On April 10, 2008 the Wall Street Journal reported http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120776827998402453.html that Equifax, the credit bureau, published a report stating that mortgage delinquencies had risen. The article states that part of what is driving the increase are falling house prices and rising unemployment.
The National Delinquency rate: First Mortgages 4.46%; Home Equity Line of Credit 2.37%; Second Mortgage 5.36%, Overall Delinquency 4.35%.
The States with the highest delinquency rate are Puerto Rico (8.03%), Florida (7.03%) and Nevada (6.59%). Washington State has the fifth lowest rate of delinquency, behind Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The average home price in many areas of the South Puget Sound and in Pierce County has risen since the beginning of this year. Employment is strong in the Puget Sound Area; the work force has increased, employment has increased and unemployment has decreased.
People who wait until they can see the “bottom” miss it, because seeing it means it has already passed them. Those who capitalize on shifting markets do so because they act close to, but not at, the top and bottom of any market.
If you are thinking of buying a house or moving up to a bigger house, now is the time to act! Delinquency rates will increase over the next 18 months. However, I believe that due to the strength of the Puget Sound economy combined with the number of people who will be moving here from other parts of the country, house prices will also increase.
Marc
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
The media reports that the Real Estate market is floundering and close to death. Is that true for the South Puget Sound?
As a Realtor®, I am able to access tools that the general public doesn’t have. With these tools I created the following tables:
Prices of homes that have sold March, 2008 compared to one year ago:
City/County _____March 2007 ____March 2008 _____%Difference
Pierce County _____318,000 ______305,000 __________-4.0
Bonney Lake ______316,000 ______308,000 __________-2.5
DuPont __________333,000 ______387,000 _________+16.2
Fife ____________310,000 ______271,000 __________-12.5
Firecrest _________369,000 ______310,000 __________-15.9
Gig Harbor ________444,000 ______469,000 __________+5.6
Lakewood _________254,000 ______263,000 __________+3.5
Puyallup __________302,000 ______290,000 __________-3.9
Spanaway _________260,000 ______253,000 __________-2.7
Sumner ___________394,000 ______304,000 _________-22.8
Tacoma ___________272,000 ______273,000 __________-0.4
University Place _____478,000 ______375,000 _________-21.5
Thurston County _____280,000 ______294,000 _________+5.0
Lacey _____________267,000 ______295,000 _________-10.4
Olympia ___________308,000 ______331,000 __________-7.4
Yelm ______________243,000 ______220,000 __________+9.4
Prices of homes that have sold January, 2008 compared to March, 2008:
City/County _____January, 2008 ____March, 2008 ______% Difference
Pierce County ________288,000 ______305,000 __________+5.9
Bonney Lake _________350,000 ______308,000 _________-12.0
DuPont _____________357,000 ______387,000 __________+8.4
Fife ________________293,000 ______271,000 __________-7.5
Firecrest ____________284,000 ______310,000 __________+9.2
Gig Harbor __________426,000 _______469,000 _________+10.0
Lakewood ___________262,000 _______263,000 __________+0.4
Puyallup ____________277,000 _______290,000 __________+5.0
Spanaway ___________264,000 _______253,000 __________-4.2
Sumner _____________250,000 _______304,000 _________+21.6
Tacoma _____________247,000 _______273,000 _________+10.5
University Place _______316,000 _______375,000 _________+18.7
Thurston County _______297,000 _______294,000 _________-1.0
Lacey _______________279,000 _______295,000 _________+5.7
Olympia _____________342,000 _______331,000 __________-3.2
Yelm _______________229,000 _______220,000 __________-3.9
*This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the NWMLS. Neither the Board or its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Report reflects activity by all brokers participated in the MLS.
These statistics originate from data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, www.nwmls.com. The prices of homes have dropped from a year ago last March. That was a correction that needed to happen. Home prices were going up so fast and so high that new home buyers were being priced out of the market. Without new home buyers to purchase their homes, current home owners cannot move up to a larger home. Without people who can purchase higher priced homes, the Real Estate market will stall. However, if you look at the prices of houses in the Sound Puget Sound area for the first three months of this year, you will see that in most areas prices have started to rise again. This is not true for all areas; however in a normal market areas differ in their pricing and the pace at which they sell. In Pierce County in general, the price of a home has risen in the first quarter of 2008. There is great concern over the future of our national economy. This concern has driven the mortgage interest rates down. There are many parts of the country where the Real Estate market is having great difficulty recovering from the sub-prime mortgage hit. While we are not isolated from the national economy, this area has one of the strongest economies in the country. It is a good time to take advantage of the low interest rates and the high inventory of houses. As soon as the Federal Reserve Bank sees a slight turn around in the economy, they will be wary of inflation and the interest rates will rise.
