Properties in North Central Washington, Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Cashmere, Waterville, Malaga and Rock Island

Buyer or seller I think this will be a good year for both in the context of the last three years! Rates are great and prices are bouncing off of what I think is the bottom... though there is still a lot of inventory out there. 

But if you are buying do not forget the advantages of owning a home over renting. Here is a great article that I think bears checking out...

  http://lowes.inman.com/newsletter/2012/01/09/news/171145

Tax advantages can make you house less expensive than you think and cheaper to own...

With current interest rates at almost all time lows and with a fair numbers of foreclosures on the market the opportunity to buy a home in and around Wenatchee is excellent. 

About 70% of the Wenatchee houses that are listed are under $300,000. Many are between $150,000 and $225,000. Because of our location many of these Wenatchee houses that are for sale are able to meet USDA requirements and buyers can even get 100% financing!

Point is there are some great opportunities for home buyers in Chelan and Douglas Counties.

But for sellers there are opportunities too. Yes you may not get the price you would have a couple years ago. BUT when you turn around and re-purchase you will be dealing with another seller that is going through the same process. Since most homes sellers in Wenatchee buy up about 150 % the 10% discount you may have had in selling your home will transalte into even larger dollars if you are buying up in price.

So a good time to be entering the Wenatchee real estate market and a good time to be making a move... 

My favorite time of year is late October and early November. Just something about the season makes it feel "right".

It is also a good time to be buying and selling. Many sellers are anxious to sell before the winter snows. Many buyers are motivated to get moved in for Thanksgiving or the Christmas Holidays.Seasonally we come together as family and friends so too seasonally we come together to buy and sell homes in the Wenatchee area.

In and around Wenatchee and East Wenatchee there are homes selling at a decent clip and there is a large inventory of houses for sale. Right now, many buyers are tired of seeing the same old housing inventory and are looking for new homes and new opportunities to purchase their ideal home. So for people thinking about selling their home, it is a good time to bring your house onto the real estate market in Wenatchee.

So, if you are thinking of buying or selling a house or other property anywhere in Douglas or Chelan Counties give me a call.. I am here to help

About 70% of the sales in the Wenatchee housing market area this year have been under $250,000. With interest rates in some quarters being reported as low as 3.75 (note rate) for 30 year fixed I expect to see sales hold at a reasonable level through the end of the year.

But even with prices about 20% off of their highs and interest rates at all time lows a lot of people still feel that a homes is beyond their reach.

In our area if a couple has a combined income below $74,000 using USDA you can probably purchase a home with zero down and even get some or all of your earnest money back at closing. Buying a Wenatchee home under those circumstances has never been more affordable. This program is available for houses in Chelan and Douglas Counties with a couple of exceptions (primarily the city limits of Wenatchee and east Wenatchee)

This is great for people wanting to sell their Wenatchee or East Wenatchee house and it is a legitimate and affordable program which fits the income opportunities of the North central Washington home buying public.

Today we are heading into August. Wow the month has passed rapidly! At this point I find myself way ahead of last year. IN my business one major change is the average price of my sales have moved upward... that at a time when the average price of homes in Wenatchee has moved from around $250K in '07 to $199k today.

Of note in the news last week, Wenatchee was rated by AARP as the #5 place in the nation to retire to! Some of the features sited were relative cost of housing, medical facilities, arts, outdoors activities, transportation and on and on!

If you live here you probably already know all of this. If you are thinking of buying a home or a house in Wenatchee you may want to check this all out and you will find some very positive environmental and life style attributes to living in Wenatchee.

Plus, buying a house in Wenatchee you have the potential for no down financing with USDA and or VA. Wenatchee Houses are at some pretty affordable levels interest rates are very low and the Wenatchee valley housing inventory is great.

Give me a call if you want more information or if you want to buy or sell a house or other land or property in and around Wenatchee, Washington!

May seemed to fly away and here we are set on the verge of summer. Though I have to confess the weather has not been at all summer like! But eventually it will get here.

Around Wenatchee, people looking for home in the Wenatchee / East Wenatchee area seem to take the first part of summer as serious buying time. However once the last couple weeks of July and August hit, Lake Chelan and the Wenatchee mountains or just plain old vacation becomes more important. Then just prior to school and during the months of September and October the Wenatchee housing market comes roaring back. 

Point is, a large part of the selling season is still ahead of us. The number of units sold is running ahead of a year ago and the inventory is down slightly. So, if you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Wenatchee and the surrounding area it is still a very good time! Interest rates for home mortgages are very low and FHA or USDA (zero down) are excellent choices of financing for our housing market.

