Spokane ~ Birthday

Snow for my Birthday

So...it's my birthday. And, NO I did not wish for more snow. However, it is snowing big huge puffy flakes that are covering everything.

Snow Snow Snow

Two days ago we climbed up on our roof to clear some of the snow. Must have been at least 2 feet of snow up there, someplaces maybe 3 feet. Anyway we worked on that until we could not move our arms any more. We pushed off so much snow you could almost walk right off the roof onto snow.

Then, yesterday we had the hugest snow melt ever. It was at least 40 degrees outside and in the sunshine probably 50 degrees. I could even see concrete and asphalt. I wore shorts and a tee shirt and hit snowballs off a rug with my gap wedge.

Snowboarding

My son had a great idea though! He asked if he could snowboard off of the roof when we were done....I may just have to go home and borrow his board today. Now that actually sounds like a pretty good idea! Maybe I'm getting snow delirious.

Spokane - Golf On!

I know it is snowing...I've shovelled and shovelled and shovelled. I wish I was in the snowblower sales business this year because I could make a killing. You CANNOT find a snowblower in Spokane. You can get on a waiting list but trucks are having trouble getting here. Amazing.

So...what to do after shovelling? How Bout Some Golf

Spokane ~ Nothing Like A New Home

Memory Lane

I remember when my wife and I purchased our first "new home". Way back in 2000. Wow - have we made some changes to the home and property over the years!
First of all, the home was about halfway done when we first saw it...and get this ~ we were NOT interested in new construction. Ah, but love has a funny way of changing your mind. We fell in love with the floor plan, the neighborhood and the potential we had to make this home really ours!

We were able to "move some walls" to make some floor plan changes. Specifically, a larger archway from the entry to the, "then" dining room. Next we added windows in the kitchen, had the builder punch another archway/bar area into the living room and re-arrange cabinets. Since we did all this before the wiring, and plumbing was done..it was easy and did not cost any extra money.

I want to share with you the benefits of buying new construction. I never thought I would be in the market for new construction...but here I am 8 years later. And I'm quite happy! Hopefully you will enjoy my journey in creating our home, and maybe, it will inspire you to dream about your new home too.


Since Then...


Where do I begin. Let's go inside first. I think my wife has painted 1,000,000 times. And please note, all these changes have taken place over the last 8 years. We finished the basement, affectionately referred to as the "Man Den". Although the laundry room is down there...so guess who gets to do the laundry in the "Man Den". READ MORE

No Snow - Go To An Open House

No Snow

Whew...

December 3rd, 2008 and NO SNOW!! In fact, I'm looking out my window at blue skies here in Spokane. I may even play a little golf this weekend at one of our local courses that is still open for business...Check out ESMERELDA GOLF COURSE.

Open Houses

Back in April I posted a blog on Open Houses What would I have to do to get you to read it again?

Anyway, with the weather being so nice and incredible buying conditions...why not go check out some open houses? So far there are 78 homes being held open by Windermere Agents in the Spokane area this weekend. You can PREVIEW them HERE

Interest rates are still in the low 5% range...which gives you buyers incredible buying power. We toured new listings on the market yesterday and I was impressed with the pricing. Here is an example...and it just happens to be Open this weekend! 1/2 acre lot, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, shop in the back yard - that has heat...for $167,900!!

Wait...WHAT?!
I've been hearing all kinds of weird comments from buyers. Like, "I'll just wait until things get worse and then the government will give me a loan at 3% to buy a home". WHAT??? First of all, where did you hear that and second...how can you be sure things will get worse in housing in Spokane and how can you be sure that if you wait rates will still be in the low 5% range. Why not take advantage of real rates right now?!

Do yourself a favor, trust us...there are great buys in the marketplace right now. We've been trying to get the word out but CNN steals your attention with headlines like "real estate, worst ever" or something like that. Remember, there are areas in the US that are in bad shape. Spokane is plugging right along. Look at some of my previous posts for market data.

Open Houses are a great way to see, touch, smell and feel homes on the market. You can look at a thousand pictures on the net, but getting inside the home is the only way to really get a feel for it.

Take the time to ask your Windermere Realtor questions about the home, other homes in the neighborhood, school information, etc.

Hey, you can't go skiing so have fun, go see some Opens this weekend and considering buying a home.

