Real Estate Blog

source: Where are Cap Rates Heading?

Although I’m still officially on vacation, I did a quick foreclosure search today.  Here is a summary of current foreclosure inventory in the Wenatchee & North Central Washington area: 
  Wenatchee: 3 foreclosures, 3 pre-foreclosures
   East Wenatchee: 1 foreclosure, 1 pre-foreclosure
   Chelan:  1 foreclosure, 1 pre-foreclosure, 1 bankruptcy
   Leavenworth: 1 foreclosure, 1 pre-foreclosure

I don’t send out daily updates, but if you want a list of foreclosures at any given time, please let me know and I’ll do a current customized search for you.  I can do local, state, or nationwide searches. 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://www.CarolsWenatchee.com
http://www.RealEstateSuccess.blogspot.com

source: Wenatchee Foreclosures

source: eMetro is now realstreetEX

Here is a link to an interesting article about the high cost of raising teen-agers, and how the growing pressures of "keeping up with the Jones’s" can be a risk to your financial security. 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://www.CarolsWenatchee.com/wenatchee-realestate

source: Teens A Threat To Financial Stability?

Here is a link to an article about billions in tax refunds waiting to be claimed.  There is a three year window so, for those unclaimed refunds from 2002, the deadline is coming up on April 17. 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://www.CarolsWenatchee.com/wenatchee-realestate

source: Unclaimed Tax Refund Deadline

On my other real estate blog, which focuses on the investment side of real estate, I posted some information about developing foreclosure trends for the coming year.  Although I feel our local Wenatchee real estate market is not really typical at this time, it’s interesting to follow the overall foreclosure trend, which does affect real estate in general.  Here is the excerpt from that post:

Recent reports indicate the number of real estate foreclosures nationwide could increase by about 25% this year. This does not mean, of course, that 25% of loans will go into default. Less than 1% of loans nationwide have been going into foreclosure, so that is the number being used as the basis. So, this 1% could increase to about 1.25% of the total in the coming year.

If you have specific questions about Wenatchee area real estate, or current foreclosure inventory, please contact me:
Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

source: Will Foreclosure Inventory Increase?

	Here are today’s rates, as quoted at Bankrate.com   LOAN TYPE		TODAY	+/-	LAST WEEK
	30 yr fixed mtg		5.81%		5.86%
	15 yr fixed mtg		5.46%		5.48%
	5/1 ARM		5.50%		5.49%
	30 yr fixed jumbo mtg		6.08%		6.12%
	5/1 jumbo ARM		5.63%		5.62

Rates are bobbing up and down at bit, but it is expected rates will
rise overall during this calendar year, and I anticipate by the end
of the year we will see a rate of about 6.25% for a fixed 30 year loan.
This is still an excellent rate and should not affect real estate sales
activity overall. 

As I mentioned in one of my previous articles, I recommend utilizing
the internet as a source of information, but suggest interviewing several
local lenders to actually work with on a specific transaction.   If you’d
like some pointers on how to negotiate with (and choose) a lender, please
contact me:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

source: Current Interest Rates

source: Going Up? 1031 Exchanges

Buy a house.  Get a New Car?

I’ve been on vacation for the last few weeks, but I’m still keeping up with inventory and home sales activity in the Wenatchee real estate market and surrounding area.   As always, when I travel, my laptop, cell phone and Fax machine come with me so I’m never out of touch for very long.

Our travels have taken us through Oregon, California, into Arizona and back to the Palm Springs area of California where we have been for the last two weeks.  Southern California real estate activity  has been a hot topic of conversation for quite some time, with a lot of nationwide discussion centering on whether there will be a burst in the proverbial bubble.   Where ever I go here, it seems the discussion turns to the real estate market, whether they know I’m involved in real estate or not.  People are still amazed at the recent escalation of values.   But, it appears the market has stabilized.  No serious price decline, but inventory of homes is substantially more than it was a year or two ago and it’s taking longer for homes to sell.  It’s no longer a strong sellers market. 

Along these lines, I was reading an article the other day about sellers starting to offer incentives to buyers.  These incentives included: cars, vacations, landscaping, kitchen remodels, etc.  There was a poll taken about which incentive buyers would prefer, and the free car won by a significant margin.  So, instead of reducing prices, some sellers are opting to offer a buying incentive.    I guess, all things being equal, I would buy a house with a new car over one that wasn’t offering the car!

It’s amazing to watch all the new construction going on and fathoming the ability for the market to remain stable.  It just seems like, with all the new inventory, prices should be falling.   Only time will tell what the long term effect will be. 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

source: Palm Springs Real Estate

Not surprisingly, mortgage rates are inching up.  For daily updates on current interest rates, visit my Mortgage 101 site or Bankrate.com .  

Whether you’re considering buying real estate in the Wenatchee area or some other part of the country, keeping up with the trend of current rates is useful.   When shopping for rates, the internet can be very useful but I, personally, recommend working with a banker or mortgage company in your local market.  You can use the information you gleen from the internet in negotiating with any lender, but I’ve found local mortgage professionals give more personalized service and are easier to communicate with than an unknown entity from some website.    Just as importantly, I have also found that loans are processed much more efficiently when utilizing local lenders who are familiar with the local market. 

Please contact me if I can provide additional information.

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

source: Interest Rates Are Rising