Archives for December 2012

Nation’s 6 Friendliest Towns – Sammamish #1

December 21, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Forbes partnered with Nextdoor.com, a social network for neighborhoods, to determine the friendliest towns in America. A total of 500 towns with populations between 5,500 and 150,000 were included in the study and ranked on the percentage of owner-occupied homes, crime rate, charitable giving, and percentage of college graduates. Studies have shown home ownership can increase neighborhood stability and college-educated people have been found to display more civic engagement.

The following towns emerged as the top 6 friendliest towns in the nation, according to the study:

Sammamish, Wash.: a Seattle suburb where nearly 90 percent of households own their own homes.
Orinda, Calif.: Just outside of Oakland, this suburb boasts a 92 percent of owner-occupied units.
Fishers, Ind.: This town has a very low crime rate and year-round community activities.
Seal Beach, Calif.: An “Orange County seaside enclave” in which about 75 percent of residents own their homes.
Westerville, Ohio: A Columbus suburb boasts about 40 parks, and a very low crime rate.
Frisco, Texas: Fast-growing suburb in which the population has grown from 40,000 to 120,000 since 2000 and 80 percent of its risdents own their homes.

Check out the homes available here in Sammamish.

Find out what other towns made the friendliest list at Forbes.

Filed Under: Blog, Housing Market Tagged With: sammamish homes, sammamish real estate

Existing home sales at highest level in four years

December 21, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Existing home sales are up, prices are improving, inventory is tight, and housing is showing signs of improvement, but the sector has found its bottom and is not recovered, rather starting that long road toward a recovery.

Existing home sales continue rising, inventory levels continue to tighten

house for sale Existing home sales at highest level in four years According to the National Association of Realtors Dr. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is Median prices, and the impact of distressed properties healthy market demand. “Momentum continues to build in the housing market from growing jobs and a bursting out of household formation. “With lower rental vacancy rates and rising rents, combined with still historically favorable affordability conditions, more people are buying homes. Areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy show storm-related disruptions but overall activity in the Northeast is up, offset by gains in unaffected areas.”(NAR), existing home sales continued to improve in November with low inventory supply pressuring home prices, rising 5.9 percent for the month, spiking 14.5 percent compared to November 2011. NAR reports that sales are at the highest level since November 2009.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent compared to November 2011, marking the ninth consecutive monthly year-over-year price gain, which has not happened since September 2005 to May 2006.

Distressed home sales accounted for 22 percent of November sales (12 percent were foreclosures and 10 percent were short sales), down from 24.0 percent in October and 29.0 percent in November 2011. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 20.0 percent below market value in November, while short sales were discounted 16 percent.

Dr. Yun said, “The market share of distressed property sales will fall into the teens next year based on a diminishing number of seriously delinquent mortgages.”

Inventory levels tightening

Total housing inventory at the end of November fell 3.8 percent to 2.03 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.8-month supply at the current sales pace; it was 5.3 months in October, and is the lowest housing supply since September of 2005 when it was 4.6 months.

Listed inventory is 22.5 percent below a year ago when there was a 7.1-month supply. Raw unsold inventory is now at the lowest level since December 2001 when there were 1.89 million homes on the market.

The median time on market was 70 days in November, slightly below 71 days in October, but is 28.6 percent below 98 days in November 2011. Fully 32.0 percent of homes sold in November were on the market for less than a month, while 20.0 percent were on the market for six months or longer; these findings are unchanged from October.

Buyer types in the market

First time buyers accounted for 30 percent of purchases in November, down from 31 percent in October and 35 percent in November 2011.

All-cash sales were at 30 percent of transactions in November, up slightly from 29 percent in October and 28 percent in November 2011. Investors, who account for most cash sales, purchased 19 percent of homes in November, little changed from 20 percent in October; they were 19 percent in November 2011.

Single-family home sales rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million in November from 4.21 million in October, and are 12.4 percent higher than the 3.95 million-unit level in November 2011. The median existing single-family home price was $180,600 in November, up 10.1 percent from a year ago.

Regional performance varied

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast rose 6.9 percent to an annual rate of 620,000 in November and are 14.8 percent above November 2011. The median price in the Northeast was $232,900, down 2.0 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest increased 7.2 percent in November to a pace of 1.19 million and are 21.4 percent higher than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $141,600, which is 7.0 percent above November 2011.

In the South, existing-home sales rose 7.9 percent to an annual level of 2.04 million in November and are 17.2 percent above November 2011. The median price in the South was $157,400, up 10.5 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 0.8 percent a pace of 1.19 million in November and are 4.4 percent higher than a year ago. With ongoing inventory constraints, the median price in the West was $248,300, which is 23.9 percent above November 2011.

existing home sales Existing home sales at highest level in four years

Exercising cautious optimism

As opposed to former eras, the NAR is approaching their future forecasting with cautious optimism. Dr. Yun said that the housing market recovery should “continue through coming years” unless the nation falls off of the “fiscal cliff,” and assuming that there are no further limitations on the availability of mortgage credit.

Dr. Yun pointed to improving existing and new home sales and housing starts as all seeing “notable gains this year in contrast with suppressed activity in the previous four years, and all of the major home price measures are showing sustained increases.”

Many economists agree that there are gains being made in housing, but we urge all to note that these signs of improvement are only signs of improvement, and not an actual recovery, as housing is just now moving past bottoming out and we’re finding signs of life which is hopeful, but not yet a recovery.

by Tara Steele

Filed Under: Blog, Housing Market, Real Estate Updates

What is Ahead for Housing?

