Huge Snow Also Affects Home Buyers

Spokane real estate sales slowed to a snails pace in January. Few people braved the heaps of snow to look at Spokane homes for sale.

clipped from www.spokesman.com February 25, 2009 in Business Spokane home sales down, but prices holding Volume fell noticeably in December The lingering effects of the early winter snow onslaught weighed on the Spokane residential real estate market in January. Sales volume fell considerably, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors, but average and median prices held up well relative to other markets in the Northwest. The 115 closed sales yielded an average selling price of $206,585, almost unchanged from the $207,085 for January 2008, when 201 homes sold. The median price, $170,000, was off 7.8 percent. By comparison, the median value of Seattle homes fell 12 percent last month.

Spokane Homes Holding Value

Spokane homes seem to be holding their values as compared to other parts of the state and nation.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Home prices holding in Spokane The lingering effects of the early winter snow onslaught weighed on the Spokane residential real estate market in January. Sales volume fell considerably, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors, but average and median prices held up well relative to other markets in the Northwest. The 115 closed sales yielded an average selling price of $206,585, almost unchanged from the $207,085 for January 2008, when 201 homes sold. The median price, $170,000, was off 7.8 percent. By comparison, the median value of Seattle homes fell 12 percent last month. There were 2,530 homes for sale in January, down only slightly from 2,624 a year ago. But pending sales were up, and association president Rob Higgins said activity has picked up in February. He said the $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers that was included in the stimulus bill may help, especially if income tax refunds give potential buyers the down payments they need to qualify for a loan.

Unintended Consquences

They have no idea. I hope this doesn't negatively affect Spokane real estate.

clipped from www.inman.com Obama targets homeowner tax breaks Wealthiest families could pay more in 2011 By Matt Carter, Friday, February 27, 2009. Industry groups representing Realtors, home builders and mortgage lenders are up in arms over the Obama administration's proposal to roll back the itemized deduction rate for wealthy taxpayers -- including deductions homeowners can claim on mortgage-interest payments and other expenses associated with homeownership. The rollback of the tax break wouldn't take effect until 2011, and would apply only to families earning more than $250,000 and individuals making $200,000 or more -- less than 4 percent of taxpayers in 2006. But industry industry groups say the change would hurt home sales and prices at a time when homebuyers need incentives, not disincentives, to buy.

Quite a Few Have Moved On

It's not so easy to sell Spokane homes anymore. My biggest issue is getting loans to go through.

clipped from www.kxly.com Downturn in housing market sends realtors packing Posted: Feb 26, 2009 05:36 PM SPOKANE - It's another sign of the economy: The downturn in the housing marking in the Inland Northwest has sent more than 100 local realtors looking for work. The Spokane Association of Realtors puts out a list of each month of people who have left the business. In the past two months 122 realtors have left the business and the association expects the list could grow by another 100 realtors by the end of next month. Only 115 homes sold in January in Spokane County, which is about one-third of the homes that sold in January 2006. The median price is now $170,000, which is down seven-percent from a year ago. The Association of Realtors told us this downturn is not unusual. The last downturn started in 1993. Downturns last about three years, level off for about five years and then the market begins to climb again.

Spokane Economist Makes Prediction

Shaun O'L Higgins, a local Spokane economist is predicting that the Spokane economy will turn around quicker than other regions in Washington due to our higher ratio of adventurers and risk takers in the local population. See Feb 12, 2009 Spokesman-Review for complete story.

clipped from www.spokesman.com Local economic crunch may be brief February 12, 2009 in Business The recession crushing many areas of the United States came late to the Inland Northwest, will leave sooner, and inflict less pain, a longtime economic observer and forecaster told a Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce gathering Wednesday. Spokane-area housing prices eased last year, and will continue to do so in early 2009, he said, but very few owners are under water, and only 8 percent are feeling “damp,” mostly those who bought after mid-2007. Owners “under water” owe more on the house than it is worth. From 2001 through 2007, median household incomes in Spokane rose 9.5 percent, almost twice the 5.6 percent for the U.S. The area did lose some jobs in 2008, but recent increases in the Spokane County unemployment rate can be blamed in part on an influx of workers from other counties, and by decisions by spouses, retirees or adolescents to seek work and support their households, he said.

