As we near the end of the year, it's time to take another quick look at how the real estate market fairs in comparison to previous years. The usual disclaimer applies that this information is gathered by me from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). So ... as of today, November 10, 2010, here's what the Auburn Real Estate Market reports for residential sales ... all Auburn addresses both in King and Pierce Counties: We're holding pretty close to previous months in that about 46% of closed sales are the result of distress situations, a bit higher than most of King County. To analyze this a bit further, it's necessary to turn to the official "statistics" as provided by the NWMLS. The following charts report only on the Auburn area as defined by the MLS. This generally includes A... 11/10/2010

Home on Acreage East of AuburnToday I was asked to evaluate the price of a home on acreage east of Auburn.Auburn is a small city almost an hour south of Seattle.This property is on a busy street, but out a ways from the city. Definately has a country feel.I got there and was taking my pictures.A nice lady came out of the house.“Can I help you,” she asked?I explained what I was doing, and why. She said she would ask the owner.I finished taking my pictures while she was inside. Even shot a little video.She came back out. The owner says, “No trespassing” she said.I understand. I am leaving. She thanked me and I got in my car and left.Later I discovered the property is actually listed for sale. The bank must be evaluating a short sale offer, and wanted me to give an independent price opini... 11/01/2010

Long Low Rambler in Auburn WashingtonToday I was called on to establish a price of a long low rambler in Auburn Washington.First, out to the property to take the outside pictures. I took this video at the same time.Then, pull comparable properties that are for sale right now, and ones that have sold in the last six months that are similar.Then fill out detail about the property, the area, the trendlines of value and the general condition of the area economically.Once that is all found and entered, submit the completed report to the bank who has the loan against this property.Another day in the life of a foreclosure specialist.If you would like to buy great foreclosure bargains, give me a call.I know the neighborhood.I know the trendlines of value.And I can help you find a terrific deal... 11/01/2010

One of the main criteria of looking for a new house is its appeal. If you want to find an appealing home, visit Auburn real estate. You will find several beautiful homes here. But the benefits don’t stop there. Located in suburban Seattle, Auburn You offers lots of interesting amenities. You will find attractions that will be perfect for bonding with family and friends. You will love visiting the Auburn portion of the Inter-urban Trail. The trail is a great place for various activities like walking, running, biking and rollerblading. Auburn is also home to The SuperMall of the Great Northwest, a large outlet mall filled with stores such as Nordstrom Rack, Banana Republic Factory Outlet and Marshalls. Auburn also has beautiful golf courses, including the Auburn Golf Course and the Washin... 10/25/2010

Understanding market statistics is certainly vital to everyone even casually interested in real estate -- whether you're a current homeowner and just keeping an eye on your home's value, or whether you're considering selling, or perhaps buying a home. Statistics help define, in the most concrete and pragmatic way, exactly what's going on -- where and when! They become a useful basis for forming an opinion of value and timing -- and yet are certainly subject to interpretation. Whenever I meet with a current or even a potential client and we discuss "The Market" statistics come into the discussion. Each month or so I compile charts and graphs from data provided monthly by our Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Certainly there are interesting points that could be said about the data that'... 10/25/2010

I was directed to a Web site this morning called Foreclosure Radar. Like most sites of this sort, its aim is to get real estate agents to subscribe to their service (for a fee) with referrals to be directed from the site back to the fee-paying agents. I typically avoid these sorts of things as fee-paid referrals up front can be a huge out-of-pocket expense with little or no return. However, Foreclosure Radar does offer some interesting charts and graphs for foreclosure data. Interesting enough that I thought I'd post them here and then watch the stats for a couple of months to see how they compare, overall, to the stats I run and am able to gather off the NWMLS (NorthWest Multiple Listing Service). So, with a bit of hesitation, but why not? going on, here are the pertinent September 201... 10/20/2010

