The Original Trilogy at Redmond Ridge Market Report – April 2017
Compliments of Your Neighborhood “Premium Service” Realtor Devin Sanford
Pricing Continues to Rise!
Breakneck Turnover of 12 New Listings.
Buyers who Snooze Lose.
7 Homes Sold Quickly During April
Here’s What Closed Escrow Last Month!
| Model | Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Sold | Final Sale Price | Days on Market | Northwest Multiple Listing Number | |
| 1 | Washington | $579,950 | $579,950 | $605,000 | 5 | 1086556 |
| 2 | Bainbridge | $719,000 | $719,000 | $719,000 | 10 | 1076000 |
| 3 | Cedar | $835,800 | $835,800 | $851,300 | 8 | 1081521 |
| 4 | Maple | $869,000 | $869,000 | $869,000 | N/A | 1110284 |
| 5 | Nice | $939,800 | $939,800 | $951,000 | 5 | 1098864 |
| 6 | Cedar | $925,000 | $925,000 | $975,000 | 2 | 1087309 |
| 7 | Cedar | $999,999 | $999,999 | $1,050,000 | 1 | 1075988 |
Homes in Bold & Green; the Elephant serving Sellers and Buyers, Respectively!
Pricing continues to rise as Buyers battle for homes. Unlike in years past, Trilogy has suddenly become part of the outside world and bidding wars are becoming more common. No, it’s not the 15 to 30 offers we hear of in neighborhoods with good schools. However, it has changed from the occasional two or three offers on a good home to two or three being expected and three or four offers not that unusual. Someone is pulling your leg if you’re hearing there were more than that although, it wouldn’t surprise me if those days were just around the corner. Pricing is up nearly 16% from this time last year and that’s greatly because inventory is down about 25% for the same period. As prognosticated a couple months ago, continued high closing numbers could not sustain if inventory did not come on the market. We are seeing that now with an 8% drop in closings under this same time last year.
Interest hikes don’t seem to be stopping price hikes but, at some point, the dam has got to break. Notwithstanding, I don’t expect that to happen for many months. There are just too many Baby Boomers reaching retirement that haven’t found a home yet. The great job market is bringing many younger families to our area and that means many parents and grandparents are following.
We know it’s a Seller’s market, but what if you’re a Buyer? If you’re a new home prospect or have a friend trying to secure a home, you should know that there’s a real art to negotiating well enough to secure a home right now, let alone, not allowing a bidding war to jack up the price on you. I’m proud to say that my Buyers were able to secure the third “Nice” floor plan to ever sell in Trilogy among four strong offers. Yes, we put in an escalation clause to strengthen the offer but it did not get activated so our base purchase price was all they paid. Congratulations to Jerry and Beth on their gorgeous new home on the 16th Fairway. Enjoy! Also, Kudos to our Realtor duo of sellers for designing such a lovely and well-appointed home. We wish you well in your next endeavor. Congrats to Noel as well for securing an opulent Maple floor plan well under market value. It was an honor serving all of you.
If you are thinking of selling but you’re still a year or two off and you’ve lived here a while, it’s a wonderful time to start chipping away at purging things you no longer need. It’ll make your transition much easier when the time comes. How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time, right? Start in the garage and make space then, pick a cabinet area once a month or more and before you know it, you’ll be breathing better and know you’re prepared for anything.
An Even Dozen Buzzin’ Around Escrow
Here’s What’s Currently “PENDING” and Waiting for Recording Numbers
| Model | Original Asking Price | Asking Price when Offer Accepted | Days on Market | Northwest Multiple Listing Number | |
| 1 | Chelan | $450,000 | $450,000 | 2 | 1092630 |
| 2 | Angeles | $485,000 | $485,000 | 7 | 1104112 |
| 3 | Orchard | $529,000 | $529,000 | 7 | 1107632 |
| 4 | Vashon | $675,000 | $675,000 | 9 | 1097361 |
| 5 | Whidbey | $675,000 | $675,000 | 6 | 1105263 |
| 6 | Bainbridge | $769,000 | $769,000 | 6 | 1102828 |
| 7 | Alder | $809,000 | $809,000 | 16 | 1077508 |
| 8 | Hemlock | $825,000 | $825,000 | 5 | 1102664 |
| 9 | Monticello | $995,800 | $995,800 | 8 | 1098733 |
| 10 | Maryhill | $1,150,000 | $1,099,950 | 14 | 1092440 |
| 11 | Monticello | $1,199,000 | $1,199,000 | 7 | 1104144 |
| 12 | Maryhill | $1,297,500 | $1,297,500 | 9 | 1100948 |
* Home in Bold & Green; the Elephant serving Sellers!
Breakneck Turnover is no understatement. The 12 homes pending escrow reached agreement in an average of just eight days. It takes a day or two, at least to get the final initials for small contractual changes so it’s fair to say a dozen homes secured buyers in under a week on average.
