Is it really that slow?

Since about mid-February the market seems to have picked up again quite a bit. Sure it's not the fast-paced, sell your house in a week, market that it was a couple years ago. (I once placed an offer for some clients where we were one of 16 offers! Ah, the days.) But it isn't quite the dire straits that everyone seems to think it is. Well, not in Seattle at least. Is it a buyer's market? Yes. Does it take longer to sell your house right now? Yes. But let's be honest, it was getting pretty ridiculous for a while. People paying $100,000 over the asking price. That was obsurd. So here we are in a market where buyers actually have choices again in what they purchase. It's actually much more fun to show buyers homes right now because there isn't as much of the pressure of having to decide that instant if they wanted to make an offer.

But, let me give you a little bit of a picture of what I see today. There are about twice as many homes on the market right now than there were this time last year. But keep in mind we're just coming off of the winter where less activity happens anyway. Between the winter months, the mortgage 'meltdown' of 6 months ago, and the national media telling us how bad everything is, it seems that up in Seattle we're recovering fairly well.

Where I see the major inventory right now is in condos. All of those people that were approved to by condos two years ago are wanting to sell to move up and take advantage of the great interest rates in buying their 'next step' house. Who wouldn't, right? Coupled with all of those on the market and so many apartments turned condo projects... there's just a lot of condos to choose from. But with the mortgage issues, less and less people can now afford to buy these entry level condos, which means the current owners aren't able to move up. Thus slowing us down quite a bit.

But it's picking up! Houses are selling. There are less conversion projects right now. Spring is coming. People want to move... and they're doing it.

Be encouraged my friends. If you're thinking long term in your real estate investment, you can't go wrong.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for coming!

I know many of you just received my letter introducing you to my blog! So thank you for coming to check it out. I try to update this about once a week or so (I've been a bit slow in November... oops). But I try to write about the things that I am seeing. And sometimes, just things that I feel like talking about. So I hope you'll come back occassionally and check it out. Thank you for coming by and I hope that you find this helpful and useful every once in a while. If you'd like to see something about a specific topic, let me know and I'll be sure to add it on here! Have a great day!

Good luck!
Aaron

Cashflow

Isn't that all something that we strive for? To have more cashflow than cash-out? How trained are you to think in a way that helps you achieve more income without having to wait for your boss to give you a raise? What? How can this work? Well, there are lots of ways.

Most people think that 'investing' is for the people that already have a lot of extra money that they don't need to live on right now. And those of us that are looking ahead to the next paycheck don't have the extra money to 'invest'.

I understand the thinking, because I once thought that way too. The reality is that most of those 'wealthy' people got to be that way because they invested when they didn't have extra. There are many small ways to invest little bits at a time that will pay 10-fold as time goes on. I seriously doubt that your average 'wealthy' person started by saying, "I'm going to buy this apartment building." They start with small investments. After a few small investments, you can turn those into one large investment, etc.

I have this great board game called "Cashflow 101." It is kind of a cross between Monopoly and The Game of Life. It teaches you to think in a way that opens your mind to these different investment ideas and increase your income through investments without having to work harder or more. The goal is to gain "Passive Income" (which is money that you earn without having to work for it). It really is quite fascinating how you start to pick up the ideas in the game and start seeing ways in the real world how you can invest.

I had a few people over last week to play this game and they all loved it. One even started seeing ideas that next weekend that he kept trying to figure out how it would work and how it would cashflow. A couple days after his first time playing, he started seeing every day things as investment tools. That is exactly what the game is meant to do. Train yourself to see things differently so when the right opportunity comes up, you don't miss it. As the maker of this game, Robert Kiyosaki, said "You cannot learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book." So he created this game to teach fundamentals and repetition. This is how you increase your "financial IQ."

My goal in life isn't to be the wealthiest person on the block. But I'd sure love to have the ability to send my children to the colleges they want without having to worry too much about it. Or to travel when I retire because I've planned for these things in advance.

If you are intrigued by the idea of this game or have questions about what it's purpose is, check out http://www.richdad.com/. Here you can find all sorts of information that Robert Kiyosaki has. Kiyosaki is the author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." Which is also a VERY good book (and an easy read to even non-financial people) that talks about the fundamentals of financial intelligence.

I try to have "Cashflow Game Nights" periodically, so if you'd like to be a part of one of those, just let me know. I promise that it will be worth the time and that you will learn a lot. Just leave a comment down below or email me and I'll make sure I get you in on our next Cashflow night.

In the meantime,

Good luck... and Have fun!

