Di Kawell Real Estate Blog

Knutzen Theatre Federal Way - Take The Kids this Weekend

Goldilocks

 

 

Saturday at 11 am & 1 pm

Golden curls and mood swings do not necessarily mix with an over-pampered but adorable baby bear.  Can a famished little lost girl put her spoiled behavior on the back shelf and learn how to be a friend to a lonely baby bear who hungers for a playfellow?  Through listening and taking turns, these two misfits discover the power of having fun and being a friend. 

Tickets: $8.00 available at the theatre or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/35583

More info: 253-835-2020

Location: Knutzen Family Theatre

3200 SW Dash Point Road

Federal Way, WA 98023

Brown's Point / NE Tacoma Real Estate Stats - Mid-month Update Feb '09

Amazing change in this market over just the last few weeks. Buyers are buying and sellers are signing at a pretty good clip. The bulk of homes selling are in the $200-400,000 range. And we've gone from a 4.5 yr supply of homes for sale down to 18 months based on closed sales to listing ratio. That is a huge improvement!

Here's a Current Market Snapshot

ACTIVE LISTINGS

There are currently 162 homes on the market, the highest price is $1,850,000 and the lowest price is $139,950. The median price is $389,950. These listings average 113 days on the market. 20% OF THESE HOMES FOR SALE ARE IN PRE-FORECLOSURE, FORECLOSURE OR BANK OWNED.

PENDING SALES

There are currently 30 homes under contract since Jan 1, 2009. The highest price is $990,000 and the lowest price is $125,000.The median price of these pending sales is $304,500; and they average 113 days on the market (a coincidence with the actives!) 40% OF THESE PENDING SALES ARE PRE-FORECLOSURE, FORECLOSURE OR BANK OWNED.

CLOSED SALES

9 sales have closed since Jan 1, 2009. The highest price was $860,000 and the lowest price was $224,050. The median price of these sold homes was $279,000; and they average 84 days on the market. 33% OF THESE HOMES WERE EITHER PRE-FORECLOSURE, FORECLOSURE OR BANK OWNED.

Jan '09 Home Sales Stats for King & Pierce Counties - Opportunity Knocks

"Baby It's Cold Outside" and it's not just the weather. Home sales for January, compared to the number of active listings is coming in at 20 months of inventory. For perspective, 6 months is a normal market, anything over is a buyer's market. 20 months means that if no more homes came on the market, we have enough homes for sale now to last over a year and a half!

Federal Way, in South King county, has 347 homes on the market, currently. The bulk of listings are in the $200,000-350,000 range. However 56% of the sales closed in January were over $350,000 - reflecting buyers' recognition of the excellent values in this category.

Brown's Point & Northeast Tacoma, in Pierce county, are niche areas adjoining Federal Way and the bulk of homes for sale ranges from $200,000 to $400,000. In January, closed sales were $240,000 - $285,000. Now with 55 months of inventory, which is abnormally high, this is an extreme buying opportunity!

For more information on these areas, click on some of the links to the left or visit my website where you can also search properties. 

 

Don't Miss Your Chance - Live Comedy Theatre Right Here in Federal Way!

JAN 23 - FEB 1 Knutzen Family Theatre - For story line and ticket info and purchases go to http://www.cityoffederalway.com/Page.aspx?page=621

Scheduled for Friday/Sat 8PM, Sunday at 2PM  

Directed by Holly Rose - student & senior discount.

What's The Best Deal? Short Sale, Foreclosure, Pre-Foreclosure, Bank Owned?

If you're wondering about the definitions of these words, you're not alone. I'll try to keep it simple.

In the state of Washington, a Pre-Foreclosure property refers to a property where the owners are delinquent on a few payments, but are not yet in foreclosure status. Foreclosure status starts after 4 payments are missed. A Short Sale is a property that is either in pre-forclosure status or foreclosure status, and a fair market value for the property is 'short' of what it would take to pay off the full balance owed to the bank (or banks, if there is more than one lien on the property.)  Bank Owned means just that. The bank has already foreclosed and now owns the property - which is usually vacant. Bank owned properties are typically the faster of all these to negotiate and close. Short Sales (pre-foreclosure and foreclosure) typically take 30-45 days for the bank/s to respond an acceptance or denial of an offer, and if they accept, it would be another 30 days to close, maybe sooner.

Which one of these will get you the best deal? Depends. Each category can have great deals.  And, let's not forget about regular seller's properties. They can be motivated by health or other personal issues having nothing to do with a short sale or foreclosure. Their properties could be in pristine shape and priced to match the bank owned properties, plus they may pay closing costs as well. And there would be a faster response in many cases.

My advice to buyers is always the same:

1. Get your financing in order so that you can act as soon as you see a great deal.

2. Look at lots of property in a condensed period of time so that everything remains relative.

3. Don't hesitate when you find 'the one' because you are not the only buyer out there.

I Saw What? Hummingbirds in Fife Heights for the Holidays!

So far, this little hummingbird and 3 others, are surviving our Northwest winter in my neighborhood - with a lot of help and love from my retired neighbors, Lyle & Colleen. I had the thrill of snapping this photo with my own 2 hands, waiting for about 15 minutes in the cold for her to show up. I'm not complaining -- look what this little one is wearing! And, her  internal temperature is normally around 104 degrees. To read more science about this phenomenon go to this article .