Time running out on $8000 tax credit

Adding in the time it takes to close on a home purchase the time is getting tight to get the first time home buyers tax credit. Buy your Spokane real estate now!

clipped from www.spokesman.com Buy a house, get paid Market gets boost as tax credit motivates first-time buyers Jared and Meredith Lyda expect to receive a check from the federal government within the next few weeks. The $8,000 tax credit should cover the renovations the Coeur d’Alene newlyweds made to their first home, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom rancher they moved into on July 31. The tax credit for first-time homebuyers also allowed the Lydas to buy a slightly bigger, newer home than they expected. “We knew immediately when we walked in the door,” said Meredith Lyda, an assistant manager at Starbucks. “It was a no-brainer.” Activity has amped up as the tax credit’s Nov. 30 expiration approaches, Realtors say. Because closing a sale usually takes 45 to 60 days, buyers who hope to take advantage of the tax credit need to find homes soon, real estate professionals said. Though interest rates and low prices also are driving sales, Hardie and other Realtors said the tax credit’s impact on the market is undeniable.

Home sales pick up in Washington state

This is good news for Spokane real estate. Buyers and sellers are making deals and commerce is beginning to move quicker.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Business in brief: Home sales fare better than same quarter last year Home sales picked up in Washington state in the second quarter compared with last year – the first quarter-over-quarter improvement in sales numbers in more than two years, according to the “housing market snapshot” produced quarterly by Washington State University’s Center for Real Estate Research. Glenn Crellin, director of the center, cautioned in a news release that “a one-quarter improvement should not be considered a trend,” and that the sales increase likely was fueled by a new federal first-time homebuyer’s tax credit. Home sales statewide increased 11.6 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period the previous year. Sales in Spokane County were up 13.4 percent over the year-ago period. Crellin said sales prices are another indication of market stability, and that only four counties in the state experienced higher median sales prices during the second quarter.

I'm Hot

clipped from www.spokesman.com Spokane hits triple digits for first time in ‘09 Carolyn Lamberson The Spokesman-Review Yes, it really was that hot. The National Weather Service recorded an official high at the Spokane International Airport of 101 degrees today, tying the record for the day set in 1971. It also marked the first time this year that Spokane reached the triple digits, said Laurie Nisbet of the weather service.

Spokane Foreclosures Rising

It takes some time for unemployment to result in foreclosure but the recession's job losses is painfully ending in foreclosure for more and more homeowners in Spokane. This will likely have an impact on the Spokane real estate market.

clipped from www.spokanejournal.com Six-month foreclosure filings jump Further rises said likely to push default level here near or over 2002 peak The Spokane County Auditor recorded 378 foreclosure filings here in the first half of this year, up 49 percent from 254 filings in the year-earlier period. If that rate were to continue, total foreclosures here for the year would reach 834, which would be the highest since 2003, when foreclosure filings in the county totaled 1,030. Foreclosures here peaked at 1,152 in 2002. In Washington state, one in 138 homes was the subject of a foreclosure filing in the first half of the year, up from one in 283 homes in the first quarter. Spokane County, however, had more than double the foreclosure filings as of June than it had in the first quarter, when RealtyTrac reported that one in every 1,060 homes here faced foreclosure. The company ranked Spokane then as having the 26th lowest foreclosure rate of 203 metropolitan areas in the U.S. with populations of more than 200,000.

Great Affordable Housing

Fabulous work! A great addition to Spokane real estate.

clipped from www.kxly.com Spokane Urban Ministries unveils Walnut Corners SPOKANE -- A new apartment complex opened in in the West Central neighborhood Thursday that will help fill a need for affordable housing in Spokane. James Kashork is the president of the board of Spokane Urban Ministries, a non-profit created by four local Lutheran churches behind Spokane's newest affordable housing complex dubbed Walnut Corners, a 47-unit complex with one to three bedroom apartments built for people struggling to survive on $300 a month or less. "These are most likely the folks who are on the lowest end of the income scale in the city of Spokane," Kashork said. The complex also includes a community garden and residents will learn to grow vegetables and then they will all share the food grown here. Workers are also just completing a ground floor space that will house a small grocery store and coffee shop.

