Monday Morning Market Memo 3-31-2008 March 31st, 2008

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate News market statistics for Wasilla, Palmer, Big Lake, Houston, Sutton, Talkeetna, Willow and every other little community in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

This update is for the week of March 24–31, 2008.

Although the statistics include the whole borough, about 80% of the real estate activity occurs in the Palmer-Wasilla Core area.  This is the area that is driving the market for the Mat-Su Valley

There were 60 new listings this week.  That is the largest amount so far this year.  We should continue to have a high volume of new listings come on the market throughout the spring.

The market has definitely picked up.  While the pendings and sales are a little higher than they were last month, the activity on showings and offers seems to be quite a bit higher. 

Right now, there still seems to be a reality gap between buyers and sellers.  I think that many on both sides are not understanding the reality of the market.  

Many sellers are not pricing their home to sell.  They are still in the mentality of a sellers market where a rising tide lifts all ships and even if you are overpriced, the market will eventually catch up.  Read yesterday’s post here.

But there are a lot of buyers that are also out in never-never land.  Remember…this is Alaska and you know how the bumper sticker goes.  Just because prices are free-falling in other parts of the country doesn’t mean that is happening here.  Take a look at this Fortune Magazine article about how much they are expected to continue falling in some places.

But prices are not falling here.  In fact at this point the average price is still raising, slowly.  The borough and others feel that the prices rose last year by 2%.  I think this is about right.   So just because prices are dropping dramatically in other parts of the country, it doesn’t mean they are dropping here.  In fact, at this point it appears as if prices will continue to hold steady or raise slightly in the future.

So, between sellers listing their homes at too high a price, and buyers offering too low of a price we are seeing a lot of paperwork flying around before we get the contracts signed off.  Buyers need to shop enough to know the market, and if a house is priced right…just buy it.  If you don’t, someone else will.  

I’m working on the Motivated Sellers list for the week.  It should be out tomorrow. Drop me a line if you want it.

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Motivated Sellers Are The Key To A Good Transaction March 27th, 2008

Categories: Wasilla Real Estate News

I once had a call from an out-of-state owner telling me that he wanted his house sold by the weekend.  It was Wednesday.  When I told him that could be done for the right price he asked me to fax the listing papers.  We had the house sold by the weekend.

He was a MOTIVATED SELLER.

Some sellers are not motivated.  How do you know they aren’t motivated?  Here are a few clues.

• The house has been on the market for 600 days with no price reduction.
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• They don’t want to show the house today…how about next week?
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• It’s still a mess, even though they had a 24 hour notice for showing.
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• You make a good offer which they reject with no counter.
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• When you show up to the house you are greeted with a snarling pittbull

On the other hand, there are sellers who are very intent on getting their house sold.  A motivated seller will always try to find a way to make a transaction work.  They won’t balk about a $2,000 difference between the offered price and asking price .  They will make the reasonable repairs to get the deal done.  They will even change their plans to move early to help a buyer out.

How do you find these motivated sellers? 

• Sometimes you can tell immediately by the price.  If a new listing comes on at 10% below the competition you know that is a motivated seller.  Buy the place for the asking price before someone else does.  That seller will be a willing partner throughout the transaction.
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• Sometimes the listing will say “motivated seller”…that’s a good hint.    Actually, that seller often owes more on the loan than the house is worth.  The seller is motivated but not able to do anything about the price.
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• It’s been on the market a while with a recent price reduction.  This seller is still serious about selling, but is trying to find the right price.  Make them an offer.
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• It is owned by a relocation company, or is a foreclosure.  These people are going to sell…period.  But they aren’t going to give the property away.  Read this on foreclosures. 
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• It’s a divorce sale.  They need to sell so that they can get on with their lives.
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• Last, but not least, get my MOTIVATED SELLERS LIST.   I  go through the MLS system and actually read the listings to see if it’s a Relo, Foreclosure, Divorce etc.  I also include those that have been on the market a long time but have had recent price reductions.  Occasionally a realtor will call and ask to have a house on that list because their seller is genuinely motivated.

Just drop me an email by clicking on my contact button.  Ask to receive the motivated sellers list. I just updated it.  There are 43 homes on the list right now. 