Possible New Mount Spokane Lodge

Washington State Parks are proposing a new lodge in the State Park and Ski Resort north of Spokane, Washington. Many people are attracted to Spokane real estate because of the many amenities in around Spokane.

clipped from www.spokanejournal.com State park plans $20 million lodge Mount Spokane aspires to open year-round facility for centennial in 2013, seeks design money By Mike McLean Of the Journal of Business The proposed new lodge, illustrated here, would be nearly twice as large as the current main lodge. —Rendering courtesy of BSA Architects Mount Spokane State Park proposes to develop a $20 million lodge that would serve year-round activities at its ski resort and wants to open the facility in 2013, during the state park system's 100th anniversary. The lodge would be located just east of the ski area's current main lodge and would be at the parking-lot level of the ski resort, McQuarrie says, so skiers and other visitors wouldn't have to climb a hill to get to it. Because the proposed lodge would be built at a different site, the ski resort could remain open at its current service level during construction, which, under the proposed schedule, would take two years, beginning in 2011.

Spokane has 13% Fewer Real Estate Agents

About 300 Spokane real estate agents have quit the business due to a huge decline in home sales.

clipped from www.spokanejournal.com Real estate agent ranksdwindle here Trend in people leaving realty business follows big slump in home sales By Mike McLean Of the Journal of Business Changes in the number of real estate agents here typically lag behind trends in the number of annual home sales. Following a steep decline in home sales here, the ranks of real estate agents also are thinning out. Rob Higgins, executive officer of the Spokane Association of Realtors, estimates that membership in the association has fallen to 1,950 today, a 13 percent drop from about 2,250 at the end of 2007, which was the peak year for membership. Higgins says he expects that number to continue to drop at least through April, when annual membership fees come due. The decline in the association's membership is in line with a statewide drop in the number of licensed real estate agents, says Christine Anthony, spokeswoman for the Washington state Department of Licensing.

Spokane in Bank Rescues Beaverton in Beaverton

Spokane's Washington Trust Bank purchased the assets of Beaverton's Pinnacle Bank.

clipped from www.oregonlive.com Pinnacle Bank fails; Oregon's first in 17 years by Jeff Manning, The Oregonian Friday February 13, 2009, 9:29 PM Oregon suffered its first bank failure in 17 years Friday afternoon when state regulators closed Pinnacle Bank, a small, one-office institution in Beaverton. The deepening recession has led to a surge in bad loans at banks across the country. The bad loans have weakened some banks' balance sheets to the point that regulators have stepped in and closed their doors. Pinnacle was a tiny bank with only $73 million in total assets and $64 million in deposits. Pinnacle, like Bank of Clark County, suffered not only loan quality issues, but also significant liquidity issues. Washington Trust bought the Pinnacle assets for $66.4 million and agreed to assume all deposits of Pinnacle. It also entered into a loss-sharing agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that limits the bank's potential losses on the loans it is acquiring, said FDIC spokesman David Barr.

No Housing Fix

Wasn't housing the root of the problem? Perhaps a $15000 credit would have been too much, but it was completely cut.

clipped from www.inman.com $15,000 homebuyer credit cut in compromise Stimulus package may restore higher loan limits By Matt Carter, Thursday, February 12, 2009. Inman News A proposal to provide a $15,000 tax credit to home buyers was stripped from a $789 billion economic stimulus package that appears headed for a vote Friday, but a restoration of higher loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA loan guarantee programs appears to have made the cut.

Low Mortgage Rates Available

Spokane real estate mortgage rates are still very low. With today's rates, the large resale inventory, and lower prices Spokane homes are very attractive.

clipped from www.cnbc.com Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Fall to Average 5.16% Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages fell this week, offering homeowners a chance to refinance their loans, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 5.16 percent this week from 5.25 percent last week. A year ago, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.72 percent. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are almost 1.5 percentage points below last year's peak set in late July, "offering many homeowners an incentive to refinance." The new rate translates into a monthly payment savings of about $188 on a $200,000 loan, Nothaft said. Average rates for 30-year-fixed mortgages had been rising since hitting a record low of 4.96 percent a month ago, a decline attributed to the Federal Reserve's move to buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities to spur lending by banks.

