Month: June 2014
Friday’s Quick Real Estate Tips
Quickly calculate if your home was a good investment
Top 10 things you need to know when buying a house
Buyers hope to make their offer stand apart with personal appeals to sellers
7 things buyers love and seller’s fail to mention
And just for fun do you know its the Great American Backyard Campout this weekend? If its not raining this weekend try it and have some fun!
Interest Rate Cheat Sheets
Is 2014 the year for you to purchase a home?
Prices are going up and interest rates have just started to creep up also. If you wait take a look at the difference in payment and how it affects your buying power. It can be a few dollars to hundreds a month and completely change the game plan on the type, style and area of a home you want to live in. I know there are always very good reasons that buyers have to wait, and we all need to have a bit more patience in general, but, if your just waiting because you feel the worst is not over and houses are going to take a dive again I can assure you it is not happening any time soon here in Snohomish and South King County. Homes for sale are very scarce and are going so fast with multiple offers. If you don’t get out there now you will soon be paying more in rent than a house payment and you can’t deduct any amount from rental payments on your taxes.
But, your landlord can.. Ouch!
| Interest Rate | 3.25% | 4.25% | 5.25% | 6.25% | 7.25% | ||||
| 200,000 | |||||||||
| Monthly Payment | $1,266 | $1,377 | $1,496 | $1,620 | $1751 | ||||
| Monthly Income | $3,246 | $3,542 | $3,835 | $4,155 | $4,489 | ||||
| Hourly Pay | $18.73 | $20.37 | $22.12 | $23.97 | $25.90 | ||||
| 250,000 | |||||||||
| Payment | $1,572 | $1,712 | $1,860 | $2,015 | $2,179 | ||||
| Income | $4,032 | $4,389 | $4,768 | $5,168 | $5,586 | ||||
| Hourly | $23.26 | $25.32 | $27.51 | $29,81 | $32.23 | ||||
| 300,000 | |||||||||
| Payment | $1,879 | $2,046 | $2,223 | $2,411 | $2,606 | ||||
| Income | $4,817 | $5,246 | $5,701 | $6,181 | $6,683 | ||||
| Hourly | $27.79 | $30.27 | $32.89 | $35.66 | $38.55 | ||||
| 350,000 | |||||||||
| Payment | $2,185 | $2,380 | $2,587 | $2,806 | $3,034 | ||||
| Income | $5,603 | $6,103 | $6,634 | $7,194 | $7,780 | ||||
| Hourly | $32.33 | $35.21 | $38.27 | $41.50 | $44.88 |
Explore Snohomish County
Its warming up around here so go and have some fun out there! Here are a few great links to get you started.
Snohomish County website
Attractions
Comcast Arena
Evergreen State Fair
Jetty Island
Mount Baker
Seattle Premium Outlets
Stevens Pass
Information
Lynnwood Chamber
Marysville Tulalip Chamber
Mukilteo Chamber
Snohomish County cities
Snohomish County tourism
Leadership Quot…
Leadership Quote
“The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”
― Jim Rohn
Father’s Day top picks for Fun!
Looking for Something to do this weekend with Dear old Dad?
How about a bike Ride on the Centennial Trail, Interurban Trail or Burke Gilman Trail?
Or a hike on the numerous beautiful trails we have around Snohomish County and the Northwest?
What about enticing Dad with some lunch or dinner at one of the many events going on or the Farmers Markets opening this week?
June 13 – June 15, 2014
Join us for a wonderful weekend at the 57th annual Edmonds Arts Festival at the Frances Anderson Cultural Center
Everett-Friday Farmers Market at Everett Mall
June 13 – September 26, 2014
3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
The Friday Farmers Market (FFM) will open a month earlier than last year, on June 13
Everett-National Marina Day
June 14, 2014
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Join us for National Marina Day at the Port of Everett Marina.
Everett Bark for Life
June 14, 2014
9:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Bark For Life of Everett Saturday June 14th, 2014 Everett Animal Shelter/Langus Riverside Park
Snohomish-Sunsets In Snohomish
June 14, 2014
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
June 14 marks the first of the monthly events in 2014. Always a “bring-your-own-glass” Event.
Everett-Sunday Farmers Market
June 15 – November 2, 2014
11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Welcome foodies and art lovers, to the 2014 Market Season!
More ideas? check out the Snohomish County Guide to all the events.
More of a Seattle or East Side Dad? Take a look at the RED Tri site for lots of kid friendly ideas in your part of town.
Of course, whatever you do, or how you spend the day make sure you tell that man in your life to have a wonderful Father’s Day and how much you appreciate them!
Tuesday Tid Bit Real Estate News
Whew! A bit late I guess Tuesday evening for the news but its end of the School Year fun and with two boys all these events are making for one tired mom who is up working late.
So if your up as late as me here is your Tuesday Tidbit Real Estate News.
From Fannie Mae: Spring-Summer Buying and Selling Season Sputters Despite Drop in Mortgage Rates
“Consumers’ lukewarm income expectations and reticence about the economy seem to be holding back housing demand,” said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. “This year’s spring and summer home buying season has gotten off to a slow start, even as mortgage rates have trended lower over the past two months. Our National Housing Survey data show that economic conditions continue to be the top concern among consumers who think it’s a bad time to buy or sell a home. While recent housing activity suggests that the worst of the housing slump may be behind us, this caution among consumers supports our expectation that the rebound in home sales will likely be too modest to pull sales for all of 2014 ahead of last year.”
As a reminder: a decline in existing home sales this year is not “bad news”. With fewer distressed sales and less investor buying, it is no surprise that existing home sales are down. I expect housing starts and new home sales (the key for GDP and employment growth) to increase this year and also in 2015.
Other news included the research data that demand for purchase mortgages in the last three months gained a cumulative 9%. On the pricing front, a national listing site said prices are beginning to stabilize. Their chief economist explained: “…home price changes are looking more balanced, sustainable and widespread than at any point since the price recovery began.” With home prices still rising, but in a more controlled fashion, there are now more than 43 million homes with equity. This should encourage more people to put their properties on the market, improving the inventory situation.
I know buyers will like to hear this. I just secured a home for a buyer of mine that had 5 offers! Since it was the only Rambler in that zip code for sale you can imagine how happy they are.
Tuesday’s Tidbit Real Estate News
INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE… We were all very happy to see that Pending Home Sales grew for the second month in a row, up 0.4% in April. This National Association of Realtors (NAR) measure of contracts signed on existing homes indicates continued growth for these sales when contracts go to closing a couple of months out. The NAR’s chief economist sees a gradual gain in sales: “Higher inventory levels are giving buyers more choices, and a slight decline in mortgage interest rates this spring is raising prospective home buyers’ confidence. An uptrend in closed sales is expected.”
The NAR further projected that annual existing home sales should come in slightly below the almost 5.1 million closings we had in 2013, but then should hit nearly 5.3 million next year. The national median price for existing homes is expected to increase 5% to 6% this year and 4% to 5% in 2015. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index continued rising in March, but at a slower 0.9% pace. However, the index is up 12.6% versus a year ago, and 19 of the 20 cities reported monthly gains. Most observers feel a moderation in price gains is healthy for the housing market.
