Interest Rates & Market Update

Despite what you may have been hearing, mortgages are widely available, with some basic rule changes: "back to the basics".

Lenders require more documentation of your income and expenses than you might have found in recent years, but you should have everything you need right in your household files. Interest rates are historically low, and soon there may even be a program for those who wish to refinance to a lower rate, but don’t have much or any equity.

If you need a referral to an excellent lender, let me know - you know I work with the best!

How is our market doing? Despite what you are hearing, well priced properties in good condition are selling well, often in less than a month. Overpriced properties? Not selling well at all! Prices are adjusting, but probably not as badly as what you've been reading or perhaps thinking.

Give me a call anytime, or send me an email, and let’s talk. I always enjoy hearing from you.

I'm Here to Help

March 2009

It would be nice to have a little good economic news, wouldn’t it? I received a letter today from Charles Schwab & Co. that said in part, “As we enter March, poor economic news is resulting in continued market turmoil. While the most natural instinct is to react emotionally, I would ask that you step back and take full advantage of Schwab’s numerous resources to help you through these difficult times.” Just as they can help you make important financial decisions regarding your investments, I can help you with your real estate questions.

Of course we all know the beating the stock market has taken these past few weeks and months. The housing market has also had its’ share of disappointing news; although here in Washington, we’re not seeing such dismal numbers as other parts of the country. First and foremost, please remember that I’m always available to you, or to help someone you know who isn’t sure what to do regarding a home they own, or a mortgage they are concerned about. Today we now have a program for millions of homeowners who owe more than their property is worth to be able to refinance to a lower interest rate. There is also a new tax credit for first time purchasers, up to $8000. This tax credit also works if you haven't owned a home for at least 3 years.

I stay current with all the latest developments so please don’t hesitate to call or email me.

I think you already know that you can call or email me anytime. I’m glad to not only hear from you, but to help answer any questions you may have. If you’d like me to come review your property, let’s schedule a personal consultation for more specific advice about your situation. It’s easy to arrange and part of the long-term service you receive as a client.

Your trust in me is appreciated.

Leanne Finlay
Associate Broker, Windermere Real Estate/East, Inc.

The Power of Handwriting

Today I got a Thank You card from clients that I helped sell a home, and find a new home. They are delightful people, and our transactions both went very smoothly. It was fun spending time with them, and their two daughters. The house we found met all of their "must have" criteria, and even most of their "wish list" criteria, with the most important criteria of a sunny, level backyard.

The house we found backed up to a cemetary, and other than that, it was perfect! They spent quite a long time reflecting on living next to the cemetery, and finally decided to go with this property.

Reading their card, I was happy to hear that they love this house, and "actually really like living next to the cemetary (as long as we don't think about it too much :-)"!

More and more in this internet age, we see hello, goodbye, thank you, happy birthday, congratulations being made via email, and there is nothing wrong with that, except that it just isn't the same as opening an envelope and seeing the familiar handwriting of someone you know.

I have boxes of cards I have saved over the years from friends, family and clients. Every once in awhile, it's nice to open those boxes and read again the messages, and see the handwriting. It's the handwriting that carries as much weight as the message, at least for me, since it is the handwriting itself that makes me "see" the person in my minds eye, and it is the handwriting that makes me keep these cards. I've never printed and kept an email in my storage boxes ... do you?

So, Dave and Laura, thanks for taking the time to write a card and mail it to me! I appreciate it, and I'll appreciate it again some years from now too.

Who Is Buying Today?

For the first time in years, the demographics of 'who' is buying homes is changing. We're seeing a majority of sales featuring larger than 20% down payments, and not because lenders are requiring that. Quite frankly, a lot of conservative people have owned homes for many years, and have strong equity to use towards their next home. These people are a high percentage of the buyers of today. Being conservative and sensible pays off.

People buy and sell for many reasons. Today we're seeing a 'back to basics' trend, where most people buy for lifestyle reasons, not speculation. Yes, there are still speculators out there, looking for outright bargains, but what I'm discussing here, are the bread & butter transactions that make homeownership one of the strengths our society was built on. We have always been a country dedicated to the freedom of speech, and the freedom to own property.

Today is back to vanilla if you will. The stable, vanilla folks are leading the market today, because they are able to afford where they have been, as well as realistic about affording where they will go next.

Apparently We Have Actually Sold the House ...

... sometimes my clients make me laugh out loud! RICHARD & MOLLY G.: The paperwork is all in, and the money is in our bank, so apparently we have actually sold the house! Having a real estate agent that worked at selling the house as opposed to waiting for the house to sell, made all the difference. We are glad that you were so enthusiastic, helpful and eager.

Growth & Planning for Our Puget Sound Region

As we move through some extremely difficult economic challenges, we sometimes get away from the focus of planning for the long term growth of our Puget Sound region.

I've just read a 70- page report put together by ULI, Urban Land Use Institute and the Quality Growth Alliance regarding an event calledReality Check 2008.

It's about an unusual collaboration of 250 key leaders from important groups in four Counties:

-- business

-- political

-- environmental

-- community

-- non-profit

The four Counties are King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap.

The first sentence of this report crystallizes the purpose of the collaboration: Change is coming to the Puget Sound region. We all are part of these groups in one way or another, and we certainly know that these groups have often been at loggerheads over goals and planning. This report indicates some good participation from each group in working towards the mutual goals of thinking together, and working together (successfully).