April is almost gone and the "BIG" event in the Wenatchee Valley is just days away. I am speaking of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival. Running through the next two weekends, it is arguably the largest single event in town. Filled with fun, food, entertainment and parades! If you haven't been to Wenatchee or the Wenatchee / East Wenatchee area this is a good time to come to town. Lots to see and do!

It is also a good time to do a little house hunting. If you have ever thought or are thinking abut buying or selling a home in Wenatchee it is a good time to take a look.

There is a good inventory with almost 900 residential homes listed for sale. With our average/mean sales price now under $200K there are also some bargains out there. Financing is available, some with little or no down. So that is a good thing too. In fact if you are awaiting prices to fall further the interest rates may mean the time to move is now. In November of 2010 if you qualified for a loan of $250,000 and decided to wait until prices dropped further. Well today prices are in general about 2% below last November or in the relative price range that means prices dropped somewhere between $2,00 and $4,000. Not bad. BUT that loan... well because of interest rates, you now qualify for $225,000. So you may have saved a little on price in your home purchase but your payment and eventual total payout has increased dramatically! 

Along with that change the number of houses selling in Wenatchee has increased above last years level by about 15-20%. So inventory is moving and the best buys are the ones that sell first. Owners interested in selling their homes are aware of this change and are starting to tighten up on the negotiations too... so the old saying may be true..."there is no time like the present".

My office has just joined the Northwest MLS. So clients selling their homes will now have their homes listed in both the NWMLS and our local (NCWMLS) multiple listing service! I turn there have always been a few properties in the Wenatchee area listed only in the NWMLS so our buyers will now have the ability to visit these properties and get information.

Adding the NWMLS adds about 26,000 agents to the pool pf agents that will be looking at our listings. More exposure is always a good thing for traffic and eventually sales! It also adds several thousand other sites where prospective buyers and sellers can view properties in the local area... also a good thing!

So, in short, a win win for local real estate!

For one it has just gotten easier. Our office has recently joined the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). The largest MLS in the state with something in the range of 75% of all properties now posted on it. This will give our clients selling homes better exposure and more marketing opportunity. For clients interested in buying homes in Wenatchee or East Wenatchee they will benefit too as there are always a few agents from outside our area who list properties here (FHA foreclosures for example) and up until now we have not had easy access to the listing and details. So we all win!

Now the market in general seems to be trying to find its own pace and direction. There are a lot of people looking. Not just local people either. In the last 10 days I have shown real estate to four different out of area buyers. Locally the home prices still hang in the low $200 range. In fact I have been tracking new pending home sales in the NCWMLS and they have almost all been below $230,000. But there are properties in the higher price ranges selling too so it is not all one way.

Home buyers seem to be taking their time. Asking for a lot and in general taking advantage of a buyers market. But as always, sellers who are ready to sell, have their homes ready and in good shape and realistically priced are seeing their homes move in under 120 days. 

Finally, REO ( real estate owned...bank owned properties) have continued to increase but not alarmingly. There are abut 30 such properties now listed in the Wenatchee/east Wenatchee area. They have had an effect on overall prices but as long as the numbers are in control the effect has not been devastating. 

Lacking a crystal ball it is pretty hard to say. But I know the following as of this date...

  1. Listing activity is strong

  2. Wenatchee Home Buying activity is strong to very strong. In fact I have so many buyers looking right now that I am showing every day!

  3. Wenatchee home buyers are not just looking. They are also buying. Since Feb 1, I have written three offers (one was accepted, one someone else got it and one we are still negotiating) and I have received two offers on properties I listed. I have an appointment to write another offer this weekend.

  4. Interest rates have been moving up. Still low historically speaking but moving up. In fact we have gone up about 1% from the lows a few weeks ago. Keep in mind, if you are qualified for a loan at $150,000 and rates move 1% (as they have) you are now qualified at $225,000... if you were waiting for prices to fall, well prices on the same home may now be $245,000 (actually they have not declined recently anything like that making the example even worse) but you can only purchase 225... you just lost $20,000 in purchasing power...

Inventory is growing. There are a lot of really great homes in all price ranges but the $100,000 to $250,000 price range for Wenatchee homes seems especially good right now. 

