Real Estate Blog

There has been a lot of talk recently about an impending "housing bubble".  Here is a link to a blog dedicated exclusively to the topic of the housing bubble theory.  Today’s post gives a summary of various markets and what is happening with inventory and price reductions across the country. I am getting more notices, through our MLS communication system, alerting us of sales that have failed before closing, and of price reductions.  Is our market cooling a bit?

From my perspective, the affordable housing market in Wenatchee and the surrounding areas has cooled because there is, essentially, no inventory in the under $150,000 price range.  People shopping in this range cannot afford homes in the higher price ranges… so they’re not buying OR their financing is failing and the transactions are not closing.    There is demand.  There isn’t inventory in the "right" price range.  

For answers to specific real estate questions, contact:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

www.TopPropertiesWenatchee.com : Search homes and/or land for sale

www.CarolsWenatchee.com/wenatchee-realestate: Current news, info & trends

source: Is The Wenatchee Housing Market Cooling?

Below is a list of addresses for homes currently scheduled for auction in the Wenatchee, East Wenatchee and Malaga areas. If you find one of particular interest, let me know. I can suggest the best course of action for contacting the owner or lender.

In my opinion, pre-auction properties hold more potential than foreclosure properties. These are people who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments but have not yet gone into foreclosure yet. Not all these homes will actually be auctioned because the owners will find a way to pay their delinquent account before that happens. If it does go to auction, it is usually because there is not enough equity in the home for the owners to bother trying to salvage it. Where there is substantial equity, they often find a way to pay-off the delinquent payments before it actually goes to the auction. Because these homeowners are having difficulty making payments, you may be able to negotiate a good sale price and get a better value than on a home that is already in foreclosure.

Once a home has gone into foreclosure, the bank has incurred additional expenses and tacks those fees onto the base price of the home. Foreclosure properties tend to be in less desireable condition. People who are losing their home to foreclosure do not continue to maintain the property and often leave it in a state of disrepair.

East Wenatchee:


1127 N. Devon Ave. 3 bed / 2 bath

1761 Manhattan Dr 4 bed / 3 bath

1801 - 3rd St. N.E. 2 bed / 1.5 baths

520 Lacy Place 2 bed / 1 bath

1604 Flora 2 bed / 2 bath

3126-E Sunset Hwy 2 bed, 1 bath

215 S. Kentucky 3 bed / 2 bath

576 Morning View 4 bed / 2 bath

1026 Gilbert Ct. 4 bed / 3 bath

20 N. Nile 3 bed / 2 bath

1617 N. Astor Ct. 3 bed / 2 bath

2513 N. Ashland Ave 4 bed / 3.5 bath

612 S. Larch 3 bed / 2 bath

Wenatchee: (Sorry no bed or bath info)

1314 Poplar Ave

1791 Judkins

1602 Walnut

165 Brookside

1710 Springwater

545 Chrisand

550 Methow

704 Okanogan

834 Walker

512 Red Apple Road

360 Crawford

404 S. Chelan

1329 Castlerock

1036 Madison

932 Monroe

1005 West Park

1309 McKittrick

820 Monroe

343 Malaga

820 Monroe

1261 Millerdale

1639 Ridgeview Loop

Malaga: (Sorry no bed or bath info)

3499 Marlette Place

For answers to your real estate questions, contact:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
www.TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

source: Pre-Auction Homes

A beautiful new listing has just come on the market… 100 feet of Columbia River Waterfront property near East Wenatchee, with a contemporary 3200 square foot home, boat dock and riverfront prestige and lifestyle.  Listed at: $899,900.   For complete listing details and to schedule a preview of this beautiful Lake Entiat waterfront home, contact:

   Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

Search all homes and land for sale in North Central Washington

source: Columbia River Waterfront

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source: Free Real Estate Investment Seminar

The other day I received an e-mail asking what the taxes are for a specific property.  This was from someone (approaching retirement) who now lives in an area where taxes have skyrocketed.  He was annoyed that his taxes have increased so much and wanted to move to an area with lower taxes.

The thing you need to know about property taxes is the actual "tax rate" probably doesn’t change that much over time.  What increases taxes is the escalating values, making the total tax bill higher.  I don’t know what the property tax rate in King county is (for example), but I would guess our rates in Chelan and Douglas counties are a little higher, yet our taxes are lower.  The reason for that is the total tax is based on value.  Our values are considerably less than King county so, therefore, our property taxes are actually lower… despite a higher base rate.

A typical tax rate of 1.25% (of assessed value) in this area would create a total tax of $2,500 on a $200,000 home.  This $200,000 home may be $400,000 in King county, thereby creating a much higher tax bill.  As the baby boomers are moving here to build or buy their retirement home, my advice to them is "Build or buy the home you want and need, but don’t make it any bigger (or more expensive) than you really need it".   If you pay $200,000 for a home that increases in value 15%, your new tax bill will be around $2875 (up from $2500).  If you pay $300,000 your current tax bill will be around $3,750 and your future tax bill (at the 15% appreciation rate) will be $4,125.   Do you see the point I’m trying to make here?

The up side of buying a higher priced home is that appreciating values are generally on a percentage basis. 15% of $300,000 is $45,000 whereas 15% of $200,000 is only $30,000.   You’ve made an extra $15,000 (on paper anyway).  Looking at it in that light, in an escalating market, it is good to buy the most expensive home you can afford.  However, once the appreciation rate flattens out, you’re stuck with higher taxes. 

Theoretically, you would think the local governing agencies, setting the property tax rates, would be able to lower the rate as values increase.  This isn’t likely to happen, so weigh the pros and cons and make an informed decision based on YOUR goals and budget.

