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Greetings!
Hard to believe it's almost Halloween! With kids back to school, seems that real estate has followed it's "normal" pattern and has gotten busier and busier ever since Labor Day. Lots of great homes on the market and pricing is the best we have seen in many years- perfect time to be a buyer and also to sell and move to a property that better fits your needs whether that is moving up to your dream home, downsizing to a condo or getting into an investment property.
A leading National Association of Realtors Index entitled the Realtors Confidence Index rose in August for single-family homes and is at it's highest level since August 2007.
Low interest rates and yesterday and today's stock market closings over 10,000 for the first time since October 2008 are both great news for our economy!
We continue to market and sell our wonderful listings and help a wide variety of buyers take advantage of this market to make great investments- please contact us anytime!
All the best-
Two Generations Serving Your Real Estate Needs
for Over 25 Years
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Pending Home Sales 
Record Streak Continues for Pending Home Sales. Pending home sales have increased for seven straight months, the longest in the series of the index which began in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in August, rose 6.4 percent to 103.8 from a reading of 97.6 in July, and is 12.4 percent above August 2008 when it was 92.4. The index is at the highest level since March 2007 when it was 104.5. In the West the index surged 16.0 percent to 130.5 and is 22.3 percent above a year ago. |
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Windermere Bridge Loan
Windermere recently re-introduced it's Bridge Loan Program, now called the "Buy Now Sell Later" Loan to help stimulate the "move up" buyer market. For a limited time, qualified buyers will pay no interest for up to 6 months so they can get into their new homes sooner rather than later.
The program lets buyers borrow some of the equity in their existing home as a down payment on a new purchase when they list their current home with a Windermere agent.
Contact me for more information on this great program. |
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Pushing for Legislation to Extend and
Possibly Enhance the Homebuyer Tax Credit
Homebuyer Tax Credit Best Tool for
Sustaining Housing Recovery, Says NAR
The best available tool for sustaining the still-fragile housing market is the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, and it is essential that Congress extend the credit into 2010, the National Association of Realtors® testified at a hearing of the U.S. House Small Business Committee today. There have been over 400,000 sales nationwide attributable to the credit as of early October. The tax credit expires November 30, with purchases to be complete by that date. With the new lending requirements, including disclosure and appraisal processes, closings are easily taking 30 to 45 days.
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Listings Mt. Baker Sunny View Colonial
$1,670,000
Washington Park Pastoral Tudor
 $1,195,000
Broadmoor Grand Tudor
$1,465,000
 Leschi View Tudor$969,500
 Capitol Hill View Fixer$725,000
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Zillow
Windermere now automatically feeds all listings to Zillow. Zillow is one of the most-visited U.S. real estate Web sites, with 8.8 million unique users in August. In addition to being displayed on the Zillow.com Web site, Windermere's listings will also appear on the Zillow iPhone application. |
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BRIX Auction
BRIX Capitol Hill auction took place on Sunday September 27th. The results of the auction netted buyers just over 30% discount from original pricing, with all units sold at auction. Gallery downtown also had their auction the same day which netted buyers just over a 32% discount. An interesting concept to get a large number of units sold in a relatively short period of time. |
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Hong Kong Condo Sells for $56.6M US!
A five-bedroom duplex suite with as much as 6,158 square feet was sold to an unidentified buyer from mainland China, according to developer, Henderson Land Development, a major Hong Kong property company. It is believed to be Asia's most expensive property by square foot at nearly $11,350- making our Seattle average of $403 per sq ft for list prices over $1M look pretty good!
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Gear Up for Ski Season!
Crystal Mountain is offering Kids Under 10 Ski Free this season- and buy your season pass before October 31st for savings- www.skicrystal.com
Remember to stay at Crystal Mountain Hotels- www.crystalhotels.com"Ski to your door convenience" happens here in Washington with Crystal Mountain Hotels. Everything you need for a perfect ski getaway in the Pacific Northwest- slopeside lodging, fine dining restaurant, the legendary Snorting Elk Cellar, a deli with stone fired pizzas, and a high performance ski demo shop. Located at the base of Crystal Mountain, Washington's largest and best ski area. For the best ski lodging deals in Washington, check out our lodging & ski packages. Book your next office retreat, holiday party or other group event with Crystal Mountain Hotels.
What a better place for a vacation home- minutes to skiing, Mt. Rainier, Hiking, Mountain Biking, a huge range of activities- contact me if you are interested in looking at great vacation homes in the area! | |