Spokane Real Estate Marketing Rally

The Spokane real estate market is showing some promising signs of coming back to life. With low interest rates, good prices, and a great inventory it really is a great time to buy a home in Spokane.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Housing markets rally for rebound Home sales rise in June in U.S. and Spokane, Kootenai counties Mike Prager mikep@spokesman.com, (509) 459-5454 New figures on U.S. housing sales indicate the housing market may be starting to rebound, and recent sales figures in Spokane and Kootenai counties suggest the local housing market is picking up. The U.S. Commerce Department said Monday new-home sales rose 11 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000 houses, from a May rate of 346,000, which was higher than previously thought. It was the third straight month of increases. However, the median sales price of $206,200 was down 12 percent from $234,300 a year earlier. At the same time, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes increased 3.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in June from a downwardly revised pace of 4.72 million in May, but were 0.2 percent lower than the 4.90 million-unit level in June 2008.

Foreclosures up but still less than average

Spokane is well known for its steady real estate market, that it's foreclosure numbers show less of a swing than other areas is typical of the market in Spokane.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Spokane’s foreclosure rate has doubled, company says A service that tracks mortgage activity says Spokane homes are being foreclosed at twice the rate they were one year earlier. According to May 2009 data from First American CoreLogic, 3 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent, compared with a 1.5 percent rate for May 2008. The company also noted that in the 12-month period from June 2008 to May, Spokane saw 3,592 foreclosure filings, or 9.8 a day. That compares to the previous 12 months from June 2007 to May 2008, when there were 1,992 foreclosure filings, or 5.5 a day. The company also noted that Washington’s delinquency rate for May was 3.8 percent. The national rate for the month was 6.5 percent, according to a release from First American CoreLogic. The company’s foreclosure rates are adjusted to take out all nonactive or paid-in-full mortgages. It claims that system produces a more accurate rate when looking only at active home loans.

Federal Government in Action

Laudable goal, but I'm not sure this will stimulate the economy the way they promised.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Stimulus benefits housing for poor Federal cash may ensure completion of affordable units When Salem Lutheran Church in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood started looking at what really was the best use for land it owned behind and across the street from the church, the answer was simple: low-income housing. That’s what already occupied some of the property, but only on a small scale “Now, instead of 14 units, there are 47 units, which will be a real blessing, we think, to the community and to these folks we’re serving,” said the Rev. Tom Soeldner, pastor at Salem Lutheran. Some of the former residents are moving back into the new units. In a city that lost about 200 units of affordable housing in the past two years due to market-rate development, a combination of federal, state, local and private funds along with the work of numerous groups brought the Walnut Corners project together, in what Soeldner called “kind of a miracle story, as far as timing is concerned.”

Home Foreclosure Legal Help Available

Need help to prevent home foreclosure. Try this:

clipped from www.spokesman.com Program offers foreclosure legal help June 24, 2009 Thomas Clouse tomc@spokesman.com, (509) 459-5495 A new legal assistance program aims to help homeowners facing foreclosure. The Home Foreclosure Legal Aid Project is available to those who need legal advice to sort through the foreclosure process Penny Youde, executive director of the Spokane County Bar Association, said the local economy has had different challenges than elsewhere in the state. “We did not have the decrease in home values as much,” Youde said. “We haven’t noticed a lot more calls from people asking for that. But we are anticipating (more foreclosures) as people lose their jobs.” The Foreclosure Legal Aid Project is coordinated by the Washington State Bar Association. For more information, call toll-free (877) 894-HOME (4663) or go to www.wsba.org. For local legal help, contact the Spokane County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Program at (509) 324-0144 from 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays or 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays.

Homes Sales Up, Prices Down

It is a buyer's market, when will you start looking?

clipped from www.spokesman.com Home sales rising in West The Spokesman-Review Los Angeles – Home sales in the Western region of the country posted a 9 percent annual increase in May as homebuyers jumped on low interest rates and falling prices, according to two reports released Tuesday. Foreclosures and other distressed sales continued to drag down the median home sales price in the West. It tumbled more than 30 percent from May of last year to $197,700 – the biggest drop in any region. That helped pull the national median down nearly 17 percent to $173,000, the National Association of Realtors said. Nationally, sales rose slightly from April to May, but were roughly 7 percent below year-ago levels, without adjusting for seasonal factors. Home sales in the West have posted annual increases every month going back to at least last summer, when many first-time homebuyers and investors began snapping up sharply discounted bank-owned properties in Arizona, Nevada and California.

