Mr Wow’s Bellingham Real Estate Blog

NEW APRIL STATS-WOW!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:44:00 GMT

Well the tax credit deadline has passed and we are very pleased to report that the world has in fact not ended. Far from it, actually. A considerable 28.8% year-over-year increase in Pending Sales brings the figure to 309 for this month. The more modest, yet still noteworthy, 3.8% year-over-year increase in Closed Sales brings that figure to 165 which is on par with the three-year average. These factors have combined to bring inventory down 9.4% to 1,683.

Median Sales Price remains 4.3% less than during the same period last year, but increased over $16,000 since March.

Percent of Original List Price Received has been slipping downward. On average, a seller can expect to receive 89.7% of their original list price after five and a half months on the market.

Check out the FULL report by clicking :

http://bellinghamwow.com/docs/2010_1st_Qtr_Stats.pdf

Keep a close eye on the federal reserve - mortgage rates may spike sooner rather than later as the government stopped buying mortgage-backed securities.

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Kicked out of Whistler!!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:03:00 GMT

So . . . headed to Whistler . . . I was so excited; a colleague in my office offered my family a FREE stay at her condo right at the base of the Whistler Gondola in Whistler Creek . . . for a week! In trade, I offered to shoot a video and take photos of the unit as she's getting ready to sell it. What a fabulous opportunity! [Note: due to scheduling conflicts, we could only stay for a few days (dang it!).]

So the three of us - Kathy, Kaleb and I - took off with Bella (our little hypo-allergenic, 11 pound, fully trained Havanese pup) in tow.

We arrived mid-afternoon, I shot the photos and video, then we headed off to the village to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere of this magical resort. We had a lovely dinner at Rick's Grill, then back to the room for cards, and to edit the video.

When we got up the next morning, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast in the village (a funky little place behind the book store), then another visit to Kaleb's favorite Gem Store, and, back to the room to change and head out on a bike ride.

Upon returning to the room, the phone rings. Kathy fields the call and was asked if we had a dog in the room. Well, you know the answer to that; She was then told the building is PET-FREE and the dog had to be removed . . . immediately!

Upon vacating the condo . . . we were charged $200 for fumigating and cleaning PLUS the usual $110 room cleaning to bring the unit back to its "perfectly" PET-FREE condition.

So . . . while we certainly enjoyed our 22 hours in paradise, and the drive up was gorgeous, you can probably imagine the ride home wasn't as pleasant!

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INTEREST RATE UPDATE

Ken Harrison's Blog — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 09:04:00 GMT

INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE The week ended on the most dramatically impressive new home sales numbers in 47 years. March's 26.9% increase was the biggest monthly sales gain since 1963, taking us to a 411,000 annual rate! Supply dropped to 6.7 months, inventories fell to 228,000 and the median price went to $214,000, up 4.3% versus last year. Some put the sales surge to the soon-to-expire tax credit, but the facts remain that the economy IS recovering and homes ARE substantially more affordable!

The day before, March existing home sales came in UP 6.8% at a 5.35 million annual rate, UP 16.1% from a year ago, with all regions showing gains! The existing home median price went to $170,700, UP 0.4% from a year ago. These good numbers reversed a three-month slide and sent the supply of existing homes down to 8.0 months.

On April 22, the EPA's new lead paint renovation rules went into effect. These require contractors who are disturbing lead-based paint in homes built before 1978 to hire certified renovators working for a certified renovator firm using lead-safe work practices. Realtors need to advise sellers to use certified professionals to fix up a home and to make sure it's safe for buyers to move into a home that's been renovated. The real estate disclosure must include any tests for the presence of lead paint and any dust wipe testing done after lead paint's been disturbed. Property managers with pre-1978 homes must also hire certified renovators. Find more info at http://www.realtor.org/government_affairs/lead_paint_main. Or visit the EPA at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.
>> Review of Last Week

RALLY CAPS BACK ON... After the prior week's flat stock market performance due to the Goldman Sachs-SEC troubles at the end, this week saw investors resume their 13-month-long market rally. The Dow is now firmly in 11,000 territory, the S&P 500 passed the 1200 mark and the Nasdaq crossed over 2500.

