Recent Articles
How to Protect Your Down Payment from Wire Fraud
Hackers went after nearly $1 billion of home buyers’ down payments in 2017, a huge increase from 2016. Sadly, it’s extremely difficult to recover money that is diverted in this way, so buyers are usually left holding an empty bag. The good news is that there are some very simple steps you can take to […]
Newsletter: Multiple Offer Tips, Avoiding Wire Fraud, and Grand Canyon Trip Pics
You may have heard a bit about the wire fraud epidemic in the news, but please read the details in the second section of my newsletter – wire fraud really is a huge problem now. Many people aren’t aware that because wires are initiated by the consumer, standard protections don’t apply and some would-be homeowners […]
Staging Your Seattle or Eastside Home
Excellent home preparation, staging, and photography are crucial when it comes to getting the absolute highest sales price for your Seattle or Eastside home. Here’s how we help you in every phase of this process. – Click Here to See Our Home Staging Photo Galleries – Stage 1: Home Preparation Before we get to home […]
The Value of Correctly Pricing Your Home
Our goal when pricing your Seattle are home is to generate the highest possible net profit for you, the seller. This requires understanding the target market, up-to-the-minute supply and demand factors, available and off-market competing homes, and seasonal sales patterns, among other things. While a quick sale is often part of a desirable sales scenario, […]
How Strong Is the 2017 Seattle Area Spring Housing Market?
I’ve been in real estate in the Eastside and Seattle area for going on 17 years now and so far 2017 is about as hot as I’ve ever seen the housing market. Record low inventory is spurring competition for the homes that are available, while interest rates are still very low at just over 4 […]
Newsletter: Great Gift Ideas for Home and Family 2016
If you’re looking for a great Christmas or housewarming gift, here’s a good list of possibilities ranging from the useful to the fun to the ridiculous. Click here to see them in my December 2016 e-newsletter. (The link may take a few seconds to open up.)
September 2016 Seattle Area Housing Market Update
Housing prices increased in 2016 throughout the Puget Sound region, according to a recent report by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). Here are some notable facts: King County: The median price of closed single family homes in August 2016 was $550,000, 10% higher than a year previously. The median price of closed condominium homes […]
Sewer Line Inspections and Insurance for Seattle Area Homes
Sewer line repairs can be very expensive, and most people are unaware that they are not covered by standard home insurance. Typically the homeowner is responsible for any problems that occur between the footprint of the home and the point where the city or county picks up the sewer line in the street, which can […]
Spring 2016 King County WA Housing Market Trends
The Seattle and Eastside housing market is starting out 2016 with another low housing inventory situation. The graph below shows trends over the past two years, and note the pale green bar, which is the total number of homes available for sale. In January we had nearly 28% fewer homes for sale compared […]
Seattle’s 2015 Housing Market Needs Inventory
Here’s a graph of the summer 2015 Seattle market trends that shows how severe the low housing inventory situation is right now in Seattle. It’s unusual to see the dark green column (‘Sold’ homes) surpass the light green columns (‘For Sale’ homes). Comparing the June through August 2015 quarter to the same quarter in 2014, […]