Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Monday Morning Market Memo, Jan 21-28, 2008 January 28th, 2008

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Real Estate Statistics for Wasilla, Palmer, and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.  These are residential single family home statistics are for the week of Jan 21–28, 2008.  These do include all single family homes including remote cabins in the borough. 

The vast majority of all sales are in the core area of Wasilla, Palmer.

The total active listings only increased by one this week.  I still expect it to increase substantially but the inventory has not risen much at all in January.  It will increase as spring rolls along and people plan to sell their homes to move in early summer.

We had exactly the same amount of new listings as we had pending so stayed pretty much even for the week.  This is the second week in a row of low closings.  This will increase as well as we go into spring.

The average time on the market has risen slowly over the last few months.  I actually expect that to drop this spring, at least for closed sales.  That is because there will be new listings hit the market that will be priced to really sell.  I have had several people tell me that they tried to sell their homes last year but weren’t able to.  They are going to do whatever it takes to get them sold this year.

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The Sharks Are Still Swimming January 26th, 2008

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

Buyers and sellers need to be careful about the people they deal with.  If you are giving all your personal information to someone that you found over the internet, you had better check them out carefully first.

Last month I wrote about a Shark Alert In Alaska’s Waters.  At the time I didn’t name anyone because it was not yet absolutely clear that the person was doing anything illegal although it was definitely unethical. 

Since then a lot of information has come out Richardson Equities and it seems that the FBI has uncovered a huge scheme that has hundreds of victims.  Here is a video from KATU in Oregon about the investigation.  If you see this guy, call the FBI.

He tells people that he will help them buy a house if they send him a deposit.  It seems that most people sent him $3,000 to $5,000 but I have heard of one person who lost more than $50,000.  In most case I heard about,  he just pocketed the deposit and flaked out of buying the house.   If they actually do buy a house he set up a rent-to-own plan where they would pay him an above market rent amount on a monthly basis.  But he pocketed all the rent monies without paying the mortgage. People are now receiving notices from the lender that they must vacate. 

This is a good lesson in the importance of making sure you are dealing with reputable people.  Get references from people who know.  In this case, Richardson Equities not only bilked his victims out of the money they payed him for real estate, it appears that they also drained their bank accounts. 

If you would like to good references give me a call.  My cell number is 907 232–7900

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Alaska’s Economy is Immune…Or Is It? January 24th, 2008

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

Daily, sometimes several times a day, people ask what is going on with real estate in the Mat-Su Valley.  We hear continual bad news about falling prices in California, Florida, Michigan and other places like that.  But people want to know what is going on in Palmer, Wasilla, and even in Anchorage…can you imagine that?

As my last Market Memo showed the market is hanging in there.  Compared to last year at this time the inventory and sales are about the same.   My 2008 Predictions show enough good news to make me feel like the markets will continue to remain about the same..until they change .

If you have been around awhile, you will remember the crash of 85 when prices dropped precipitously here in Alaska and especially in Palmer and Wasilla.  In fact, we purchased a home in 1987 for about 1/2 of it new price in 1983…and then we saw our house value drop even further.

But that was a different problem.  The problem in 85 was that the builders and banks continued to build like the economy was booming while oil prices were in the tank.and companies on the North Slope were laying off workers in droves.  People were leaving the state looking for work.  Prospects were better elsewhere and there was little hope for an economic recovery in Alaska. 

Things are different now.  We are in a global economy and things are actually looking better in Alaska than in many places of the country.  I think people will tend to stay in Alaska.  In fact, if my email box is any indication, people are clamoring to move here.  If more people move in than out they certainly need a place to live.  So they will buy or rent and keep our realestate market active.

So that’s my opinion, time will tell if I’m right.

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Wasilla Real Estates, Market Memo forJan 14-21, 2008 January 22nd, 2008

Categories: Monday Market Memo

For the week of January 14–21, 2008 here are the real estate statistics for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.  This includes Wasilla, Palmer and surrounding areas.

