Edna Bishop’s Blog

Come check this one out ~ it’s dripping with Style plus I would love to see you

Listing #29150449
$645,000

3247  38th Ave SW,  Seattle, WA  98126
Beds: 4 Baths: 2.25  Sq Ft: 2510  Lot Sz: 4140sqft
year built 1930

Welcome to this artfully renovated 1930’s brick tudor with plush designer finishes and top of the line improvements. Luxury master suite boasts a full-body spa shower, walk in closet, and private deck. Fully finished basement features stained concrete floors, rec-room, media room, and a mini wine cellar. Perfect for entertaining; the outdoor space comes alive with a professionally landscaped yard, outdoor lighting, and back patio. Turn key with amazing curb appeal, this home screams style.

Directions: From West Seattle Bridge, take the Admiral Way exit and follow Admiral Way to 38th Ave SW, go South on 38th Ave SW from Admiral Way.

KeyBank Air Show at Seafair
Presented by Boeing
The Blue Angels

We have some great Low Tides coming up you won’t want to miss ~ look for the naturalist at the beach as well.
Tide Schedule

West Seattle Summer Events

FYI: $8K Tax Credit Deadline is Coming Up:
In order to take advantage of the $8,000 first time home buyers credit your new home needs to close and be recorded to the county by Nov. 30th. Most homes are taking 30-45 days to close and can take up to 60 days. Short sales can take even longer but 90 days isn’t unusual.
read more on the requirements here.

House sales up in King County

By AUBREY COHEN
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Chris and Tracy Blanton started looking seriously for a Seattle-area house in January so they could move back to the area from Orange County.

The story of why they didn’t buy one until June illustrates some of what’s been ailing the area’s housing market and some of why that may be changing.

“We thought it was going to be fairly easy to buy a house,” Blanton said. “It was more difficult than we were anticipating.”

The biggest sign of a potential change came Monday, when the Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported that more King County houses sold this June than in June 2008 — the first year-to-year increase in completed sales since October 2005, according to a new report.
for the rest of the story click here.

**Houses are selling & we have seen an increase each month for the last 4 months.

Interest Rates:
30 year conforming today is: 5.25%  ~ Last year it was 6.625%.
FHA 30 year today is:  5.5% ~ Last year it was 6.625%.
Jumbo 30 year today is:  6.25% ~ Last year it was 6.625%.  Please keep in mind that Jumbo loans went away for a while. They are now starting to come back.

Loan information contact: Ginny Lee from Evergreen Home Loans is great, honest & truly a person you can trust, I highly recommend her.
EvergreenHomeLoans.com

*Oh by the way do you know anyone who could benefit from the tax credit & use my services?

Interest rates are still great staying in the 5% range and houses are selling ~ here are a few articles and resources about the real estate market that I hope you will find useful.
Seattle Bubble - News & discussion about real estate & the housing bubble in the Seattle area.
Entries Tagged as ‘Seattle_Times’
May Reporting Roundup: You Have Missed the Bottom (or not)
By The Tim on June 5th, 2009 at 7:58 AM · 116 Comments

It’s time once again to check in with our local press to see who simply rehashed the NWMLS press release and who did some actual journalism.

First up, the NWMLS press release that accompanied yesterday’s numbers: Inventory shrinking, sales rising, prices stabilizing in some Northwest MLS areas

Waiting longer to buy a home is not likely to pay off, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service director Kathy Estey after reviewing reports summarizing May activity. Estey pointed to shrinking inventory (about 20 percent fewer listings than a year ago), double-digit increases in the number of pending sales (up 17.7 percent from a year ago), solid open house activity, and signs of stabilizing prices (eight of the 19 counties in the report show price gains since January) as indicators of an improving market. The rest of the story . . .

Rain City Guide
Welcome to Seattle’s leading resource for real estate information

The Buyers are out, and trying to buy, but…
Friday, June 12, 2009
By Chuck

Buyers are out, and trying to buy, but they don’t seem to be quite as successful as some of the more breathless news reports would lead you to believe.  I have always liked the Pending Sales statistics from NWMLS because they represent the most recent monthly snapshot of new contracts on listed properties – i.e. a Buyer and a Seller have made a deal.  But recently a lot of those ‘deals’ have not closed, the Seller has not gotten his or her money, and the Buyer has not gotten possession of the property. It appears that a lot of these current transactions, which are indicating a high level of Buyer’s intent to purchase, are falling out or being delayed for long periods. Read the rest of the story . . .

