Look Ma, Seattle Has Grown
Greetings and Happy 2008! I hope your holidays were festive.
First thing, let me be polite and make introductions. Please meet our new partnership known as Seattle Avenue Associates. Some of you know that Bill Aubuchon and I have been working together for many years. This year Henrik Brameus joined us and forming a trinity (or partners in crime) we naturally became Seattle Avenue Associates. Partnership allows us to cover an extremely broad geographic grid and allows our clients to share in our combined wealth of experience, knowledge, and diversity. Besides that, we’re just plain fun to work with and aren’t we a good-looking, fashionable team? (smile)
I struggled for weeks about what information I could share that would be of value in the current moment. It’s an election year, so much is going on politically and economically, real estate news across the country is a main topic of conversation, and the Seattle real estate market has cooled down - - which is good because more buyers can touch it now.
During this creative block James Wirth, a brilliant mortgage planner, sent me an email about a Winnie the Pooh episode he watched with his children. Gist of the tale was Pooh and Tigger wanted to have a moon party but the moon never showed up. They waited and waited but still no moon. So after much deliberation and discussion (as Pooh is famous for) Tigger took a cheese round from the party supplies, bounced up into a tree, and put the cheese round in the nook of a branch. Alas, with imagination they enjoyed a fine moon party.
The chart below illustrates King County residential and condominium sales from 2005 to present. In general, the pattern shows a gradual decline of sales and then in September 2007 a huge drop. That downturn probably started in June or July since average closings in our area take approximately 30 - 45 days. What contributed to this abrupt decline in closings? I don’t know if any one person can answer that with 100% certainty. What matters is that we have accurate information and awareness so we can avoid dreadful stupid decisions.
I know some sellers are hurting who expected fast sales, higher selling prices, and multiple offers. I know some buyers are enticed when they see sweet deals but wonder if the fruit will get sweeter if they wait a bit longer to pick.
When things don’t work out the way we hoped they would, when the moon doesn’t show up for our moon party, we can still find a way to get what will make us happy. I truly believe we can benefit in this market having more responsible and solid financing conditions, more firmly qualified buyers, more inventory for buyers to choose from, and Realtors who can successfully bring buyers and sellers together.
Next month I’ll talk about a hot topic in our area - - condo conversions!
Search NWMLS listings and contact us if you have questions.
Denice Rochelle (206) 769-1214
Bill Aubuchon (206) 931-8312
Henrik Brameus (206) 948-8032
Coldwell Banker Bain Award-Winning Realtor Team
