In today’s competitive world of highly sophisticated consumers who have quick and easy access to as much information as they can soak up, most professionals in general and real estate salespeople and mortgage brokers in particular, face increased challenges. They must keep up with evolving technology, ever-changing consumption trends, and the rapidly altering preferences of their target audience.
According to Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), Homebuyers around Washington state are making their way back to the market. They are hoping to take advantage of improving inventory, attractive interest rates, and more approachable sellers.
Moderating sales prices of homes in Washington State are caused by a year-over-year improvement in the volume of new listings and total inventory. There was robust activity in January of this year. However, the number of actual sales was a little less than last year. All indications are that strong activity will persist in all counties of the State. Some prospective buyers sat out the second half of 2018. Others were pushed to the sidelines during last year’s heated market. These folks are finding better buying conditions now.
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Market Realities and What to Expect in 2018: Our fast-paced seller’s market is leaving everyone unhappy. None of the parties engaged in a real estate transaction, like the current market. Not the home sellers, not the home buyers, and probably not real estate brokers. Each has its very own valid reasons.
Most home sellers find themselves wondering if they could have sold for more. Most homebuyers worry that they might have paid too much. And real estate brokers see the sales process as exceedingly demanding, enormously complicated, and significantly more fraught with peril than ever before.
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Research Comparable homesEveryone involved in buying and selling a home has an agenda. Let’s say a home is for sale in Bellevue for $700,000. The seller is hoping to get the highest possible price. The buyer is hoping to get the lowest possible price. The Real Estate agents are depending on the commission from the sale. The Bank wants the most conservative valuation of the home to protect their investment. The Appraiser is expected to be the one neutral party, with no personal interest in the property, who can provide the most accurate, unbiased evaluation.
To become a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser in the State of Washington requires a bachelor’s degree, 2,500 hours of fieldwork over a minimum of two years, an additional 120 hours of targeted courses, and approved training directly under a Certified Supervisory Appraiser.
You would think, after all, that, Appraisers would be very good at their job. And yet, somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% to 50% of Appraisers in the field today do mediocre to poor quality work. Why? The simple answer is that you cannot train people to be creative, and for the most part, Real Estate valuation is a creative process.
The real estate market in the Greater Seattle Area is one of the best in the country. It is vibrant, competitive, and complex. Recent stats indicate that it is also enjoying substantial gains that are well above the national average.
Things have improved for those wanting to buy a home. There have been increases in new listings during the past three months. However, we’re continuing to sell this inventory at a faster rate. Those looking to buy a home continue to significantly outnumber those wanting to sell a home. In addition to making the prices creep up pretty consistently, it has become very challenging for buyers and their agents to locate homes that meet their clients’ criteria.
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Buyer anxiety keeps rising: This article about high buyer demand and low inventory was originally published on April 6, 2015. Two years later, buyer demand is higher, inventory is lower and prices have climbed more than 20%.
KIRKLAND, Washington – Buyer anxiety is rising as the pace of home sales is faster than brokers are able to replenish inventory, according to members of Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Figures just released for March show 11,408 pending sales during the month while only 10,505 sellers listed their homes for sale during the same period.
“The frenzied market has returned and is in full bloom in King and Snohomish counties. Listings are selling as soon as they come on the market for sale,” said J. Lennox Scott, chairman, and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.
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They do this by obtaining your credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus. The credit report that the mortgage lenders use is called a tri-merge report. It is also known as Residential Mortgage Credit Report (RMCR). It is a single, easy-to-read (for a mortgage lender, not so much for consumers) complete report. This report is compiled from the individual credit reports issued by the three major consumer credit bureaus. This report often differs from the single bureau Free Credit Report that consumers get. As a side note on that subject, think twice before submitting your information on those check your credit score for free Apps. Doing so can expose you to all sorts of problems, the worst being, identity theft.
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I wrote this blog many years ago. While there has been some improvement in simplifying the information that consumers get to better understand the process, there continues to be confusion about how lenders make their decisions. I felt it would be useful to repost it.
Lenders take two critical factors into account when considering an application for a mortgage loan. They evaluate the borrower and the property. When evaluating a borrower, lenders want to know about their:
KIRKLAND, Washington (December 4, 2015) – Inventory remains “critically low,” but there are fewer house-hunters in the hunt during this holiday season so motivated sellers and buyers are seeing success, according to brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Its just-released statistics for November show year-over-year gains in pending sales, closed sales, and prices, but a steep decline in inventory.
“The housing market continues to be red-hot on a seasonal basis, but this winter will be even more intense given the dangerously low inventory,” remarked J. Lennox Scott, chairman, and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate.
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