Aaron

Builder Incentives Getting Bigger

Imagine building a new neighborhood of houses and then having them sit completed for months. No income, just sitting there empty. That's what builders are facing right now. With homes taking longer to sell, builders are having to come up with new innovative ways to have you buy their homes. Considering that most new construction homes aren't exactly in the price range of the first-time homebuyer, people are needing to sell their existing homes before they can purchase the other, or at least, before they want to purchase their new home.

As a way of yet avoiding the contingent offer, several builders are committing to paying several months of your new home mortgage payment while you wait for your current house to sell. Considering the big drawback to buying before you sell your other is that people don't want, or can't afford both mortgage payments, builders are taking that problem out of the picture by paying it for you. How great is that deal?! I'm sure that there are stipulations attached to it, like aggressively pricing your home, etc. But still, what a deal! The company Murray Franklyn is offering up to 3 months or mortgage payments paid for. The Burnsteads are offering up to 6 months!

Now, nothing is free. So before you go and get too excited, think it through. Builders aren't in business by giving money away. So you've got to figure that you're paying it in another way. Most likely by paying for it in the price of your house. But, for your dream home... that might just be worth it.

If you're interested in seeing some Murray Franklyn or Burnstead neighborhoods, let me know. I'll let you know where they are or even take you to see some.

There's no better time to buy when people/builders are practically begging you to come buy from them. Call me if you need me!

Good luck... and Have fun!

Aaron

Multiple Offers Are Still Around

Just yesterday, a client of mine placed an offer on a condo and we were in a multiple offer situation. Yes, that's right. The 'we-thought-they-were-gone-and-never-coming-back' multiple offers are still there. Now, everything being laid out, the place had been on the market for quite a while and the sellers finally dropped their price $20,000. Thus making it exactly what my client was looking for at a great price. Obviously, we were not the only ones watching, waiting, and ready to go.

Here's the issues that we're seeing. With all of these options, buyers no longer have to 'settle' for much. There are so many options right now that they might as well just hang tight until what they want comes on the market, OR watch what they do like and wait for them to come to you.

Basically, buyers are sitting back and watching what is happening to the market. In this client's situation, we have been looking at condos since June(ish). We knew our price range, knew what area we wanted and didn't jump until the right one came about. And this particular place had been around even then, but it wasn't in the price range that we wanted. Low and behold, a little while later - they dropped their price to right where we needed it. And guess what - even with the multiple offers - my client got the place! And didn't have to go above the new asking price either.

Ah, the multiple offer. You're back. But I never had a chance to miss you.

Have fun... And Good Luck!
Aaron

Guess Who's Back...

The contingent offer is creeping it's way back into the lives of sellers. If you're selling your house, do not be surprised to see a contingency in the offers you receive allowing the buyer time to sell their own home before moving forward with yours. They're not coming back strong yet, but we're seeing them and hearing about them a lot more than we used to.

With homes taking so long to sell right now, people are having to place contingent offers on the the homes that they want to purchase to make sure that they're not stuck owning two homes in a market when there's no telling when the first one is going to sell (without dropping the price too much, that is).

And sellers are starting to be a little more open to these offers again, because they need their home to sell too, obviously.

It's something that we, in the Seattle area, haven't had to deal with in quite a few years. But it's working it's way back as our market cools.

It's not a bad thing to accept a contingent offer. Just make sure you understand what it means to you, as a seller, before you accept it.

If you're thinking about buying a house but need to sell your own home... think about using this. It is a great tool to hopefully get you the home that you want and allowing time to sell your current home.

If you have questions or thoughts about this, call me, email me, leave a comment below, whatever. And if you'd like more information about this, I'll be sure to get back to you.

In the meantime... Good luck and Have fun!

Aaron

King County Median Home Price Falls

For the second consecutive month, the median home price in King County dropped. This month it dropped to $450,000. The median home price means that half of the home sales were beneath this price and half were above this price. This is NOT the average home price.

What does this mean to buyers and sellers? Well, if you're attempting to sell your home, don't get greedy. You need to price it where it should be priced. Trust your realtor, that's what we're paid for. If you're feeling like you should 'try for more', then this isn't the time to sell your house. Buyers aren't dumb, they're going to come in offering less than what you're asking, unless it's priced right.

But don't forget to keep things in perspective. Our market is still very good. As a buyer, this might not be the time to purchase a flipper house that you want to sell in 6 months. But if you're going to be in your house for a couple years, don't let this stop you. One, it's better to own than rent as long as you can afford the payment. Don't get yourself into any overly risky loan programs at this time. Two, if you're at your home for two years, you won't lose. Even in our 'slower' market.

If anything, this is a great time to purchase. It's like they always say, 'buy low; sell high'. As an investor, I've always believed that you make your money on the front side of the purchase. If you can purchase something for under price, you've just made that much extra for when you sell it.

Good luck! Let me know if I can be of any help.
Aaron