Yeah, I know I blogged about this before, but this is just such a great event that I don't want you to forget. After all, how many wedding shows are in the Fall? Besides, Wedding Shows are fun, sparkly events that get brides-to-be all excited and happy and grooms-to-be tend to come along and shrug their shoulders. (I speak from experience here!) The first ever, to be annual, Autumn Wedding Show in Auburn, WA will be held at Emerald Downs, starting Saturday, October 3, and extending through Sunday, October 4th. So here's the reminder and a link to the original post! Do come and visit. It'll be fun! I'll be there Friday morning bright and early helping vendors set up and generally getting in the way. 09/30/2010

Buried deep in the newspaper yesterday was an announcement that JPMorganChase Bank is holding an event TODAY, September 30th, for homeowners struggling to make their house payments for Chase and EMC mortgages. Being held from 11am - 5pm at the Chase Homeownership Center, 16400 Southcenter Parkway, Suite 200 in Tukwila, homeowners should bring their most recent tax returns, W-2s, monthly bank statements, pay stubs and proof of tax, insurance, and homeowner association payments. HURRY! (So sorry for the late announcement -- I almost missed this!) 09/30/2010

 You may have heard that costs surrounding FHA loans are changing in October, reducing the dollar amount needed at closing for Upfront Mortgage Insurance, while increasing the monthly portion of mortgage insurance that is added to a homeowner's payment. If you have previously been approved for an FHA loan but haven't yet found a home, you'll want to be sure to factor in the larger payment requirement into your budget, along with contacting your home loan advisor to be sure that your preapproval is still valid for the higher payment amount. You may also want to consult with your advisor to see if a different mortgage program might now be more attractive. If you are a Seller, you may be expecting to contribute towards a Buyer's closing costs, which are dropping considerably when the Buyer... 09/27/2010

In mid-January, 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a temporary waiver (good until February 1, 2011, or until extended or withdrawn) to give FHA borrowers the ability of obtaining an FHA-insured mortgage on a home that was purchased less than 90 days previous. What this means is that a Buyer can use FHA financing for a home that was bought by an investor less than 90 days before, then repaired or rehabbed. On its surface, it would seem as though this waiver would be greatly beneficial to investors. After all, an investor needs to purchase a real bargain house, do some repairs, and then re-sell the home as quickly as possible for a profit. In my experience, most investors look for the original purchase to be no more than 70% of its repaired value, with 50-6... 09/23/2010

I'm going to the Puyallup Fair tomorrow. I've been getting my camera ready, making sure I've got fresh batteries, and my lenses and filters are clean. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but that's okay. It does that here in the Northwest. Fall is usually a beautiful time of year and the colors can be fantastic. This week I looked through fall pictures from the past. I checked my notes for locations and themes I didn't want to miss this season. The weather can turn fast around here. If the sun is out, the colors beautiful, and things look just right for taking pictures, you'd better stop everything and do it! I missed a great opportunity last year when I decided I was too busy to stop. I'll do photography tomorrow. The weather turned, a storm came in, the wind blew, it rained like crazy, an... 09/18/2010

Short sales are a huge part of our area's current listing inventory and sales statistics. They're difficult transactions and time consuming. They require specialized knowledge and dedication to the task in order to be successful. They also require impeccable business practices and an adherence to the highest of ethical standards. The business of real estate ... and more specifically at this current time, the business of short sales affects everyone. Not just current homeowners, but home buyers, home sellers, renters. Everyone. We all are touched by housing prices, banking practices with regard to home mortgages, interest rates, etc. I'm sure it comes as no surprise to realize that our economy is hugely affected by whatever is going on in the real estate market. Short sale listings and ... 09/17/2010

Weddings are spectacular! Weddings are fun! Some weddings are huge ... some are small and intimate ... and all Weddings are memorable! The first annual Auburn Autumn Wedding Show, will be held at Emerald Downs on October 2nd and 3rd. More than just gowns, the Auburn Wedding Show will offer guidance and vendors to help you choose after wedding apparel, beverages for the reception, cakes (of course!), catering services, banquet locations, travel planners, and so so much more! Starting at 10am on both Saturday and Sunday, you can visit the exhibit halls, on both the 3rd and 4th floor. And the fashion show!!! Starts at 1pm each day. For more information, click the Autumn Wedding Show logo! For directions to Emerald Downs, click HERE! 09/16/2010