Retail Sales Rebounding?

You won't hear this on the evening news?

clipped from seattlepi.nwsource.com Retail sales rise unexpectedly in January WASHINGTON -- U.S. retail sales jumped 1 percent in January, reversing a six-month declining trend and defying economists' expectations by posting the biggest increase in 14 months. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that January retail sales rose 1 percent from December after having fallen for six straight months. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected January sales to show a drop of 0.8 percent. They plunged a revised lower 3 percent in December, which marked the weakest holiday selling season since at least 1969. "This is a big surprise, though the net rise in sales is less impressive than it looks because (December and November) were revised down by 0.3 percent each," Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a research note. "The headline relief today is welcome but it is unlikely to last."

New Jobless Claims Slightly Down

Is this good news or bad news? I bet the media emphasizes all the bad and overlooks any encouraging signs.

clipped from seattlepi.nwsource.com New jobless claims drop slightly to 623K The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of initial jobless benefit claims dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 623,000, from an upwardly revised figure of 631,000 the previous week. The latest tally still was above analysts' expectations of 610,000 claims. Economists consider jobless claims a timely, if volatile, indicator of the health of the labor markets and broader economy. A year ago, initial claims stood at 339,000. Virginia saw the largest drop in claims, a decline of 1,937, which it attributed to fewer layoffs in manufacturing. Drops of 1,000 or more also were reported in New Jersey, Missouri, Oklahoma and Connecticut. Among the states, California saw the biggest increase in jobless claims, a jump of 20,000 that it attributed to layoffs in construction and service industries. The next largest increases were in: North Carolina, with 8,663; Ohio, with 4,738; Georgia's 4,392; and Kansas, with 3,232.

Mortgage Help on the Way?

Solving the mortgage crisis is the best bet to turn around the economy.

clipped from www.nypost.com HOME LOAN ASSIST TARP COVERS MORTGAGE A cornerstone of the economic recovery plan that President Barack Obama is expected to unveil Monday will be modifying problem mortgages, The Post has learned. In a nod to Main Street over Wall Street, sources familiar with the plan say Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner plans to allocate almost half of the remaining $350 billion in funds from the Trouble Asset Relief Program to the so-called "Mo Mod," or mortgage modification, platform. "Mo Mod" is an algorithmic mortgage processing program that can rewrite up to 500,000 loans a month, and will be a major part of Treasury's plan to help repair tattered bank balance sheets. The 21-day "Mo Mod" program works by structuring a new mortgage that more accurately reflects a home's worth so that a troubled borrower no longer owes more on their home than the property is worth.

Resale Home Prices Fall (Less in Spokane)

All real estate is local!! Spokane real estate prices have fell some but not nearly as much. In my opinion, probably about half as much. Spokane homes have held their value better than many other regions.

clipped from www.inman.com Resale home price falls 9.3% in 2008 The National Association of Realtors today reports that the median price of single-family resale homes sank 9.3 percent in 2008 and is projected to dip another 2.4 in 2009 before rising 4.6 percent in 2010. Sales of resale homes fell 13.1 percent in 2008, following a 12.8 percent drop in 2007, and are projected to rise 4.1 percent this year and another 6.3 percent in 2010, the Realtor trade group also reported. Single-family new-home prices fell an estimated 7 percent in 2008 and are projected to fall another 1.7 percent in 2009 before rising 4.8 percent in 2010. New-home sales dove 37.8 percent in 2008 following a 26.3 percent decline in 2007, and are projected to drop 30.4 percent in 2009 before rising a whopping 44.9 percent in 2010, according to the latest monthly NAR forecast. After dropping from 103 in 2007 to 58 in 2008, NAR projects that consumer confidence will fall to 44 this year before kicking up to 55 in 2010.