OMG...I've received several e mails this morning from lenders indicating an impressive drop in mortgage rates today. The Fed made a announcement this morning that is directly HELPING BUYERS!

Interest Rates in the LOW 5's!!

I'm sure you all are thinking about Thanksgiving Dinner...but if you are a home buyer or home seller this is the best news we've heard in weeks!

I certainly will digest my T Day dinner much easier knowing rates are in the low 5% range. What exactly does this mean? Well, if you were to purchase a $200,000 home your principal and interest on a 30 year fixed loan at 6% would be $1,199.10 - at 5.25% your principal and interest on a 30 year fixed loan would be $1,104.41... a difference of $94.69 per month! This is assuming no downpayment. CLICK HERE and scroll down to calculate your payment by inputting your downpayment.

Ummm, I guess I'll say it again...the timing could not be better. Go Buy A Home.

Fun Windermere Real Estate Commercials

These are great Windermere Spots that I thought you would enjoy. Make sure your sound is turned on.

Spokane ~ Does Your Home Tell A Story?

Does Your Home Tell A Story?

Most of us have lots of memories of our home, whether we currently live in it or we remember the home(s) we've lived in. I have some amazing memories of my childhood home back in Hamilton, MT. I remember holidays, birthday parties, summer vacations, running down to the river to catch fiesty rainbow trout, crashing my bike, always getting along with my younger sister ( snicker ). Every time we go back to Hamilton, I just have to drive by my old home to see if the new owners have done anything with it. I also like to check out the neighbors and see what they have been up to! READ MORE

Welcome to my Blog

So...I've been blogging now for over a year..but in a different place. Please visit http://www.windermerespokanevalley.com/blog to see my previous posts.

I'm hoping to create more traffic to my blogs so I'm branching out into this format. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have or comments on Spokane Real Estate. I've also just started a new blog for New Construction in Spokane, WA. You can see it HERE.

Thank you for visiting and I hope to hear from you soon!

Carl

Spokane Real Estate Market Update

I'd like to start today's blog with a quote. Post a note if you would like to comment.

Here is quote from Glenn Crellin at Washington Center for Real Estate Research. You can view his entire October 30, 2008 presentation by clicking the link at the end of this posting. The quote below is about Housing Affordability in Spokane.

"In Spokane the typical home is affordable, with the current measure indicating a 22.1% cushion on the ability to afford a home. Now, the industry needs to convince consumers the time is ripe to buy without appearing self-serving. With the kinds of affordability numbers we saw in the first half of this decade it comes as no surprise that the market took off and prices surged. It wasnt irrational exuberance or unjustified lending driving the local market it was common sense!"

We are still selling homes in Spokane!

Here is the latest market data from the Spokane Association of Realtors. Please note that the average sales price compared to last year is only down 2.3%. Also, please note that inventory is coming down as well. I've noticed in our offices that we are not taking as many listings.

This is a good thing for you current sellers in the marketplace. Less competition for the buyers who are out there. For buyers who may be "waiting" to see if prices will continue to fall you may have missed the boat. I think we have stabilized as far as average sales price goes. Take a look at this: August 2008 average sales price $203,493, September 2008 average sales price $201,372 and October 2008 average sales price $201,797. Each of these months are pretty similar. You can look at previous posts to see the other months of the year.

As a side note, there have been 703 new construction homes sold through October 2008. This may be a surprise to some of you. The average sales price for new construction is $292,718. CLICK HERE for more new construction data.

October residential closed sales for site built/condo on less than one acre totaled 439 closed sales. This total is down 26 closed sales from September. The average sales price for October was $201,797 and the median sales price was $177,000.

Year to date sales total 4,364 closed sales through October compared to 6,006 through the same period last year.

The average sales price through October is $207,003 down 2.3% from one year ago. The median sales price through October is $184,700 compared to $186,000 over the same period last year.

Inventory for the second month in a row is down from the previous month 3,173 compared to 3,387.

New home sales reported to the SAR MLS totaled 79 for October up one over the total for September.

Here is a link to some interesting facts and figures regarding homeownership. CLICK HERE

And for those of you who like graphs and charts...take a look at this from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research. You will notice that Spokane and Washington in general our quite healthy and are not seeing the level of foreclosures that other parts of the county are. CLICK HERE