Spokane Real Estate Investor - Richest Spokanite

Harlan Douglass made his fortune as the biggest Spokane real estate developer. Sold his Eagle Hardware to Lowes and owns a reported 40% of INB.

clipped from www.businessweek.com Who Are the Richest People in Town? Every town has a richest person. Do you know who the richest person in your town is? Have you ever wondered who the richest man in town is? Some of these individuals, like Gates, were well-known. His $40 billion fortune has established him as the richest man in Seattle, if not the world, for more than a decade. But what about the richest man in Spokane, Washington State's second-biggest city? According to Jones, it is Harlan D. Douglass, the largest real estate developer in town, who also sits on the board of Northwest Bank (NBCT) and invests in local companies such as Eagle Hardware & Garden. Bet you didn't know that.

Spokane Real Estate Foreclosures Down

Spokane real estate foreclosures are down and are at a significantly lower rate than in other parts of the State. This bodes well for the price of your home in Spokane.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Foreclosures drop in Spokane, soar in Kootenai County Bert Caldwell The Spokesman-Review The April home foreclosure rate in Kootenai County jumped 52 percent from March, and almost five-fold from last April, according to statistics released Wednesday by RealtyTrac Inc., an online marketplace for foreclosed properties. In Spokane, meanwhile, foreclosures dropped significantly month-over-month and year-over-year. Only 53 Spokane County homes were either bank-owned or subject to a trustee sale notice. That’s down from 70 in March and 125 last April. The rate of one home per 3,680 was 24 percent lower than the rate for March, and 57 percent lower than last April’s rate. The Spokane County rate was one-quarter the one-per-817 homes for all of Washington, which ranked 26th among the states. Fewer homes were bank-owned or subject to trustee sale notice than in March, but the total, 3,359, was up one-third from last April.

$8000 Tax Credit as a Down Payment

The State of Washington is working out the kinks of an advance loan program to allow first time home buyers to use the $8000 tax credit as a down payment. Sounds like it will potentially help out a lot of people.

clipped from www.lilaccityrealestate.com Tax Credit Advance Loan Program Lack of down payment assistance is the only barrier to home ownership for 50% of qualified first-time home buyers. The 2009 Economic Recovery and Revitalization Act included a “refundable” tax credit worth up to 10% of the home purchase price with a maximum of $8,000 for taxpayers who purchase a home between January 1 and November 30, 2009. There is a demand from first-time home buyers – responsible people with jobs, good credit, and the ability to make the monthly mortgage payment. However, many of these potential home buyers still need down payment assistance and they can’t get the $8,000 until after the sale is closed. The goal of the Tax Credit Advance Loan Program is to make the equivalent of a first-time homebuyer’s tax credit (up to $8,000) available to borrow for down payment, and repay the loan quickly by filing an amended return so that the HFC can turn it around for more down payment assistance to other first-time home buyers.

Spokane Home Resales Better Than Average

While still slumping, the Spokane real estate is out performing the rest of our state and the national averages.

clipped from www.istockanalyst.com Local Home-Value Decline Less Than National Average May 8--Home values in Spokane County fell during the first quarter but performed better than the national average, according to a new report from online real estate site Zillow.com. While home sales in Spokane County were down in the first quarter compared to last year, sales in March alone showed a big jump over February, according to Multiple Listing Service statistics. Zillow reported that home values in the county dropped 10.8 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the same period a year ago. But the report also showed that home values locally over the past five years were up 4.9 percent, while in more than half the markets the firm covers, values were flat or negative over that same period.

Spokane Real Estate Market Outperforms Rest of State

The Spokane real estate market really out performed the rest of Washington State in April.

clipped from seattletimes.nwsource.com Wash. existing home sales drop 30% By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Sales of existing homes in Washington slumped badly in the first quarter of this year, according to the Washington State University Center for Real Estate Research. The number of existing homes sold in Washington dropped 30.6 in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period a year ago, according to a report released Friday by the center. Until recently, Washington had a stronger real estate market than much of the nation. The state also suffered a smaller number of home foreclosures. But prices have been falling steeply recently, and foreclosures are likely to spike because of rising unemployment, Crellin said. Among larger counties, existing home sales dropped 15 percent in King County, 13.8 percent in Yakima County, 7.8 percent in Clark County and 2.3 percent in Snohomish County. Sales stayed roughly the same in the Tri-Cities, and actually increased 2.3 percent in Spokane County.

