Home sales here last month rose 10.8 percent to 336 units from 303 units in the same period last year, the first year-over-year increase in combined sales of single-family residences and condominiums since February 2007, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released Friday. That month 295 homes sold in the county compared to 280 in February 2006.
In June of this year, sales of single-family residences exceeded those in June 2008, although overall sales of residences and condos still were lower than the year-ago period.
“We are back to a healthy market trend,” said Mark Kitabayashi, president-elect of the Thurston County Realtors Association.
July and August are typically the busiest months of the year for home sales, but the market gained an additional boost from an influx of military families from Fort Lewis and those buyers wanting to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it expires at the end of November, Kitabayashi said.
The homebuyers tax credit expires Nov. 30, and with the typical home sale taking 45 to 60 days to complete, buyers are getting into the market now before it’s too late, he said.
The median home price in Thurston County fell 3.27 percent to $239,900 from $248,000 last August, while the number of homes for sale plunged more than 16 percent to 1,831 units from 2,185 units, the combined single-family residence and condo data show.
Median means half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.
Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty Inc. owner and broker Ken Anderson agreed that Thurston County’s housing market continues to improve.
“More sellers are getting it,” Anderson said. “They are getting their prices right, and buyers are recognizing that.”
And more home sales are in the pipeline: Pending sales in August rose 5.18 percent to 386 units last month from 367 units in August 2008, the data show.
Although year-over-year sales were higher last month for the first time in a long time, some corners of the market, such as upper-end homes or those along the waterfront priced at $600,000 or higher, aren’t selling as quickly, Anderson said.
He attributes that to tighter restrictions on financing, such as jumbo loans in the amount of $417,000. Interest rates are higher for those loans and more downpayment money is required to qualify, he said.
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Improving energy efficiency to improve odds of selling a home
When real estate agent Lisa Triantafilidis takes clients out to look at one of her listings, two questions typically top their lists of concerns:
"What are the taxes and what are the energy costs," said Triantafilidis, who is a real estate agent with Higgins Group Real Estate.
She can do nothing about the taxes, but now Triantafilidis has some help with the second question. Energy company Gault Inc. is partnering with Higgins to provide home energy audits to the company's 300 agents in Fairfield County.
The audit helps expand upon the things Triantafilidis sees herself. As a real estate agent, she often recognizes things that can be done to improve a home's energy efficiency.
"It can be something very simple, just weather stripping around a door," she said.
Or it can be something as simple as an old refrigerator.
That's what's running up Margi Failoni's energy bill. Failoni, who is trying to sell her house through Triantafilidis, had an energy audit done this summer on the real estate agent's suggestion. She says she was pleasantly surprised by the result; as the owner of a 1,400 square-foot home, she was certain that major changes would have to be made. The audit showed otherwise.
"It has definitely proven that my home was energy efficient," she said.
Instead of suggesting that the windows be replaced, the auditor instead took Failoni through her home, starting outside and moving around the house, pointing out little things that could mean big money for her and anyone who might buy the house.
Failoni's second refrigerator, an old unit that runs in her garage, was one of those things; if she were to unplug it, she would save $30 a month on her electricity bill.
The audit also recommended that the Failonis reduce the home's air infiltration by changing socket plates gasket seals, weather stripping and foaming. In addition, because 80 percent of energy is lost through the attic and the basement, the audit recommended an update of insulation in the home.
"Here are these small cost-saving tips to not use so much energy," she said.
The Gault-Higgins partnership was the brainchild of Megan Smith, director of marketing for Gault.
"It was really an idea I had crystallized in my head," she said.
Smith, herself a licensed real estate agent in Florida, had also heard a number of buyers ask about the energy efficiency of her listings. An energy inefficient house, she said, is extremely difficult to sell.
"Energy conservation is just top of mind of everyone these days," she said. "It really can be a deal maker or a deal breaker."
An energy audit, she thought, would provide answers to the questions of the buyers and energy solutions to the sellers.
"It's a complete energy snapshot of the home," she said.
Smith added that the partnership with the Higgins Group is not exclusive; Gault wants to reach out to other real estate agents as well.
Triantafilidis believes that the energy audit is going to become a trend. She says it has helped her as a real estate agent.
"It has really helped me get the listings," she said. "When you go in to get a listing, you really need an edge."
Source
"What are the taxes and what are the energy costs," said Triantafilidis, who is a real estate agent with Higgins Group Real Estate.
She can do nothing about the taxes, but now Triantafilidis has some help with the second question. Energy company Gault Inc. is partnering with Higgins to provide home energy audits to the company's 300 agents in Fairfield County.
The audit helps expand upon the things Triantafilidis sees herself. As a real estate agent, she often recognizes things that can be done to improve a home's energy efficiency.
"It can be something very simple, just weather stripping around a door," she said.
Or it can be something as simple as an old refrigerator.
That's what's running up Margi Failoni's energy bill. Failoni, who is trying to sell her house through Triantafilidis, had an energy audit done this summer on the real estate agent's suggestion. She says she was pleasantly surprised by the result; as the owner of a 1,400 square-foot home, she was certain that major changes would have to be made. The audit showed otherwise.
"It has definitely proven that my home was energy efficient," she said.
Instead of suggesting that the windows be replaced, the auditor instead took Failoni through her home, starting outside and moving around the house, pointing out little things that could mean big money for her and anyone who might buy the house.
Failoni's second refrigerator, an old unit that runs in her garage, was one of those things; if she were to unplug it, she would save $30 a month on her electricity bill.
The audit also recommended that the Failonis reduce the home's air infiltration by changing socket plates gasket seals, weather stripping and foaming. In addition, because 80 percent of energy is lost through the attic and the basement, the audit recommended an update of insulation in the home.
"Here are these small cost-saving tips to not use so much energy," she said.
The Gault-Higgins partnership was the brainchild of Megan Smith, director of marketing for Gault.
"It was really an idea I had crystallized in my head," she said.
Smith, herself a licensed real estate agent in Florida, had also heard a number of buyers ask about the energy efficiency of her listings. An energy inefficient house, she said, is extremely difficult to sell.
"Energy conservation is just top of mind of everyone these days," she said. "It really can be a deal maker or a deal breaker."
An energy audit, she thought, would provide answers to the questions of the buyers and energy solutions to the sellers.
"It's a complete energy snapshot of the home," she said.
Smith added that the partnership with the Higgins Group is not exclusive; Gault wants to reach out to other real estate agents as well.
Triantafilidis believes that the energy audit is going to become a trend. She says it has helped her as a real estate agent.
"It has really helped me get the listings," she said. "When you go in to get a listing, you really need an edge."
Source
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