2007 December | Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Archive for December, 2007

Wasilla Real Estate in 2007 December 28th, 2007

Here is just a preliminary look at real estate in the Mat-Su area for 2007. I am also comparing the statistics to 2006. I will be looking at these comparisons off and on for the next week or so.

We sold fewer houses in 2007, (1,666compared to 1,472), for more money compared to 2006. The average price in 2007 was $222,053, compared to 2006 average price of $216,520.

Here are some charts from the Alaska MLS system. (click to enlarge)

2006 Chart

2007 Chart

“This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by, and to, the subscribers of Alaska Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (AK MLS, Inc.). AK MLS, Inc. does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by AK MLS, Inc. is for its own use and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. “

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Monday Market Memo, Dec 24, 2007 December 25th, 2007

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate statistics continue to show more of the same thing we have seen for the last 6 weeks or so. These statistics are for residential single family homes for the whole Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

That is a steady flow of pending sales and closed sales with an inventory that continues to diminish. At this rate it is possible that the inventory will drop below 700 by next week. But it won’t go much below that because there is already a backlog of houses ready to hit the market after the first of the year.

		Average Price	DOM
New	15	$276,909	.
Total Active	719	.	.
Pending	21	$234,583	109
Closed	22	$253,997	116

At this point prices seem to be holding steady. There are more foreclosed homes on the market which is an opportunity for people looking for fixers. They are not affecting the existing home market because most of them are in poor condition.

Homes have to be priced competitively to sell. Many, perhaps most of the homes that are over $300,000 are still priced a little too high. If sellers want them to move they are going to need to become realistic. Buyers generally look at a lot of homes before they make their decision. It becomes fairly easy to pick out the overpriced homes after you have been in 40 homes.

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Shark Alert in Alaska Real Estate Waters December 21st, 2007

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

If you have been paying any attention at all to real estate news in Alaska you should have noticed this story in the Anchorage Daily News about nine people charged with mortgage fraud. They had almost every level of a real estate transaction involved in the scheme. They had buyers, sellers, loan officers, a title officer, and an appraiser. It’s pretty amazing that they were able to pull this kind of stuff.

What people don’t think about is that real people are often hurt in these scams. In this particular case I don’t know of anyone hurt, but just this past week I had an offer on a house from what I think may have been a scam artist.

A buyer who was working with another Realtor wanted to purchase one of my listings but didn’t have good enough credit to qualify for a loan. This buyer found a company in Oregon that purchases homes for buyers who can’t qualify and then leases it back to them until they can improve their credit score enough to purchase it themselves. This buyer sent the Oregon company a large cash deposit and the the company then made an offer on our listing.

The seller countered back with a higher price and evidence that this buyer could actually close. Oh…the seller wanted to see that the buyer actually had some earnest money. Although they had accepted a large cash deposit from the potential lessor, they failed to send even the $500 check that they offered as earnest money. After waiting a week and leaving lots of unanswered messages the seller has decided that this buyer is not really serious about purchasing the property.

So now the poor person who wanted this house is out the large cash deposit and our seller is back to finding another buyer for their home…the only winner is the scammer who is still holding the cash. This shark needs to be gutted and fileted. I think I’ll start fishing with a HUGE hook tomorrow.

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Monday Morning Market Memo, December 7-17, 2007 December 17th, 2007

Categories: Monday Market Memo

The inventory continues to drop for the winter season while the sales appear to hold fairly steady. For the fourth week in a row, there are more closed sales than new listings. This will probably continue well into January.

Once again, it is obvious that well priced, and well presented homes in this market are going to attract attention.

		Average Price	DOM
New	12	$190,500	.
Total Active	743	.	.
Pending	22	$210,579	104
Closed	22	$232,575	95

I notice several homes hitting the market with construction dates of 2008. These are builders beginning new homes now with hopes of selling them in the spring. In addition, several of the pendings are pre-solds. These are homes under contract, but not yet built.

This just points out that while our market is not as strong as it was 2–3 years ago, it certainly isn’t dead. It is still a healthy market even in mid-winter.

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News Flash…Real Alaska For Sale December 15th, 2007

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

Very seldom does an opportunity like this one come along. I do not believe this will last more than one week. In fact, bids will be opened on Dec 19, 2007. It has only been on the market for 2 days and there is already a lot of interest.

This is an almost new log cabin on 60 acres next to Borough and State Land. If you are looking for your cabin in the woods…here it is.

Price….only $150,000. It is a foreclosure listed by Elizabeth MacMullen at RE/MAX of Wasilla. Since this a foreclosure it is being sold strictly “as is”.

It is off the grid and set up for solar power. It does have a well and septic system but the seller will not pay for any tests and does not warranty anything on the house. Apparently there is some freeze damage to the plumbing. There are access problems as well. The current access is on the Alaska Rail Road right of way. The legal access is down a section line and it will be expensive to bring a drive in on the section line.

This is a good hour drive north of Wasilla so isn’t really in a central location. It is ideal for someone who wants a weekend cabin or someone who can actually live a semi-remote lifestyle. Financing will be tricky…cash makes it easy.