208 homes for sale with a median asking price of $650,000 at $248 MPPSF
127 sold YTD with a median price of $640,000 and $233 MPPSF (median asking price of the homes that sold was $659,000.
55 in Escrow with median asking price of $649,950 and MPPSF of $237.
MPPSF is down from $251 to $237 vs. this same time last year, but DOM increased from 22 days to 63 days, so like other areas and what I'm seeing, most of the price issues are created by stale inventory pricing to sell before new inventory comes in market.
Not bad. Better than King County as a whole as to volume. Down 22% vs. King County being down 32% as to volume. Prices are a bit off on a price per square foot basis, but median prices are up at $630,000 vs. $624,000 last April. You get more square footage for that more money, so MPPSF is down. but compared to Woodinville, Sammamish is doing great...and almost as good as Redmond.
May. 12, 2008 - Woodinville 98072 - Home Sale Stats
I'm glad someone requested Woodinville, as I've been curious about what's been happening there. Seems to me sales were very sluggish and it's been a very long hard winter. We'll see if my perception was correct.
Currently for sale 164 houses with a median asking price of $622,000 of $246 per square foot.
Only 12 closed in April at a MPPSF of $198
61 closed year to date vs. 91 closed during the same time in 2007.
29 sold in April 2007 MPPSF $227. April 2008 12 sold MPPSF $198
The median asking price of the 61 that sold this year was $569,950.
The median SOLD price of the 61 that sold this year was $538,850.
61 divided by 4 months averages 15.25 houses a month with only 12 closed in April. With 164 on market, that's over 10 months of inventory.
These stats not compiled or published by NWMLS, all hand calculated by ARDELL
Not worth mentioning the condos. Only 8 closed in 2008 in the first 4 months with 29 for sale.
May. 11, 2008 - Redmond Washington Sales Stats 98052
Redmond Washington 98052 faring better than King County as a whole.
Residential Volume in King County is down 32% YTD in 2008 vs. 2007. Redmond 98052 is down 20%
Median Sale price in April of 2008 was $605,000 vs. $642,550 in April of 2007
MPPSF April 2008 $246 vs. $256 in 2008. YTD MPPSF only $263 in 08 vs. $264 in 07.
I did see some significant price drops on Fall inventory that was still hanging around. Likely in an effort to get sold before new 2008 inventory started flooding the market. This could account for the drop in prices in April. Let's see if it swings back or if sellers use the recent reduced prices as comps at time of setting their list prices. Or if buyers hold out for the comp prices.
Median prices in March were the same in 07 vs. 08 at $575,000. So prices just didn't jump up as high March to April in 2008 vs. 2007. Again, I think this is somewhat due to stale inventory making a huge effort to get sold before new inventory takes over the market and they get left behind.
256 homes for sale, 81 in escrow and 140 sold YTD and 43 sold in April (vs. 48 sold in April 07) Pretty strong numbers in April vs. the County as a whole.
Condos: 122 for sale asking $315 per square foot (median price per square foot)
40 in escrow - $292 MPPSF based on asking price
98 sold YTD $295 MPPSF
32 of those closed in April at a median price of $344,950 MPPSF of $320
39 sold last April at a median price of $326,000 MPPSF of $307.
So prices up, volume down though the properties in escrow are likely to show a decline once closed, given the asking is $292 per square foot...unless they all sold over asking price, which I seriously doubt.
Redmond 98053 is not considered in the above stats.
Required Disclaimer: These stats NOT Compiled or Published by NWMLS and are hand calculated by ARDELL
May. 7, 2008 - What's so good about Bamboo Hardwood Floors?
I recently listed a townhome at Rivertrail in Redmond where the owners replaced the carpet on the first floor with bamboo flooring from bamboohardwoods.com
Above is a sample of the flooring used, and I am noting some info from the brochure so I have a link to some FAQ's about this "strand woven engineered" bamboo floor.
Why Use Bamboo?
"Bamboo is harvested and replenished with no impact to the environment. It can be selectively harvested annually and is capable of complete regeneration without the need to replant. Because of its short growth cycle, it can be harvested in 3-5 years vs. 10-100 years for most tree woods."
