I’m listening to Tim Ellis of Seattle Bubble on the Dave Ross show on 710 KIRO with David Goldstein sitting in for Dave Ross.
There’s a link to the show in this post and it is well worth the time to listen.
Tim did a fabulous job and I highly recommend that you listen to “the voice” of Seattle Bubble’s founder in this radio program.
I did a quick check while listening to the program regarding the conversation in the latter part of the show regarding Eastside and Seattle. My stats support Tim’s statement that Seattle Downtown and within City Limits North of Downtown are doing better than the Eastside. Kirkland, Bellevue Redmond median price being up from $600,000 to $610,000 while North Seattle was up from $533,000 to $549,000 for the same six month period. Days on market Eastside being up from 36 days to 46 days vs. North Seattle being up from 26 days to 30 days. Number of homes sold down 22% in North Seattle vs down 26% on the Eastside.
While I am not seeing prices down in those samplings, I am seeing short sales that are selling for less than the owner paid, and not just for less than the amount owed. So the number of short sales in the mix in any neighborhood will continue to impact area pricing.
There is a significant increase in the number of sales that are contingent on the sale of another house. More and more people are including a house sale contingency with their offer to purchase. It is wise not to depend on a certain sale price when buying, only to find that your best hope is not going to pan out as you had thought it would.
Generally speaking the numbers are still pretty strong as to price, and so I’m not seeing the same price picture as Tim seems to be seeing. I agree with Tim that you are not likely going to see owners running into the assessor’s office to prove their home is worth less anytime soon.
In any event, take the time to listen to the radio program and hear the voice of Seattle Bubble. If you liked him before…you’ll like him even more. If you didn’t like him before…I’m sure you will find that your perception was not reality. He doesn’t sound ANYTHING like Chicken Little and he offers a well reasoned perspective.
Real estate agents take note: The mainstream media is interested in what bloggers have to say, and I mean bloggers beyond real estate agents. I said it several days ago: Agents should be reading seattlebubble.
Homebuyers and home sellers want to know what’s going on out there. They stumble upon seattlebubble and find a different voice than what’s presented by industry press releases.
Jillayne,
I appreciate your giving me the heads up that Tim was on the radio, via email, when you heard him live. That email prompted me to head over to find the link to the show today…so thanks!
“Homebuyers and home sellers want to know what’s going on out there. They stumble upon seattlebubble and find a different voice than what’s presented by industry press releases.”
I always ask my client (buyer or seller) what sites they look at. I like to understand where they go for information and what sites they use to for their home search.
It’s fun to get their views of the different pubic real estate sites…..and gives me useful insight some of their incoming perspectives and attitudes.
Jillayne, Ardell
+1 to both of you for giving Tim Ellis some respect for what he has done. When it comes time to buy, many of us bubbleheads will remember who acted professionally and who acted belligerently when the status quo was challenged.
Thank you fooman. No alterior motives for our kudos to Tim publicly. In fact when I sponsored the Blog Tour USA Day last year and had a party for Seattle Real Estate Bloggers at my home, Tim was among the guests.
I often call Seattle Bubble “our sister site”. We won’t always agree, but then we don’t always agree with one another either. 🙂 We often have more in common with other bloggers than with other industry professionals who don’t.
I may not know who “the Tim” is yet, but at least I now know where he is. I’ve even posted their twice–once to point out the difference between employment and unemployment. 🙂
As an aside, one of the big benefits to having a Trafficgauge is that you don’t have to listen to KOMO or KIRO to get traffic information.
Ardell,
I still frequent RCG and enjoy reading your posts.
I’m no longer in the industry, and all is well with my daughter.
I have a question…
“It is wise not to depend on a certain sale price when buying, only to find that your best hope is not going to pan out as you had thought it would”
What would you consider a prudent course when the sale of your current home is dependent on purchasing another?
Hi Grier!
Well, you need to turn that around “What would you consider a prudent course when the purchase of you next home is dependent on the sale of your current home?”
For the most part, houses are not selling as quickly as they used to sell and this time of year, sellers would not be prudent to tie up their house in a contingent sale during prime selling season. Sellers should be willing to rent short term if needed. It’s difficult, but it’s a very bad time to buy the wrong house just because your house just sold.
A prudent course would be:
1) Get your house ready to sell and in tip top showing shape, and preferably on the market, before even looking at homes to buy. There’s no way to judge these days how long it will take a house to sell. Some sell overnight with multiple offers, but very few.
2) Be prepared to do a seller lease back in order to have your proceeds in hand, rather than a long close. You don’t want to ask for 60 days or more, only to find that the buyer can’t close. With this ever changing mortgage market, don’t risk a long close. That someone can get a mortgage today is no guarantee that they can get one, and fund, sixty days from now.
Depending on where you are selling and where you are buying, the advice would vary. If you are selling in Monroe and buying in Redmond…sell first. If you are selling in Redmond and buying in Monroe…the odds are more in your favor and a contingent offer could make sense.
The scary thing about contingent offers is that most always you will be overpaying for the house. Sometimes that is a small price to pay for the convenience of knowing where you are going. But unless you are pretty sure you are going to stay for 10 years or more, better to be prepared to rent if need be and sell first.
Grier,
I am writing a letter to several owners in a certain neighborhood of interest to one of my clients whose property is for sale. This is another strategy for trying to find the replacement home before it goes on market. If someone is thinking of selling now, and we can identify who that is, that gives everyone a little more breathing room.
Will let you know how that goes…