These statistics are residential house sales, everything from cabins to mansions.

Well…the pending and closed actions sure took a dive this week.  You couldn’t tell it by our own business…we have still been real busy.  Still, it’s hard to ignore the numbers.  I think it is just a by-product of two weeks in a row of 4 day weeks. 

The total active listings increased by only 12 this week even though pending sales were down.  I expect a jump in all the numbers next week.

I talked to Tim Vereide of Prudential Vista Real Estate in Wasilla today.  He is another number cruncher it seems, as well as an all around nice guy and great Realtor.  He has been keeping track of monthly stats for quite some time.  Tim has been watching the core area, Palmer, Wasilla, Houston and Knik Road out to Settlers Bay. 

Here is a real interesting fact from Tim…573 active listings in Jan 2007 compared to 554 this year.  Also there were 127 pendings at this time last year compared to 131 this year.  Those are actually pretty encouraging numbers given that it seems that the sky is falling everywhere else. 

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Wasilla and Palmer Septic Systems January 18th, 2008

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

Most of us here in the Matanuska Valley use septic systems.  Except for a small minority of people in the Cities of Palmer and Wasilla, the rest of us have to take care of our own sewage.  Those lucky people on sewer systems can flush and forget.  But if we forget, we will be reminded in a way that we will likely remember the rest of our lives.

There is a lot to say about septic systems, and I could tell a lot of gross stories, but there are really only two things to remember.

• 1. Ensure there is a clause in your initial offer on a house that allows you to receive and personally approve the septic inspection.
• 2. Pump your system often.  A pumping every year is not too often and every two years is probably the minimum.

1. The clause in the contract.

The clause about the septic system needs to allow you to back out of the transaction with no consequences if you decide not to approve the inspection.  I have seen septic systems pass an engineers test because they do meet the minimum requirements set by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, (DEC), but were obviously ready to fail soon.  It would be nice to be able to think about that issue without being locked into a contract.

Basically, the DEC needs to see that the septic system can take 150 gallons of water per bedroom into the system and then leach it back out in a 24 hour period.  If the engineer finds that the system is mostly full of standing water but can still take the 450 gallons for a three bedroom system at the very top of the leach field, and then barely leach that out in 24 hours…it passes.  But it will likely fail in a short time and when it fails, it isn’t pretty.

Many listing licensees will balk at the clause about the buyers personal approval of the septic system.  They feel that a buyer should accept any system that passes an engineer’s test.  I disagree, a buyer has the right to understand what is happening with the septic system even if an engineer passes the system.  It is the same as any other disclosure.  The buyer has the right to know and make their decision after they know.  A septic test is a new disclosure to a buyer who has three days to change their mind about a transaction after that new disclosure.  Often these tests are given to a buyer just before closing which raises the stakes on each side of the transaction.

2. Pump the tank.

I often go on listing appointments where the owner tells me they have a great septic system.  I ask them how they know they have a great system and they tell me that it has worked great for years with no maintenance whatsoever.  I usually cringe and warn them to get ready for a $5000–$10,000 repair as part of the sale.  A septic system that has gone a long time without pumping has a good chance to fail an engineers test.

Septic systems are designed to turn solid human waste into liquid that can be leached out into the ground water.  They do this work through biological action in the septic tank.  The little microbes in the septic tank break down the solids so that it can be dissolved into the water and then drained out into the leach field.  These little bugs work better down south where things are warmer.  They don’t work as well in Alaska and that is why your tank should be pumped on a regular basis.  You aren’t concerned about the liquid in the tank…it’s supposed to be full all the time.  You need to pump the solids out so they don’t get into your leach field and plug it up.

An off topic but thought provoking factoid:  I recently read a book about composting toilets that said the waste from an average person for a year could be packed into a 1 cubic foot box when totally composted and dried.  To get rid of this amount of waste, the average American flushes down the drain over 10,000 gallons of pure drinking water a year, turning that pure water into a hazardous substance.  Something to think about while many parts of the world worry about water shortages.

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