The purpose of this collaboration was to have all 250 participants work together to frame a vision for how to accommodate the addition of 1.7 million new residents, and 1.2 million new jobs in our Puget Sound region by 2040.

Yes, I said 1.7 MILLION new residents, and 1.2 MILLION new jobs. Want a visualization of that?

Think the entire metro area of Portland, Oregon. And they all moved to the Puget Sound area.

This collaboration has resulted in the Quality Growth Alliance: A Framework for Sound Action to:

-- Raise greater awareness of land use, transportation and climate change

-- Provide expertise to key communities

-- Research compact development policy and best practices

-- Highlight regional successes

To see the Quality Growth Alliance video, click here: When this opens, you'll need to click the arrow on the left side of the screen, it will take awhile to load, and it's initially going to look like the page is missing content, just click the arrow on the left and be patient.

Here are some quotes by some of the participants.

"There are two very special characteristics of the Puget Sound region. One, it's just beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful, and we all have a responsibility to maintain that beauty. Number two, the economic engine in the Puget Sound Region is truly extraordinary. We've outpaced job growth for 30 years over national averages. So we can have both. We can have prosperity and we can have beauty, but we can't keep them both without planning effectively." --Patrick Callahan, Reality Check Co-Chair, CEO of Urban Renaissance Group

"Transportation, open space, affordable housing, climate change – all those things really boil down to land use. It's the common thread." -- Greg Johnson, President, Wright Runstad & Company, ULI Seattle Chair, Reality Check Partner

"To meet the region's long-term need for housing and environmental responsibility, we must ensure that our essential workforce has innovative and affordable housing choices near where they work." --Sam Anderson, President, Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, Reality Check Partner

"Over the last couple of decades we have made remarkable progress in coming together to think as one region. We have powerful tools to achieve our growth management, environmental, economic, and transportation goals. But it will take a lot of hard work and committed leadership at all levels -- public and private--to make it happen. --Bob Drewel, Executive Director, Puget Sound Regional Council, Reality Check Partner

"Every day we come to work and mark our time hour by hour, day by day, week by week. This is a time to mark it decade by decade, to confront reality as we know it, and truly predict it, and adjust for it. Too often we let it happen to us. This is our chance to take control of reality." --Emory Thomas, Publisher, Puget Sound Business Journal

"It's worth taking a day . . . to think, to debate, and to dream a little bit." --Doris Koo, President and CEO, Enterprise Community Partners, Reality Check Partner

"This region is incredibly beautiful. But it is also incredibly fragile. And the actual buildable land is very constrained." --Stephen Norman, Director, King County Housing Authority

"The people are here, but the jobs are over there. We don't have enough transportation available, either roads or rail or ferry or whatever. So you really get a clear picture of where the bottlenecks are." --Tom Kilbane, Member, Kitsap Community Foundation

"Many of the issues we are confronting are usually considered in isolation, in their own separate planning initiatives. By combining climate change with land use decisions, zoning and transportation infrastructure and looking at it together, that allows us to solve things in a more effective manner." --Patrick Callahan, Reality Check Co-Chair, CEO of Urban Renaissance Group

"What comes out of this will be a big second wave and possibly a new approach to how we look at growth management in the region." --Jay Kipp, Graduate Student, UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning

"Our goals must include the creation of highly livable, compact, complete, connected urban neighborhoods--beautiful ones--that will help us grow cooler." --Bert Gregory, President and CEO, Mithun

"The elected officials in the room and others who we all vote for and support have got one heck of a burden on their shoulders. They are going to have to reinvent zoning. They are going to have to reinvent processes. They are going to have to speed the works because we've got until 2040 when the equivalent of the metropolitan Portland population is here in our region." --Bill Kreager, Reality Check Co-Chair, Principal, Mithun

"From today we're starting to see the beginning of a consensus that we can build on to fundamentally improve this region. --Gene Duvernoy, Reality Check Co-Chair, President, Cascade Land Conservancy

"RealityCheck today, April 30, is the start of two years of implementation work. We have to take all of the great ideas that come out of today--all of the energy, all of the vision, all of the inspiration and excitement, and this time we have to make it work. We have to take our principles and achieve quality growth." --John Hempelmann, Reality Check Co-Chair, Chairman, Cairncross And Hempelmann, P.S.

"Where these 1.7 million new residents live and work will affect everyone and have a dramatic impact on quality of life throughout the region," said Greg Johnson, chairman of the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Seattle District Council. "Residents will either live in walkable, thriving transit-oriented communities near job centers, or in spread-out, auto-centric areas that many of our current planning policies encourage. We can take a new approach to address today's problems, or we can continue responding with decades-old strategies. The choice is ours and now is the time to decide."

For the 87 page final report, click here. Change is coming to the Puget Sound Region.

My Years of Experience

OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
In-City, Eastside, or even Whidbey Island! I've been selling homes in King & Snohomish County since 1983, and added Island County in 2001. I've enjoyed every mile of this business; whether you're new to the Northwest, or just moving across town, my broad scope of knowledge will help your move be right. In addition to my Seattle/Eastside, I have helped several friends and clients relocate to Whidbey Island, some permanently, and some with a second home. Feel free to contact me anytime.

In today's market you need experience. Let's talk, and discover how I can help you. I also work with other real estate agents, either as a partner, or as an advisor. leannefinlay at gmail.com