I’ve received about half a dozen thank you notes from stores and services in the two dozen years I’ve been in Seattle.  I can tell you who sent me each note.  Because there have been so few, I remember who sent them.  I got to thinking about personal notes, and the lack thereof,  because I just received a hand written note from a Bellevue patio furniture store, Summer House.  Not only does the store have great products to sell,  they have great customer service with a nice personal touch.

The note reminded me that people, businesses, and the service industry need to combine the personal touch with the online world.  When business people, including Realtors,  jump on the blogging/Facebook/Twitter/Linked In train, they need to take the traditional marketing tools, the traditional ways to communicate, on board with them.

When was the last time you received a personal note from a business?  I bet you remember, simply because they are so few and far between. More importantly for growing your business, when was the last time you sent a personal note to a past, present or future client?

Home buyers and sellers are having a difficult time right now, even though the Seattle area real estate market is so much better than 2009.  It’s still a lot of work in today’s market.  It can be fun, wonderful, and scary to be either a buyer or seller.  So thank your buyers and your sellers for making a move and making that move with you.

I’m giving a talk about blogging at my Windermere office meeting this Monday and I just found one of my key points here.  To be a successful business person/Realtor it takes a combination of traditional marketing with its personal handwritten notes, mailings,  client parties, or whatever works for you, with an online marketing strategy.  Marketing and communication should combine the best of the traditional means with the best of the online avenues to work successfully in today’s real estate market.

Neighborhood cul-de-sac

There aren’t going to be any more cul-de-sacs in new developments in the State of Virginia. Yes, Virginia will have no more cul-de-sacs.  Cul-de-sacs have been banned from new neighborhood developments.    Cul-de-sacs are the quintessential icon of the 1980’s-2000’s American suburb.

Here on Seattle’s eastside, new neighborhoods were generally built all over with cul-de-sacs sprinkled throughout. If the neighborhood was a new pocket neighborhood on infill lots in an older part of Kirkland or Redmond, as an example, there might not be room for cul-de-sacs, but if you look everywhere else on the eastside, cul-de-sac neighborhoods were the standard.   Woodinville, Sammamish, Issaquah, Snoqualmie, Redmond, and Kirkland all have neighborhoods where cul-de-sacs prevail.  Streets with cul-de-sacs were the prized streets to live on, the premium lots, the more expensive lots. Realtors and builders would tout the benefits of living in a cul-de-sac:

• No through traffic
• A place to play
• A place for neighbors to congregate, meet and greet each other at the mailbox.

So why did Viriginia ban cul-de-sacs in future development?

Cul-de-sacs unite the people who live in the cul-de-sac, but separate  them from other streets by foot and by car.  It’s harder for fire and emergency vehicles to respond quickly when a neighborhood doesn’t consist of through streets.  Road maintenance is more expensive with cul-de-sacs instead of through streets.

The New York Times magazine finishes each year with an issue highlighting the great ideas from the past year.  The most recent great ideas issue had an article about the cul-de-sac ban in Viriginia.   The concept fits with the new sensibility rising in many places as highlighted by the popularity of sites such as walkscore.   Walkability and connectivity are this decade’s buzz words for living. Planners are looking more for connectivity, walkability, and better traffic flow for neighborhoods.  People are now looking for easy commuting, more connectivity, and more places to walk.

The Sustainable Cities blog highlighted the NYT article and wondered whether the ban on cu-de-sacs is the wave of the future for neighborhoods.

What do you think?  Should cul-de-sacs be banned from future neighborhoods?  What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages?

Since I’ve been busy telling people now is the time to sell a home if planning to sell in 2010, I thought I’d bring up a friendly reminder about some of the top things to do around your home before you go on the market.  This is by no means a complete list, but it focuses on some of the most obvious structural items both buyers and building inspectors will notice about a home.  This list also is separate from a list of strictly cosmetic suggestions such as updating carpet and flooring or painting walls.  Many blog posts could be written about the items you should check when preparing your home for sale, but this list is a good start.

Here’s my top ten list, with an added #11 thrown in because I’m dealing with it right now:

1. The Condition of roof – Does it need to be cleaned?  Repaired?  Replaced?

2. Earth/wood contact – Be sure all soil is 4 – 6 inches away from siding, planter boxes, decks, skirting, posts, etc.

Pull any dirt or bark away from the siding so you can see the foundation wall

3. Deck material rotted?  Railings, steps, deck boards, joists, beams, etc.?

This is not a deck that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Check all deck boards and supports

4. Electrical – Non professional work?  Panel breakers match wire size?   Non grounded outlets?
5. Handrails  Are they secured to wall?  Are they installed where they should be?

