Rapid Inventory Turnover…Low Availability At Any One Time…Fast Decision Makers Benefit…
Take a look at what’s $old:
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price when Sold | Sale Price | Days on Market |
| Chelan | $410,000 | $385,000 | $380,000 | 65 |
| Orchard | $474,900 | $450,000 | $440,000 | 60 |
| *Washington | $519,900 | $495,000 | $485,000 | 124 |
| Vashon | $549,900 | $529,900 | $520,000 | 51 |
| Whidbey | $585,000 | $585,000 | $590,000 | 12 |
*Homes in bold & Green; the Elephant’s Work representing Sellers.
Don’t let the days on market fool you. The 62 day average for August’s five sales doesn’t say things are slow. It says, “Even the tougher homes to sell are finding willing buyers.” The other 18 homes that went under contract during August, still waiting to close thus earning the “Sold” status, averaged just 19 days on the market. I took two extremely hard homes to sell out of the mix which skewed the numbers. They were 140 and 184 days respectively. An impressive number is half of the agreements, now sitting in escrow, sold in less than three days.
Well prepared, staged and well photographed properties are flying off the market and buyers who are quick to act are finding peace in knowing they’ve found the home they’re looking for. A properly priced and presented home, no matter how modestly appointed or located, will still find a happy ending.
Take a quick look at this recap of home statuses so far Year to Date:
| Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | Aug. | |
| $old | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 5 |
| Pending | 4 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 18 |
| Active | 15 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 4 |
A Whopping 18 Homes Went Under Contract
Here’s What’s Currently “Pending” the Close of Escrow
These 18 are homes which have reached mutual terms between a buyer and a seller but have not yet recorded with the County. We won’t know the sale price until the deed changes hands and excise tax has been collected. At more than double July’s numbers, these 15 have made it through the inspection process.
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price when Offer Accepted | Days on Market | Comments |
| Union | $465,000 | $455,000 | 55 | Backs to a wall |
| Union | $459,000 | $459,000 | 20 | Backs to a wall |
| Union | $485,000 | $485,000 | 5 | Very Upgraded |
| Vashon | $519,900 | $515,000 | 140 | Back to Back Home |
| Vancouver | $569,000 | $544,000 | 184 | Backs to Trilogy Pkwy. |
| Bainbridge | $649,000 | $649,000 | 24 | Big View Deck |
| Bainbridge | $659,000 | $659,000 | 2 | Near Cascade Club |
| Hemlock | $729,950 | $729,950 | 86 | Corner Lot; partial Greenbelt |
| Hemlock | $739,950 | $739,950 | 16 | Close to Club |
| Hemlock | $745,000 | $745,000 | 9 | Greenbelt w/sitting Rm. |
| Hemlock | $749,000 | $749,000 | 3 | Greenbelt w/sitting Rm. |
| Hemlock | $749,950 | $749,950 | 2 | Greenbelt in “The Hood” |
| Hemlock | $759,000 | $759,000 | 2 | Corner Greenbelt |
| Maple | $830,000 | $825,000 | 43 | Greenbelt in Olympus |
| Cedar | $875,000 | $875,000 | 4 | Golf Course Home |
*Homes in bold & Green; the Elephant’s Work representing Sellers.
Wow, it was a big month for Hemlocks with half a dozen selling in an average of five days! Three Union sales earn the red ribbon averaging 26 days to reach mutual agreement between buyer and seller. As I wrote many months ago, the Union seems to have found its comfort zone for pricing in the mid $400s to the high $400s for a nicely appointed home in a good location. The Bainbridge too, seems to have found its comfort level respectively in the $600s although it has become more diverse. By this, I mean there really isn’t any slipping into the high fives like there used to be. The range has tightened up and, with the lack of inventory; even back-to-back homes are bringing a strong mid $600K price. The Hemlock too, has found its place regarding pricing. Whether you have the sitting room or the side load garage, pricing seems consistent. It’s a matter of preference. Golf Course, Mountain View homes or unique features like super long driveways, water features or fabulous greenbelts continue to jump the price up.
Please, keep in mind all the following data is as of August 31st, 2015 at midnight for month over month accuracy. The statuses of some of these homes have changed by the time you receive this report.
Here’s What’s Currently “Pending Inspection”
These three of the 18 have reached mutual agreement but have not yet passed the inspection phase and moved onto “Pending” status. Pending means the deal is sitting in escrow simply waiting for the deed to be conveyed and excise tax to be collected.
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price when Offer Accepted | Days on Market | Comments |
| *Madison | $539,950 | $539,950 | 14 | French Country Elevation |
| Whidbey | $624,950 | $624,950 | 15 | Greenbelt Near Club |
| Bainbridge | $659,000 | $659,000 | 3 | Nice & Near Club |
*Homes in bold & Green; the Elephant’s Work representing Sellers.
