Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Monday Market Memo on a Thursday April 30th, 2009

Categories: Monday Market Memo

These are the statistics for Palmer, Wasilla and the rest of the Mat-Su Borough for April 21-27, 2009. I have had some computer problems so this memo is late.

Fifty Three new listings and thirty three pendings for the week prove that the real estate market is heating up along with every thing else this spring. I even turned my air condition on for the first time yesterday.

Our total inventory passed the 800 mark for the first time this year. It will probably remain in that area until fall.

There was one listing over $2 million that hit the market this week. That tended to skew up the averages but it didn’t change the median range at all.

Note that the closed sales still remain around the $2K mark. That is the bullse ye of the current market.

Give me a call at 232-7900 if you have any specific questions about today’s real estate market.

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.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Monday Morning Market Memo or April 14-20, 2009 April 20th, 2009

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate News statistics for the week of April 14-20, 2009. These are residential sales in the whole Mat-Su Borough including Wasilla, Palmer, and the rest of the borough.

Activity is definetely picking up. Buyers are making their choices on houses so that they can move in right after school is out. We have had several offers on houses and lots this week. A couple times we almost were in bidding situations.

I met with someone in Vagabond Blues on Friday to write an offer and my phone kept buzzing as it sat on the table. When I was done with the offer I had 17 missed calls. Needless to say, I was returning calls for awhile. Oh…and the offer was accepted as well.

So while the rest of the country may be in a blue real estate mood, things are still moving along a a decent pace today.

Although the market is fairly active, its important to be realistic about it. Notice the median sales prices. The median prices for sold properties is below $200,000. That is about $20,000 less than it was in 2007 and the difference between 2006 is even greater.

Buyers are generally looking at lower priced homes and if they do shop in the upper price ranges they are expecting concessions.

If you are serious about selling your home it needs to be priced right, and then presented right. Give me a call if you would like to discuss how to get your home sold in this market. My cell number is 907 232-7900.

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.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Monday Market Memo for April 7-13, 2009 April 13th, 2009

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Wasilla Real Estate News statistics for the week of April 7-13, 2009. These statistics include the entire Matanuska-Susitna Borough including Wasilla, Palmer, Houston, Big Lake, Talkeetna, Willow, Sutton and regions beyond.

It appears that real estate activity has picked up a notch from the February and even the March slump. It also looks like it will continue through out the spring.

We are not doing nearly the amount of business that we were doing a couple years ago but there is still a pretty healthy real estate market in Alaska. Prices are not rising currently and anyone that purchased their home between 2005-2007 needs to be prepared for no profit or even a possibility of negative equity if they need to sell now.

I did a comparison today of 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage ranch style homes that sold from 4/13/2004-4/13/2005 compared to the past year to date. These were newer homes all built since 2003. The median sales price of these homes in 2004/2005 was $229,000 and the median price for this past year was $219,000. This is an important statistic and worth keeping in mind for anyone selling their home today.

If you are interested in a realistic evaluation of your home’s value, give me a call at 232-7900.

What the future holds is anyone’s guess. So far, Alaska is faring better than most states. Take a look at the March Economic Report from the State of Alaska. While foreclosures are up for Alaska, they are nowhere near the catastrophe of the late 1980’s. In fact we are doing better than all but 2 states in the country. The only other 2 states with better foreclosure statistics are Wyoming and North Dakota.

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.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.

Monday Market Memo for March 24-30, 2009 April 1st, 2009

Categories: Monday Market Memo

These are the statistics for Wasilla, Palmer, Talkeetna, Big Lake, Sutton and all the rest of the Mat-Su Borough for this past week. These statistics are only for single family residential homes. That is the heart of our market here in the valley and the Palmer/Wasilla core area is where 90% of the action takes place.

It looks like spring has finally come to real estate with 31 pendings this week. That is a very healthy amount. More closings will inevitibly follow. I wouldn’t expect to see 31 pendings every week but this is a lot more than we have had lately.

The excellent interest rates, (many people are locking in rates as low as 4.5% for 30 year fixed loans), certainly help. The lenders are all real busy refinancing people out of high rates into lower interest rate loans right now.

In addition, the Alaska Housing Energy rebate of $7,500 helps to spur the market. People enjoy not only buying a very efficient house that will save them a lot of money on their utility bills but also cashing the $7,500 check after closing.

There are some pretty amazing deals out there right now. Check out our Deals Of The Week, and our Motivated Seller Lists to find out about these deals.

If you are really into statistics you might enjoy the new supply/demand study from AkMLS.

One important thing to note from this study is the ratio of sales price to list price 98.76%. That means that sellers only came down an average of 2.24% off of their asking price. This is important for both buyers and sellers to keep in mind.

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.

Written by Marty Van Diest 1 Comment »

Wasilla Real Estate, Monday Market Memo for March 17-23, 2009 March 23rd, 2009

Categories: Monday Market Memo

Here are the statistics for the week of March 17-23, 2009. These are for single family homes in Wasilla, Palmer and the surrounding area including the whole Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The total inventory continues to increase as it should through spring. And this is spring, at least officially if not temperature wise. We have more light than anyone south of us as of this week. That’s a nice thought. Not so nice is the prospect of Redoubt’s ash cloud blocking out the sun. So far it remains north of Wasilla and Palmer although Talkeetna may get some dusting today.

The pending inventory is up for the week but the closed inventory is down, way down. I expect that will also look better as things move into spring.

I have been doing some reading that makes me think that interest rates may go down a little more, but then they may rise later this summer. If that is true, it would be important to buy now rather than later. I’ll try to post the info later today or tomorrow about this. This is going to be a busy Monday, not sure if I will get it done today.

If you would like a daily update on the hot new listings that fit your criteria, just drop me a line at [email protected] or give me a call. 907 232-7900 is my number.

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.

Written by Marty Van Diest Please leave a comment.