Make sure there's s a sturdy railing so no one goes sailing down the stairs

6. Shower tile grout and sealant conditions?

Does the grout look clean and fresh?

7.  Condition of the bathroom floors at tub/shower and toilet?

Check the floor for soft spots, clean, regrout, and reseal

8. Smoke detectors?  Are they working?  Do they need batteries?

9. Furnace     Has the furnace been serviced recently?  Does the filter need cleaning or replacement?

Your furnace must be a clean machine

10.   Crawl space?   Is there moisture in crawl space? Is a vapor barrier installed?  Ventilation adequate?  Wood scraps or debris which needs to be removed?

11.  My new personal favorite is to check your chimney and fireplace.    Hire a professional if you have not had your chimney checked or serviced.  Make sure  it is safe to use.  (I’m having some fun doing this now and will fill you in at a later date as to what is involved.)

If you want to get more into it, check the home builder’s inspection checklist or the list from the American Home Inspectors Directory

What other things should be checked out before a home goes on the market?

Who knows where the time goes? (“Who Knows Where the Time Goes”- written by Sandy Denny, but made famous by Judy Collins) Sometimes it seems like the past has gone in the blink of an eye.  Ironically, it feels exactly the opposite when we think of the future.  It’s human nature to think there’s all the time in the world, whereas the past seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.

We have the real estate trifecta here in the Seattle area right now and it could be gone in the blink of an eye. If you’re someone whose thinking of buying or selling, if you wait too long to act, the trifecta could be a thing of the past. The trifecta is a boon for both buyers and sellers.

So what’s today’s real estate trifecta?

1. The home buyer tax credit.

Attention home shoppers!  The April 30th deadline for home buyers to find a home, be in contract, and receive the $6500 tax credit is coming fast, and it’s coming faster than you think. There’s less than 100 days to have an accepted offer on a home and obtain the home buyer tax credit.

home buyer tax credit

Remember, the $8000 tax credit still exists for first time home buyers, but many people don’t realize almost all home buyers are eligible for a $6500 tax credit. This is an important deadline for home buyers and home sellers, not just the buyers.  Home buyers who are serious are out shopping and buying homes.

1. Low interest rates.

The low interest rates, which are low,  won’t be here forever. Rates for a 30 year fixed mortgage dropped below 5% last week.

1. Good number of homes for sale.

There’s a lower number of homes on the market in King County,  but there’s still a healthy amount of good homes to choose from. (Yes, home buyers,  there’s a number of great houses out there.)  It’s a more evenly balanced real estate market between buyers and sellers, which means some homes will sell right away if they are priced right and stand out from the competition and others will take longer to sell and will sell with more negotiation in price.

Number of King County Properties for Sale, 1-18-10

So home buyers and home sellers get out there now and take advantage of the real estate trifecta.  April 30th is not far away.

The eyes of the world are glued on Haiti right now.  The Haitian tragedy is horrific.  It’s sad to see so many people who are injured and may die because help was not available quickly.

Here in the US, we’re lucky to live in a country with relatively good roads, building codes, a solid infrastructure, great medical services, and police and fire departments. ( You may think things are not perfect here, but they’re pretty darn good when compared to much of the world) Regardless, we’re lucky to have all that’s available to us if and when there’s a disaster.  In the earthquake prone region of the Puget Sound, a disaster certainly can happen.  Our experiences will be different than those of the Haitian people.

Yes and No.  The odds are our buildings will not crumble, even in a strong earthquake.  Medical help will be available. But if there’s a disastrous earthquake or Mt. Rainier decides it’s time to wake up and remind us it’s an active volcano, we’ll have more problems than you think.   You need to wake up and be prepared before the mountain wakes up or the earth shakes.

If there’s a disaster, the police and fire will respond to the most serious, general emergencies.  The police and fire departments will take care of damage in the major places with lots of people.  They’ll be checking out the office buildings, bridges, airports, and streets. They’ll be busy with the major crises.

In Haiti right now the search and rescue crews are driving right past homes to the churches, hotels, and other major buildings in an attempt to rescue survivors.  The same thing will happen here until all those buildings have been checked out.

The police and firemen won’t come to your home right away.  They may not come for several days.  It’s physically impossible to check each home in a community right after an earthquake.  Even though we live in a country far more advanced than Haiti, everyone in the United States needs to be prepared.  If there’s a major natural disaster, you could easily be on your own for 2-3 days or more.

Each person and each household needs to prepare for a possible disaster.

