Can you make more money and have less stress if you use the services of a Realtor? You decide....

Three homes recently sold near Microsoft.


(This is home #3, my listing, pictured)


Home #1 - a beautiful home that was offered online by the sellers without a Realtor. The home sold for $710,000. It was a 2900 square foot two story, built in the 1990’s, with a big backyard backing to greenbelt. The house was not listed and, therefore, not exposed to the full range of buyers. According to the comparables and the sale of home #3, this was not the highest price the sellers could have obtained. Homes built after 1985 close to Microsoft are hot commodities and often sell for more than listed price.

Home # 2 – the owners were unrepresented sellers and sold their home directly to a buyer. When I talked with the owner after the sale closed, he was very vocal about his experience. He ended up not speaking to the buyers. Negotiations over the price were very tough and subsequently were tougher over the inspection. The seller negotiated the sales price far below market value and also had to give up more in a building inspection. The asking price for the home was $680,000 and sold $630,000, $50,000 below asking price! (It can be hard to be the tough guy in negotiation when its your own home).

Home # 3- was a home I listed for $725,000 and sold for $736,000. The home was approximately 2800 square feet and on about an 8000 sq ft lot. I met with the sellers several weeks before they hoped to go on the market. When we first met, we discussed a price range in the low 700’s, higher than any other home had been priced in the neighborhood. We did not establish the list price until the day before going on the market. By doing this, we knew what the actual, up to the minute, competition was for their home.

Because I knew we had no competition at the time, we dictated when showings could begin, held an open house, which was advertised only on the internet and to neighbors, not in the newspaper. (I was looking for truly interested buyers) We set a time to look at offers after being on the market for only 5 days. During the five days the home was available to all the buyers. The activity and interest created for this home was just fabulous. We had back to back showings throughout the weekend the home was on the market. We had about 25 showings and about 20 qualified buyers to the open house, all in five days time. The seller received three wonderful offers. I helped the sellers evaluate the three offers so they could choose the one that was best for them.

The real beauty of the offer for the seller #3?

The buyers had pre-inspected the home and made their offer without an inspection. How fabulous for the sellers! Upon acceptance of the offer, there was no more negotiation. Think about it. When buyers are put in a position to give away their “first born” to be the offer that gets the house, they will negotiate harder when it comes to an inspection. It’s human nature. When buyers pay more than full price for a home and beat out other offers, they usually want more repairs done based on the building inspection. The seller avoided this completely. Not only did the sellers get a higher price for their home, there was no second round of negotiation on an inspection. This saved the seller even more money and stress with the sale of their home.

Could seller #1 above have made more money that the sale price of $710,000? The home is larger and had a much bigger yard than the home I sold for $736,000. I think the price for this home could have been $750,000, selling with multiple offers and for a higher price. Too often I see sellers sell their home by deducting the real estate commission.


Who benefits from this, the seller or the buyer?


The buyer! The buyer gets the home for less than market value. The seller makes no more money by selling direct, is unrepresented, and has not opened up the sale of their home to all of the potential buyers. Without the synergy of lots buyers, there is little chance of multiple offers resulting in a higher price. When a buyer knows they are not competing with any other buyers for a home, the home will not sell for more than the full price.

Seller #2 could have had a positive, stress-free experience and made more money. It can be tough to be the “bad” guy and be a strong advocate for your own self in negotiations. It is that old human nature again. Most of us want people to like us and do not know how to handle negative confrontations.

Can you make more money and have less stress if you use the services of a Realtor?


You decide....

Talk About "Green" Homes-How About Solar and Spinach Power?

Talk about building green! This website tracks all kinds of information regarding building green homes. The link below talks about a home designed with solar and spinach power! Check it out, it is pretty interesting.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/21/spinach-powered-house/

How Much Have Homes Appreciated in the Seattle/Eastside Neighborhoods Since 1990?

We are lucky to be in Seattle! Our area continues to defy the national real estate market trends.