So far 2011 has started off pretty strong for people interested in buying or selling property in Wenatchee or east Wenatchee; lots of showings, a couple offers and listings to write too.  Match this up with January a year ago and I would have to say things look pretty good in the real estate world. But then there is the news…

 However even that contains some glimmer of better times ahead… not huge progress but enough to be a little optimistic:

1.      Interest rates continue very low and even if the increase will still be low.

2.      Housing inventory is pretty strong with a good selection for home buyers.

3.      If you are selling your home in the Wenatchee area even there you can find a glimmer… buyers are moving and making offers (I have been involved in three in the last four days).

However the same qualifications hold true… that is you must be intentional about selling. Just thinking about it is not enough. Plus you need to do all the things to your home to make it ready for sale; paint, cleaning and repairing. Buyers are asking for a lot but they are reasonable too. Seller paid closing costs are pretty much a fact of life (usually about 3% of asking price).

But buyers need to do their homework too, especially in the area of lending. Before writing an offer to purchase a home a prospective buyer must get a preapproval. In fact the farther along the process is the better. Unless you are dealing with a 10% or more down payment I do not recommend a conventional loan. FHA, VA and USDA can meet 85% of the needs in our area and are generally more liberal in qualification.

A recent blog in the Wenatchee World pretty well summed up the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee real estate sales through November 2010 (http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/weblogs/everyday-business/2010/dec/22/housing-news-still-not-so-cheery/ )

To summarize the Median and Average residential price has basically remained flat. The number of listings are up but Wenatchee home sales are down by roughly 50% from a year ago. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% of sales are under $250,000.

I tell people that if you want to sell (and you can sell) you need to 1) get all repairs done, 2) the house needs to be clean and ready to show, 3) you may want to consider staging (really encouraged) and 40 don't be afraid to consider an offer just because you don't think it is where it should be... most offers with a little give and take can become satisfactory purchases.

Buyers the best advice is be sure you have your financing all lined out. Once you get it don't do anything that will negatively effect your credit report until after you buy and remember while it is a buyers market, especially in some prices, that does not mean you can arbitrarily come up with a price be realistic. You may do very well price wise but it is best to have some basis for your offer.

Our market usually starts to wake up in late January and take off, relatively speaking in march. BUT THIS YEAR COULD BE DIFFERENT! Interest rates have started to move up and our market is around 20-30% off of its peak... an upward tick in interest of 1% could easily wipe out $25,000 in buying power and eliminate some of the price reductions a buyer might otherwise be able to take advantage of. 

For more information on the Wenatchee Housing Market and prices of homes in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee you might drop over to Trulia and check out listing and stats on the market 

http://www.trulia.com/profile/httptruliacomprofilejperrincornell/

Well December is just around the corner. I trust everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I know I did...lots of family, friends and food! (Perhaps too much of the latter). 

Anyway, as we move into the homestretch for 2010 I thought it a good idea to remind everyone that real estate in Wenatchee does sell in all twelve months. In many ways December is not a bad time to buy or sell a house... much of the competition is now shopworn and your new listing will stand out. Also many properties are at prices that reflect the market in August and so you will not only be fresh but well priced to the market. Buyers can have advantages too... some sellers are tired of being on the market, they look on the next couple months as being slow and a good aggressive, well written offer to purchase a home in Wenatchee or East Wenatchee just might meet with success it might not have gotten even a month ago.

Many agents also start to slow down during this period so an agent you find may easily be more dedicated and interested in performing for you the buyer or listing the sellers property.

All that said I started out talking about Thanksgiving. So to close I recently wrote a piece about Thanksgivings in my past in Wenatchee and pretty much around the world. If you are interested check it out in the Wenatchee World. Thanks for dropping by! Here is the link

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/nov/24/spaghetti-stuffed-turkey-and-other-holiday/

How can it possibly be November… the year has just flown by! An interesting year too; prices for Wenatchee homes and interest rates for buying homes are at historic lows! Usually, one will be low and the other isn’t. But, BOTH, together? A great opportunity to buy a house in the Valley; if you are a seller, a great opportunity to sell your Wenatchee or east Wenatchee home, then move up. Since most people move up about 125% in value, (if you take a 10% hit on a house at $175,000 you can probably pass along that much, at least , on a $250,000 house… hat is 17,500 vs 25,000. not bad!).

Actually our local market  (Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Cashmere, Malaga and Rock Island)has held fairly well through the year. We have seen some continued declines in home prices, especially in $400,000 and above) but in all not too bad. However home sellers be ware… you cannot overprice and hope to get sold. Also you simply have to be the best there is in your price range… clean, fixed up, ready to move in, if you are not… well you have a long wait!