April Market Report

Spokane real estate prices sagged in April as sales of existing Spokane homes continued at a steady pace. If you have the ability, right now is the perfect time to buy a home in Spokane.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Spokane home prices dip in April Bert Caldwell The Spokesman-Review Homes sales in Spokane County leveled off in April, and average and median prices slipped, possibly reflecting high unemployment in the area, the head of the Spokane Association of Realtors said Friday. Rob Higgins said 329 properties sold, just three more than in March and substantially below the 445 of last April. The average price was $197,339, off from $200,229 in March and $204,002 a year ago. The median price fell to $172,500 from $176,200 in March and $183,500 in April 2008. Sales of new homes also declined. Active listings increased to 2,997 from 2,687 in March, but down from the 3,218 last April. Higgins said the price decreases may reflect purchases by first-time buyers seizing on the newly available $8,000 income tax credit. That activity should increase still more if the IRS signs off on a $25 million Washington program that will enable homebuyers to use the credit as part of their down payment, he said.

Alternatives to Assisted Living in Spokane Real Estate

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/mar/26/hybrid-homes-cater-to-seniors/

‘Hybrid’ homes cater to seniors

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Wendell and Nada Anglesey knew they wouldn’t be able to live in their split-entry home much longer, but they sure weren’t encouraged by the housing alternatives on the market.

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Then they saw the duplexes built by Jim Rippy on Spokane’s South Hill.

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These are units designed, according to Rippy, as “a kind of upscale hybrid between assisted living and your own home, roomy and airy, but set up for the convenience of an older and less agile population.”

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The 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath units are all on one level with no steps down to garages or patios.

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Faucets and door handles are levers,

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Electric outlets on the walls are placed higher than normal

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Kitchen shelves pull out

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nterior doors are 36 inches

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hallways are wider

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two-car garage is insulated

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“This is the most convenient place I’ve ever lived,” Nada Anglesey said. Added her husband: “We’re going to be here forever. At our age, I don’t know how long forever is, but that’s the plan.”

3.875 % Mortgages

Anyone in the market for a new home should check out this deal. Or maybe even if you aren't - it's that good!

clipped from www.lilaccityrealestate.com Crazy-low Mortgage Deals on Unoccupied New Contruction The time to buy is NOW.  Buyers clearly benefit with banks like Sterling Savings and Banner Bank offering rates as low as 3.875 percent for a 30-year fixed loan. This isn’t a trick. These are REAL mortgages being offered to qualified borrowers as a program to put to use part of the government bailout they’ve received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).  The homes must be built by the banks’ building partners and most (but not all) qualified buyers will have to put up either a 10 or 20 percent down payment.  Sterling also gives the option of a 3 percent contribution (up to $20,000), instead of the 30-year fixed loan, that can be used to fund financing costs associated with the home purchase.

Spokane Real Estate Market Improves

March sales figures show an improvement in the local market.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Prices on Spokane homes inch upward Average and median prices for homes sold in Spokane County last month crept above prior-year levels for the first time since last June, Spokane Association of Realtors Executive Officer Rob Higgins said Friday. The number of homes sold continues to trail last year’s pace, he said, but if the volume keeps growing month over month as it has so far this year, April could be the first month in some time that number is higher, as well. In March, 326 homes sold at an average price of $200,229. The median price was $176,200. The average price in March 2008, when 382 homes sold, was $196,456, and the median was $175,875. If February, 194 homes sold. Only 117 sold in January, when weather made travel difficult. The inventory of homes for sale fell to 2,687 as of April 4, down from 3,044 a year ago. Higgins said an association poll of its members found that 60 percent said they are busy, 20 percent very busy, with only 10 percent saying activity was slower.

More Spokane Homes to get Weatherization

The energy efficiency of Spokane real estate is about to go up with the addition of federal funds to a program to increase energy efficiency.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Weatherization gets a federal boost Bert Caldwell The Spokesman-Review Federal stimulus money will double the pace of home weatherization in Spokane, creating jobs and reducing dependence on imported oil in the process, officials said Tuesday. Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs, which administers the federal Weatherization Action Program in the community, will get $1.73 million annually over the next three years, on top of the $465,000 received currently, said Chris Davis, the organization’s director of housing improvement. She said weatherization saves an average homeowner $358 a year on utility bills. To qualify for the program, a family of four can earn no more than about $44,000, she said. Cantwell said the new money from the U.S. Department of Energy will boost the number of Spokane homes weatherized each year with federal dollars to more than 900, from about 320 now. Still more homes are weatherized using funds from other sources, said SNAP Executive Director Larry Stuckart.