Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Deal of the Week June 19th, 2007

Categories: Deals of the Week

I mentioned previously that I would not revive the deals of the week unless I knew I had a bona fide DEAL.

Well here is one. It has a recent appraisal for more than $300,000 but the price was lowered today to $259,900. Here are the details on the house.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Wasilla Real Estate NewsMonday Market Memo… June 18th, 2007

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Here are the statistics for this past week from the Valley Board of Realtors MLS system.  This is for single family homes in the entire Matanuska Susitna Borough.  So this includes Willow, Houston, Sutton Chickaloon, and Big Lake as well as the core areas that include Wasilla and Palmer.

The inventory continues to climb, but it climbed a little slower this week.  I notice that the higher pending sales are starting to show up in the closed column.  

Here are the up to date line graphs…click to expand.

The top graph are the total active single family homes.

The bottom graph compares pending, new, and sold sales.

I took a look at land sales this week.  It is obvious that there are less land sales so far this year.  We have been selling some lots in Hart Lake Estates, but not as many as I expected to sell.  I think it’s one of the nicest neighborhoods around. 

An amazing thing when I looked at residential lot sales was that there were only 10 lot closings in the Wasilla Map area in the last 30 days.  That is pretty skinny.  There were 24 sales in the last 2 months.  With 367 lots on the market, that’s a 3 year inventory. 

While land sales are slow, there is still a steady supply of buyers for homes.  I showed more than 30 homes on Saturday and Sunday.  We received two offers on the doll house over the weekend.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Palmer Alaska—The Friday Fling June 15th, 2007

Categories: Alaskana

I stopped in at Palmer’s Friday Fling today.  It was a gorgeous day, about 70 degrees with a bright sun.  Almost too hot for this old Alaskan. 

Every Friday during the summer Palmer has a mini fair. Booths are selling everything from fur slippers to funnel cakes to organic bread.  The organic booth was actually doing the most business when I was there.  I was hoping to see some early produce but I guess that was unrealistic…it’s only the middle of June and most crops were just planted two weeks ago.

But I took some photos:

It was right across from the Palmer Visitors Center and gardens.The gardens were actually coming into bloom. They really looked inviting under the summer sun, but I had to run to an appointment at this cabin on the side of Mount Baldy, all the way on the other side of the valley.

My daughter Teressa has some photos that show off the Palmer area as an agricultural center of Alaska, she is a better photographer than I.  Here are more of her photos.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Wasilla Real Estate News—Listing Your House For Free June 12th, 2007

Categories: Commission Rates, For Sellers, Listing Your Property

In a previous post in the Wasilla Real Estate News I discussed what we do for FREE! But I was only half finished. That post only covered the work we do up until the time you get an offer. 

After the offer I will help you negotiate the tricky path toward closing.  We will need to respond to inspectors, engineers, appraisers, underwriters, loan officers, title officers, the buyer and their realtor between the date of the initial offer and recording.

•  After an offer comes in we will usually put together a counter-offer.  In fact, even if the offer is pretty crummy, I recommend countering back with something that would work.  This means that occasionally we counter back with full price and terms…but still counter
• Sometimes it takes several counters to finally arrive at an agreement.  I think my record is six counters over a three week period.  But hopefully we do finally go into contract.
• The inspection is the usually the first hurdle.  The buyer normally hires a qualified inspector to look at the house for them.  The inspector ALWAYS finds some issues that he thinks should be addressed.  I help you determine what really needs to be done and what is often just a desire of the buyers.  For example, if the house doesn’t have gutters, the inspector almost always suggests that they be installed.  Gutters are a great idea and often help prevent damage to a home, but are not a code item and won’t be required by an appraiser or underwriter.
• An engineer will inspect the septic and perhaps the house.  Occasionally an inspector asks that an engineer inspect the structure of a home.  A structural engineer might inspect the foundation or another part of the house.  The septic system will almost always need to be inspected and approved by an engineering firm.  If an engineer discovers an issue you have a real problem.  I will help you determine the best way out.
• The appraiser will determine value.  The appraiser works for the lender,  but their fee is paid by the buyer…or seller.  The appraiser is NOT an inspector and cannot be depended upon to find hidden defects in a house.  But if the appraiser does call out a safety problem the issue will almost always have to be addressed to keep the transaction from falling apart. And if the appraisal comes in below the sales price, you have a big issue, however, we can usually find a way to work through it.
• The loan is in process.  While the inspection, appraisal, engineer reports, and title work is progressing the loan is being processed.  This work is done by a loan processor that takes the file from the loan officer.  The loan officer is usually the person who takes your loan application.  The processor verifies your employment, checks the credit, and generally makes sure that everything you need for your loan is gathered together.  It generally takes some time to get the whole loan package together.  Part of our job is to check with the loan officer and loan processor during the transaction to see if we can help get anything done. 
• The title company makes sure the title is clean. There are often issues that need to be cleaned up on the title before we can close.  Sometimes there are liens that need to be released.  Occasionally there are mineral leases, easements or other items that need to be disclosed to the buyers.  We have a title search done right after we list your property to head these issues off at the pass. 
• By this time I have made ….ZILCH. 
• Almost every day we talk to the buyer’s realtor about the transaction.  Often we talk several times a day.  And there are many emails and faxes back and forth.  Communication is very important during this time and it is also important to be able to handle stressful situations without losing your cool.  We always have to remember the our purpose is to help you toward your goal of a successful transaction, not winning our personal argument.
• Schedule closing at a time and place convenient to you.  Often we will pick up documents in Anchorage to expedite a closing for you in a place that works best for your needs.  The next business day after closing the title company will normally record the transaction. 
• YOU GET YOUR PROCEEDS CHECK !  And we finally get paid. 

I actually enjoy working by commission because I feel good about being paid for accomplishing a goal.  But in one way, it is the commission system that increases the cost of selling a home.  If Realtors were paid for the work they did whether or not the house sold they could afford to charge lower fees. 

I have toyed with the concept of working on a consulting basis for years.  In fact, I have done it a few times.  Recently I discovered the Accredited Consultant in Real Estate .  I am seriously considering this training with a goal to lower Realtor fees for house sellers and buyers. 

Stay tuned. 

Until then, I still charge 5–7% commission rates depending on the level of service and marketing you feel that you need.

Written by Marty Van Diest 4 Comments »

Wasilla Real Estate- Monday Morning Market Memo 6-11-2007 June 11th, 2007

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate News Statistics for June 11,2007

Although the statistics show more of the same since the beginning of the year, our personal business has certainly picked up.  We received offers on several homes this week.  And our listings had a lot more action as well.

The numbers above are almost identical to last weeks.  The charts below however put them all in perspective.  Click to enlarge

Total Active…note how the total active listings continue to climb.  This chart shows only single family homes.  It does not include condos, cabins, commercial or land.

The pending and closed sales continue to clip along at a fairly steady pace.  Obviously, buyers are still out there.  We continue to have an active market.  Buyers definitely have more choices than they do in the past.  The homes that sell are usually the more desirable homes or the better priced homes.  We are seeing a lot of interest in some of our more unusual listings like this cabin ,and this homestead as well as the doll house. 

Buyers should pay attention to homes that have been on the market for awhile and have recently lowered their prices.  Sometimes these homes become very good deals after a price reduction.  One of my listings that is now a good deal is this almost new home on Birch View Drive with a view, big lot, and large garage.  It is really hard to beat for 2200 square feet in such a good location.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.