Welcome to all of you that will be coming here from Seattle!  Are you afraid of culture shock?  I’ve been amused and yes, a little offended, by the Seattle blogs, that describe us as third world, uneducated, toothless, racist, …….. To those that make these comments, I say that if you have lived here, then [...]

Pending Home Sales on a Record Roll
Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, increased 3.2 [...]

by Jaymes Song, AP 
HANALEI, Hawaii — If life is a beach, Hanalei Bay must be heaven.
This remote, two-mile crescent-shaped beach on Kauai where the emerald mountains meet the sparkling sea was selected No. 1 on “Dr. Beach” Stephen P. Leatherman’s 2009 list of top 10 beaches, which was released Friday.
Hanalei beat out other shores stretching [...]

Looking for vacation property that’s a good investment as well? These communities offer weather, scenery and active real estate markets. Plus: 10 more up-and-comers.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
 Popularity is a mixed bag when you’re looking for vacation property.
A hot destination means more crowds, more traffic, longer lines. But if you’re keeping an eye on investment potential [...]

FHA Preps Tax Credit for Down Payment Use

Home buyers qualifying for Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages may soon use the new first-time home buyer $8,000 tax credit as a down payment, US Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan said today.
The process of applying the tax credit toward down payment, [...]

This article appeared in Realtor Magazine: 
Greenspan: Dangers of Further Price Drops
Even with hopeful signs in the economy, afternoon panelists at the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ Real Estate Summit, “Advancing the U.S. Economy,” here today agreed that:

Stabilizing housing prices is essential to a recovery.
The federal government needs to inject great consumer protection into home lending.
Financial industry [...]

MATH SMILES ON MOVE UP BUYERS
Article appeared on msnbc.com, written by senior editor Mike Stuckey:
BOTHELL, Wash. – After two years of married life in a 680-square-foot, one-bedroom Seattle condo, Lori and Chris Kirsten were ready to spread out in a real house with room for a home theater and a yard where the Labrador retriever [...]

I have heard radio ads over the past week or so from a company advertising “free access to the MLS” , “get the same information that agents get about properties” ,”no log in required”.  What a novel idea!  This has been available on my website for over two years.  If you want information on any property [...]

Source: National Association of Realtors 
Outlook Favorable for Second-Home Market
Despite weakening second home purchases in 2008, the long-term demand looks favorable for the second-home market because there are large numbers of people in the prime years for buying a second home.
Currently, 39.2 million people in the United States are ages 50 to 59—a group that [...]

This article appeared in Realtor Magazine on 2/1/08…..I thought it was very interesting and made good points, especially with our buyers market!
Why Architecture MattersAnd how you can tell good from bad.
BY MARIWYN EVANS
If you’ve ever had buyers turn up their noses at a house before they even got out of the car, you understand that [...]