Spring Market Activity
If you're a renter who's considered becoming a home owner, or you're a homeowner looking to trade up, or an investor seeking to expand your holdings, now is a great time to make a purchase or acquisition. Mortgage rates are at historical low percentages, and some sellers and builders are offering incentives to purchase. This is a favorable equation for buyers at any stage of their real estate goals/plans.
Asking prices for homes continue to drop in most of the country, and to some extent here locally in the Seattle and surrounding areas. New housing starts are down as are new home prices. Part of what's driving this is that many would be buyers are fearful of entering the market thinking that we've not bottomed out yet and that it may drop further. I would submit that a buyer needs to decide why they're considering a purchase in the first place. Are they planning on their purchase as a long term acquisition? Are they going to "flip" the property? Are they investing for cash flow? A buyer looking for a "home" is going to have a different goal set as opposed to an investor/flipper or someone looking for short term ownership. A buyer looking at short term ownership may not find a purchase at this time a prudent investment and would be wise to look elsewhere to invest their funds. A buyer, on the other hand, looking for a "home" is more likely looking at long term investment and the temporary fluctuations of the market are not going to be as important as providing a home for their family.
Areas like Ballard, Fremont, Eastlake, Queen Anne, and Magnolia aren't as affected by price reductions as much as the outlying communities. And of note, homes priced at fair market value will sell within a reasonable amount of time, in a matter of weeks in some cases.