For your home:

• Know where your water shut off is located.
• Make sure your water tank has earthquake straps.
• Put heavy decorative object on lower display shelves or secure them.
• Bookcases can be secured to the wall.
• Have tools and wrenches handy (see below)

For you:

• a first aid kit
• Water and nonperishable food for three days.
• Can opener, utensils, plates, plastic cups,
• Your medication.
• Toilet paper
• Paper towels
• Garbage bags
• Crank radio
• Flashlights and lanterns
• Formula, bottles, and diapers for babies
• survival blankets

This list is only a start. The 3Days3Ways site has more complete information to help you get prepared. Check it out.  There’s a wealth of information.

Here are some additional tips from Stephanie Day, The Emergency Management Coordinator from the City of Kirkland:

Keep small bills in a safe place in case of an emergency. Imagine spending $20 for water if all you had available were $20 bills.

Keep a wrench in a plastic bag (to prevent rust) next to your gas shut-off so you’ll be ready to turn off the gas if needed.

However, don’t shut your gas off unless you hear or smell something. You can’t turn the gas back on  without the utility company’s assistance — and it could be a long wait!

Keep at least half a tank of gas in your car at all times.

Have at least one corded telephone in your home. A cordless phone or cell phone may not work during a disaster.

Make sure you have a small disaster preparedness kit in your car, in case you’re stuck somewhere out on the road.  Keep a pair of those old sneakers you planned to throw out in your car, just in case you need them.

If there is an emergency, a great site for local information is The Regional Public Information Network (RPIN), which incorporates the latest from Federal Emergency Management Administration, local Ham radio operators, and the National Weather Service among others.

Today it’s important to give to Haiti.  You can contribute through Doctors Without Borders and The American Red Cross, Oxfam American and a host of other places.  Let’s not forget the Haitian people.

Tomorrow it’s important to get prepared for yourself.

Can you think of other things people should do to get prepared?  Are there other websites that provide good information?

Where's Lake Washington?

View from Lake Washington Blvd NE in Kirkland this morning at 9 AM.  The fog was definitely here in Kirkland this morning.  It was hard to see the big lake out there.

Actually, the fog was a breath of fresh air, so to speak, because there was no rain.  Seattle and the eastside have lived up to their rainy reputation since the beginning of 2010.  So far this year, which is all of a couple of weeks, there’s been 5 inches of rain in Seattle.

I’m dreaming about July and August sun right now!

Seattle-Eastside Condo Real Estate Sales, Dec 2009

(The absorption rate, the percentage of condos selling, is the number of condos for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of condos sold that month.  So if the absorption rate or chance of selling is 10% that means out of 100 condos for sale, 10 received offers and sold.)

December. 2009           1174 condos for sale,    125 condos sold,          11% odds of selling.

November, 2009          1289 condos for sale     140 (now 126)condos sold,         11% (now 10%) odds of selling.

December, 2008           1150 condos for sale       70 condos sold            6% odds of selling.

*Adjusted from previous month’s original numbers to reflect the actual number of condos sold and closed.  Some of the sales originally reported last month failed and did not close. Thirteen percent of condo sales originally reported in October failed to close.

The number of condos for sale also dropped by 115 units, which is 9% decrease in the number of condos available for sale on Seattle’s eastside.   The eastside condo sales remained about the same as November.  The year finished out with sales happening, but not as many as September and October.  Those months were affected by the 2009 first time home buyer’s tax credit.

With the extension and expansion of the home buyer tax credit into 2010, there’s the added benefit of a tax credit, but only if you buy before the end of April, 2010.

King-Snohomish County Real Estate December, 2009

December, 2009 Seattle real estate finished the year off on a more positive note.  With so much of the Seattle area real estate market showing “yellow,”  there was a solid return to a real estate market more evenly balanced between buyers and sellers.  This is more like the real estate market we saw in the 1990’s.

There was still a significant increase in real estate sales from December, 2008, with West Bellevue leading the way on Seattle’s eastside.  The number of West Bellevue home sales shot up by 279%!  Because home prices in West Bellevue tend to be among the most expensive on Seattle’s eastside and in the Seattle area in general, this signaled more of return to confidence in the real estate market.  Prices for high end homes have dropped to the point that buyers were more comfortable buying.  Since most of these sales had nothing to do with the first time home buyer credit, this signaled a strong change in buyer confidence and willingness to buy.

Prices tended to be more reasonable all over the Seattle area. Lower prices, low interest rates, and the first time home buyers’ tax credit did a lot to open up the real estate market.

The year ended with the lowest number of homes on the market for all of 2009.  The amount of properties for sale was similar to what was available in 2007.  This does not mean the market will return to 2007 real estate activity, but it is a good thing to see that there were, and are, less properties for sale in the Seattle area.

What’s in store for 2010?

