Presented By Devin Sanford Homes
September Jumps to 15 Closings. Elephant Striving to Raise Home Values. Buyer Tips in a Strong Seller’s Market
15 New Members Find Homes Despite Covid …
| Model | Square Footage | NWMLS Number |
Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Sold | Final Sale Price | Days on Market | Remarks | |
| 1 | Discovery | 1,350 | 1622697 | $615,000 | $605,000 | $595,000 | 46 | View, Modest Upgrades |
| 2 | Union | 1,510 | 1602333 | $616,979 | $616,979 | $595,000 | 98 | ARCH Home |
| 3 | Discovery | 1,361 | 1605651 | $630,000 | $620,000 | $617,000 | 84 | Clean, Modest Upgrades |
| 4 | Discovery | 1,350 | 1647062 | $629,500 | $629,500 | $629,500 | 2 | Greenbelt, Granite Tile |
| 5 | Union | 1,550 | 1636228 | $637,000 | $637,000 | $637,000 | 3 | Higher Level Upgrades |
| 6 | Whidbey | 1,680 | 1607327 | $748,000 | $719,000 | $725,000 | 76 | Greenbelt, Novelty Hill |
| 7 | Whidbey | 1,671 | 1653672 | $725,000 | $725,000 | $751,000 | 1 | Hardwoods, Granite, Big Patio |
| 8 | Whidbey | 1,671 | 1596823 | $787,000 | $755,000 | $755,000 | 96 | Close to Club |
| 9 | Washington | 1,871 | 1616883 | $756,000 | $756,000 | $756,000 | 17 | 1.5 Story Home |
| 10 | Bainbridge | 1,870 | 1632808 | $760,000 | $760,000 | $760,000 | 4 | Greenbelt adjacent Pkwy. |
| 11 | Vancouver | 1,958 | 1642068 | $769,000 | $769,000 | $769,000 | 14 | Corner Lot |
| 12 | Hemlock | 2,310 | 1628926 | $940,000 | $940,000 | $930,000 | 17 | Greenbelt /Nicely Shown |
| 13 | Maple | 2,298 | 1646842 | $975,000 | $975,000 | $975,000 | 4 | Corner Lot, Mid Upgrades |
| 14 | Hemlock | 2,165 | 1650540 | $1,095,000 | $1,095,000 | $1,100,000 | 1 | Aftermarket Upgrades |
| 15 | Maryhill | 3,585 | 1641868 | $1,375,000 | $1,375,000 | $1,376,000 | 3 | All-Time High Price – Non-Golf Course Lot. |
The Elephant Representing Luxury Home Sellers!
Pushing the Envelope Confidently to Raise Home Values
Record High Sale Price
Maryhill Floor Plan
$1,376,000
The Pachyderm sets the bar for other Brokers to follow. Raising Trilogy home Values is a passionate commitment.
This corner, greenbelt home deserved more than typical “Full-Service”. To break a record, it needed our “Premium Service”. The Elephant threw a trunk full of marketing money and a mammoth amount of work to bring the highest price ever for a Trilogy, non-golf course home, coming in a shy second overall to another Pachyderm represented Maryhill on the 17th Fairway back in January, 2019. That home had a $375,000 lot premium when new and sold off-market for $1.4 Million, earning the spot as the #1 highest sale price of any Trilogy Production home in Redmond history.
This record sales price didn’t just happen. Things don’t work that way. You must make it happen and that requires hard work preparing, presenting, promoting, pricing perfectly and not apologizing for your price. The Maryhill Sellers decided to sell while living overseas so hadn’t packed a thing. “Stay where you are, ‘we told them, ‘we’ve got this.”’ We charge an age-old, conventional fee and the Sellers realize more proceeds versus falling for discounts and a quick, production line turnaround. My team isn’t concerned about how many we sell, we’re concerned about the results we get for our clients and their bottom line. Despite pushing pricing as high as we can, we’ve averaged well over 99% of asking price over the last several years combined. Our reputation is the only thing that separates us from the crowd. We care.
Already, we see a new Maryhill listing priced even higher, although, very respectfully, it doesn’t have near the level of fits and finishes as our precedent setting beauty. That means what we do is working. Now, should the Buyer be needing a mortgage and thus, an appraisal, there will be a supporting sale to back their asking price. We remain curious about the outcome and wish them well. We’ve seen this many times over the years with various floor plans and situations. One successful sale begets and supports another, and pricing escalates. Of course, this is dependent upon successful closings and getting as much for properties as the market will bear. Right now, it should be a lot.
