Trilogy at Redmond Ridge Market Report – April 2012

April Showers Trilogy at Redmond Ridge with Sales.

THREE SHORT PARAGRAPHS AND I’M GOING TO GET RIGHT TO YOUR DETAILED SALES REPORT FOR APRIL.

If you read last month’s comprehensive report, you already know that, finally, the resale brokers are HOT and crawling all over Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. Why? 

The answer to that would be long and complex.  I’m sure the developer would love to grab credit for its years of advertising and marketing, often to hands not quite ready to grab a pen and sign.  I’m sure they reached some brokers but I’m more inclined to believe the opposite; local brokers now have a large inventory of homes in a wonderful community where the builder is on its way out. Permission to do business does not require a formal interrogation. You do not have to have your dignity stripped away just to visit the models.  Compared with past years, there are very few models; it’s very difficult to get a real feel about how you might live in a new Trilogy at Redmond Ridge home, assuming the model you want is already built.

You no longer have to bring raw steaks to by-pass the Rottweiler. I know, I used to be the Rottweiler and witnessed many a member by-passing the Tour Center. I love steak, by the way, medium rare. Believe me when I say, I understand. Perhaps, I’ll address the subject of new broker intimidation at a later time. I’d certainly welcome your thoughts or questions below in the comment area and would be happy to respond.

It’s like it all happened overnight. If you didn’t read last month’s article mentioned above, you will find it on our blog here. Please, feel free to comment and, if you’d like my insight as to why there are so many different real estate broker names on yard arms throughout the community, let me know. I’d be happy to prognosticate.

Until Then, Here Are The Trilogy at Redmond Ridge FACTS FOR APRIL 

 NO FOOLIN’! 11 Homes $old during the month of April! This is no surprise after we had 13 homes reach “pending” status in March. Sold means most of those closed escrow this month. Look out for an even bigger sales number for May because we had 18 homes reach “Pending” status in April! That’s huge. With the low number of homes available for sale, we are seeing two things;

  1. quick turnover with new listings.
  2. Sales of homes that have been on the market an extremely long time Good deals are snapped right up and long standing listings are accepting lower offers (in general).

NWMLS statistics tell the story.

Here is the number of days on market for the homes that quickly went to “sold” status: 34, 27, 41, 9, & 2. They sold for 93.65% of original asking price (including one foreclosure and one short sale. Remove those distressed sales and the homes sold for an average of 94.66% of original asking price.

Here is the number of days on market for long standing inventory: 507, 297, 382, 528, 159 & 371. They sold for 90.22% of original asking price; a difference of 4.44% or $4,444.00 for every one hundred thousand!

The median priced home sold for $403,848.00. Do it right and that would mean an additional $17,930.00 in your pocket! The moral of the story is older than I am; start too high and you come out lower than asking the right price to begin with. Add in carrying the expense of the home over a longer time than you wished for paired with the stress of being ready for showings at any given moment and the rewards are clear.

Here is the number of days on market for the homes that quickly went to “pending” status: 19, 18, 0, 3, 67, 68, 0, 8, 4, 5, 61 & 6. These homes all reached mutual agreement (signed around contract) in 68 days or less and averaged just above 3 weeks on market at 21.58 days. More impressive than that are the average asking price at the time the homes went “pending” was 99.39% of original asking price. Remove the one “short sale” and they all received offers based upon 100% of original asking price. That means, with the exception of the
“short sale” having one price reduction, not one Seller had to reduce their price to get an offer. Now, that’s how we do it!

Here’s how many days the remainder were on the market before receiving a mutually agreed upon sales price: 151, 204,295,392, 375 & 251 (an average of 278 days on market.) On average, they still only averaged price reductions down to 97.04% of their original asking price. This speaks to the lack of inventory. If there is nothing else on the market, you can ask whatever you wish, within reason, and you’ll, eventually, get an offer. Remember, however, if the market floods with homes just like yours before you put yours on the market, the game changes. You’ll have to price competitively.

I love statistics. The numbers never lie and they almost always tell a clear story.