Strength and Durability
"The Janka Ball Harness Test measures the force required to drive a 11.28mm steel ball half it's diameter into the wood. The test is a good indicator of resistance to denting as well as its harness for nailing and drilling."
From softest to hardest: Fir-Pine-NA Cherry-Walnut-Moso Bamboo-Red Oak-White Oak-Maple-Kempas-Solid Bamboo-Tropical Bamboo-Merbau-Brazilian Cherry-Woven Bamboo.
The Finish
"Finished with UV ceramic...a non-toxic UV cured layer. Above that is a hardened scratch resistant top coat that can be recoated without sanding. The overall finish is formeldehyde free and warrantied by the manufacturer for 25 years."
Engineered vs. Solid
"An engineered floor, by definition, is cross laminated. These floors are real wood from top to bottom vs. Pergo which is particle board witha picture of wood laminated on it." Engineered floors were developed in part so that they could be installed over radiant heat and because they are more stable in areas where hardwood alone does not hold up well. So engineered wood is the choice when you are continuing into the kitchen from the living areas as engineered floors will hold up better in kitchens and bathrooms.
Woven Strand Bamboo (see page 22 of 2008 Product Catalog) hits the highest level of 3000 on the Janka Hardness scale. "Flooring this hard is very rare and offers an extreme resistance to dents".
"No wood floor is scratch-proof...pads should be adhered to the feet of all furniture...spike heeled shoes should be removed...pet nails should be trimmed and furniture should be lifted whenever possible."
Apr. 9, 2008 - Transparent Real Estate Commissions
It's challenging to come up with and post commissions as they really are, and in the manner that we charge them, as there is not really one hard and fast formula. Yet "it depends" is never a good answer, is it?
Most of our seller clients believe that home buyers find homes on the internet vs. print ads. So almost always our commission is a flat fee that acknowledges that the seller doesn't want to waste money on print ads in newspapers or home magazines.
We had one client recently who wanted no print ads and no Open Houses who sold her home for about $550,000. We charged a flat fee of $7,500 which we reduced to $6,000 at the end by splitting the home inspection request with her. That worked out well and everyone seemed to be fairly happy, though all of us would have been happier if the buyer didn't want an extra $3,000 :) That house sold to a buyer who had a buyer's agent, so the total commission to us was $6,000 and the amount to the buyer agent from another real estate company was $16,500.
Our price for listing a house is usually 2% or $10,000 whichever is less and does include Open Houses but does not include print ads. Many if not most of our clients are both buying and selling and so the $10,000 applies to the selling their home side and then again on the buying a home side. If they are only buying and not selling, sometimes the flat fee is $12,000 or $15,000, but rarely does that apply to someone selling their home.
That's about as simple and transparent as I can describe our listing fee at the moment. I just want to get something down in a blog post, and will come back and review it when I have more time. "Our" being Kim and I, and not all Sound Realty agents who are free to price as they and their clients negotiate.
We do not, by and large, keep the amount offered to a buyer agent if the buyer comes without an agent and wants that amount. Usually that "extra" 3% either goes to the buyer's agent or the buyer or off the price, whichever way suits the buyer and the buyer's lender.
On a very low priced property or a very high priced property, there could be changes, but most often we are not dealing in a price range that requires a different price than that stated.
That covers our commission for sellers. Usually not more than $10,000. But what about buyers?
Our buyer clients assume a lot of the responsibility for finding property on the internet and driving by the property before asking us to meet them at the house(s) they choose. Rarely to we "tour" homes and view everything for sale. Most of our clients do not want to see "everything for sale". They only want to see the ones they might buy.
If the price of the property they want to purchase is $400,000 or less, we usually accept whatever amount the seller offers, even if that amount is below our normal charge. Often finding reasonably priced housing is more difficult due to scarcity of supply of good properties and takes a lot longer. So our fee is generally no different from most agents in that price range.
Once you get to just under $400,000, the price is $10,000 if we are also selling your home. If you are buying and not selling, the price is from 1.5% to not more than $15,000.
