It's not every day you see a hot tub in the garage complete with shower and festive palm tree wallpaper - so I thought I would share. Think they have a moisture problem brewing?

Well the market isn’t getting much better – despite the spin coming from the NWMLS. Yes, pending home sales are up and inventory levels are down. Both are indicators that the market is headed in the right direction. There is still downward pressure on pricing however coming from the ever-steady stream of short-sales and bank owned properties hitting the market. And with real unemployment up around 20% nationwide (according to Yahoo Finance) things aren’t going to turn around anytime soon. We see the market staying flat through 2010 and into 2011.

 

So why are we excited at EZdigs? We’re coming off our best year ever in 2009. Our top agent closed 27 transaction sides and we increased our gross transaction volume company wide by 50% in 2009. We’re capitalizing on this momentum by expanding our short sale listing services. We are in the process of developing a short sale class and should have our first class ready by the end of February. If you have questions on short sales prior to that – shoot us an email at info@ezdigs.com.

 

New homes continue to be a significant part of our business at EZdigs. We have several new home purchases currently in our pipeline and will continue to assist buyers in this important market segment. Why are we bullish on new construction? 3 reasons; Price, Price, Price! The builders who have survived have sold through their standing inventory by slashing prices to compete w/resale homes. Now we are seeing these same builders bringing homes to market on land that they’ve picked up from banks for pennies on the dollar. This means low, low, low prices on brand new finished homes! Only a handful of our local builders are in a position to pull this off however so contact us before you make a move – if you want a copy of the list just shoot an email to info@ezdigs.com w/the subject line Builder List.

 

Market share – we’re expanding. We are continuing to add agents to meet the demand of our growing customer base. We’re not going to become a giant overnight – in fact being the biggest isn’t really our thing. We want to be the best at what we do – providing outstanding customer service by knowledgeable agents at the lowest cost to our clients. You see, we dig saving money. Our clients dig it too – and that’s why they keep referring their friends. If you’d like to find out how we can save you money on your home sale and/or purchase, well by now you know what to do, send an email to info@ezdigs.com and we’ll set up a time to discuss the details.

 

Be sure to check back here often to see what we’re up to or become a fan on our facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kirkland-WA/EZdigscom/80623587097

The IRS has finally released the rules for the repeat-purchase tax credit. What this means is that move-up buyers and their CPA's now have all of the key details needed to know how to apply the credit - or to determine if they even qualify. The form to use for the credit is form 5405. The link below should take you right to it however if it doesn't simply go to the IRS website (www.irs.gov) and search for this form.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i5405.pdf?portlet=3

As a broker and agent who sold a Quadrant Home in 2009, I was invited to the Quadrant Homes Night of the Stars at the Space Needle last night. It was a great event where Quadrant invited about 300+ agents and guests to show their appreciation for selling their homes. Outside agents account for approximately 70% of Quadrants new homes sales so it's a wise move on their part to hand out the accolades.

Like all builders Quadrants' sales in 2009 reflected the downward trend of the overall economy. They booked about 600 sales which is low for them. The good news for corporate builders like Quadrant is that they are snatching up land - usually finished lots or plats that are almost ready to build - for pennies on the dollar. These corporate builders don't have to rely on bank or lender financing (which is good because banks are simply not lending for land or construction) because they have the financial backing of their publicly traded parent company - in this case the Federal Way based, Weyerhauser.

This is actually great news for New Home Buyers as well. This means that the land base for builders is beginning to be reset at lower more realistic prices. It also gives these corporate builders a lot of flexibility in pricing - I see some really good deals coming down the pike over the course of the next year. We're already seeing significant builder concessions to entice would be buyers into taking advantage of the tax credit for first time and move up buyers. I see these deals actually ramping up and continuing into the beginning of 2011 as we sell through the excess inventory of land out there. We have a handful of builders in the Northwest that fall into this category - shoot me an email if you're interested in finding out more about who they are and where these "deals" can be had.

Photo courtesy of SaraAdamski Photography - http://www.photosbysara.com

To that question, I cynically answer - I'll believe it when I see it.

An article in the San Fransisco Chronicle suggests that short sales are in fact getting easier. They point to lenders hiring staff specifically for short sales and some lenders willingness to actually negotiate a settlement price prior to having an offer - both novel ideas.

Last year I successfully closed 4 short sales. Each one was unique with varying issues and circumstances - all were time consuming and emotionally draining for the parties involved. From this experience I can safely say that the lenders do not have anything remotely close to a streamlined short sale process.