Nine of these recently-sold  Trilogy at Redmond Ridge homes were resales including:

  • A Cedar which had been on the market 371 days!
  • A Bainbridge sold for $445K after 159 days on the market.
  • A Union (an attached home), its owner wisely patient to get a top price, sold for $399,900 after 297 days on the market.
  • A Vashon all too hurriedly sold for $389K in two days!  The broker never even had time to put interior photos on the NWMLS. This is what I suspected, last month, as a “pocket listing”. If not, maybe even another day or two…
  • An Orchard sold for $325K after 507 days on the market. This broker gets my applause for hanging in there and taking care of her overseas seller. I love brokers who never give up. It shows they care. I love small homes that sell for big money even better. It raises Trilogy values for everyone!
  • Two more Orchards sold; one at $322K and the other was the “REO/Foreclosure I mentioned weeks ago. It sold for $260K. I’d have rather helped the home owner keep it but totally understand why they were worn out trying “the government’s Home Affordable Program.” It’s a crap shoot most lose. Please call me before you give up. I love the difficult deals and am eager to be useful to a buyer.  But, alas, the grapevine suggests that this was the best decision for the home owner.
  • A lovely Townsend sold for $260K in less than one month; obviously, an “estate sale.”  A little patience and smart sales counseling might have meant great benefits for both the seller and community.
  • The final sale was a “short sale” of a Discovery. We gained a lovely new member and, in my opinion, this Seller was a very wise person of high integrity. They didn’t just hand the keys back over to the bank. Instead, they hired a professional “short sale” expert and closed the sale in under 60 days in lieu of foreclosure. Good job!

Two of these sold homes were “new construction”; a Vashon for $407,795 and a Whidbey for $465k. They spent 382 and 159 days on the market respectively. Resell homes in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge averaged 201 days on market, while new construction houses averaged 270 days.

 
Eighteen Homes Pending Close of Escrow in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge! – This is Crazy Big Again!

Remember “pending” means a mutually agreed upon contract that has been signed by buyer and seller who now are moving toward closing escrow.

ONE of these 18 “Pending Sales” was “new construction” – Surprise, It was a Hemlock! It had been on the market 204 days.

Seventeen of the homes reported as “Pending Sales” in March were “resells.” These included six homes which are still “Pending Subject to Inspection” or “STI”. Once the inspection/repairs are agreed upon, the home will be officially “Pending.” A very interesting tidbit about the pending homes is that they represented floor plans from ALL FIVE COLLECTIONS OF HOMES; the Port, Lakes, Island, Forest and Estate collections. This is terrific and represents to me a more balanced market regarding price ranges.

What is currently available in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge and what’s active?   Right now there are 30 homes “Active” or for sale on the market in in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. Of these, 26 are resells and 4 are completed “new construction” or “designer homes”.  Of the resells, four are ARCH homes (A Regional Coalition for Housing) and one is a “short sale”. There are no new construction listings. Pre-sales or “from the ground up” homes are, most likely, what Shea is concentrating on to complete “build out” of the community. These homes, most likely, will never be reported to the NWMLS. If you want to know exactly how many homes have closed escrow, just add my new construction (Designer Home) sales to the number of new “occupied home” signs you see while perusing the neighborhood. They’re not hard to count. Shea is hoping for 30 total sales this year. I hope they double that but that’s not likely. According to the NWMLS, Shea reports eight Designer homes (Spec homes) sold for the year. There have been 27 sales overall with 19 of those being resells. These include one ARCH home, three “short sales” and one “foreclosure/REO.”

Summary For Trilogy At Redmond Ridge:

If you are getting an evaluation of your home and the broker tells you “values are continuing to drop”, boot them out the door. They are full of malarkey and, either have no idea what they are talking about, or they think you are a sucker. That’s my opinion. NWMLS statistics show over a 3% rise in home values year over year. Pair this with the lowest inventory we have seen in half a decade and some of the lowest home mortgage interest rates in history, you own a valuable commodity. Please, tell your neighbors “Don’t give your home away. You’ll only hurt those of us you are leaving behind.” Tell them to “hire a big time, high tech, marketing specialist with a huge knowledge of Trilogy at Redmond Ridge and leave with three things; dignity, respect and more dollars in their pocket.”

I’m ready for new business now. Both my listings passed inspection and as May begins, one stands “pending” and the other “closed.”  I’m not in the business of acquiring listings, so I don’t take on too many at once. I’m in the “getting homes sold business” and I’m ready to give you and your home the attention you deserve right now.

Both our homes in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge sold in about two months at near or above asking price, by the way. Not too fast; not too slow; just the way I like ‘em. That means they were priced right and I commend my wise, cooperative Sellers. We’ll miss you.

That’s a wrap for April. Hope you enjoyed it.  Watch for us next month.  And “look out for your neighbor.”

Past Trilogy at Redmond Ridge Market Reports
March 2012    February 2012      January 2012

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Devin Sanford is a Managing Broker with Preview Properties Inc. His certifications include Accredited Buyers Representative and Certified Distressed Property Specialist. He Specializes in working with home buyers and sellers in North King and South Snohomish Counties and is a local expert on 55+ Active Adult Communities.

 

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