Sellers Reap Benefits as Buyer’s Race to Write
In this reporter’s 13 years in Trilogy, I can honestly say that I’ve never seen such frenzied buyers in the resale realm. Oh, Trilogy has had its “frenzy” days. Many of you may recall the lotteries for new homes where, far too often, someone left the back room of the Tour Center with their chin in their lap wondering why everyone else’s ping pong ball was drawn and there’s was not. In the hay day years, definitely through 2006, Shea simply didn’t negotiate. The price was the price and it was going up every two to four weeks. It did that for years. The difference back then was that there was always going to be a new division coming up so everyone would eventually get what they wanted. There are no more homes being built in Trilogy, ever! This leaves hungry buyers at the mercy of what comes available and, in addition, at the mercy of their real estate broker to let them know the second something new comes on the market.
As an Accredited Buyer’s Representative, I do help buyers but I’m primarily a listing broker. This means the buyer’s agents call me pretty much every day to make appointments to show my listings. Far too often buyers fall in love with the homes but miss out by thinking, for what normally would not be very long but find out, in today’s market, it was. The wife may see the home on a Monday and by the time the husband comes by to give his consent on Tuesday; it’s already under contract with someone else who took one less step.
I hear stories far too often of couples that have missed out on not just one home, but two, three and even more times. During August, there were multiple days where there were only three or four homes for sale among the 23 floor plans. They are moving super-fast. As a well-known Trilogy broker, I get calls from Trilogy agents and outside agents I’ve never met almost daily. They all want to know if I’ve got something else coming up. I usually do. The problem is that I can’t advertise it until it’s available to everyone. The Northwest Multiple Listing Service has rules against that kind of thing. They want to make sure every broker and buyer gets a fair shake. More importantly, they want to make sure the Seller gets to show their home to more than one Buyer, not just someone the Listing Broker has up their sleeve.
The bottom line is, Sellers, you’re still in the driver’s seat and Buyers, if you don’t want to still be shopping in the rainy season, I’d suggest investing in a Lion Tamer’s whip and use it on your Buyer’s Agent to make sure they’re jumping on their stool every few hours scouring for something new on the market to pop up. They should have their noses high in the air sensing for fresh new game and, when it strolls into your field, they should be summonsing you to pack together and attack. If you don’t, you may very well starve.
Here’s what’s available:
| Model | Original Price | Current Asking Price | Days on Market | Comments |
| Chelan | $339,557 | $339,557 | 21 | ARCH Housing |
| *Washington | $489,000 | $489,000 | 5 | Nicely appointed & Private |
| Washington | $529,000 | $529,000 | 75 | Greenbelt in Olympus |
| Alder | $749,000 | $749,000 | 12 | Backs to Trilogy Pkwy. |
*Homes in bold & Green; the Elephant’s Work representing Sellers.
By the time you read this, one or all of these four remaining homes will, most likely, be sold. I believe the market is at or very near its peak. A Union, Orchard or Hemlock is only ever going to be worth so much. That so much is the point where buyers realize paying anymore would not make sense to live in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge. If you’re almost ready to sell, you may want to do it sooner versus later before the market drops like the recent stock market. Housing, does not recover as rapidly.
For those of you with plans to move but not just yet, that’s okay too. We visited three homes during August of wise sellers thinking they’ll be making their move around this time next year. When that time comes, they don’t want to be rushed to get ready all at once so they’ve invited the Elephant for a visit to find out how to get started. We discuss things like what needs to be packed away, what can be purged, repairs that should be pro-actively taken care of and whether or not upgrades would increase the ultimate sales price. The numbers of these “let’s eat an elephant one bit at a time” sellers are growing. I think it’s a smart thing to do and it does indicate there will be lots of sellers next year too. The question is, “Will there be buyers?”
The Match Tic
| Low – YTD | High – YTD | Prior Month | August |
| 26 | 41 | 30 | 27 |
The total amount of all Northwest Multiple Listing statuses measured 27 at month end, just one away from the low in January. This tells us inventory is low and statuses are changing from one to another rapidly. Status may include Active (Homes currently available for sale), Pending Inspection (Homes under contract but still in the home inspection process), Pending (Homes that have worked through the inspection process successfully), Sold (Homes that have closed escrow), Contingent (Sold homes that are contingent upon the buyer selling their own home) and TOMK or BOMK (Homes that are either Temporarily Off Market or Back on Market after being temporarily unavailable.)
That’s a wrap for August. We’ll see you next month.