Here is a bit about what has happened since 1990:

Homes appreciated every year, except two:

1992 – prices stayed the same.2001 – prices declined a bit ( remember 9/11) – 2%

Top five years with the highest appreciation:

1998 - 21%1997 – 18%2005 – 17%1999 – 14%2006 – 13%

Inventory was much higher in the 1990’s than in the 2000’s.

It was not uncommon for much of the early 90’s to have 7000-9000+ properties for sale.

August, 1991 – 9546 homes were available

May, 2007 – 3584 homes are available, 2/3 less homes are available today

Even though we are at the highest amount of properties on the market since 2004 with 3500 properties available, our inventory levels are nothing like the 1990’s!

Hang on through the rest of this decade. We still have a lot of growth to come. The job market is still very strong and available land for new construction is limited. Expect appreciation to continue throughout the rest of the decade.

What were the chances of selling a home in West Redmond in May, 2007?

West Redmond/East Bellevue continues to defy all of the Seattle/Eastside real estate market trends. If you look at my www.eastsiderealestatebuzz.com blog, you will see how Eastside real estate is performing. Most sellers had about a 30% chance of getting their home sold in May in all areas except the West Redmond/East Bellevue area. Over 60% of home sellers in these neighborhoods sold their homes last month. Many of these sellers received multiple offers and sold their homes for more than the asking price.

http://debrasinick.com/docs/530%20Graph%20for%20May%202007.pdf

(NEW DATA) The chart linked above will show the exact numbers for the West Redmond/East Bellevue neighborhoods)


I see this market continuing in June, since the inventory in the area is still so low. I just sold a home in West Redmond this week that was on the market for two days and received multiple offers. I represented the buyer in this transaction. My client's offer was accepted and the home will sell for over $40,000 more than the asking price! The listing agent knew how to review both offers with the seller, keep both buyers in competition, thus netting the seller a lot more money. The demand for homes is so strong that this seller is making 5% more than the asking price of the home. When homes are made available to all buyers and each buyer knows there are other interested parties, the buyers make great offers. When there is competition like this for a home, buyers pay more. Not only are the West Redmond/East Bellevue sellers getting a great price when their homes are sold on the MLS, they get representation and less stress.

Built Green is the New Buzzword in Seattle/Eastside Real Estate

At my monthly networking meeting, Forum XXII, we heard from the Seattle Master Builder's Association about the Built Green program.

http://www.builtgreen.net/index.html

The website had a lot of terrific information about sources for "built green" materials, architects, builders, remodelers, and building standards. "Built green" is our new real estate buzzword. There is a growing emphasis on environmentally friendly building and the use of sustainable materials.

Our listings in the Multiple Listing Service will soon be able to reflect the "built green" status of a home. If a home is listed as "built green", the builders will have had to follow certain standards to achieve this status. "Built green" homes can range from a 2 star to a 5 star level. If a home is built to the 4 or 5 star standard, which has stringent requirements, all of the construction and materials must be independently verified. Certificates are issued to homes that meet these standards. In the future, home buyers will be able to search on line for "built green" homes.

Of the 10,000 new construction homes built in King County last year, only 15-18 were certified as the star 5 "built green" homes, the most stringent level of "built green" homes. Most of these homes were built by a builder in Seattle, Michele Rose.

Most homes categorized as "built green" are built to the 3 star level. Quite a few homes in Issaquah Highlands meet this standard. The Dwelling Company built a number of "built green" homes in the Highlands.

Some of the other builders mentioned who have built some "green" homes were Bennett Homes, www.bennetthomes.com. Bennett Homes is known for "built green" homes in Suncadia, on the other side of the Cascades. Other local builders range from some of the larger builders, such as Camwest, www.camwest.com and Chaffey Homes, www.chaffeyhomes.com, to high end custom builders such as Bender Chaffey, www.benderchaffey.com.

Some thoughts about building green:

Materials can be somewhat more expensive for "built green" homes, however, the cost savings for energy efficiency usually more than compensates for the initial building cost. Check out this website on federal tax credits for energy conservation:

http://www.dsire.org/

Other thoughts:

If you start from the get-go when building a home, it is far cheaper to build green than to start doing some add-ons.

