Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Federal Way & Puyallup

The latest  Existing Home Sales Report  issued by the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR) revealed that home sales have decreased for four consecutive months and are at their slowest pace in over two years. This has some industry leaders puzzled considering the fact that the economy is strengthening, unemployment is down, and wages are beginning to rise. This begs the question:  “Where are the buyers?” Actually, agents in the field of most communities are still seeing strong desire from prospective purchasers. They have a list of potential buyers ready to go if the right houses come on the market and they claim it is not a shortage of demand, but is instead a shortage of inventory that is causing the market to soften. Why is there a shortage of inventory? You only need to look at the graph below to understand: New construction sales over the last ten years are far below historic numbers from 1995-2002. A recent  industry report  looked at building permits and conclu

There are many conflicting headlines when it comes to describing today’s real estate market. Some are making comparisons to the market we experienced 10 years ago and are starting to believe that we may be doomed to repeat ourselves. Others are just plain wrong when it comes to what it takes to qualify for a mortgage. Today, we want to try and clear the air by shedding some light on what’s causing some of these headlines, as well as what’s truly going on. Myth #1: We Are Headed for Another Housing Bubble Home prices have appreciated year-over-year for the last  76 straight months . Many areas of the country are at or near their peak prices achieved before the last housing bubble burst. This has many worried that we are headed towards another housing bubble. Reality:  The biggest challenge facing today’s real estate market is a  lack of homes for sale!  Demand is strong, as many renters have come off the fence and are searching for their dream homes. Historically, a normal m

Freddie Mac ,  Fannie Mae,  and the  Mortgage Bankers Association  are all projecting that home sales will increase nicely in 2019. Below is a chart depicting the projections of each entity for the remainder of 2018, as well as for 2019. As we can see,  Freddie Mac ,  Fannie Mae,  and the  Mortgage Bankers Association  all believe that homes sales will increase steadily over the next year. If you are a homeowner who has considered selling your house recently, now may be the best time to put it on the market. AUGUST 28, 2018 / BY  THE KCM CREW

There are some people who have not purchased homes because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize, however, that unless you are living with your parents rent-free, you are paying a mortgage –  either yours or your landlord’s . As  Entrepreneur Magazine , a premier source for small business, explained in their article,  “12 Practical Steps to Getting Rich” : “While renting on a temporary basis isn’t terrible, you should most certainly own the roof over your head if you’re serious about your finances. It won’t make you rich overnight,  but by renting, you’re paying someone else’s mortgage . In effect, you’re making someone else rich.” With home prices rising, many renters are concerned about their house-buying power. Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at  First American ,  explained : “ Over the last three years, renter house-buying power has increased fast enough to keep pace with house price appreciation , so the share of homes th

According to a release by the National Association of Realtors  This Week in Real Estate ,  continued price appreciation is the main contributing factor of the decline in sales from a year earlier for the fifth straight month in July.  Below are a few highlights from the fourth  week of August that influence our business :     *  Single-Family Built-for-Rent Housing Expands .   The number of single-family homes built-for-rent increased over the last four quarters. During this time period, construction starts of this type of housing totaled 42,000 homes, compared to 29,000 for the prior four quarters. There were 13,000 single-family built-for-rent starts for the second quarter of 2018.  According to data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Design  and NAHB analysis, the market share of single-family homes built-for-rent, as measured on a one-year moving average, stood at 4.7% of single-family starts as of the second quarter of 2018.  Despi

The majority of states in the Midwest and South offer a lower cost of living than states in the Northeast and West. The ‘biggest bang for your buck’ comes in Mississippi where, compared to the national average, you can actually purchase $115.74 worth of goods for $100. For more information regarding the methodology used to create this map, visit the  Tax Foundation .

Last week, in a  new report  from  Zillow , it was revealed that there has been a rash of price reductions across the country. According to the report: There are more price cuts now than a year ago in over two-thirds of the nation’s largest metros About 14% of all listings had a price cut in June Since the beginning of the year, the share of listings with a price cut increased 1.2% This is the greatest January-to-June increase ever reported, and more than double the January-to-June increase last year Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas further explained: “A rising share of on-market listings are seeing price cuts, though these price cuts are concentrated at the most expensive price-points and primarily in markets that have seen outsized price gains in recent years.” What this DOESN’T MEAN for the real estate market… This doesn’t mean home values have depreciated or are about to depreciate. A seller may put a home worth $300,000 on the market for $325,000 hoping a biddin

Get ready for another month of learning! September is right around the corner, so be sure to look at the digital or physical printouts of the calendar to pick/ choose what class you'll be taking. Let's get educated! ☺

You read that right! First-time buyers across the country are getting creative when it comes to saving the necessary down payment to buy a home. Many couples are asking their wedding guests to contribute to their “Down Payment Fund” rather than fulfilling a traditional registry. This is fueled by the fact that many couples live together prior to marriage and already have the necessary items to make a house a home… they just need the house! The average wedding in the United States has 120 guests who give wedding gifts valued, on average, at $186. This means that couples could walk away from their nuptials with over $22,000 towards their down payment! Services like  HomeFundMe  allow friends, family members, and almost anyone else in a buyer’s network to contribute funds toward the buyer’s down payment. Contributors can determine, at the time of their donation, if their gifts are ‘conditional’ or ‘non-conditional’ on the beneficiary buying a home. According to a recent  Wall St