The beautiful landscapes of the Pacific Northwest aren’t complete without our water views. From in-city waterfronts along our lakes and the majesty of the Puget Sound, to Seattle’s iconic floating home communities, there’s nothing like finding a piece of waterfront to call your own.
HAWAII! Andrea Healey is an Associate Broker at Oceanfront SIR, serving Greater Kauai. Caring, meticulous, goal-oriented, and outgoing, Andrea has made the most of island life and developed strong relationships across the community.
Throughout the years, we have befriended many quality real estate brokers around the country and other parts of the world. In our effort to always provide the best possible service to our clients, we have built professional relationships and friendships with the best of these brokers and touch base on a regular basis to discuss how our individual regions are changing while learning about new services and technologies they’ve implemented. This year, we will share a collection of articles co-written with some of these amazing professionals.
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in October from a year ago by the most in more than seven years, signaling the real-estate rebound will keep bolstering household wealth in 2014.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property prices in 20 cities climbed 13.6 percent from October 2012, the biggest 12-month gain since February 2006, after a 13.3 percent increase in the year ended in September, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median projection of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 13.5 percent advance.
A dwindling inventory of foreclosed properties has helped restrict the supply of homes for sale, pushing up prices even as higher mortgage rates cool demand. The real-estate market will probably get its next boost from gains in employment that are lifting consumer confidence in the economic expansion.
“There’s certainly room for home prices to continue rising in the coming year,” said Dana Saporta, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York, who projected a 13.7 percent advance in prices in the year ended in October. “As home prices continue to rise, more and more homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages will see their financial situations improving. Just getting out of that underwater position should be a big help to the economy.”
Stock-index futures held earlier gains after the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index maturing in March climbed 0.2 percent to 1,838.5 at 9:19 a.m. in New York.
Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from year-over-year gains of 11 percent to 14 percent. The S&P/Case-Shiller index is based on a three-month average, which means the October figure was influenced by transactions in September and August.
Monthly Increase
Home prices adjusted for seasonal variations rose 1 percent in October from the prior month, the same as in September. That matched the Bloomberg survey median.
The month-over-month price gains were led by Miami, which showed a 1.9 percent increase, followed by Atlanta and Detroit at 1.8 percent. Property values rose in all 20 metropolitan areas, with the smallest gain coming in at 0.3 percent in Denver.
Advances in home equity may be harder to come by as Federal Reserve policy makers begin to trim stimulus, causing mortgage rates to climb. Fed officials said on Dec. 18 they will trim monthly bond purchases intended to spur the expansion to $75 billion from $85 billion starting in January.
Fed Policy
“The key economic question facing housing is the Fed’s future course to scale back quantitative easing and how this will affect mortgage rates,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “Other housing data paint a mixed picture suggesting that we may be close to the peak gains in prices.”
Unadjusted prices climbed 0.2 percent in October from the previous month after a 0.7 percent gain in September.
The year-over-year gauge, which uses records dating back to 2001, provides a better indication of price trends, according to Karl Case and Robert Shiller, creators of the index.
All 20 cities in the index showed a year-over-year gain, led by a 27.1 percent advance in Las Vegas. Values climbed 10.9 percent in Chicago, its biggest advance since 1988. Charlotte andDallas showed their largest increases in record-keeping going back to 1987 and 2000, respectively.
Property values are climbing even as rising mortgage rates cool demand. Sales (NHSLTOT) ofpreviously owned homes declined for the third consecutive month in November, reaching the lowest level of the year, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed earlier this month.
Mortgage Rates
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.48 percent in the week ended Dec. 26, compared with 4.1 percent at the end of October, according to McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac. It was at 3.35 percent a year earlier.
A report from the real-estate agents’ group yesterday signaled the slowdown may have run its course. Contracts (USPHTMOM) to purchase previously owned homes rose last month for the first time since May. Economists consider pending home sales a leading indicator because they track contract signings. Existing-home sales are tabulated when a deal closes, usually a month or two later.
Other parts of the market are rebounding. Purchases of new homes exceeded projections in November, holding near a five-year high. Sales declined 2.1 percent to a 464,000 annualized pace, following a revised 474,000 rate in October that was the strongest since July 2008, Commerce Department data showed last week.
Housing Starts
Builders began work on more houses in November than at any time in the past five years to try to keep up with demand, other Commerce Department figures showed.
Homebuilders such as Los Angeles-based KB Home (KBH) see the rise in interest rates as a short-term “pause” for buyer demand that won’t crimp a pickup in the housing recovery next year.
“Higher mortgage rates, higher home prices and lower consumer confidence due to uncertainty in Washington triggered a pause among homebuyers who are now being more cautious,” Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Mezger said on a Dec. 19 earnings call. “Affordability is at attractive levels, demographics remain strong and there’s pent-up demand due to delayed household formation” that will support the market in 2014.