And here is a bonus that didn’t make the list.  This guy is really motivated.  He has only been on the market 10 days and has lowered his price three times already.  Click here to see the listing, call me to get in.  My cell phone number is 232–7900.

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A Drive Up Wolverine Road, A Palmer Alaska Secret March 26th, 2008

Categories: Alaskana

I took a drive up Wolverine Road this evening to put a sign on a new listing.  Wolverine Road is one of Palmer’s secrets. 

Wolverine Road starts out as Clark-Wolverine Road from the Old Glenn Highway about one mile east of Palmer.  About 3 miles up the road, Clark and Wolverine separate, turn left to stay on Wolverine.  I found that someone else liked Wolverine Road as well.

I saw three moose on the 8 mile drive, this young one was munching on Willows next to Wolverine Creek

Just a mile up the road were some of our strange Alaskan Cattle. 

These shaggy beasts definitely look like they were made for an Alaskan winter.

Just across Wolverine Canyon is the giant carrot marking Wolverine Farms, home of the largest herd of Galloway Cattle in Alaska.

Someone who knows more than I do can tell us why every mountain peak has a puffy cloud above it.  There were no other clouds in the sky.

All this was to put a sign at the very end of Wolverine Road.  If you know anyone interested in a 69 acre parcel with about 20 acres in Hay and a 2200 square foot home let me know.  It’s a rare find, there are trails galore from this location.  You can leave right from your home straight into the Alaska Wilderness.  Here is a google map to the location.  Click on the satellite view to get a feel for this unusual opportunity.

Or you can call me for more info… 907 232–7900 is my cell number.

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Monday Market Memo for 3-24-2008 March 24th, 2008

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate News market statistics for the week of March 17–24, 2008.  These statistics are for Palmer, Wasilla and the rest of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

We are watching the spring inventory rise. If everything remains normal the inventory will continue to rise through April and into May when it will level out.  This is the time people are selling their homes to make changes in the summer. 

It is a great time for buyers because they have more choices of properties. 

So far, the market seems similar to last year.  There are a few changes however. 

It is taking longer to sell a house.  Last year the average days on the market was about 100 days for the Total Active and about 80 or so for the houses that sold.   This indicates that we still have an oversupply on the market.

The average sales price remains about the same as last year, with just a slight increase.  There is about a 2% increase across the board, but the higher priced homes are not seeing any appreciation at all. 

It’s important to watch the new house prices.  There still are a few daring builders building spec homes.  These builders know that they have to build a quality home for the money and it needs to compete very aggressively with the 2–4 year old homes on the market. 

Nick Fonov just finished this very nice home in Heritage Farms Subdivision.  It sold within a week after it was finished.  He produces a very high quality home for the price that competes very well with existing construction.  This 1900 square foot ranch sold for close to the asking price of $285,000. 

He is finishing another similar home in Serendipity Subdivision on Fortune Circle.  It should be done by the end of April. 

Other builders are still building and selling spec homes.  Jess Hall continues to do well in his developments and a few others are also selling new construction homes on speculation. 

But this is not a time when any builder can just throw up a structure and expect to make a large profit on everything they build.  Care must be taken with the quality and the costs.  Buyers have plenty of alternatives with homes that are only 2–3 years old.

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Best Deal In The Valley?? March 21st, 2008

Categories: Deals of the Week

I’m not sure, but it does look like a pretty good deal.  Krystal Rodgers of RE/MAX thinks it’s the best deal right now.  She may be right. The last time I ran an alert like this the house sold in less than a week. 

Unfortunately, someone else sold it, so call me to see this home, unless you are already committed to another Realtor.  My cell is 232–7900 

It’s only 7 years old.  It’s a 1300 square foot ranch style home that seems pretty solid structurally even though the builder did not get inspections done when he built it.  Because of the lack of inspections it will not finance with AHFC but should work with most other programs.  It has 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths on 9/10ths of an acre.

The location is just off of Wasilla Fishhook about 6 miles out. 

This house has been on the market only 4 days, it will likely not last more than 10 days, so if you are in the market for something like this…call right away.

Oh…the price…only $130,000. 

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