http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com It's your dream, let's make it happen Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:03:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Not even the lowest interest rates in decades could entice wary house-hunters last month. Homes sales in Whatcom County remain sluggish with pending sales about even from the same time last year but not all numbers were down. Year to date closed residential sales increased 13%. Including condominiums closed sales were ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/07/house-hunters-wary-last-month/ Inman News recently ran this article from Mary Umberger on the five trends of Gen Y homebuyers. Pretty interesting look at how this generation (roughly those born between 1977 and 1989) approaches home buying. Click here to go to the article, or you can read it here: For so long, everything in ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/07/from-inman-news-trends-for-gen-y-homebuyers/ Julia Hansen, Professor of Economics at Western Washington University, gave a presentation to the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIAWC) last month. She spoke to the group about the local housing and construction market, looking at key metrics such as recent permit activity, median home price and sales. In her presentation, Julia ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/06/whats-next-for-housing-construction-a-presentation-from-julia-hansen-wwu-economics/ Inman News is a real estate website geared toward realtors, which I turn to regularly for updates and articles. A recent story from Inman details the latest on the national foreclosure situation, identifying the top-10 hardest hit locations. Here's the article: Top 10 highest foreclosure rates: Las Vegas leads By Inman News Created 2010-05-13 ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/05/from-inman-news-top-10-highest-foreclosure-rates-las-vegas-leads/ Whatcom County brokers reported 309 pending sales( residential single family) during April, and increase of more than 29% from the same month a year ago. MLS figures show inventory has increased 7.5%, closed sales jumped almost 19% and sales prices dropped nearly 6.5%. The home buyer tax credit did what it ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/05/whatcom-county-real-estate-snaphsot-april-2010/ This recent article from the Bellingham Herald shares how the local market, particularly Bellingham, is edging toward a neutral market. You can click the image below to read the entire article. While Bellingham has been moving toward a neutral market, Gragg Miller points out in this article that some Whatcom County ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/04/bellingham-herald-article-printed-41810/ Brokers reported activity at levels we haven’t seen in a while.  Notably, while entry-level home sales have been driving the market, brokers also reported strong activity at the upper end of the price spectrum. For the first quarter of 2010 Whatcom County also experienced a rise in inventory levels as well ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/04/home-sales-around-washington-state-surged-last-month/ CNN Money recently ran an article highlighting the latest trends for many of the larger metro areas around the country. The article, which you can read here, includes predictions on where the biggest price gains and the biggest price drops will occur in 2010. Interestingly, Washington State had three cities in ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/04/money-magazine-latest-forecasts-and-projections-for-the-nations-larger-metro-areas/ Here's a quick, three-minute YouTube video explaining what homebuyers (not just first-time homebuyers) need to know about the tax credit extension. Click on the video below to watch: Important points about the tax credit extension (and expansion) from this clip include: 1) Income caps for first-time homebuyers increased to $125,000 (for individuals) ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/03/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-homebuyer-tax-credit-extension/ Trying to sell your home? Looking for ways to help make your home stound out from the crowd? This YouTube video with tips on staging your home might help. Here are some interesting tips from this short clip: 1. Staging your home is like preparing for a blind date; you only have ... http://blog.coldwellbankermiller.com/2010/03/tips-for-staging-your-home-video/