Sellers should know pricing will always go up in a strong market, like the one we are in. So those of you who have moved and done well, don’t get your dapper down when you see a similar home priced higher. They were able to do that because of you. Enjoy your spoils and your good deed.
15 homes under contract, awaiting the close of Escrow.
| Model | Square Footage | NWMLS Number |
Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Sold | Days on Market | Remarks | |
| 1 | Orchard | 1,440 | 1631867 | $649,000 | $629,900 | 43 | Nice View yet Modest Upgrades |
| 2 | Discovery | 1,365 | 1667501 | $640,000 | $640,000 | 5 | Nice Greenbelt & Presentation |
| 3 | Orchard | 1,440 | 1646935 | $642,000 | $642,000 | 25 | Twinberry Way |
| 4 | Discovery | 1,352 | 1661534 | $649,500 | $649,500 | 5 | Good timing for quick sale. |
| 5 | Townsend | 1,335 | 1530439 | $695,000 | $655,000 | 351 | Still Pending Inspection |
| 6 | Washington | 1,900 | 1646988 | $665,000 | $665,000 | 10 | Nicely Appointed, Attractive Price |
| 7 | Whidbey | 1,680 | 1604893 | $725,000 | $669,000 | 109 | Modest Greenbelt – Novelty |
| 8 | Sammamish | 1,640 | 1654491 | $680,000 | $680,000 | 31 | Still Pending Inspection |
| 9 | Whidbey | 1,680 | 1648792 | $750,000 | $750,000 | 13 | Division 6 Above Wall |
| 10 | Bainbridge | 1,870 | 1661556 | $780,000 | $780,000 | 3 | Lots of Carpet – Lack of Staging |
| 11 | Bainbridge | 1,870 | 1586666 | $819,000 | $790,000 | 162 | Sunset View Deck – No Backyard |
| 12 | Nice | 1,960 | 1638760 | $875,000 | $860,000 | 49 | Newer Home, Rare, Not Staged |
| 13 | Hemlock | 2,170 | 1652981 | $905,000 | $905,000 | 5 | Incredible Raised Garden Yard |
| 14 | Cedar | 2,397 | 1649696 | $1,098,000 | $1,098,000 | 1 | Gorgeous, Greenbelt on Sunbreak |
| 15 | Monticello | 2,695 | 1651246 | $1,250,000 | $1,250,000 | 7 | Nicely Appointed, Dark Greenbelt |
September resulted in a combined 30 homes either closing or entering escrow, splitting the categories down the middle and making for the biggest month in years! 15 closings far surpassed the best month of 2019, which revealed 10. The last time we saw as many sales was August of 2018 and there were 17 during May of that year. Buyers are becoming much more confident and are learning how to navigate the tough competition. Covid is likely the reason we experienced our Spring surge a few months later this year. With interest rates dipping into the 2% – 3% range inventory is being scooped up faster than you can say, “Rumpelstiltskin”. This has left King County with about a 25-day supply of available inventory even though we’ve had around 18% increase Y.O.Y. during September. A healthy market is considered four to five months of inventory. There’s no doubt, it’s a seller’s market. If you’re going to list your property, its definitely a great time. Treat it like this is July or August and take your time to present it properly. Poorly presented or over-priced homes are the only ones skewing the days on market. I’d be delighted to roll up my sleeves and get the best marketing department in the state working for you.
Finding New Homes, New Friends and New Beginnings.
Finding a new home is the challenging part. Once you get in it, new friends and experiences is a given. However, Buyers are going to have to change your paradigm. Unless you get extremely lucky, your going to have to take some risks if you want to beat out the competition for almost any home. This means there is no time to think about it. I recommend having what you want clearly in you mind and even on paper so that when the right home comes up, you’re prepared to strike like a Cobra with a clean, impressive offer. I already have my Buyers’ Loan Pre-Approvals in hand and, if they’re paying cash, I have their investment or bank account proof of funds statements ready to attach to the offer. Without those things in order, you won’t even be considered in a multi-offer situation.