That's the best I can pin it down at the moment. My main goal is to just get the basics down on paper and now I will review it from here or answer questions as they arise.
Transparency regarding commissions is much easier in person because it really does depend on the house type, where it is, how difficult it may be to sell, how readily available the type of property you want to buy is, etc... But we find that most times the commission fits into a box of not more than $15,000, most often $10,000 and sometimes less.
The biggest factor is often the people themselves and how compatible our personalities are with theirs. Sometimes we charge less for nice people :) We never charge more for really nasty people, we just don't work with really nasty people. It saves everyone a lot of time and trouble to evaluate how well we work together in advance. Everyone being "on the same page" is much less stressful for our clients, and buying or selling a house is stressful enough. So working with the right agent for you is the most important thing you can do to simplify the entire process.
Sometimes I think most agents charge a lot more than we do to compensate for having to work with difficult people. We think nice people should get "a discount" and difficult people are not worth working with at any price, so why overcharge to compensate for them? If our clients want to assume more of the work themeselves, or want to eliminate a service like an Open House, we adjust our fees even further.
That our clients never complain about price of our service says a lot. No one complains that we charged too much for what they received. That in and of itself tells us that we have hit on the correct pricing formula.
Mar. 25, 2008 - A snippet from a conversation with Jeff Turner in early 2007
We have not reached the tipping point yet?
Ahhh...we have reached many points of tipping...
The (real estate) industry has about five main bullet points to address, and have already chosen how to address those to a large extent and over a period of say 15 years. Their chosen course in each disappoints me, obviously. Some are more problematic for me than others. Are these courses reversible? More importantly, should I care if they are not reversed or moved forward differently? Give me a sec. I have to go ask Jesus.
1)Broker survival-compensation models (becoming landlords of cowboys. The cowboys is my issue more than the fee structure. Starting our own company was a huge eye opener though. I see it...I get it...but I don't care much about the big picture of broker compensation...just the impact on consumers of the cowboys that structure creates.
2) Buyer Agency and all that goes with (disclosure of and negotiation of the Buyer Agent Fee i.e. Redfin. I may negotiate at full price or more or less...but I never say the buyer agent fee is none of the buyers business...as "the industry" does. That is why Redfin is the one and only and hated for it. The buyer agent fee is not supposed to be any of the buyer's damn business LOL. A huge host of injustices in the everyday market place lies herein...so it is my main focus. It is also where the consumer's intelligence is highly insulted.
3) Consumer's disgust at the control and arrogance factor (you HAVE TO pay this and you HAVE TO use us and you HAVE TO...just because the industry has gotten away with way too much for way too long, is no excuse for this stance. Be happy that you "made hay while the sun shined" and move in a new direction people.
4)Realtor.com is a monopoly, and by definition of monopoly, unchallengedly stagnant. Enter Zillow as the response. You really have to admire Dalton for his Fearless Leader stance...ask yourself, why is Dalton defending Realtor value against Redfin? Why wasn't it the CEO of another Brokerage. Where is Dalton vs. Kelman not a match? He has taken on that role...very wise man....defender of the Realtor.
5)Self Governed Trade Association The Big Kahuna has not met it's obligations that go with privelege. It did forever...until...all agents stopped representing only sellers. Their response to the change was to "pretend" change...not "good enough" The world is rebelling...including the DOJ And well they should. Self governance to the point of Courts deferring back to the Realtor Organization, comes with HUGE public policy responsibility. They blew it...badly...and have given no sign of doing anything but staying that course. If the Realtor organization only looks out for the Realtor and not the consumer, then they need to be dismantled and have less power. They were given huge power because all was seller oriented. Agent wants exactly what seller consumer wants...motivation of agent same as motivation for seller consumer, so large power and self governance given them. Buyer consumer gaining rights...Realtor Organization not responding in consumer protection fashion...time to take it down to size and no longer defer to their "judgment" and control.
Has there ever before in history been an intervention by government into the affairs of the Realtor Organization? Why now? The BIG answer...not the small excuse they found to do so.