First quarter corporate earnings certainly fueled the enthusiasm. Most of the 85 S&P 500 companies reporting beat both profit AND revenue expectations, meaning the good numbers weren't just from belt-tightening. Big stars included Amazon.com, American Express, Apple, Citigroup, IBM, McDonald's, Microsoft, SanDisk, Starbucks and UnitedHealth, all with nice Q1 earnings.

The Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) index registered its twelfth consecutive monthly gain, up 1.4% in March. The Producer Price Index (PPI) put wholesale inflation up 0.7% for March, but Core PPI, excluding volatile food and energy, was up only 0.1% for the month and 0.9% for the year. New weekly unemployment claims were down 24,000, while continuing claims dropped by 40,000. Excluding volatile transportation, Durable Goods orders were up 2.8% for the month and up 13.5% over a year ago.

For the week, the Dow ended UP 1.7%, to 11204.28; the S&P 500 was UP 2.1%, to 1217.28; while the Nasdaq went UP 2.0%, to 2530.15.

Last week's improved economic data, along with Greece's move away from disaster, hurt bond prices, which tend to benefit from weak economic developments. Investors were also looking ahead to the huge levels of supply on offer this week. The FNMA 30-year 4.5% bond we watch closed down 41 basis points for the week, at $100.09. As reported in Freddie Mac's weekly survey, national average mortgage rates stayed flat, still at historically low levels!
>> This Week’s Forecast

THE FED, THE Q1 GDP... The Fed meets again this week, announcing their FOMC Rate Decision on Wednesday. Even though the economy is picking up, virtually no one expects a rate hike, given Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's recent pronouncements on Capital Hill. We'll have a new look at the economy with Advance Q1 GDP on Friday. The only housing news comes Tuesday, with February's Case-Shiller home price index. We'll also get Consumer Confidence on Tuesday and University of Michigan Consumer Confidence on Friday.

THANKS for the update Nicole from Neighborhood Mortgage!!

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Your Path To A More Affordable Mortgage

Ken Harrison's Blog — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:39:00 GMT

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Meet Mr WOW! Video

Ken Harrison's Blog — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 08:49:00 GMT

Meet Mr Wow - Ken Harrison from Ken Harrison on Vimeo.

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Interesting Stats

Ken Harrison's Blog — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:50:00 GMT

Our market is down approx. 17% from the HIGH in 2005. Not too bad, considering Las Vegas is down 71% just in the last year! Ouch!!!!

75% of our sales in Whatcom county since the first of the year were homes under $300,000. Yikes!

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SPARKS & HODGES NEWS

Ken Harrison's Blog — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:46:00 GMT

January 29th we had our "kick-off" breakfast at Coldwell Banker. We had two guest speakers. Hart Hodges, professor of economics from WWU and Ron Sparks, GM for Coldwell Banker Bain in Bellevue. Both have extraordinary credentials and are respected in their fields.

I have personally taken classes from Ron Sparks and have learned more from him than any other individual in the real estate game. The man is simply amazing. He is so logical, it is easy to accept and understand his message.

Both speakers agreed that we have FINALLY seen the bottom of the real estate free-fall. Our local economy should stay stable this year with unemployment continuing to be a struggle through 2010.

However . . . . Sparks said that Bellingham has literally shadowed Seattle for decades with real estate trends and performances. Bellingham has consistently remained 90 - 120 days behind Seattle. In the past 3 weeks Seattle has seen an abrupt and surprising increase in activity AND actual sales. The Bellevue office had 8 pendings over $1M in the past two weeks. More than they have seen in the past 6 months. Note: the Bellevue Office has been one of the nation's leading sales office for real estate and is number ONE for Coldwell Banker.

Sparks says the "perception" of the market is improving here, and the Pacific Northwest is poised to be the first region to start the recovery. With rates staying historically low, tax incentives, and the leaning out of inventory, people are finally seeing that NOW is the time to take advantage of this rare buying opportunity. In fact, Sparks is worried about the market getting too hot again, too quickly.

We here in Bellingham would welcome that problem. I have the upmost respect for both speakers, and confidence in what Sparks had to share. So I am gearing up for some serious activity in the coming months.

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TAX CREDIT DEADLINE VIDEO

Ken Harrison's Blog — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:21:00 GMT

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MR WOW IS BACK!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:35:00 GMT

I'M BACK!!! I have spent the last 2 and a half months trying to create and execute the most informational eNewsletter and BLOG around. And I am getting close. Trying to find a user-friendly email program was a true act of frustration. It was AWFUL! Ended up bagging one program after many hours and mucho dinero! But, alas . . . . I think we (I have hired on an assistant/specialist in this field - TJ Meyer) have finally found the tools to succeed in our quest.