December 20, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

5.9 Million young adults living with their parents! This trend is out of line with historical norms. As the economy continues to improve, we will see this number change.

The reality is that those young adults DO want to own their own home. The dream of home ownership has been impacted by the economic challenges faced over the past few years. This desire will come to fruition moving forward.

The data also tells us that those young adults are forming households and getting back out on their own. Human nature desires for autonomy and the ability to set up our own place.

Many have made the argument that renting is better than owning. While for some that may be true depending on their location, time they will be in said location, life circumstances, the numbers have swung back to owning as the way to go for many.

While no one wants to return to the frenzy of 2003-2005, we are seeing in many markets a flip towards a seller controlled market. Buyers need to be ready to pull the trigger when the right place is available for them.

Let me know how I can help. Email me.

source: KCM

Filed Under: Blog, Economy, Housing Market, real estate financing, Real Estate Investment Tagged With: housing market

We Three Kings – The Piano Guys

December 20, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

I’ve been listening to these guys for a while now. They write accessible and interesting arrangements. Take a listen to this timeless Christmas hymn.

Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.8 Percent in Washington State

December 19, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Hurrah! November’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in Washington State, and according to Governor Chris Gregoire’s office this represents both "the first time the unemployment rate has dropped below eight percent since January 2009" and "the largest one-month decline in thirty-five years."

The county-by-county numbers for November aren’t out yet, but here’s how things looked for this state’s counties in October:

Filed Under: Blog, Economy Tagged With: unemployment in Washington State

Seattle is one of North America’s smartest cities

December 19, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Seattle is the third smartest city in North America behind Boston and San Francisco, reports Fast Company. The rainy city achieved high marks for its smart governance, commitment to environment protection and sustainability, and overall economic performance.

High-tech infrastructure, sustainability plans, and innovation in business and science are high on the list for making the “smart” grade. More specifically, the Smart Cities Wheel, a construct developed to rank major metropolitan cities in North America, identifies six components and three key drivers within each component. Environment (green buildings, energy, and planning); government (transparency, access to data, use of technology); economy (productivity, entrepreneurship and innovation); living (safety, culture, health); mobility (mixed-modal access, green transportation); and people (education, creativity) comprise the major categories.

Here’s how the rest of the pack shaped up, in order of their rankings:

Vancouver
New York City
Washington D.C.
Toronto
Chicago
Los Angeles
Montreal – my home town! Does that help my cause?!

Filed Under: Blog, Random Thoughts

Buyer Urgency Expected to Drive 2013

December 19, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

Home shoppers will likely have more urgency in the new year, wanting to buy before home prices rise even more.

Home prices are edging up in most markets, and buyers are taking notice. Buyer surveys recently have shown that home shoppers expect home prices to continue to inch up, and they want to cash in before they rise too much higher.

“Every single thing about housing is flashing green” with household formation rising, inventory falling, and affordability hovering at record highs, James Dimon, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase told CNBC last month.

In 2013, rising rents are expected to push more renters to buy, The Wall Street Journal reports. Also, investors who’ve had a big appetite for housing in recent years may start to decrease their share in some markets that have seen prices rise, such as Phoenix, and focus on other markets still in recovery mode, like Chicago and Atlanta.

“Rising prices could eventually encourage more sellers to put their homes on the market, which would help boost demand even further,” The Wall Street Journal reports.

To meet the expected increase in demand in 2013, some real estate companies are going on a hiring spree. For example, Redfin says it plans to increase its 400 agents nationally by 50 percent by the end of January after having to send about half of its referrals to other companies earlier this year because demand outstripped its supply of agents.

Source: “2013: How Rising Prices Could Boost Housing Demand,” The Wall Street Journal

Filed Under: Blog, Housing Market, real estate financing, Real Estate Investment Tagged With: bellevue homes, home-purchase, sammamish homes

Morphing House Shape Shifts to Maximize Weather + Light [video]

December 18, 2012 By EmmanuelFonte Leave a Comment

When the seasons change, so do the characteristics we value most in our homes. Hot, sunny weather means that we need the walls to repel heat so that the interior stays nice and cool. Winter, of course, necessitates the opposite. It was never possible for one home to embody all of these characteristics until UK design team David Ben Grünberg and Daniel Woolfson tackled the problem.

Their creation is the Dynamic D*Haus, a home that actually moves and morphs according to the seasons. The house can move into eight different configurations – kind of like origami or a transforming toy, but on a massive scale.

This incredible house design was based on Henry Dudeney’s mathematical formula for turning a triangle into a square. This is achieved by splitting the equilateral triangle into four pieces which move and shift to form the square.

The house follows that principle with its four moving modules. As the shape of the building needs to change, the modules shift around and move on rails to form new shapes. Interior walls become exterior walls and vice versa, effectively changing the functionality of the house.

In addition to changing its shape based on the seasons, the Dynamic D*Haus would be able to rotate throughout the day to follow the sun, maximizing sun exposure and natural heating for the residents.

The only drawback to a home that changes shape and orientation so regularly is the fact that it would be incredibly disorienting. Imagine the living room being next to the kitchen one day and on the opposite side of the house the next. The designers are still working out these kinks in practicality; perhaps the answer will simply be that only truly adventurous souls can inhabit these morphing homes.