Hardwood floors and other hard surfaces, such as tile. stay cleaner than carpet. It was recommended that main living area be finished with hard surfaces because many people wear shoes throughout their home. Shoes bring in all kinds of contaminents.

Ventilation has become so tight the air in homes can become stale and is not fresh.

The gasses from glues used during standard construction can be emitted for up to 30 years after construction.

These thoughts sure make one want to think of a healthy "built green" home!

West Redmond Quarterly Real Estate Update - 2nd Quarter, 2007

What happened with real estate in West Redmond from March 1-May 31, 2007?

Highest priced sale: $1,078,000

Lowest price sale: $375,000

Total of 41 sales

under $500,000 - 7

$500-750,000 - 32

$750,000-1,000,000 - 1

Above $1,000,000 - 1
----------------------------------------------------------------
Highest price pending listing (sale has not closed yet): $1,550,000

Lowest priced pending listing (sale has not closed yet):$575,000

Number of pending sales: 19 homes

Under $500,000 - 2

$500-750,000 - 9

$750,000 - 1,000,000 - 5

Above $1,000,000 - 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Highest priced home currently on the market: $1,800,000

Lowest priced home on the market: $540,000

22 active listings

Below $500,000 - None

$500-750,000 - 8

$750,000 - 1,000,000 - 6

Above $1,000,000 - 8
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My quarterly analysis:

Most of our real estate activity falls into the $500-750,000 price range. Thirty-two of the 41 sales were in this price range.

Of the 41 sales, 25 were AT OR ABOVE FULL PRICE, a result of the lack of available homes in the area.

Homes above $1,000,000 were new construction or waterfront.

Our most expensive listings and sales are on Lake Sammamish.

Homes prices below $400,000 are rapidly disappearing. The two sales below $400,000 were for town homes in planned unit developments.

The Latest Kitchen Trends

Planning a kitchen remodel or just updating appliances?


The attached article will give you some great information about the newest kitchen trends for 2007. Some of the ideas really hit home with me.

When I show prospective buyers new homes, I constantly hear how everyone congregates in the kitchen. People want different spaces right in the kitchen. Home owners want places to read and store mail, plus sitting areas for entertaining guests and for relaxation. These spaces are not just in the family room anymore, but now are more incorporated into the kitchen.


Kitchen design is now looking at separate work stations throughout the kitchen, rather than the simple triangle work pattern with a path between the stove, refrigerator, and sink as points of a triangle.


I have some clients who are avid cooks and were way ahead in kitchen design with their kitchen remodel. They have a large U-shaped prep area with the stove, a work sink, refrigerator and abundant counter and storage space. The clean up area is on the other side of the kitchen and it has its own sink, the dishwasher, and cabinets for storing the dinnerware. The cabinetry for each area is even different. The prep area has light cabinets, while the clean up area had dark stained cabinetry. When I saw their kitchen about 6 months ago, it made an impression on me because it was so functional.


Storage is becoming more elaborate. Cabinet interiors are designed to store specific items such as pans and trays. Storage is also sleeker.

I saw a great example of sleek cabinetry at the Bellevue Towers condominiums being built in downtown Bellevue. Clients of mine purchased a new home in the complex, so I got to see the finish work first hand. The kitchen designs were just fabulous. So fabulous that I could not find the dishwasher or refrigerator easily, which is exactly the point! Both appliances were behind beautifully crafted cabinet doors that were flush with the rest of the cabinetry. The design was quite elegant and seamless. The kitchen designs had more to offer in smaller, sleeker spaces, and with a less cluttered look. (These kitchens made me want to go home and rip my kitchen out!)

http://www.bellevuetowers.com/

Sustainability is also more of a consideration. People are using more "green" materials, such as bamboo flooring. Not to tout Bellevue Towers again, but the condos are being "built green".


I was excited to see the concept of universal design, design for everyone of any age and any ability, mentioned in this article. With our aging population, everyone needs to rethink design and livability. Accessible cabinets and counters and levers instead of door knobs are all issues to be considered when designing a kitchen that works for everyone, regardless of age.
http://www.realtor.org/RMOArch.nsf/pages/ArchCoach200706?OpenDocument