2012 starts off with a bang in Trilogy at Redmond Ridge!
SEVEN HOMES SOLD IN JANUARY
According to information taken from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, seven homes closed escrow for the month of January. Six were resells including a Freddie Mac foreclosure and a short sale. The average time on the market was 104 days. These numbers are encouraging considering last month’s wind, rain and power outages. Another good note was a “contingent” sale, a new construction residence on the market 293 days before it was sold by a John L. Scott agent. The other six homes included Whidbey, Chelan, Townsend, Bainbridge, Hemlock and Maryhill models. I had the privilege of selling two of them. Welcome and Chris & Grace and Ken & Eileen. You’re going to love it!
FIVE HOMES PENDING CLOSE OF ESCROW
Pending means that there has been a meeting of the minds, mutual acceptance, by buyer and seller who at that point are just waiting for the day they close. Pending also can mean all inspection contingencies have been satisfied among the pending sales is a Madison, a popular floor plan that was on the market quite some time and finally discovered by a buyer who appreciated the unique, posh décor. The other four homes waiting to close include an ARCH Chelan and three new construction buildings, two Washington and one Hemlock. The average time on the market for these pending homes has been 213 days.
WHAT IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE, WHAT’S ACTIVE?
Right now there are 28 resells on the market. Two of them are ARCH homes (A Regional Coalition for Housing – see “What is an ARCH home?” article). Three are short sales. There are 12 new construction homes available, 7 completed and ready for occupancy. Shea appears to have raised the prices for apparently all of them by between $5,000 and $10,000. This might be an indication that the market is getting stronger or it could be that the builder is allocating other expenses across its inventory, or something else. When the units sell and we see for how much, we’ll have a better idea of what the increase meant. I’d like to believe that it is because an experienced builder believes the market will stand the price increase. In any case, higher sale prices raise property values for all Members.
SUMMARY: THE MARKET APPEARS ON ITS WAY UP!
With the fantastic numbers we saw for January, preceded by a pretty terrific 2011, it seems the dam has broken. You know what that means. When you’ve pretty much hit bottom and have stayed there for quite a while, there is only one way to go; up!
Yes, as stated in one my previous articles, “Trilogy is a mixed bag of nuts”. There are the occasional “fire sales” such as short sales and foreclosures. What I don’t like seeing is when a real estate broker has an opportunity to list a home for sale in Trilogy, for whatever reason, and has no concept of the values in here.
It could be a broker who is a family member of someone we have lost so they handle the sale for the family. These are good people doing everything they can to help their family. The problem is, they don’t know Trilogy and they price the homes too low. Of course, the homes sell and become part of the statistics which are used by appraisers and brokers to establish values. This is why I urge you to spread the word and ask your neighbor, “Does the broker you are thinking of hiring really know Trilogy?” If they sell their home for too low, it will pull your home value down, period.
Pricing seems to be stabilizing, in fact, creeping up very slowly. But, it does not mean that it’s going up so fast you have to panic. For a buyer, what a wonderful world it is when you can shop and not feel rushed for fear of being priced out of the market. If you are a seller, the comfort level should be as nice. Price your home fairly and not too low; someone will love it and, if you’re not in a hurry, today’s market will bring you a happy buyer and a respectable price.
That’s a wrap for January. Hope you enjoyed it. Watch for the upcoming February report.
Devin Sanford, Managing Broker - Preview Properties