As we respond to this time of uncertainty, brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important for us to consider not only our own health, but the health of our clients and the community at large. As trusted and experienced real estate advisors, we have quickly pivoted to guide our clients through a completely new home buying and selling experience.
Last week, S&P Case-Shiller released the latest Home Price Index and shortly after, the Seattle Times proclaimed the rapid decline of residential home prices in the Seattle metropolitan region. Contrary to headlines, however, the trendlines paint a much more nuanced picture. To be sure, Seattle was still named among the top three fastest growing regions on the Index, reporting an 8.4 percent year-over-year gain in home prices.
The world is a very different place than it was just a few weeks ago. As we continue to adapt to defuse the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected so many people close to our homes, the importance of looking after our communities remains constant. To support our first responders, who risk their lives daily to protect us in these uncertain times, it's important to offer every resource we can. For those on Bainbridge Island with vacant ADUs or homes, there may be opportunities to rent your home (for free or for a fee) to first responders so that they may live separately from their own families in order to keep them safe.
As you may be aware, AirBnB, a resilient community of rental property hosts—has launched a program called “Frontline Stays” which allow hosts to open their homes to those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal is to house 100,000 COVID-19 workers around the world as a way to help the vulnerable and those affected by this crisis. If you are interested in adding your home to this global AirBnB program, or if you are interested in donating, please click the button below to learn more about their work.
In anticipation of how AirBnB’s initiative will play out in our local area, Bainbridge Prepares, in partnership with Housing Resources Bainbridge, is gathering names of local property owners who are interested in possibly providing this type of temporary housing.
At this time, there is not a local program through Bainbridge Prepares or HRB to connect property owners with first responders, however this may change as conditions change. At this time, we are simply gathering information.
If you are the owner of a vacant home, rental property or ADU on Bainbridge Island and have interest in offering your property for this purpose, please complete this quick and easy survey:
Alternately you can visit Bainbridge Prepares by clicking HERE and click on “I Want to Give”, then “Donate Items”, and describe the lodging you would be interesting in offering.
If you are interested, in addition to letting us know, please also register your home, rental property or ADU on AirBnB for this purpose.
This is a challenging time, and we appreciate all of the ways in which you are doing your part to lift up others during this crisis. Even as we keep our physical distance from one another, this is a time for us to come together in solidarity.
Puget Sound Business Journal and Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty partner to bring you the “Home of the Day” platform, where exclusive listings are featured to readers around the sound.
Last week, S&P Case-Shiller released the latest Home Price Index and shortly after, the Seattle Times proclaimed the rapid decline of residential home prices in the Seattle metropolitan region. Contrary to headlines, however, the trendlines paint a much more nuanced picture. To be sure, Seattle was still named among the top three fastest growing regions on the Index, reporting an 8.4 percent year-over-year gain in home prices.
Examining the S&P Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, the home prices in the Seattle Region have risen by 11 percent between September 2015 and 2015, surpassing Portland which has had a 10.9 percent increase during this time period. Here is what you need to know about the causes and effects of Seattle’s booming housing market.
Situated right on the Elwha River, this gorgeous Elwha Retreat Property has expansive views of Hurricane Ridge, the Elwha River & Strait of Juan de Fuca to Canada. Here, you can watch from your own front row seats as the salmon swim upstream and repopulate this magnificent river undergoing a historic river restoration following the Elwha River Dam removal that began in 2011.
Seattle’s rent is currently growing faster than any other city in the U.S., this according to the Seattle Times as June 2015 vs. June 2016 rent comparisons revealed a staggering 9.7% increase. What’s more, “rents are soaring so fast that June’s 1.1% monthly price gain in the Seattle area beat out the growth that Chicago and Washington, D.C., have seen in an entire year.”
I am proud to present the Market Report: Puget Sound Real Estate Trends & 2015 Year in Review, a comprehensive look at the 2015 real estate market in an exploration of seven key counties of Western Washington: King, Snohomish, Kitsap, Pierce, Jefferson and Island counties, as well as 29 neighborhoods for our current and prospective clients.
