Get Real Tacoma

Well, winter is has truly arrived.  While we have not yet received our first blanketing of snowy white stuff we have lots and lots of wintertime darkness.  This affects the way homes are shown in a big way.  I was reading this post by a fellow Realtor Blogger Teresa Boardman in St Paul Minnesota, and thought I would add some of my own thoughts.

With so many vacant, distressed, and foreclosed homes on the market, this often means finding homes that have no no heat or power on at all.  If you look at these homes anytime after 4:30pm, it’s probably going to be difficult to see much.

Buyers:  Bring a flashlight.  One of my lovely #1 clients gifted me a fancy Maglite for looking at foreclosures (Thanks, Lisa!) and it has been the greatest thing ever.  You, your Realtor, and anyone else who comes along should each have their own.  Most banks do very little to make sure these homes (some of which are halfway through a remodel and missing important things like walls and floors) are totally safe- and the added problem of darkness can make holes in the floor, nails, and various other dangers difficult to see.

Sellers:  I know this is not the greenest suggestion, but leave some lights on.  It always makes a positive impression on a buyer when you pull up to a house and it looks warm and inviting.  I’m not saying every single light in every room in the house must be on (though that is always nice) but turning the Living Room, Kitchen, and Hallway lights on goes a long way to making the house seem bright and friendly on a dark evening.  Also, try to make sure the temperature is above 60 degrees. As a lady who is always cold, I’d love it to be above 65 degrees.  This is especially important if the house is vacant or if you are away on a trip.  Buyers just don’t linger or pay close attention to details in homes that are freezing cold.  If they are racing through in order to get back to heated seats in the car- you are losing out.  Turn on the heat! Turn on the lights!

How to Finance the Fixer?

Some people want to buy a house in perfect shape. Other people see a house in disrepair and can imagine it reborn, remodeled, and tailored to their specific needs and tastes.   I confess to being in the latter group, I tend to get very excited about well priced homes that need fixing.

The problem with this (as anyone who has ever done a home inspection or had an appraisal will tell you) is that banks generally only like to loan money on houses that are all in one piece!   There is a way to finance your dreams. Read the rest of this entry »

 As of today, there are 1,987 houses and condos for sale in Tacoma.  The median size is 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms 1,561 square feet.  The median list price is $239,950.

There are currently 309 Pending Sales in Tacoma, giving us a city wide sales ratio of 15%.  A balanced market is around 50%.  Less than 50% is a buyers market.  

The median listed price (not what they sold for mind you, we won’t know that until they close) of houses that are pending is $209,950. That means houses that are getting offers are 30k lower than the median price.  The buyers that are out there are looking for deals.

When we look at what sold in the past 9 days, it’s easy to see why they’re trying to wheel and deal.  This week 12 houses and 1 condo sold in Tacoma.  Of the 12 houses, 8 of them were BANK OWNED FORECLOSURES.  Another 2 were new construction.  Banks and builders generally have a greater ability than your average seller to wheel and deal.  The median size on sold houses was 3 bedrooms, 1.5 Baths 1,348 square feet.  The median price? $169,900.  That means that for the first week of 2009, the median sold price is 70k lower than the median listed price, and 40k lower than the median pending price.

This Bank Foreclosure sold for $55,000

For me and almost everyone I know, this was the week of the cold. Myself, my friends, my clients, we all coughed and blew our noses through this week.  Fortunately, that didn’t stop work from getting done.  My clients wrote offers on 2 houses this week, and it looks like the rest of Tacoma found time to do some business as well.

24 Houses and 5 Condos sold this week! They ranged in price from $55,000 for this bank owned tear-down to $519,125 for a 5 bedroom 3 bath 3,711 square foot house with a view of the Narrows Bridge.

The houses averaged 159 days on the market.  The condos averaged 96 days on the market.  Both houses and condos sold for 94% of their currently listed price.  The median sold price on houses was $207,000 and $222,000 for condos.

What I find most interesting is that 6 of the properties sold this week were bank owned forclosures and 2 were short sales. Both of the contracts I wrote for clients this week were for foreclosures. That was one third of all the sales in Tacoma this week. The high number of foreclosures is one of the biggest factors in the lower prices we are experiencing- so getting those sold and off the market is both good for communities (who likes living next to a foreclosed house?) and also good for helping us return to a more balanced marketplace for houses.

Remember that this is JUST for the City of Tacoma, and JUST for this week. Stay tuned for New Years Eve, when I break down the stats for the entire year!