» Is This a Good Time for Seattle/Eastside Buyers to Buy A Home?

Is This a Good Time for Seattle/Eastside Buyers to Buy A Home?

Only you can decide if it’s a good time for you to buy a home. There are lots of reasons to make a home purchase on Seattle’s Eastside, particularly if you’re a first time home buyer, according to The Seattle Times.

There are some wonderful choices. In King County alone, there are over 13,000 properties available to pick from. On the eastside, there are 3500+ homes and 1200+ condos available to purchase. ( I have some great homes listed to buy among those 3500+!)
There are more homes available to buy for under $500,000 (and even under $300,000) than there have been in years.
61% of the Seattle/Eastside homes are now selling for under $500,000.
There are ready, willing, and able sellers who want to sell their homes. Many sellers understand the current real estate market and are pricing their homes to get them sold.

Interest rates are just plain fabulous. Bloomberg News recently compared the current interest rates to the rates available during WWII!

Some lenders are offering 30 year fixed mortgages with a 4.625% interest rate.

The Federal Tax Credit for First Time Home Buyers or Those Who Have Not Owned a Home over the last three years is a terrific bonus.

Until the end of November 2009, first time home buyers 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.

The above is all great news during times in which there hasn’t been a lot of good news to report. Making the decision to buy is a very personal one and doesn’t work for everyone. Some people have layoff concerns, as an example, and are hesitant to make a purchase. For some, waiting it out on the sidelines is the best thing to do.

Are Seattle/Eastside home prices at the bottom yet? We probably won’t know until after we get there, but prices are back to 2005 levels. The areas of the country with deeper home price cuts than Seattle’s Eastside are areas in which the economy is struggling even more than we see here. But for those who have secure jobs, good income, great credit scores, and plan to stay in a home for 3-5 years, this is a terrific time to buy a home.

What do you think?

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http://www.EastsideEntrepreneurs.com Joe Kennedy

I wasn’t going to share my comments because I know they don’t aligned with yours Debra. But you did ask so I will.

My opinion is that we are on a downward turn of the real estate cycle. Real estate cycles historically have lasted for a period of years. Our local real estate values have also historically followed the trends of those in southern California – but 2-4 years later. So Cal real estate is close to the bottom, but not there yet – so I believe that we have a lot of ‘adjustment’ to our still overvalued market left to go.
http://www.debrasinick.com Debra Sinick

Hi Joe,

Glad you shared your comments. You don’t have to agree, but as I said, “only you can decide.”

I do agree with you regarding California. Prices seem to be at the bottom there. Sales are way up in certain areas. The Seattle/Eastside area tends to follow.

I still believe that for those who are comfortable with their personal situation, credit, job, good down payment that it’s a good time to buy. For sellers who are moving up, it’s a fabulous time to make the move.

I posted a piece today on this blog about consumer confidence levels and the positive side of things: gas, food prices, mortgage rates, and house prices are all down.