Get Real Tacoma

“Now is the time to buy.”  This is something that I hear a lot out there.  Most people look at the low interest rates and  huge price redutions going on in the housing market and say this.   In my opinion, whether or not it’s the time to buy depends entirely on your situation.  Are you planning to move in the next 2 years?  How secure is your job?  Is your family going to be growing or shrinking in the next couple years?   

Trulia has a great rent vs. buy calculator that can help you answer the question for yourself here.  These caluculators are fun and can be a great jumping off point for starting your decision making process.

Good news for people looking to finance homes that cost more than your average house.

Effective this coming Monday, March 9th,  FHA and Super Conforming loan limits go back to 2008 levels! That means that in Pierce County the limit is now $567,500.  This is great news for sellers in that price range as well, as it means it will be easier for buyers to finance your $550,000 house!

King and Snohomish County have the same FHA limit ($567,500), Kitsap county is $475,000, Mason is $310,000 and Thurston is $361,250.

Thanks to Kevin Stirret Jones at Bank of America for the tip.

A friend of mine recently told me that she just closed on a 220k bank owned house in Arizona, 4 bedrooms, 4000 square feet, complete with a pool.  She wants to retire there.  She’s 35…

Anyways, Arizona has seen a very large supply of bank owned homes on the market, and they’ve been dealing with them a bit longer than we have.  The things agents down there have learned can definetly be applied to purchasing foreclosed properties here in Tacoma.

Arizona Realtor Chuck Willman wrote a great post on making offers on bank owned houses. Check it out.

Tacoma Public Utilities is offering another free class on energy efficiency. This one takes place tomorrow, Saturday January 24th.

This class will focus on Heat Pumps:

Learn how heat pumps can efficiently heat and cool your home, save you money and improve your home’s air quality.  Tacoma Power can provide rebates for hear pump systems going in a new or older home.

People who have heat pumps always seem to love them.  I think I will actually go to this one!  More information on the Tacoma Power site.

The Walker

According to Jake over at Tacoma Untapped, the Walker Condos have shown up for rent on Craigslist.  Last time I checked there were more than 130 condos on the market downtown, most of them new construction.

This is good news for anyone trying to sell or planning to list anytime soon.  Since only 25 out of those 130+ condos listed in downtown Tacoma sold last year, we are going to need rent or sell quite a few more before the downtown condo market can be considered anything close to resembling “balanced”.

Also reported on Exit133.