attended a Realtors’ Educational Conference. During one of the presentations, the instructor was informing us of the challenging working in today’s market. As she continued to explain our market, I interpreted her to inform her that the Tri-Cities market did not correspond to her representation. I thought about his situation following the conference and realized that the “media” frequently listens to the wrong source. Real estate is a measured by what is happening in the local market and one must review the statistics. While many areas in the Pacific North West are experiencing rising inventories with “major” price adjustments, the Tri-Cities inventory is actually slightly less than it was one year ago. Our average sale prices have increased slightly. Our strong new home construction market is contributing to this fact; however we are experiencing some softness in the resale market. ..(read more)

A Power of Attorney May Be Advised

During the last couple weeks, I have had real estate transactions dealing with couples who are in t he process of getting divorce. As unfortunate as this situation is, the situation causes a real estate transaction to become more complex. As a younger real estate agent, I learned a lesson pertaining to Washington State’s community property law. Specifically, I had an open house that resulted in two separate buyers for the home. One was a couple who had a property to sell as a condition of sale and the other buyer, a “single” gentleman, who was willing to pay cash for the home. Since both were offering asking price, the seller accepted the cash offer. A title search revealed the single gentleman was married to a lady who was in a mental institution. The buyer did not have a power of attorney from his wife nor could his wife provide one because she was not legally competent. Without a valid power ..(read more)

Many Builders Offering Incentives to New Home Buyers

According to “Broker Agent Professional” home builders are providing incentives to purchase their products.   Among the most popular are
Providing a discount to those who serve in the military or civil service.   Many builders are offering $5,000 discount to those in uniform
Lowering the asking price on “spec homes”.   Builders with larger inventories and debt service payments are lowering the price to reduce their overhead costs.

Incentives are being tied to Builder’s Mortgage Companies. Many builders have ownership interests in the mortgage company they recommend. Builders with such relationships are paying closing costs and up to one year of home owner association fees.
Premium lot prices are being reduced. More desirable lots may no longer have an increased price associated with them.

..(read more)

October 2008 Housing Update Report

While many markets are experiencing increased inventory as a result of fewer sales, the Tri-Cities inventory has been reasonably stable. Our total homes for sale are only 13 more homes than we had a year ago at this time. Our September sales are reflecting a 35% drop from a year ago. It would appear that with our strong economy, fewer home owners are placing their homes on the market; thereby creating a stable inventory of homes for sale. Homes priced less than $225,000 are in strongest demand; while homes over $325,000 are facing severe competition. It is interesting to note that our average and median sale prices continue to increase. This is most likely due to the large number of new homes being sold. Approximately 23% of our homes offered “for sale” are new construction.

Tri-City Area Weather

As storms pass through the SE portion of the United States, we have to consider ourselves blessed with the Tri-Cities area weather. Our weather has been nearly perfect this month. In addition, we do not have hurricanes, earth quakes, floods or tornadoes. We do not have temperatures exceeding 110 degrees for months or temperatures dropping below zero. Occasionally we will have a wind storm that lasts a few hours. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have had to evacuate their homes.

Setember 2008 Market Update

Our inventory has been fairly constant for the last three months hovering around 1400 homes available for sale and about 24% is new construction. Our sales continue to show some softness with sales for the month of August at 231 homes which is about 20% fewer than the month prior. In fact August sales resemble sales in December of 2007. Our median price has dropped to $168,000; down about $10,000 from the month prior. This market is excellent for home buyers and more of a challenge for homes sellers. Homes priced above $325,000 have the most competition and could be called a buyer’s market above $325,000.

What's the Standard Housing Markup Price?

Frequently I am asked what the standard markup is for housing prices. This question makes the assumption that home seller understand the true market value of their home and collectively home sellers mark homes up “x” percent above the market value. The reality of the situation is that based upon information provided, some home sellers may know within a few thousand dollars the market value of their homes. Many home sellers do not know the market value and others refuse to believe the data reference market value of their homes. Others base their asking price on a home that is for sale in their neighborhood. Mix with these variables seasonal variations and local economic conditions. The bottom line is that the market value is what most who are looking for similar type homes would be willing to pay. To identify a range, one has to look at similar recent comparable sales and make appropriate adjustments. Then one has to ..(read more)

The Tri-Cities Is an Great Place to Retire!

Summer is nearly over. School is in session this week and college football games start Saturday. One trend that I am beginning to see is that many seniors are being attracted to the southern climates of Arizona and New Mexico as retirement locations. Once there, they begin to reevaluation their decisions. As one person stated, I did not realize that it is over 100 degrees for over 100 days each year. One can play golf more days comfortably each year in the Tri-Cities than many southern areas. Another retiree informed me that it is simply too hot to raise a garden. Gardening is her passion. If you are considering retiring, I recommend you evaluate the four seasons of the Tri-Cities and see if our area maybe a better choice.

Tri-Cities, WA August 2008 Real Estate Market Report

Our market is showing signs of weakness during the last month. Our sales from June to July 2008 dropped 32%. This is the largest drop in sales that I have personally seen during a one month period. When compared to last year at the same month, the sales for July 2008 are 40% less. The new lending rules that went into effect during April 2008 maybe having an impact upon our home sales. I personally believe that our number one issue is that we have plenty of home buyers but they are unable to purchase because they own homes elsewhere. Homes priced above $325,000 in the Tri-Cities are in excess supply. It may take a few months for the more expensive homes to fall into alignment with the demand.

Tri-Cities Experiences Softer Real Estate Sales July 2008

Our market sales for July 2008 were softer than most expected. Our total sales through the multiple listing service were 221 homes. This figure is 32% lower than the previous month and 40% lower than the same time last year. Our pending sales were 175 homes which indicated a drop of 17% from the previous month. These figures imply that unless our sales volume increase, we should start to experience an increase in inventory. We only had a slight increase from June to July 2008. From my perspective our economy continues to be strong. We seemed to be adversely affected by external forces such as changing lending rules and the soft real estate market in other regions of the US. Some local companies are having difficulties hiring skilled professionals because the potential employees cannot sell their existing homes to make the transition. One of our strengths in the US economy has been the relative fluid work force. When one area has a higher demand ..(read more)

Washington State 2007 Housing Statistics

Here are some interesting housing statistics for the year 2007 in Washington State. The median age of first time home buyers was 31 years of age. The median income of home buyers was $73,900. Sixty-two percent of home buyers indicated that they had no children under the age of 18. Twenty-one percent of the home buyers were single females and six percent were single males. First time home buyers accounted for 41 percent of the total sales in Washington State. Twenty-five percent of home buyers purchased newly built homes. Seventy-two percent of the homes sold were single family dwellings. The median price of homes purchased was $300,000 The typical home buyer purchased a home 1790 square feet in size. These statistics further emphasize what a good value we have in our housing market.