In my next blog, I will talk about foreclosures and where we stand in relation to the rest of the country in this area.
Marc
Prices of homes that have sold March, 2008 compared to one year ago:
City/County _____March 2007 ____March 2008 _____%Difference
Pierce County _____318,000 ______305,000 __________-4.0
Bonney Lake ______316,000 ______308,000 __________-2.5
DuPont __________333,000 ______387,000 _________+16.2
Fife ____________310,000 ______271,000 __________-12.5
Firecrest _________369,000 ______310,000 __________-15.9
Gig Harbor ________444,000 ______469,000 __________+5.6
Lakewood _________254,000 ______263,000 __________+3.5
Puyallup __________302,000 ______290,000 __________-3.9
Spanaway _________260,000 ______253,000 __________-2.7
Sumner ___________394,000 ______304,000 _________-22.8
Tacoma ___________272,000 ______273,000 __________-0.4
University Place _____478,000 ______375,000 _________-21.5
Thurston County _____280,000 ______294,000 _________+5.0
Lacey _____________267,000 ______295,000 _________-10.4
Olympia ___________308,000 ______331,000 __________-7.4
Yelm ______________243,000 ______220,000 __________+9.4
Prices of homes that have sold January, 2008 compared to March, 2008:
City/County _____January, 2008 ____March, 2008 ______% Difference
Pierce County ________288,000 ______305,000 __________+5.9
Bonney Lake _________350,000 ______308,000 _________-12.0
DuPont _____________357,000 ______387,000 __________+8.4
Fife ________________293,000 ______271,000 __________-7.5
Firecrest ____________284,000 ______310,000 __________+9.2
Gig Harbor __________426,000 _______469,000 _________+10.0
Lakewood ___________262,000 _______263,000 __________+0.4
Puyallup ____________277,000 _______290,000 __________+5.0
Spanaway ___________264,000 _______253,000 __________-4.2
Sumner _____________250,000 _______304,000 _________+21.6
Tacoma _____________247,000 _______273,000 _________+10.5
University Place _______316,000 _______375,000 _________+18.7
Thurston County _______297,000 _______294,000 _________-1.0
Lacey _______________279,000 _______295,000 _________+5.7
Olympia _____________342,000 _______331,000 __________-3.2
Yelm _______________229,000 _______220,000 __________-3.9
*This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the NWMLS. Neither the Board or its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Board or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Report reflects activity by all brokers participated in the MLS.
These statistics originate from data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, www.nwmls.com. The prices of homes have dropped from a year ago last March. That was a correction that needed to happen. Home prices were going up so fast and so high that new home buyers were being priced out of the market. Without new home buyers to purchase their homes, current home owners cannot move up to a larger home. Without people who can purchase higher priced homes, the Real Estate market will stall. However, if you look at the prices of houses in the Sound Puget Sound area for the first three months of this year, you will see that in most areas prices have started to rise again. This is not true for all areas; however in a normal market areas differ in their pricing and the pace at which they sell. In Pierce County in general, the price of a home has risen in the first quarter of 2008. There is great concern over the future of our national economy. This concern has driven the mortgage interest rates down. There are many parts of the country where the Real Estate market is having great difficulty recovering from the sub-prime mortgage hit. While we are not isolated from the national economy, this area has one of the strongest economies in the country. It is a good time to take advantage of the low interest rates and the high inventory of houses. As soon as the Federal Reserve Bank sees a slight turn around in the economy, they will be wary of inflation and the interest rates will rise.
In my next blog, I will talk about foreclosures and where we stand in relation to the rest of the country in this area.
Marc
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Seattle/Tacoma Washington Unemployment Rate & Housing Market
The front page article, "U.S. Suffers Biggest Jobs Drop In 5 Years as Downturn Spreadsweek", http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120731199473089651.html, says that the national job market has lost between 75,000 and 80,000 jobs a month for the last three months. Jobs are critical to the economy anywhere in the country. I have retrieved the Seattle/Tacoma/Bremerton job statistics for the past 5 years. As you can see, the job market is very strong in our area! The labor force and employment is continually increasing. Unemployment continues to decline. Although we are not isolated from what is happening on a national basis, the economy here has a very sound foundation. Because of the strength of the economy, it is very unlikely that the real estate market here will flounder to the depths that it has in other areas of the county. Due to the inventory of houses on the market and the low interest rate, it is an ideal time for people who want to purchase a home, whether it is a first time home buyer, an investment property or a vacation home.
Marc
All statistical information from the U. S. Department of Labor
Seasonally Adjusted
Marc
All statistical information from the U. S. Department of Labor
Seasonally Adjusted
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