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Current Previous 3-Mth YoY% Index
MoM% MoM% Annual % Change Level
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US Composite 0.18% 0.68% 8.98% 13.61% 165.91
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Las Vegas 1.18% 1.33% 23.95% 27.05% 127.23
Miami 1.12% 0.76% 11.23% 15.78% 173.63
Detroit 0.95% 1.45% 8.05% 17.29% 94.79
Phoenix 0.94% 1.18% 9.09% 18.06% 144.49
Los Angeles 0.86% 1.11% 17.13% 22.06% 214.65
Charlotte 0.55% -0.18% 13.01% 8.79% 125.54
Minneapolis 0.51% 0.79% 19.14% 11.34% 139.11
San Diego 0.29% 0.90% 12.76% 19.72% 194.07
Portland 0.17% 0.66% 0.98% 12.65% 160.46
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Current Previous 3-Mth YoY% Index
MoM% MoM% Annual % Change Level
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Tampa 0.10% 0.20% 15.56% 15.18% 154.40
New York 0.00% 0.55% 6.66% 4.90% 173.23
Dallas -0.08% 0.22% 8.39% 9.72% 132.47
San Francisco -0.20% 0.77% 6.20% 24.56% 179.55
Cleveland -0.22% 0.17% 5.57% 4.90% 106.59
Atlanta -0.24% 0.46% 8.82% 18.95% 113.72
Seattle -0.30% 0.32% 3.05% 13.09% 160.39
Boston -0.35% 0.45% 3.42% 8.59% 168.43
Denver -0.35% 0.24% 3.20% 9.51% 146.78
Washington DC -0.42% 0.40% 2.81% 7.43% 204.38
Chicago -0.48% 0.26% 5.62% 10.92% 127.42
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Contact us for more information about your neighborhood! Enrico Pozzo, Barry Bergner & the SeattlebyDesign Team
To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Jamrisko in Washington atmjamrisko@bloomberg.net
Location, Location, Location has become Location, Education, Environment for Asian buyers in the Seattle Area
Over the past decade, several global markets have seen an influx in Chinese buyers seeking to diversify their real estate investments and fulfill aspirations to own property across the globe. Vancouver, New York City, London, California, Seattle and Australia all have experienced heightened interest in real estate investment from the Asian buyer.
In April, our President and CEO Philip White will co-chair the Asian Real Estate Association of America’s 2014 Global and Luxury Summit, which will highlight the emerging market opportunities present in both the international and luxury real estate markets and provide key insights regarding Asian home-buying behaviors, a group that represents a significant portion of both high-end and international buyers.
“I am honored to serve AREAA in this capacity for the 2014 Summit, having personally been involved in the organization’s efforts over the last several years,” said White. “The Asian American market represents a significant growth opportunity in our industry. According to AREAA, the market has the highest growth rate of any multicultural group in the United States. The Asian American consumer base is growing, affluent, technologically savvy and has increasing buying-power: $718 billion currently, and expected to reach $1 trillion in just five years.”
$2,700,000 USD | Seattle, Washington | Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty
The Pacific Northwest region has always been an attractive destination for Asian buyers due to its proximity and lifestyle, but in recent years brokers say the trend has grown exponentially. ”When it comes to Chinese buyers the real estate axiom isn’t location-location-location but rather location-education-environment,” says Dean Jones, President and CEO of Seattle-based Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty. “The Pacific Northwest is viewed as the Pacific Northeast as we are the closest mainland port and boast a pristine natural environment and top ranked schools and universities while real estate remains a relative bargain compared with Vancouver to our north and San Francisco to our south. We’re building an Asia Desk with Mandarin-speaking brokers, landing services for new arrivals and a specialty website—www.dragonandthepearls.com—focused on the unique needs of this demographic.”
$8,950,000 USD | New York, New York | Sotheby’s International Realty-East Side Manhattan Brokerage
In New York City, Nikki Field Senior Global Real Estate Advisor and Associate Broker at Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. on the East Side of Manhattan, along with her team have spent the last five years immersing themselves in Asian culture. “Finding a new home on foreign shores is filled with perplexing decisions,” said Field. “There is a distinct Asian worldview on real estate investments that require a vast new skill sets needed to work with these buyers; cultural, social and business protocol is profoundly different in style. The focus on harmony, balance and order is fundamental to their life-style choices and we Westerners have much to learn from the East.”
Field and her team study the Chinese language, attend business culture classes and participate in numerous Chinese business organizations as guest speakers and seminar panelists in order to better understand their Asian customers.
Original Post by: Sir Luxury Real Estate
Eager homebuyers rallied during the first half of 2016 increasing unit absorption and median home prices by 48% and 28%, respectively according to analysis of Northwest Multiple Listing Service data released as of June 30th. The typical condominium is selling in just over a month with a median home value of $575,000. However, a closer look reveals that 135 of the 381 condominium closings so far this year were in the INSIGNIA condominium tower, a new construction development (and one remaining developer-owned unit in the Four Seasons Private Residences) whereas there were effectively no new construction deliveries or closings during the same term in 2015. When removing this spike of higher-priced, new inventory in the overall resale market still expanded by 22% year-over-year but total resale closings actually decreased 5% with 246 homes in 2016 (including a few resales at INSIGNIA) against closings of 258 units in the first half of 2015.
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Data from the fourth quarter of 2018 is in and Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty has analyzed the numbers. Take a look at the latest housing market trends in Seattle for single-family homes and condominiums.
October’s numbers are in and inventory continues to wane for King County residential homes, down 15% compared to last month and 40% year over year. The median listing price was just under $530K, with an average sale price of $427K, up nearly $40K compared to the previous year. Buyers came out strong, as homes were on the market for an average of just 28 days, down 30% from last year’s numbers. In downtown Seattle, condo inventory was down 15% from the previous year but rose slightly compared to last month. The median sale price held steady from month to month but was up $35K from last year’s average.
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Having briefly subsided from September into October, residential prices in Seattle resumed their upward trek, with the index turning positive by 0.18% in November. The official report from Case Shiller noted that “Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. In November, Seattle led the way with a 12.7% year-over-year price increase, followed by Las Vegas with a 10.6% increase, and San Francisco with a 9.1% increase.”