Meanwhile - Bellingham Real Estate has been marching on - activity has picked up along with buyer confidence. The media has been somewhat positive and rates are still historically low!

So check in often as our fine-tuned information machine is now ACTIVE. I'm always here for questions, requests or to hear your concerns. ENJOY!!

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Clarification and GOOD News!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:42:00 GMT

Good Morning Everyone!! Bellingham Real Estate News!

Well - Here is some clarification and GOOD news for a change here in Bellingham.

It was reported last week that Pending Home Sales (contracts on existing homes) fell 16% in November, not at all surprising since buyers expected the $8,000 tax credit to expire at the end of October. This artificially boosted contract signings for August-October and artificially depressed them for November. Still, November pending sales were higher than at any time from mid-2007 to mid-2009.

Wednesday, the minutes from the Fed's December 15ï¿½16 meeting were released, revealing some debate over the future of their purchases of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which helped keep interest rates at record lows. The Fed said it would end MBS purchases March 31, but according to the minutes, "a few" of the Fed's 12 members are in favor of expanding and extending the program. On the other side, one member felt "improvement in...the economic outlook suggested that...(MBS purchases) could be scaled back."

Who knows what will happen. Most experts feel the rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will head up during the next two years, so smart homebuyers are focusing on taking advantage of the present very favorable rate situation along with the tax credit still available.

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Happy New Year!!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:23:00 GMT

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! OK - my New Years resolutions are long. However, maintaining my BLOG is high on the list. So here goes . . . .

I made a major "Punch" list of goals for this year! The internet is gaining strength, especially the dreaded Social Media pages. So - FaceBook here I come. The online tools for Real Estate get stronger each day and I will be embracing each and every one of them. Getting the word out to the masses and making the info EASY to obtain is my main goal. I may need to take a sabbatical however to allow the time to implement all this stuff. I must tell you . . . it sure is FUN when it works. I will be reporting back to you on a more regular basis. The fun stuff too - skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Stay tuned!!

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New Mini Web Site for my listings!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:17:00 GMT

Here is a great slide show for my listing in Edgemoor!

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Fall is coming in Bellingham!!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:08:00 GMT

Hello Everyone. Another exciting week in Bellingham. I did manage to squeeze in another one of my hikes! Ptarmigan Ridge. 13 of us had a fabulous day in the cascades. 12 miles round trip but worth every step! Check out our photos at http://gallery.me.com/kenharrison1#100353

I have two new listings coming on this week. A lovely rambler on 14 flat, level acres with stunning views of Mt Baker - $700,000. And another lovely cedar frame home on a private 2.5 acres with a barn! $469,000.

Rates are still LOW LOW LOW! The higher end still manages to keep on trucking with PENDINGS staying steady in the Edgemoor, South Hill and Chuckanut neighborhoods.

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Ken's First Posting! Welcome!

Ken Harrison's Blog — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:45:00 GMT

Well . . . here I go!! My first entry on my new blog. I will be sharing my wisdom regarding real estate and life here in Bellingham Washington. The most beautiful place on earth . . . to me. I have sold many homes to folks that could have lived anywhere in the world . . . and here is where THEY chose to retire. They validate why I choose Bellingham to live. This place is amazing. I moved here in 1992 from Los Angeles and have not regretted it for one second. So - off we go! Today's update . . . rates are LOW, inventory is FAT, and NOW is the time to buy!!! Our upper end properties are finally starting to move. Mostly CASH buyers but the recent sales are definitely helping our market. A little more confidence and the realization that we have finally "Bottomed out" have sparked some movement for the first time in 18 months. I, myself, am not worried one bit. Bellingham constantly is voted one of America's best places to live. Again, my clients support that stat. So, until my next posting, enjoy my web site and PLEASE visit my gallery page: http://bellinghamwow.com/gallery/homes to view photos of this magical place.

I also will be posting my photo of the week from one of my recent adventures. I hike every Wednesday during the summer and early Fall - so the photo of the week will be posted. Here is one from my hike The Chain Lakes Loop.

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