Refuge Properties North Idaho

Month: January 2020

  • There is not here. Then is not now.

    January 30, 2020

    When I opened up my web browser this morning to check the latest real estate news, the headline blaring back at me stated, “PENDING HOME SALES SKID 4.9% in DECEMBER.” If I didn’t know the market and I didn’t go beyond the headline, I’d probably think this was bad news. My thoughts might turn to “Oh, no, people aren’t buying homes! We must be heading toward that “bubble” so many people are talking about!” (As a matter of fact, I’ve had a few people recently ask me about “the bubble.”) And while the headline is technically correct, it’s always important to know the reason behind things.

    First, there is not here. 4.9% is the national number and with a nation as diverse as ours, there is certainly going to be a wide range. Next, then is not now. Just looking at the difference between December and November home sales doesn’t tell me much. In fact, if you just take a look at King County, pending home sales (transactions that are under contract but haven’t yet closed) between November and December dropped by a whopping 24%! Closed sales, on the other hand, dropped by less than 1%. We can also surmise that, in general, home sales do slow somewhat in December since people are more focused on Christmas parties and travel than buying a house, which means it usually makes more sense to look at year over year trends, which, in King County, stand at 3.02% for closed sales and 7.23% for pendings. (Just to reiterate how different numbers can tell wildly different stories, listings year over year are down 38.75%!)  

    What’s more, while statistics for January are not out yet, anecdotal evidence has shown that we started the year off with a bang, with several agents reporting a return to multiple offer situations, many of them above asking in some cases, on listings that had sat on the market for months. Yes, people are ready to buy in 2020 and with interest rates under 4% and no sign that they’ll increase this year, people will continue to be ready to buy.

    So what does this all mean? If you’re a seller, there’s not need to wait for the start of the traditional selling season in March/April. If you want to sell, let’s do it!

    If you’re a buyer, well, the news is not as good, especially in our region. Amazon and other businesses continue to add jobs at breakneck speeds, especially on the Eastside as fears of a head tax in Seattle loom large. (Amazon has leased 3.6 million SF of office space in Bellevue and is on track to hit more than 5 million SF by 2024 for the estimated 25,000 new workers they will hire.) Furthermore, builders are unable to come close to demand with only 4000-4500 building permits projected this year compared to an estimated 8000 new families moving in to the region. All of this is naturally having an effect on how long people are staying in their homes, up more than 100%, from an average of five years to almost 11. All that said, people still have to move which means new houses are constantly coming on the market. It may mean you have to look farther south than you’d hope, but with rents rising as well, it also makes sense for people to buy.

    My managing broker actually said something profound last week that sums it all up. Unless you’re an investor, buying or selling a house should be a lifestyle decision, not a market decision. If you’re happy where you’re at, stay in your home. If you want to move, move. The market is always shifting, and as long as you see yourself staying in your new home for three years or more, it almost always makes sense to buy.

    If you’d like to sit down over a cup of coffee and dive in to your own personal situation to see if it makes sense to buy or sell at this time, give me a call. I’d love to help!

  • Inspections

    You’re about to make what is quite possibly the biggest purchase of your life and there’s a lot you don’t know about it. What’s in the attic and crawlspace? Pests? Mold? Fifty issues of National Geographic from the 1970s that have been there since the last owner moved in? (True story on that last one and a fun find that my client gifted to me.) Is the foundation solid? Do the included appliances work? In most cases, the house you’re buying will have several minor issues that you might want to address after you move in, but none that would cause you to walk away from the transaction or even ask for repairs to be done or a reduction in price. Inspections are still very important though because you never know what they might turn up. They typically cost between $500 and $1000 depending on the size and age of the house and how many things you want inspected (just the house? sewer line? radon test?). Here are some things worth when hiring an inspector.

    • What credentials do you hold and how long have you been an inspector? In Idaho, inspectors aren’t licensed by the state, but they should still be able to point to some sort of certification like the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
    • What is the cost for the inspection? Are sewer line inspections extra? (They typically are.) How about radon tests?
    • Is there an extra charge for larger homes or homes over a certain age? Homes out of their typical service area?
    • How quickly can your inspector typically make it out to a home once your offer has been accepted and how long will it take them to return their report? If they can’t make it in the allotted time frame, is there another inspector they can recommend who can?
    • Will they do a complimentary re-inspection of any issues that have been fixed by the sellers?
    • In regard to the radon inspection, make sure they are measuring it for 72 hours and that the meter is placed in a habitable room on the lowest habitable room in the house (i.e. a basement office or bedroom, not a utility or laundry room or closet.

    Additionally, before the home inspection occurs, make sure the sellers have address the following potential issues. When it comes time for the appraisal inspection, these may be called out, especially if it’s an FHA loan, and the lender will require them to be fixed and re-inspected with the re-inspection with an added cost of $200 to $400 in some cases.

    • Standing water against the foundation or excessive moisture in the basement.
    • Hazardous materials on site. This is not necessarily asbestos or lead paint, which is common in a lot of homes built prior to 1978, but if there are signs of exposed asbestos (i.e. not painted over), exposed electrical wires, and other potentially life-threatening situations, these will be called out.
    • Evidence of possible pest infestation.
    • Leaking or worn-out roofs. Roofs should have at least five-years of life left in them. If they seem close, hiring a specialty roof inspector or roofer to give you a “five-year certification” is a good way to placate any appraisers/lenders who are in doubt. Of course, realize that even if you get this certification, you’ll need to budget for a new roof in the near future.
    • Faulty mechanical systems, i.e. plumbing, heating, or electrical aren’t working.
    • Evidence of possible structural failure, i.e. unsupported floor joists, cracked or bulging walls or foundations. (Some cracks may not be evidence of structural failure. All houses settle over time and minor cracks can appear. If in doubt, it’s prudent to hire a structural engineer to give a second opinion.
    • Missing handrails both inside and out.
    • Working smoke alarms inside every bedroom (or in a hallway if bedrooms are close together) and on every floor. This is a common one and an easy fix.
    • Carbon monoxide detectors. Required on every floor. Another common issue with an easy fix.
    • Earthquake straps on water heaters. Probably the most overlooked issue with an easy fix.

    If you hire me as your agent, I will take care of all of this and already have existing relationships with home inspectors in the area who I trust.