Probably the toughest part is financing. Seems like every lender has their own unique requirements and the underwriting guidelines from FNMA, FHLMC or FHA are relics that the lenders start with but do their best to make more difficult. Since banks are sitting on something like 2 TRILLION in excess liquidity at some point they must break free. In a sense you can’t blame banks as they have everyone looking at them and they know that 4% interest rates for 30 years cannot hold out forever. So not wanting to get stuck holding a lot of low yield paper they sit and wait. Giving lip service to lending, at best, and being not interested at worst.

So, if you are interest in taking the plunge it may be a pretty good time… just be aware there are a few speed bumps… but not like a couple years ago!

I have been asked recently about the banks stopping the process while they review and also stopping purchase agreements that are in effect...or were.

If you are a buyer, the Bank or owner of the REO has to be able to pass some level of insurable title. The fact that they apparently short cut the process (in this case it is about the process not so much whether or not the property should have been foreclosed) and by so doing placed title in some question means it is difficult if not impossible to pass title until the process can be proven. Consequently they stop selling properties until they, banks, know.  Well and good.

But what about people that purchased properties earlier that were done in the same way. How good is the title policy? how good is the title? What about people buying today that had the rug pulled out from under them by the bank (owner of the property). Have they been harmed...fees, inspection, moving expense, having to rent because their house was sold, etc.

So though the argument is a bit like the old sophist argument of how manu angels can dance on the head of a pin. The effect is not. If you are interested I have written a little more on this topic on my blog at ActiveRain http://activerain.com/blogsview/1915188/foreclosure-whoa

I guess we need to wait...but other properties can still be bought and sold. So you can still buy or sell your house in Wenatchee... or anywhere else.

With rates gowing lower and with FHA set to raise their risk premium early next month, this may be a great time to take the plunge! You will get the advantage of low rates, lower FHA payments today and a good inventory of homes from which to choose.

BUT and this is a big one... you have to do your homework and be ready!

DOING YOUR HOMEWORK:

Know the market. get out to some opens houses, read the paper and check out Trulia, Zillow, Activerain and other sites to get a grasp of what is out there. That way when you find the right house and price you will know if it is priced correctly, ready for sale and you will have an idea of the potential shortcomings too! As they said in The Music Man... "gotta know the territory..

What can you afford? It is way too easy to sell someone something they can't afford. So take the time to go to at least two lenders, check out costs(!) and rates (not the same thing). Learn what you can afford and then match that against what you think. Many people are qualified for more than they really want to pay. If you are having a little sticker shock and you do not currently own a home have your tax person explain how you can save on taxes with a home and whether or not that can help you ease into a slightly pricier home by adjusting your witholding rate with your employer and creating more cash flow.

Get an advocate on your side: Advocate, spelled REALTOR! But not just any one... they come in all kinds. One that knows the market, one that has your interests in mind and one that has done a few deals. Beyond that it is a personal thing. Studies have repeatedly found that people that use an agent not only have less problems but also generally pay less than those that don't. But regardless, a good agent can save you time and errors... and both of those translate into money too.

Lastly... have a geat time and welcome to your new home!

So far this year, homes in Wenatchee have continued to sell at a modest pace. The Tax program helped a little too. But the market below $400K and especially below $300K has been quite active. Wenatchee housing sales above the $400K price point are happening but that market share is tough.

Almost 60 % of our housing and property sales have come from the price range of $150K to $250K. many of these types of properties are being sold FHA where the seller is asked to contribute to the closing costs (usually about 3% of sales price).

Yesterday, I was searching the MLS for properties between $180 and $230K. I found 150+ listings. So the buyers have a lot to pick from and can afford to be in a negotiating mood. Sellers on the other hand need to be sure their houses are priced right and almost as important, look ready to sell!

So the story here is ...lots of inventory, great buying opportunites and if you are selling be ready to sell and be the best you can be in your home sale price range.

Home buyers and sellers can find the Wenatchee real estate they are looking for and sell the homes they want to sell. But the market is tough and unforgiving, so be ready to be a serious real estate negotiator. It is not a market that supports off the wall pricing from either buyer or seller.

In our area, there are several programs that can provide a borrower with 100% financing. Here are a few:

1. VA. Been around for a long time and only available to veterans. But it provides the homebuyer with 100% financing. Additionally, credit score, while important, is not the main driver.