Having an aggressive and knowledgeable Buyer’s Agent is crucial in these situations. Many homes are listed as having a future offer review date. A strong, on the ball Broker, with a good reputation, can often overcome that and convince the Seller to accept an offer earlier, if its written well. This means little to no contingencies. The first thing that may come to your mind is “don’t I need an inspection?” The answer is, not necessarily. The unknown can be a scary thing for a Buyer. It’s equally a big question for the Seller who’s thinking, “Gee, if we accept this offer, are they going to work us over during the inspection?” Waiving that portion, can help get your offer accepted over another. In fact, that’s probably the biggest Seller consideration these days, even over a higher price offer. If there is time, and the Seller will allow it, a pre-inspection is a good idea but even those are becoming too much trouble for a Seller in this market. They know the home is going to sell without all the inconvenience anyway.
If you need to secure a home and you don’t want to end up with a big repair order, give me a call. After 17 years in Trilogy, I’ve seen every repair invoice one could imagine. I know all 23 plans, can spot items that need attention when we walk the home and have a close idea of what that repair will cost. I will have found out if there has been regular pest maintenance for the crawl and attic spaces, what repairs have been made to the home prior and if the furnace and hot water tank have been serviced or replaced. Being on the ball and digging deep is what I get compensated for. When you own the home, we have Vendors to take care of the minor details.
Here are the slim pickings in the Pumpkin Patch
| Model | Square Footage | NWMLS Number |
Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Sold | Days on Market | Remarks | |
| 1 | Vashon | 1,570 | 1660194 | $759,000 | $759,000 | 21 | Lovely Home & Private |
| 2 | Cedar | 2,300 | 1621992 | $990,000 | $930,000 | 97 | Needs Cleaning Up. |
| 3 | Maple | 2,380 | 1651831 | $1,060,000 | $995,000 | 14 | Gorgeous Home & Lot |
Three homes in inventory at month end. That’s the segment! If you’re a Buyer, give me a call and I’ll see what I can cultivate for you. I’ve had several Buyers this year that purchased sight unseen or invested in a home I found for them that never hit the market. I’d be happy to be your Trilogy Guru.
Fourth Quarter Finish Looking Good
Here we are in the fourth quarter of 2020; who would believe it. Where did this year go? It’s certainly, one we’ll all remember and maybe, going by swiftly is a good thing. Between the politics, horrific fires, riots and, of course a PANDEMIC, we’ve all been through a lot. However, Americans are resilient…we find a way. For Realtors, we went from being “insignificant” to quickly “significant” because people needed housing, but we could only show a home to one person at a time, with strict protocols. Husbands waited outside then, toured after the boss was through. Most clients followed in their own car and there were no Open Houses allowed. Only recently can they be held again, however, no more than five people in the home at a time, the home must be wiped down, gloves available and, of course, masks are mandatory to enter. The Elephant had masks made up for clients to be sure I always had one for those that needed one. I and others, like all of you, persevered. I continued to stage, market, and show homes. Vendors stayed busy washing windows, landscaping, staging, selling no longer needed belongings, packing, moving, etc.. The world moves on and Trilogy is no exception.
With 26 Sales over the last 60 days and 15 already in Escrow, my year-end sales prognostication, shared with the Financial Advisory Board, appears to be right on track. We’re at 71 sales Y.T.D. and projecting 94 sales for the year. We may or may not hit it but are destined to surpass the lackluster number of 78 for 2019. It’s doubtful we’ll hit the 100 or more figure of the six consecutive years prior to 2019 but we’re doing well. There were 97 sales in 2012, the first significant year after the mortgage crisis recovery.
A Recap of 2020 Month over Month Statistics:
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | April | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | YTD | |
| $old | 2 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 71 | |||
| Pending | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 15 | ||||
| Active | 9 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 3 | ||||
| $old D.O.M. | 38 | 19 | 7 | 67 | 85 | 28 | 26 | 22 | 31 | ||||
| Active D.O.M. | 63 | 46 | 73 | 48 | 43 | 55 | 76 | 86 | 44 |
It has been a pleasure to share this information and a few thoughts with you. Thank you for reading and take care.
That’s a wrap for September.
Did you know that the Elephant has done the staging for most of the furnished homes he has listed for many years?
I don’t do any heavy lifting anymore but have an array of décor items to dress up spaces that need it, making the photography exceptional and the personal visits enjoyable.
Oh, yes…I wear my mask!
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