I am SO EXCITED to announce the signing of a long term lease for approximately half of the Old Hardware Store building at 240 Winslow Way East on Bainbridge Island. After sitting vacant for the past four years, the nearly 70-year old building was acquired in January 2016 by The Old Hardware Store, LLC managed by local businessman Joseph Lacko.
As yet another acknowledgement that the Seattle metro area has joined the league of global cities attracting Asian investment, immigration and homeownership, Palace Magazine recently published a special report on American cities that included the Emerald City with significant contributions by Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty.
According to recent Census data, California sends more new residents to King County than any other state in the US, as noted in a recent Seattle Times article. The trend makes a lot of sense considering that the two states share a time zone, a love for the ocean and a propensity for employing high-tech workers, as recently highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and the Puget Sound Business Journal,which described that the average home costs nearly $600,000 less in Seattle compared to Silicon Valley. A delegation of RSIR brokers and owners recently visited the Bay Area to explore these trends firsthand.
Thousands of Californians moving from the Golden State to the Evergreen State. For the year ending July 2015, nearly 22-percent of the 16,999 new residents in Washington came from California, according to State of Washington Department of Licensing:
“Many inbound Californians recognize that Washington offers a bounty of opportunity with a much lower cost of living,” said Dean Jones, President & CEO of RSIR. “I joke that we’re the Evergreen State not just because of the lush forest and landscapes but because we have no state income tax. Washington’s a good place to get wealthy and stay wealthy, whereas California has the highest combined tax rates in the US and top earners can pay up to 13-percent state income.”
Jones says one of the trends is for affluent Californians to buy a principal residence in Washington State and keep their current home in California as a second home. By becoming a Washington resident and living in the Puget Sound region for the majority of the year, passive income earners can avoid paying state income tax in California and invest those savings in building equity in two homes instead of paying the government.
Californians remain a targeted consumer group for RSIR, as have immigrating Asian home buyers, who comprise the second largest relocating demographic in Washington.
In an article released by the Daily Journal of Commerce, Matthew Gardner describes his confidence that we are not currently in a housing bubble, ten years after Alan Greenspan first said he had no concerns regarding the housing market just before the recession hit.
Where does Gardner's confidence come from? He breaks down his top four reasons why there is no "national bubble on the horizon":
In an effort to expand homeownership among lower-income buyers, President Barack Obama cut mortgage-insurance premiums charged by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in an announcement according to Bloomberg News.
“Lowering the annual mortgage insurance fee from 1.35% down to .85% will be a significant boom for both first-time homebuyers and current homeowners that want to refinance their FHA loans,” says Keith Lashley, Mortgage Banker with Caliber Home Loans and Preferred Lender for Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “Prospective homebuyers are urged to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in over a year. Factoring in the rising median home prices and positive economic trends, I’d say this is about the most confident time to buy in recent memory.”
Lashley breaks down the changes like this. Mortgage insurance on a $400,000 loan currently costs a homeowner $450 per month but will drop down to $283 per month under the reduced premium providing a $166 per month savings to homeowners financed through FHA.
Under the new premium structure FHA estimates that 250,000 additional first-time homebuyers will be able to enter the market due to the reduce premium and over 2 million borrowers will save an average of $900 annually over the next three years if they purchase or refinance homes.
2015 is quickly shaping up to be a blockbuster year in real estate according to Lashley. He says homebuyers can take advantage of incredibly low interest rates, less restrictive FHA underwriting guidelines and now lower mortgage insurance to leverage their purchasing power all at the same time. He also warns that an increase of more homebuyers could make the marketplace even more competitive for buyers.
These favorable factors coupled with fast rising rents are not lost on first time homebuyers as Millennials and other modest income buyers are projected to move into the home buying market in record numbers this year. Other macro factors such as increased employment, low inflation and low relative home prices are further enticements for new home buyers to act in the first quarter of the New Year.
