In a poll released today by Fannie Mae, nearly 2/3 of Americans say right now is a good time to purchase a home and the bottom has arrived. With that said, Snohomish County is still experiencing high volumes of inventory and ever increasing amounts of short sales and bank owned properties.
Residential Market Snapshot for 4/6/2010
– 308 Active Bank Owned Properties on the Market
– 727 Active Short Sale Properties on the Market
– 4,318 Total Active Properties on the Market
– 25% of inventory is either Banked Owned or a Short Sale
This morning, I received the Snohomish County Notice of Trustee Sale report and 87 more properties are heading to auction on June 25, 2010 and will become available for sale sometime in July or August. Even though the national real estate market trend is showing stabilization and/or growth, the greater Snohomish County area has yet to feel any relief.
Price is another factor hindering the County’s recovery and it is mostly due to the competitive nature of selling bank owned and short sale properties. To stay competitive, and achieve a sale, it is imperative that property owners price underneath competing properties. As a result, the properties are more desirable but it further drives market prices down. Right now, Snohomish County is experiencing 0.5% – 1.0% decrease in property values per month. In dollars and cents, a property listed for $295,000 (that isn’t selling) is loosing $1,475 – $2,950 per month when it is sitting on the market.
So has the Snohomish County real estate market hit bottom and now is a great time to buy? Or, will the best deals be actualized in the coming summer months?
I think now is a great time to buy. Even it the market isn’t at an absolute bottom, you will get good value in equity.
Couldn’t agree more Chuck. With interest rates being so low and inventory so abundant it couldn’t be a better. In fact, there hasn’t. I talk to my friends who are renting, and share current real estate conditions and you see a major Ah Ha come over there face. While they know the real estate market is down, the historical nature of the market makes them sit back and think. If a person/family is a stable position renting then they should be buying. Then in 10 years be in a healthy equity selling position.
Pierce and Snohomish County are expected to fall in value throughout 2011 by another 7-9%. Interest rates will be rising in 2011, continuing the pressure to drive down prices. I expect Snohomish County in general will drop another bout 7.5% in 2011, before going flat for 5-7 years. Buying a house is a lifestyle decision now. It’s also a hedge against an onslaught of brutal inflation that is about to hit. So, if wages rise with Inflation, you’ll be able to inflate your way out of the housing drop. But, chances are, global wage pressure, will keep US wages where they are. So, even if your house hyper-inflates from $500k to $1M, that means nothing in terms of real value, when the price of bread is $10/loaf, and gas is at $6/gallon. 2011-2012 trends indicate that wheat, corn, cotton, gasoline/oil, and sugar will all see up to 20% increases, so you better buy a house that you can afford, even if your food prices double in the next five years.