I expect the extension and expansion of the 2010 home buyer credit to continue to spur real estate sales on. I also expect it to bring more home sellers into the market, so competition could increase again.  The number of properties for sale is a huge factor in pricing and market time.  The first part of 2010 should be pretty active for both home buyers and sellers.  After April 30th when the home buyer tax credit goes away, much will depend on how many homes are on the market and the interest rates.

As I’ve mentioned before, be prepared for any and everything with real estate sales in the coming months. There’s no “one size fits all.”  Home sales will depend on the price point, location, the home’s condition, the competition, and/or a combination of these things. Some homes will sell quickly and for a good price, others will still undergo significant price reductions to meet market expectations, and others will sell, but for less than one would expect.  This, actually, is what we expect to see in a normal, more balanced real estate market.

What do the numbers on the map mean?

The map is divided into the numbered areas as defined by our Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS).  Downtown Bellevue is area 520 and East Bellevue is area 530, as an example.

What do the colors mean?

Red means it’s a sellers’ market, a sellers’ advantage.

Yellow means a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Green means its a buyers’ market.

If you take each area as shown on the map and look to the area number on the side of the map, it will tell you how long it would take to sell every home currently for sale if no other home came up on the market in that area.

Seattle-Eastside Residential Sales, December, 2009

The odds of selling a home on the Eastside in December 2009 ranged from a low of 11% to a high of 20%, with an average 16% absorption rate. (The absorption rate is the number of homes for sale in any given month divided by the actual number of homes sold that month.)

December, 2009     2584 homes for sale,     419 homes sold           16% odds of selling.

November, 2009    2943 homes for sale      503 (now 457)homes sold    17% (now 15.5%) odds of selling.*

December, 2008    3413 homes for sale       207 homes sold              6% odds of selling.

*Adjusted from previous month’s numbers to reflect the actual number of homes sold and closed. (see explanation below)  Each month some sales  fall apart and don’t close.  A lower number of home sales may be reported at a later date to show the actual number of sales that did close.

_____________________________________________________________

December, 2008 Seattle-Eastside real estate market compared to December, 2009:

Several important trends this month:

• Home sales were up in all Seattle-Eastside cities.
• The number of homes for sale dropped to the lowest number since March, 2007. This is a huge factor in our real estate market.  For most of the past two years, there’s been a large number of homes on the market.  In 2005 and 2006, when the real estate market was booming, we saw the numbers of homes for sale on the eastside in the 2000-3000 range.
  
• The median prices were down by 3%.
  
• Home sales on Seattle’s Eastside:  up 81%!
  

Sales prices: down 3%.

Number of homes for sale: down 24%.

Best odds of selling: For the third month in a row, the cities of Sammamish, Issaquah, Fall City, Snohomish, and North Bend, with 20% of the homes selling.

Worst odds of selling: West Redmond, near Microsoft, and East Bellevue with 13% odds of homes selling.

Biggest increase in sales from last year: West Bellevue, with 279% more home sales, which translates to 34 home sales in 2009 vs. 9 home sales in 2008.

Smallest increase in sales from last year: East Bellevue/Redmond area around Microsoft with a 6% increase in sales over last year.

Home sales in Bellevue and Redmond were tops for several years and have now dropped off when compared to other eastside cities.

Decline in real estate sales from last year: None on the eastside.

The peak of homes for sale in 2008: July,   4370 homes.

The peak of homes for sale in 2009: June,  3859 homes.

The number of homes for sale at the start of 2010: 9726 homes

Rate of home sales that failed this month: 9%

Why home sales fail to close:

• This can be the result of inspections in which buyers and sellers do not agree, an appraisal that does not justify the sales price, lenders who do not package the loan properly or the great number of short sales that are out there.
• Short sales are sales in which the selling price for a property is less than the price owed to the bank, so the seller is “short.”  Many of these offers do not stay together because it often takes months for a short sale to get approved by the bank.  There’s no guarantee the bank will accept an offer.  I’ve heard only 4% of the short sales actually close in King County.  Since there’s a huge number on the market, if you’re someone willing to take a chance and accept that your offer may never be looked at or accepted, then a short sale may be a way to go. With the extension of the home buyer tax credit, home buyers have more time to go after short sales.  However, months may still be needed to get the short sale closed, if it is to close at all. Since most buyers truly want to purchase a home and close on it, I would recommend NOT making offers on short sales.  I’d also recommend reading as much as you can about short sales before attempting to make an offer on a short sale. This way you’ll be prepared if you choose to go the route of a short sale.
• My team and I are closing on a short sale this week.  The original offer was written in August.  There were two lienholders, two banks with mortgages on the property, which complicated the process.  Short sales can happen, but a buyer has to expect a rocky ride through the sales process, if the banks actually respond to the offer.  Be ready for most anything and most of all, be patient and not under any time constraints.