Newer Condo in Auburn WashingtonToday I was called on to price this newer condo in Auburn Washington.The entire area was developed around 5 years ago. It is a complete planned community called Lakeland Hills Community with wide streets, sidewalks and cul-de-sac streets. There are small parks throughout the neighborhood and a very large new elementary school that appears to have been built around the same time called Lakeland Hills Elementary School.The repeated pattern for the condos seems to be a cluster building with four condos in it, two up and two down, and each one with a single car garage.The entire neighborhood around this newer condo in Auburn seems to be well kept, with the yards and green areas being maintained by the HOA.I left early to get the pictures of this newer condo ... 09/12/2010

I was intrigued today by an article hidden on an inside page of one of my local news sites, King5 News, which reported that money does make people happy -- but only up to about $75,000. Say what? According to King 5 and the Associated Press and based on a study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, folks that make more money are happier, but only up to a point. Apparently, we're all more satisfied with our lives until we make about $75,000. After that we may feel that we have a better life, but we're not really happier. Apparently, that $75,000 is a moving target. In my area -- greater Seattle -- it actually takes about $85,500. I assume this target is based somewhat on the cost of living, but maybe not. I can tell you that a $75,000 a year salary won't buy m... 09/09/2010

Just in time for the start of school, 55 sales closed with Auburn addresses during the month of August, 2010. Here's the breakdown: Residential Sales are Single Family Homes, Manufactured homes are those within parks, not on private land. Of those closed 39 single family home sales, 14 were bank owned, while 6 more were short sales. A couple other interesting facts: Prices for single family homes ranged from a low of $112,500 to a high of $737,900 -- and that high priced home had been on the market for a total of 728 days! Of the total 55 closed sales, 14 of them (25%!!) had been active for less than 30 days before a buyer and seller agreed on a contract, i.e., when the status went to pending, pointing to the fact that sellers are finally understanding that when a home is priced right, ... 09/08/2010

While sitting at the dinner table tonight, my oldest son was lamenting that we never have decent winters around here. Well, guess what son, the Auburn, WA area DOES have storms! Inspired, I dug up photos of the ice storm that hit our region for about a week in early January of 2004. The descendants of the little guy in the last photo would probably like it if we didn't have another storm like this one again this year. I'm always fascinated by textures and colors, so have included a couple here. These were taken with my old Sony F707. I loved that camera -- totally bummed when the swivel broken and was unrepairable. This first photo was of my windshield, by the way; the rest are obvious. 09/07/2010

The Pacific Northwest area where I live has had an "almost - on again/off again" summer this year. Other than just a week or two of hot weather early in August, much of the rest of the summer has been wet, overcast, or just daggone cool! We didn't really have much of a winter this last year either, now that I think of it. Leaves have been dropping steadily over the last week or so, although we really haven't been hit with the onslaught from the big maple in the front yard. It's coming soon though! Yesterday was a gorgeous fall day -- just hot enough to make you think about turning on the A/C ... but not quite because "Hey! This may be the last of Summer!" Today ... notsomuch. Overcast, cool, breezy, early 60-ish. Around our house, this time of year signals frantic activity trying to get... 09/04/2010

Whoo hoo! I just got notification that: I was voted the Best Real Estate Agent in Auburn, WA by KOMO News 4!! and I was a finalist in the Auburn Reporter's "Best of" too!! This is so cool! I'm so flattered and truly grateful to everyone who voted. What an honor to be recognized! Thank you, thank you! (and thanks for letting me puff up a bit! ... My head's now square back in place and I "think" it'll fit through the door ...) 09/03/2010

As an Ambassador for the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, I am frequently asked "Why should I be a member?" My immediate response is "How can you afford not to be?" Taking a most simplistic approach, two of the most challenging aspects of owning a small business are exposure - and networking, networking, NETWORKING! Being an active, participating member of the Chamber goes a tremendous distance in helping to accomplish these two critical tasks. After all, merely running the day-to-day aspects of any business is typically the easy part. We know our jobs, we know how to expeditiously execute them, and we know how to please our clients. However, for most companies, gaining new business requires the need for constant marketing, constant exposure just to keep the pipeline full, which in turn... 09/02/2010