To anyone considering a short sale - talk with your financial/legal advisers, do your due diligence and if you decide to move forward, make sure you are working with someone you trust - not all short sale negotiations are successful. Be wary of agents who claim that they can negotiate with the lenders themselves or agents who ask you to pay outrageous fees to negotiators.

Don't get me wrong I'm all for an improved short sale process - I think it would go a long way to shoring up the housing market - but I don't expect to see vast improvements anytime soon. We will see however. I have a short sale listing coming online in the next couple days. I'll keep you posted.

Let's face it, the big banks are behemoth corporations beholden to their shareholders and wall street. They have the ability to survive in this economic environment because of their sheer size AND because of the fact that many of them have received federal subsidies and/or they've simply issued more shares of their stock. Many small local banks conversely have been shut down by the Feds or bought out by investment groups. Is it just me or is something rotten in the state of banking?

The big banks have done what they can to protect their positions, even hedge their security by hoarding cash - instead of lending it out to businesses and homeowners who desperately need it. And if that's not enough - now there are reports that they are going to be dropping customers or "disgorging" them according to one analyst by raising fees and becoming even more difficult to deal with for those of us who don't have big phat bank accounts. The reason, according to this analyst - the majority of bank clients don't actually make the banks any money so they're raising fees on everyday banking events in a concerted effort to remove these unprofitable clients from their ranks of customers. Seem Harsh - Bah Humbug!

This kind of behavior begs the question - should the banks be held to a higher standard. If they are too big to fail then why are they not broken apart via anti-trust laws? After all, the whole purpose of anti trust legislation is to prevent companies from becoming so large that they monopolize entire industries or act as "cartels". If they are so big that their failure could jeopardize the economy of the nation or heaven forbid the world - then to me that meets the standard for action under anti-trust law. To ignore this possibility seems to me to be irresponsible. But to do absolutely nothing after it actually happens is absolutely reprehensible and inexcusable. I have to ask - Where is the outrage? I'm channeling Teddy Roosevelt here and I hope you are too!

Real Estate, like anything else is constantly evolving and changing. To be successful, agents and seller's must not only be aware of the changes - they must embrace them and incorporate them into their listing process. The problem is that these changes are driven by technology and too many agents have simply not kept up and many are even resistant to them. Many listing agents and entire brokerages are in complete denial about the reality of today's real estate market and thus, missing significant marketing opportunities for their clients. These traditional agents and brokers feel that their brand recognition is strong enough to overcome their weakness in modern day real estate marketing - but I digress. To ensure that you are working with an agent who understands what it takes to sell a home in today's environment seller's must add these three questions to their agent interviewing process:

1. Which web-sites and/or how many web-sites will my home be syndicated to?

2. What is the total number of web-viewers who will be exposed to my home on a monthly basis?

Traditional agents will tout the reach of their own website however all listings on the MLS appear on a brokerage's web-site, i.e. EZdigs listings appear on WinderScottMax's websites and vise-versa. Thus simply being on a broker site, no matter how many "hits" they receive, is nothing to be excited about - it's simply NOT enough in today's Internet driven real estate market. In fact simply being on any brokerage site is the absolute minimum that an agent could/should be doing for his or her clients.

And finally - the most important question number three:

3. How much of a discount will you give me to list my home?

Traditional agents will charge 6% of the homes selling price and many will have you believe that this commission is the norm and non-negotiable. The fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) real estate commissions are by law negotiable. You see if agents were to "fix" pricing at 6% this would be collusion and collusion is very illegal. So - don't be afraid to ask this question, especially in today's market, it could save you literally thousands of dollars. And we can all use that kind of savings right now. This is why at EZdigs our clients "dig the savings".

Again - if you're not asking these questions, you may be working with an agent who's missing serious marketing opportunities for your home. Not only that, they could be charging you way too much money for their traditional & mediocre service.

Team EZdigs is lacing up the old elf shoes and preparing to raise money for Arthritis at Seattle's 25th annual Jingle Bell Run. We are welcoming all-comers to the team so check out the web-site for more info. Don't be afraid - it's only a 5K and as much a holiday fashion show as it is a running event. So get out those antler ears and get creative. The first 10 team members will get a free Team EZdigs shirt! Not interested in running/walking - you can still help. Simply log on to the team site and make a donation. I can't believe I'm saying this already - but Happy Holiday's everyone!

http://www.seattlejinglebellrun.kintera.org/ezdigs

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aggvBpnVFOow