For answers to your real estate questions, contact:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

Search the entire Wenatchee MLS for homes and land

source: Wenatchee Property Tax Rates

I recently received an e-mail with the following question:

"I’m researching new construction in Wenatchee, looking for 4 bdrm home around 1800-2100 sq. ft. What builders and communities are you aware of in this range?  It is hard to find builders, prices, floorplans and neighborhoods on the internet."

My reply went something like this:

What budget are you working with? New construction in the Wenatchee area currently runs from about $125 - $175 per square foot (and up), depending on quality of construction, upgrade package,  lot size & location. Most of the 4 bedroom homes have more square footage than you indicated being interested in, but there are certainly floor plans to accommodate your inquiry.   I have contact with builders in all price ranges and can heartily recommend some and consider others to need more "supervision" during the project.  Please let me know how I can help".  

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com  
Search local, state or national listings

source: Wenatchee Builders, Prices, Floor Plans

Yesterday I posted a link to the limited inventory of homes in the under 100,000 and 100K-125K prices ranges.  Here is a link to what’s showing on today’s inventory of mobiles homes on lease land.  I received a comment from one of my readers that he’s had two friends seek employment in other parts of the state because they couldn’t afford to buy a home here. 

Most people prefer to buy a home with land included but, with a limited budget, a home on leased land is actually not a bad option.  When you consider your buying power, you can get a much nicer home (for less money) on leased land than one that includes the real estate, and it beats paying rent (which just means you’re paying your landlord’s mortgage instead of your own).

Let me give you a potentially new perspective on the benefits of buying a home on leased land.  It’s very difficult to find a decent home (one you’d want to live in) for under $150,000 in our current market.  For $60,000 you can get quite a nice home on leased land.  That creates a $90,000 price differencial.   If you make a lot lease payment of $325 (example), you could pay for over 23 years and still be ahead.   Remember, the lot lease generally includes water, sewer and (sometimes) garbage so your net cost is actually less.  Plus, your taxes are less because you are not paying for the value of the real estate.  You are only paying on the lower value of the mobile home.   Between taxes and utilities you would probably save around $100 per month, so your net land lease cost is $225.  That’s 33 years of payments for the $90,000 price differential.  

I realize, of course, the lot lease will increase over the years (affecting the numbers) but do you see my point on all of this?    If you’re on a limited budget but still want a home you can be proud to live in… consider a manufactured home on leased land. 

For a custom consultation and the most current info, please contact:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com 
For current pictures and info about the Wenatchee area

source: Benefits of Buying a Mobile Home on Lease Land

As the 2006 Tour of Homes gets underway, and the builders flaunt their showcase homes, I got to wondering what the total current inventory of "affordable" homes looks like.   Affordable is an arbitrary term, of course,  but I searched for homes under $100,000 and found only 6 total.  These are single family residences, excluding mobile homes on leased land.  Adding those (mobiles) to the mix the total went up to 20.   Because there were so few in the under 100,000 price range, I searched homes in the $100,000 - $125,000 price range and there were 12.  All searches were done for the Wenatchee, and East Wenatchee areas and did not include homes for sale in Cashmere, Leavenworth, Chelan or other outlying areas.

With home sales in the Wenatchee area remaining brisk, it is becoming more and more difficult to find affordable homes to buy.  To add to the frustration for those on a limited budget, our anticipated appreciation of 16% for the next 12 months will make buying a home even more difficult as time goes by.  So, if you’re thinking about buying a home… sooner is better than later!

If you’d like a free consultation or customized search in a specific location and price range, please contact:

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

Stay Current with homes for sale in the Wenatchee area

Current Wenatchee area pictures, news, info and trends

source: Are There Any Affordable Homes In Wenatchee?

This week-end, starting Friday, is the annual North Central (Washington) Home Builders Association Tour-Of-Homes. 

The following 10 participating builders have a variety of floor plans and unique style to showcase:  Bollinger Construction, Cedarbrook Homes, Gold Construction, GVL Construction, Jessup Home Design, Olson’s Construction, Stimac Construction, VanAssche Homjes, VanLith Developments and Lenssen Homes.

The cost of viewing all 10 homes is: Adults $8,  Kids (2-12) $4

$1 off coupons are available by visiting the NCHBA website at: www.nchba.cc

Addresses for this years tour are:

Wenatchee:
901Surry Road (Bollinger)

960 Golden Crest Drive (VanLith)

East Wenatchee:

137 Hill Spring Drive (Jessup)

2610 Facher Landing (VanAssche)

2336 Fancher Heights Blvd (Stimac)

983 Briarwood Drive (Cedarbrook)

848 Briarwood Drive (GVL)

445 Dorado Court (Olson’s)

439 Dorado Court (Lenssen)

448 S. Webb Ave (Gold)

Tour times are:
Friday: 3:00 - 7:00

Saturday: 10:00 - 6:00 
Sunday: 11:00 - 4:00

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

Search homes and land in the Wenatchee Valley

source: 2006 Wenatchee Tour Of Homes

A proposed mobile home park, intended to replace the Ninth Street Trailer Park is being met with opposition from homeowners in the adjacent neighborhood.  The replacement park is necessary because the residents at the Ninth Street Trailer Park will be receiving evacuation notices to make way for new development along the riverfront. 

You can read more about it in tonights Wenatchee World newspaper.   This kind of community is ccertainly needed in the Wenatchee Valley, but where should it go? 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

Search for homes and land in the North Central Washington MLS

source: Neighborhood Opposes New Trailer Park