Oh, and Jesus says in response to my question at the beginning: "Whatever You Do For the LEAST of My Brethren, You Do Unto Me". So that leaves me at point #2 where you "found" me :)
Mar. 15, 2008 - Pottery Barn Paint Colors - Benjamin Moore
I often recommend that people check out Pottery Barn paint colors when trying to decide on a paint color when getting their home ready for market. Plain white or off-white is often just too boring, and in a market with lots of other homes on market, sometimes you want to stand out a bit.
I am writing this post today for a man Kim and I visited this week who is preparing a home for market over in Shoreline. A small home in a private, lush setting with medium colored wood trims around the wall of garden windows and for kitchen cabinetry. I recommended that he use a little color in the high vaulted walls in the kitchen to accent the height of the space. You don't want to use colors that are too dark anywhere in a small space. Perhaps semolina in the kitchen and stem green in the master bedroom areas. By painting both the bedroom and the dressing area the same color, you expand the size of the master space beyond just the bedroom.
For a small home with medium colored natural wood trims, the colors that work best together from the above list are semolina, stem green, suntan yellow, brookside moss
Due to the coloring of the millwork, I recommend from the above chart, Semolina, Stem Green. Semolina may be a little too bright except in the kitchen where there is not much wall space due to the cabinets. Stem Green in both the kitchen would likely work well, but I don't think semolina can carry into the bedroom. Suntan and acadia look nice together, but you want the house to blend well with all of the lush dark greens peeking in from the outside.
A little color goes a long way in a small home and Pottery Barn clearly spends a ton of money determining which colors are popular at any given time. You can benefit from their research dollars by emulating or choosing from their prechosen colors.
The right color can really make your millwork pop.
Here in Seattle where you want a lot of internal brightness to compensate for the lack of sun, painting only the angled accent walls, instead of the entire room, keeps everyting light and bright even when the weather says otherwise.
Did you ever ask yourself how it can be that you meet people all the time that first saw the home they live in at an Open House. Yet if you Google "Open Houses" you get story upon story of how Open Houses rarely, if ever, help to sell a house?
Did you ever ask yourself why you can't drive through any neighborhood on a Sunday between 1 and 4 without running into scads of Open House tent signs pointing to an Open House, if they don't work?
Mainly it's because Open Houses DO work for the owner who is selling the house but they DON'T work for the agent who is holding the house open. Many people see a house at an Open House and then call their agent to buy it. The same agents who will say Open Houses don't work, will be the same runs crying the blues that a buyer who came to an Open House bought the house...but not with the Open House agent.
Because often the agent holding the Open House is not the listing agent, you read many stories about how they are a "waste of time". They are not a waste of time for the owner who is trying to sell the house...but often they are a waste of time for the agent who stands to gain nothing if both the seller and buyer have an agent...but the Open House agent is "none of the above."
Open Houses DO work, and often, for the seller. Sometimes people go home after an Open House and can't get that house out of their mind. They come back later with their own agent and buy it.
Mar. 6, 2008 - Pricing Your Home Right and Having Patience
It is more difficult now more than ever to determine whether or not you have priced your home right.
With average days on market doubling in many areas, it is hard to tell if you are not getting showings and offers because your price is incorrect, or simply because there are fewer buyers in the marketplace.
It is not unusual for buyers to want to see price reductions, but it is also not unusual for buyers to want to pay less than asking price. Consequently you could get a triple whammy if you lower your price to get an offer, the offers are coming in at less than asking price AND then you get hit hard at the time of the Home Inspection.
Still, I think the next 6 months will be better than the last six. Just try to be more patient, more flexible, and try not to worry if you don't get an offer in the first 10 days. The market is not a Buyer's Market and still leans to the seller side for the most part, but only if the seller is realistic and pays a lot of attention to condition and pricing well.
ARDELL
DellaLoggia
On Seattle Real Estate including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Green Lake and most areas around Lake Washington North of Downtown Seattle.
Phone: 206-910-1000 - Mailto:Ardell@RainCityGuide.com
You can find many great Seattle real estate agents and loan officers on ActiveRain.com ARDELL DellaLoggia is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.
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