Get Real Tacoma

Clover Creek Condos

Ok, so these aren’t in Downtown Tacoma- but they are exactly 10 minutes commute from Downtown Tacoma.  If you work at McChord and are looking for something that’s close to work and not too far from civilization call your Realtor, (or call me!) and check these out.  They range from $164,900-$169,900- which puts your monthly payment going VA at about $1,200/mo with everything- even insurance.

Here’s a link to the listing.

Well priced Stadium / North Slope condos are moving...

Ah Stadium. Ah North Slope. So lovely. So fancy, and so far this year…. so busy with closed condos.  The 98403 has seen 22 closed condos sold so far this year, (5 of those in the past 3 weeks) ranging in price from $105,000 for a 471 square foot studio to $946,000 for a 2 bedroom 2.5 bath at 302 N Stadium Way.

The average number of days on market were brutal, at 391 days, selling for an average of 95% of their listed price at the time of sale.  There are currently 5 pending condo sales.

Here’s what’s selling…

Read the rest of this entry »

Everyone's gossiping about Downtown Tacoma Condos These Days

Everywhere I go these days, people are asking about the Downtown Tacoma real estate market. “It seems like it’s picking up! Is it picking up?”  The answer is, it depends on the price range and it depends on where we’re talking about.  Over the next couple days I’m going to talk Tacoma (as usual) starting with Downtown Tacoma Condos in 98402.

Right now there are 11 pending condos, half of those are at 505 Broadway, which has been rewarded for its aggressive price reductions with lots of closed sales. It would be great to see The Roberson and The Esplanade (once it’s done being forclosed on and relists as bank owned foreclosures or whatever they decide to do) follow 505 Broadway’s lead and start pricing to sell.

So far this year there are 21 closed condo sales. The median sale price of a condo in downtown Tacoma is $308,415 for 1,214 square feet with a low price of $131,000 for a studio at Cliff Street Lofts and a high of $742,650 for 1,919 square foot palace at 505 Broadway.  Here’s the breakdown:

Read the rest of this entry »

The $8,000 Tax Credit Expires November 30th 2009

With the $8,000 tax credit scheduled to end Nov. 30, the number of home buyers looking to take advantage of the credit (as well as the historically low prices and low interest rates) is starting to increase as the year winds down, especially as we start seeing glimmers of an economic upturn for the real estate market. If you’ve been waiting for the right window of opportunity to purchase your first home, (or put your home on the market) this might be the time. I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to call me or email me any time. For more information on the Tax Credit, visit http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/faq.php.

Before I became a Realtor, I was a buyer.  I bought 2 houses before I became licensed, and I remember obsessively searching on different real estate companies websites.  It was always a struggle to sort through their layers of branding, “featured listings”, and mandatory sign-up sheets.   My fabulous Realtor (and now Real Estate BFF) Craig Bergstrom would find houses for me based on my criteria.  As a buyer on a budget, my criteria was changing constantly, and I loved searching through all the listings myself.

These days buyers have so many great home search sites beyond those offered by real estate companies.  I recommend Trulia to my clients, but there are many others.  My #1 Client Matt just sent me this article about using Google Maps in your real estate search, which I thought was fantastic.

What are some other sites that you have used successfully?

Tacoma's Future

No one can predict the future, but when a city the size of Tacoma, (often in the shadow of larger northwest cities when it comes to real estate reporting) is declared the best bet for price appreciation from 2008-2013, it’s hard not to be flattered and excited.

This report was put out by Moodys based on information in the Case-Shiller Index.

10 Best Markets:

10 Worst Markets:

Source: Fiserv, Moody’s Economy.com

I live in Tacoma and I love this city.  Nothing would make me happier than seeing that kind of appreciation.  Regardless of how much stock you put in the Case-Shiller Index, it’s great to see good things said about Tacoma.  Go back and look, I didn’t see the word “Seattle” anywhere in that article…

For Discussion check out Exit133.

Via @SustainableMBA

Allenmore Ridge Condos in Tacoma

I visited this foreclosure a few months ago with a buyer of mine who had been looking at another unit in the building. At the time, the other unit was priced lower than anything had been at Allenmore Ridge, at $225,000.

This unit was priced at $185,000, but they reduced it to $160,000 $129,000.  The building doesn’t go FHA, so you have to have 20% down.  That would put your payment (including HOA dues) around $1200/month with taxes, insurance, etc.  HOA dues here include landscaping, earthquake insurance, Water, Sewer, and Garbage.

I love that it’s huge (1551 sq ft), with a great view of the golf course.  Also, it has more storage than any condo I’ve ever seen.

The condo is listed with Robert Tourney at Remax.

UPDATE:  Price has been reduced to $129,000 due to the reasons stated in the comments below- this has probably gotta be paid for with cash, folks.

A little bit busy...

Every full-time Realtor I know is swamped right now.  Don’t even get me started on the loan officers.  Ask anyone in the Real Estate business right now how things are going and you are likely to hear “I’m busy! Gha!”

So, if anyone is wondering why my posting has been lax this past month or so, it is because every buyer and seller on the planet decided to start making deals and the result has been a very heavy workload.

Enough with the excuses! On to some real numbers for Downtown Tacoma Real Estate. Read the rest of this entry »