2. Washington State Housing Finance - First Time Home buyers: Much like an FHA loan these funds are available to people that are buying their dream house for the first time (at least in three years). It does require some classes and they may be taken on-line or in a live class. Additionally, several banks will make a loan for the 3% to 5% down payment making this a 100% loan.

3. USDA: There are two programs. One is offered through various lenders. It is currently out of money but will be refunded soon. The second is done by the USDA itself. This program is designed for lower income buyers wanting to live in rural areas. Both programs have limitations on location but in our area about 50% of the homes are available. Both loans will provide up to 100% financing.

Ok, so you are buying a house and one of the above still does not work for you? You have found a house in Wenatchee or in Douglas County or Chelan Couty. You are a little tight on income and want to buy. There is a special program through the Columbia Valley Housing that allows for up to a $25,000 grant that can be combined with one of the above programs to get the balance down and reduce payment or with a FHA or Conventional loan to get you into the house. The money may be used for downpayment assistence. If you live in the home long enough it may even be forgiven. Income limitations apply.

There are lot of programs out there for buyers that are interested, have verifiable income and can qualify. Give me a call and Ill help you find the lender that meets your individual needs.

Here is a list of useful links for information about Wenatchee, the Wenatchee valley, Chelan County and Douglas County

Local Paper www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/main/

Local Bank www.cashmerevalleybank.com

local Title Company www.northmeridiantitle.com

Douglas County www.douglascountywa.net

Chelan County www.co.chelan.wa.us

City of Wenatchee www.wenatcheewa.gov

East Wenatchee www.east-wenatchee.com

 E. Wenatchee Schools www.eastmont206.com

Chamber of Commerce www.wenatchee.org/

Wenatchee Visitors www.wenatcheevalley.org/

Data on Area www.city-data.com/city/Wenatchee-Washington.html

Wenatchee weather www.wunderground.com/

Wenatchee Arts www.pacwen.org/

Wenatchee Valley College www.wvc.edu/programs/

6/5/10

Here are a couple more links

Wenatchee medical Center  www.wvmedical.com 

Humane Society  www.wenatcheehumane.org/

Farmers Market  www.wenatcheefarmersmarket.com/

I often get calls from people wanting to buy foreclosed homes or properties or houses going to auction.  In MOST cases I tell people they are better served by letting the bank buy the property, then try to buy the house once the bank lists it. Often it is less expensive, you do not need cash and from a title standpoint safer.

Once forclosed are they a good buy? Houses in Wenatchee do not reflect a lot of foreclosure activity So the housing market has not declined much if at all because of REO (forclosed properties). But on an individual basis a forclosed property may be a bargain. BUT you need to check them out carefully, realize the owner (bank) is not too interested in working out any problems and financing may be difficult though usually not impossible. Also the people that owned the property may not have taken very good care of the home and often the bank will let the home sit for weeks or months before attempting to sell.

What about pre-foreclosures...these may be the best buy, though sometimes these houses will cause you to wonder what the bank is thinking. But the cautious word for short sale (pre-foreclosure) properties is hurry up and wait. I just got approval for one client on a short sale for a house we wrote the offer on last November 5, 2009. Approval came on April 20, 2010.

If you are interested in buying Wenatchee real estate, homes and properties contact me and I will be happy to help. If you are considering selling this is not a bad time for Wenatchee and East Wenatchee homes to list and sell. Since Jaunary 2010 in the first five months I have listed 7 Wenatchee or East Wenatchee homes and they have all gone pending (preliminary to sale) in less than 30 days! Give me a call!

If you are looking for a Wenatchee home there are a lot of real pluses in the housing market today. Houses in the Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area are generally at very late 2006 prices. There are a few exceptions.

Over the last twelve months the bulk of the new homes and existing homes sold have been in the $175,000 to $300.000 price range (actually about 60%). In part this has been driven by first time home buyers but NOT entirely.

Interest rates on a new loan are still in the sub five percent range. Home buyers will see these rates start to move probably sometime in late summer. Many forecasts have rates in mid six to seven percent range by year end. This may erode home buyers purchasing power.

At the present time there is an imbalance in housing inventory with something in the range of 650 residential homes on the market and sales in the seventy per month range, a buyer, entering the housing market today, has an almost unheard of double advantage... soft demand and low rates. A year from now we may look back and see our dollars went further today than almost any time in history. Of course there are many factors beyond our control at play and all bets could be off in the future. But for today it appears to be a good time.