Yes, the Maryhill has my clothes in the closet for another few weeks and No, I’m not going to stop serving Trilogy Members and Buyers. I’ll be seeking a smaller, second home here and have secured an enormous shop with a house on it not far away. In fact, it’s closer than the home I lived in for the first 10 years I served Trilogy before moving here. The long and short of it is that I’ve enjoyed this Maryhill immensely from walking to get mail, to entertaining on the amazing, view patio to ladder ball on the back lawn but I’m still working. I intend to for some time and, being a “Premium Service Broker”, I needed somewhere to store all the staging I keep for listings and the truck and trailer I use for moving items. I have an RV, as well and simply desired to get all my things under one roof. Nothing is changing other than my nearby address so I’ll continue to provide the same “Premium Service” as usual.
Swift offers don’t mean you should lose your composure. Hiring a professional not only relieves stress but it’s pretty much guaranteed it’ll put more money in your pocket as well. I can only recall a few homes being sold “For Sale by Owner” in Trilogy over the last many years and most sold too cheap. I’m not at all surprised that the recent pending FSBO sale of Trilogy’s most coveted floor plan was snapped up right away. I remember the terrific home site when it was without a home and I hope they got a lot more than they were asking because, in my opinion, it was way underpriced. Time will tell.
A Lone Maryhill Represents Current Inventory
| Model | Original Price | Asking Price | Days on Market | Northwest Multiple Listing Number | |
| 1 | Maryhill | $1,098,500 | $1,098,500 | 16 | 1097583 |
Remember, this inventory is as of the last day of the month. I’m aware things have likely changed by the time you read this so, please, see the note below. I pull data after midnight the last day of the month then, analyze and calculate. Accurate reporting takes a bit of research and I’ll serve no wine before its time.
Buyers who snooze lose is very sad but true so I’m writing this for the Buyers out there. You’ve been reading everywhere about how tough it is to acquire a property with all the competition. Most of what you read is younger buyers who require financing. Although we don’t have as much competition in this age restricted community, the competition is more powerful. Many pay cash and those who can’t have enormous down payments so the rest is guaranteed cash from a lender at closing anyway.
So how do you acquire a home when you don’t want to get involved in a bidding war? Eliminate the war! How do you do that? I can share that not even 98% of licensed real estate brokers know the answer to that one so the first thing you need to do is hire someone in the top 2%. When most of us veterans went through real estate school, we were told that 20% of the brokers made 80% of the income. That was true a decade ago. Today, 5% of Brokers make 95% of the income. Why? Because it’s tough out there and no “rookie” or faint of heart, even experienced broker is going to survive in the most enigmatic market most of us have ever seen. Experienced brokers are falling by the wayside and, unless an ambitious newcomer is particularly sharp, connected or not, they can forget about breaking into this business right now. There; I said it, “business”. Long before I acquired my Managing Broker license, long before I was even just a licensed Real Estate Broker, I was a businessman.
Elements to a success in attaining the home of your dreams include hiring a Broker with connections and neighborhood expertise. One of my newest clients is a retired Real Estate Broker and Stock Broker; a smart cookie. She brought up to me recently that she’d always look for a neighborhood expert when seeking a Realtor. “You’re dumb not to”, she said. Well, that has never been truer than right now. Other factors in your offer may include being provided with community documents to review before you make your offer so you can wave that contingency or having a home inspected prior to your offer so you can wave that. You’re going in with your eyes open and odds increasing. If you’re financing, it might be wise to include an addendum saying that you’ll cover the deficit in cash if the appraisal comes in low up to a comfortable dollar amount. You better have a broker that really knows what the home is worth before you do this one. More would include knowing just how to read what your competition may be offering by asking the broker the right questions in the right way.
The essence of this is, hire a powerful negotiator. I happen to know one in the top 2%. He has huge ears to listen and a long trunk to carry you over the threshold of your new home. Just beware, If I’m representing the Sellers, I’ll see someone like me coming.
Note: All currently available listings are posted at www.DevinSanfordHomes.com on the home page. Hover over the Trilogy tab and select “Current Trilogy Listings” from the dropdown list. For all listings, click “View all Trilogy at Redmond Ridge Listings.” Within this report, we share what is available at the first of the month for consistent and measurable month over month reporting.
Here’s a Recap of Year-to-Date Sales:
| Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | August | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | YTD: | |
| $old | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 23 | |||||||
| Pending | 9 | 3 | 5 | 12 | ||||||||
| Active | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
That’s a wrap for April. We hope these facts have been helpful. We measure our success by how well we serve others. If you have a real estate need, just let us know. Thanks for reading!
See 60+ Five Star Reviews at www.zillow.com. Just click on “Agent Finder and Search for Devin Sanford.
GET THIS REPORT FASTER!! Sign up to receive our E-Market Report over the Internet at www.DevinSanfordHomes.com. You may request to be included by emailing me at [email protected], as well. Enjoy!
Five Star Client Service
Award Winner
for the 6th Year!
Seattle Magazine
Best of 2017