Loan information or mortgage questions contact
Ginny Lee
Evergreen Home Loans
People helping people
EvergreenHomeLoans.com

A few great happenings:

Sunday June 21st. from 2-4 I will be holding an Open House at this Fabulous View  Craftsman home ~ check this out:  6316 40th Ave. SW
Free date night always the 2nd Thurs of each month & always fun:  West Seattle Art Walk

News from NW Multiple Listing Service
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2009

Pending sales in Western Washington rise with improved affordability, buyer incentives

KIRKLAND, WA, May 5, 2009 –Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported pending sales for April surged 11.4 percent compared to twelve months ago – and rose 21.3 percent from March.

Brokers reported 6,918 pending sales during April across the 19 counties that make up the Northwest MLS market area. That’s up from the year-ago total of 6,208, and the March figure of 5,701 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed).

For the four-county Puget Sound area (King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish), brokers notched 5,372 pending sales, the highest total since August 2007 and a jump of 26 percent from March.

Inventory is shrinking and prices are showing some signs of stabilizing, according to data in the latest report from Northwest MLS. The median price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums area-wide was $270,000. That matched the figure for March, but still lagged prices of a year ago (down 12.9 percent).

Inventory is down 18.3 percent from year-ago levels, with Clark, Kitsap and Pierce reporting the largest drops. Members added 10,824 new listings of single family homes and condos to inventory last month, down almost 20.5 percent from the year-ago total of 13,607 new listings.

Lower prices, record low mortgage interest rates, improving consumer confidence, the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit and other incentives for buyers are credited with spurring activity. Industry officials, noting activity is quite strong in the lower, more affordable price ranges, hesitate to declare a housing recovery is under way:

* Dropping inventories and rising affordability are positive signs, according to Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “The housing market may be edging toward a bottom,” he stated.
* “April was a good market for new pending sales; we seem to be moving to a more balanced market,” said NWMLS director Meribeth Hutchings, broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Lake Stevens, Inc.
* “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors®.

the rest of the story

Some work to eat and
others just eat

Red Day is a National event for Keller Williams to set aside time to help our community. Our office had a great time coming along side the YMCA in West Seattle to paint their summer vacation facility located in Lincoln Park.

Pending sales in Western Washington rise with improved affordability, buyer incentives

KIRKLAND, WA, May 5, 2009 –Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported pending sales for April surged 11.4 percent compared to twelve months ago – and rose 21.3 percent from March.

Brokers reported 6,918 pending sales during April across the 19 counties that make up the Northwest MLS market area. That’s up from the year-ago total of 6,208, and the March figure of 5,701 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed).

For the four-county Puget Sound area (King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish), brokers notched 5,372 pending sales, the highest total since August 2007 and a jump of 26 percent from March.
Click here for more

First Time Buyers taking advantage of the incentives!
“I’ve been living in Seattle for 14 years, and I never really thought I could afford to buy a house,” Gifford says. But when they started looking this spring, “it all kind of came together,” she says.
The key elements: Lower prices. Lower mortgage-interest rates. And new incentives for first-time buyers.
Click here for more

With FHA Loan limits at $567,000 & FHA 203K Home Improvement Loan the opportunities are even greater for 1st time buyers.

What is the minimum amount of repairs required on a FHA 203k home improvement loan?
There is a minimum $5,000 requirement of eligible home improvement loan projects on the existing structure of the property. Minor or cosmetic repairs may be included after meeting the first $5,000 worth of repairs. Click here for more on the FHA 203K.

For loan information ~ I highly recommend Ginny Lee from
EvergreenHomeLoans.com


What’s happening in West Seattle, check it out

West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day ~ May 9th It’s Huge get your map on line here:

Free Date Night ~ May 14th
West Seattle Art Walk ~ 2nd Thurs. 6-9pm

Just for Laughs

Great Market Report:

Mon, Mar 23 - 5:00 PM ET
Market Wrap: Our benchmark 4.5% mortgage bond traded narrowly in a 28bp range before ending with a 9bp loss to close at $101.84. Bond traders were largely willing to remain on the sidelines to see how the stock market reacted to the government’s latest proposal to solve the financial crisis. The stock market ended up undergoing a massive ’shock and awe’ rally, soaring on news of a government plan named the Public-Private Investment Program to transfer toxic assets from banks’ balance sheets to a new entity that will manage them. The entity will be a partnership between the government and the private sector that will buy and remove up to $1 trillion in difficult to value assets from banks so they can resume normal lending operations and ‘unfreeze’ the credit markets. Other markets also responded with gold slipping lower while energy and the U.S. dollar strengthened. However, the financial and housing sectors led the broader stock market higher after the National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales increased 5.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million in February vs. a consensus estimate of 4.45 million. Home sales benefited from ‘deep discount’ pricing. The median sales price fell 15.5% over the past year to $165,400 while inventories increased to 3.80 million representing a 9.7 month supply. Some analysts believe the sales increase may mark the bottom of the housing market. The Dow rocketed nearly 500 points higher, gaining 497 to close at 7,775 while the broader S&P 500 Index skied 54 points to finish at 822. The NASDAQ Composite Index jumped 98 points to end at 1,555.

Are you wondering if you should buy for the first time your very own home? Home Buying Class Made Easy to Understand in West Seattle

We will be going over the 1st time home buyers tax credit for $8,000, the FHA streamline Rehab Loan along with the how the loan, escrow & title all works. Along with how the right loan person and real estate agent can work for you.

This is the best time to buy ~ all the cards are in the right place - great inventory & low interest rates - Don’t miss this opportunity.

Call or email me if your interested: Phone ~ 206.300.2735 or Email: ebishop@kw.com

MortgageTip:
I’ve heard of some cases where the banks have lowered interest rates to what is comparable with todays market for people struggling to make their mortgages by just calling the bank that holds your mortgage and asking. I say it’s worth a try.

If you are looking for loan answers ~ I love Ginny Lee at Evergreen - I would recommend her to any one.
EvergreenHomeLoans.com
Ginny Lee
Senior Loan Consultant
direct: 206-774-7501
glee@evergreenhomeloans.com

A Very Fun & Free Date Night
West Seattle Art Walk ~ 2nd Thurs. 6-9pm

Don’t you just wonder who has all the money? Times could not be better for first time buyers with low interest rates and rock bottom prices for great homes in great locations. You got to know this makes for a great opportunity for those who are able to buy and didn’t loose it all in buying in a high market or the stock market. This also makes a great time to buy a second home for investments.

Some say we have hit bottom ~ maybe it is hard to recognize because maybe it is staying at the bottom. The question is: Do we hang onto what we know and not gamble on what we don’t know? We know the interest rates are at an all time low hanging out at about 5% and there are good deals to be made ~ what better combination could one ask for? So even if the houses stay down in price whose to say the interest rates will as well, something to think about.

Plus what about the first time tax credit that you don’t have to pay back?

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/glance.php

$8,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit at a Glance

* The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only.
* The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
* The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
* The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit
Home is where the Heart is ~ Employ my expertise in negotiating YOU a WIN WIN contract ~ so you can reach your goal efficiently and smoothly

Three great reasons to buy now? read ahead and find out . .
1.
Economic Stimulus Plan Benefits the Housing and Mortgage Industries
Revised February 17, 2009
Just signed and sealed…a $787 Billion Stimulus Plan made up of tax cuts and spending programs aims at reviving the US economy. Although the package was scaled down from nearly $1 Trillion, it still stands as the largest anti-recession effort since World War II.
Home owners and potential homebuyers stand to gain from key provisions in this stimulus plan. Here is what we know as of today…

Tax Credit for Homebuyers
First-time homebuyers who purchase homes from the start of the year until the end of November 2009 may be eligible for the lower of an $8,000 or 10% of the value of the home tax credit.  Remember a tax credit is very different than a tax deduction – a tax credit is equivalent to money in your hand, as opposed to a tax deduction which only reduces your taxable income.
The tax credit starts phasing out for couples with incomes above $150,000 and single filers with incomes above $75,000.  Buyers will have to repay the credit if they sell their homes within three years.

2.
The 203(k) streamline loan program offers borrowers the resources to rehabilitate a home that may be in need of repair, either the home that they currently live in, or that special fixer-upper opportunity, without the extra cost or details as found in the regular 203k.  One single loan is used to pay for the purchase (or refinance) and the cost of renovating the home.
To read more on the 203K and the latest news click on the links below.
FHA information on 203K
Washington Realtor

3.
Interest rates are still at an all time low. Loan requirements are literally changing daily for the most up to date information contact Ginny Lee at:
EvergreenHomeLoans.com

Need a little inspiration check this out:
are you going to finish strong

Free Date Night:  West Seattle Art Walk - 2nd Thurs of each month from 6-9pm
West Seattle Art Walk