Wasilla Real Estate News, Valley Market Real Estate

Real Estate Reading? December 7th, 2009

Categories: For Buyers

Interest rates rose this week. Hopefully this won’t be a continuing trend. Interest rates probably will rise when the fed backs out of the mortgage market which is supposed to be in a few months. Still, the current rates are really good. in the high 4s right now which is better than anything on that graph above.

I got the quote below from “Mortgage Market In Review” that I receive every week from Alice Roe of US Bank.

“The biggest fear of bondholders is inflation. Real or perceived, inflation erodes the value of fixed income securities causing prices fall and rates to rise. The last thing the struggling housing sector of the economy needs is escalating mortgage interest rates. Unfortunately comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke have many traders concerned that rate hikes are on the way. Bernanke indicated the Fed would follow a “rolling exit process” in which special programs run down and ultimately implement a tightening policy. He went on to mention raising rates and indicated the Fed will cut back and close emergency lending programs as the markets normalize. The reaction to these remarks was fast and furious as mortgage interest rates shot higher. While it is almost inevitable that the Fed will eventually raise rates, the question still remains when that process will actually start to occur. Many traders took Bernanke’s remarks as a warning of things to come sooner rather than later.”

In the same week we get notice that 30 year mortgage rates are lower than ever..

News also came this week that FHA loans will become tougher to get. They will cost more and require higher credit scores. Currently FHA loans are a huge part of our market. If they put these new restrictiions into place, and it sounds like they will, buyers will have a harder time getting a loan which will have an effect on house prices.

And finally, this same week, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation reduced the difficulty of getting loans with them. Hopefully this will blunt the negative effects of the tougher FHA standards.

We are living in interesting times. A quote from John Mauldin, (whose newsletter you should read), this week goes, “My basic thesis is, we’re going to see a pace of change that far exceeds anything human beings have experienced since the dawn of man. Furthermore, in terms of technology, that change is going to accelerate. We’re going to have multiple waves of technological change. It would be as if electricity, the steam engine, and the automobile all showed up at the same time. Boom!”.

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962 S Hyer Road, Wasilla Alaska December 6th, 2009

Categories: For Buyers, My Listings

An unrestricted parcel in the central area comes along only occasionally. This parcel is on Hyer Road only about 1/2 mile north of the Parks Hwy. It has lots of paved road frontage and a little bit of Wasilla Creek frontage in the back.

The price is only $74,300.

And unrestricted parcel means that there are no covenants no zoning. The borough does have some basic land use restrictions regarding set backs from property lines and bodies of water as well as building in flood zones.

The land is essentially level with a small step down in the back. According to the FEMA map there is an area in the back in a flood zone, see the photo.

Flood Zone Map

If you are looking for property to raise some home livestock, have a business and still be in a very central area this parcel is hard to beat.

Check out some other listings:
$199,900 7857 W Arlie
$200,000 13901 E Moyon Ruelle
$95,000 16750 E Spruce
$300,000 15600 Secretariat

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5680 Rutan Drive, Wasilla Alaska December 4th, 2009

Categories: For Buyers, My Listings

Progress as of 1-19

Here is a beautiful home and fantastic value for only $295,000 by Pacific North Construction. This home just started construction today and should be done by the first of March. That is in time to take advantage of the federal home buying rebates and the fantastic interest rates-can you believe they are in the 4% ranges now?.

This home has over 2100 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 9 foot ceilings on the main floor, upgraded lighting, fireplace, an attached 3 car garage and other upgrades. It’s within walking distance of the Wolf Lake Airport if you are a pilot.

Here is a photo of the progress as of Dec 8, 2009.

Just across the street from the home.

We will keep updating this as construction progresses.

Click here for a video of a family of moose in the Hart Lake subdivision.

Below is a pretty rough video taken under mid-winter lighting conditions. But it still gives you an idea of the nice neighborhood.

View from driveway

Check out some other listings:
$199,900 7857 W Arlie Sorry…Pending Sale
$200,000 13901 E Moyon Ruelle Sorry…Pending Sale
$95,000 16750 E Spruce Sorry…Pending Sale
$300,000 15600 Secretariat

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Wasilla Real Estate Sales Statistics for 2009 December 3rd, 2009

Categories: For Buyers

The year is almost over so I thought it would be interesting to see how this year has gone compared to past years.

This chart is using statistics only from the Wasilla area. Still, this is a fairly large area which has the bulk of the real estate sales in the Mat-Su Valley. It includes the area in the map above. I will post another article later focusing on Palmer.

The raw numbers are below.

Some observations:

The days on the market here are for sales, if you go back and look at the total days on the market for everything you will see that it is more than 150 days. Here are last weeks stats showing the total inventory DOM. The houses that sell are not on the market as long as the total inventory. That is a lesson for all sellers, price it right and it will sell. Otherwise you join the crowded shelves of worn out listings that have been sitting there for six months or so.

Here is a hard fact for sellers. Most of the homes that have been on the market for a long time are the higher priced homes of $350,000 and up. If your house payment is $2000 per month and you have been on the market for 6 months, that’s $12,000 that you have paid in mostly interest. And now that six months are up, you obviously are over priced and have to make a drastic price reduction. So now you are going to sell it for less than the $325,000 suggested list price you were given six months ago…and you have paid $12,000 in house payments to boot.

If you are serious about selling, price your house very aggressively. You will likely not be leaving very much money on the table because of the above facts of life.

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Or sign up for the Deals Of The Week List….Foreclosure List….or Motivated Sellers list.

Based on information from AK MLS, Inc. but not compiled or published by AK MLS, Inc. Data maintained by AK MLS, Inc. may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

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Lots for Sale in the Valley December 2nd, 2009

Categories: My Listings, Wasilla Real Estate News

All listings, click here.

Hart Lake Estates
Starting at just $35,000!
Over 30 lots, ranging from .9 acres to 1.15 acres. Some have waterfront access. Almost all have beautiful mountain views. Click on the photo for more information.

962 S Hyer Road, Wasilla, AK
REDUCED price: $79,100!!!
This is a 4.16 acre lot in the Heart of the Valley. With creek frontage, Hyer Rd frontage, and no zoning, what could be better than this? Click on the photo for a map.

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