Some Spokane Homes Selling at a Loss

When you have to sell, for whatever reason, in a declining market losses can happen if you haven't owned the property long. I believe Spokane real estate prices have held up much better than other parts of the region and country.

clipped from www.spokesmanreview.com 1 in 10 Spokane County homes sold for loss, report says Shawn Vestal Staff writer November 13, 2008 A tenth of the people who sold homes in Spokane County in the past year sold them for less than they paid originally, according to a new national report. And home values in the county dropped by 9 percent in the past 12 months, with an estimated 85 percent of all homes declining in value, according to a report prepared by Zillow.com, an online site that compiles and analyzes real estate information. Other real estate reports, however, indicate the decline in value is less than 9 percent. Either way, the picture in Spokane County is much better than in the rest of the country, the Zillow report says. Nationwide, almost a third of all homes sold in the past 12 months went for a loss, and rates of foreclosure and homeowners with negative equity nationally outpaced the rates here.

First Time Home Buyers Holding Their Own

Without the concern of selling an existing home, first time home buyers find buying opportunities in the current market. Do you know any first time home buyers looking for a
home in Spokane.

clipped from www.realtor.org NAR Home Buyer and Seller Survey Shows Rise in First-Time Buyers, Long-Term Plans The latest consumer survey of home buyers and sellers shows first-time buyers have risen in market share and plan to own their homes longer than buyers in the past. The study was released here today at the 2008 REALTORS® Conference & Expo. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a higher share of first-time buyers makes perfect sense, and it’s a trend he expects to grow. “First-time buyers are much more flexible in entering the market because they aren’t concerned about selling an existing home,” he said. “Given low home prices, plentiful supply and affordable interest rates, it’s been an optimal time for entry-level buyers with a long-term view. “Considering the temporary first-time buyer tax credit and improvements to the FHA loan program, we expect stronger entry-level activity as the flow of credit improves – that, in turn, should free more existing owners to make a trade in 2009.”

Bad Residential Construction Loans Dragging Down Spokane Banks

Spokane normally lags the rest of the country by six or more months. Reports like this have been common in other markets around the country are now showing up locally. Along with the bad news will come opportunities in Spokane real estate for those not faint of heart and understand the times.

clipped from spokanejournal.com Bank reports give insights into economy Nonperforming assets rise sharply at institutions here as quarterly profits plummet By  Richard Ripley One of the most-watched numbers in bank earnings reports for the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30, will be nonperforming assets—and how they’ve grown amid the nation’s financial and economic crises. Peter Stanton, chairman and CEO of Washington Trust Bank, says that banks’ financial results “absolutely” reflect what has happened in the economy, and growth in their nonperforming assets “certainly reflect recessionary-type issues.” Byrne says, “In our case, our nonperforming assets are very heavily weighted toward residential construction loans.” With home sales down sharply in the region, that’s no surprise, especially with Sterling having reported for months that such loans were problematical. Sterling says its nonperforming assets related to residential construction jumped by 31.5 percent, or $75.9 million,

Search Spokane Homes From Your iPhone

Cool. I don't have an iPhone yet so please let me know what you think if you try searching Spokane homes with your iPhone.

clipped from www.desinformado.com Today RealEstate.com announces the addition of iPhone and Google Android compatible Web sites to its growing mobile phone suite called RealEstate.com Mobile. The new mobile Web sites are free for iPhone and Google Android phone users and provide access to more than two million home listings nationwide. Visitors can search homes for sale nationally, and also have the ability to view home estimates from RealEstate.com’s Home Price Check(R) tool, which includes more than 97 million values from across the country. Users can browse the RealEstate.com Web site directly from their iPhone or Google Android phone by visiting http://www.realestate.com/iphone or http://www.realestate.com/android , or for short, http://i.re.com or http://a.re.com . For easy access, users can also add a RealEstate.com icon to their phone desktop by book-marking the applicable page. Searching for homes is as easy as entering a zip code, city and state, or Multiple Listing Service (MLS) number.

A Connected Kitchen Sounds Good To Me

I'd like to talk to an expert at what works and what doesn't. Some technologies will catch on while others won't. I don't want to get stuck with a BetaMax in my next kitchen.

clipped from shba.typepad.com More Consumers Want Their Kitchens Connected The kitchen has been the center of the home ― a place where families not only eat, but where they can gather to talk about their day ― for several generations. With technology becoming more prominent in homes, “connected kitchens” with their technologically advanced appliances and networking are adding convenience and smart technology to cooking, shopping and other household needs. It's not that consumers don't want connected devices in their kitchen, however. The Internet Home Alliance, a cross-industry network of leading companies advancing the connected home market, has conducted research that found consumers want six key technologies in their kitchens: A home control station An energy usage monitoring and control system Wireless Internet access A recipe projection system A digital calendar A universal charging station

Hoping New Owner Keeps Senior Rates

clipped from homeequitytheft.blogspot.com 100+ Spokane Seniors May Face Eviction As Local Retirement Home Faces Foreclosure In Spokane, Washington, KXLY-TV Channel 4 reports: More than 100 Spokane seniors are wondering if they'll have to find a new place to live while their retirement complex faces foreclosure. The developer of Clare House on the South Hill is millions of dollars in debt and the property is heading for the auction block. The seniors living there are pretty worried because not only will their retirement complex be changing hands but many of the residents living here can't afford to move some where else. For more, see Retirement complex to be auctioned (read story) (watch KXLY-TV video). See also, Spokane Journal of Business: Retirement complex faces foreclosure (Clare House Apartments placed in receivership pending trustee sale). BetaTenantRentSkimming

AmericanWest to Close Branches in Spokane

The financial crisis has hit a local bank and it is taking action. The bank didn't disclose an analysis of the reasons for the losses in the report I read.

clipped from www.spokanejournal.com 10/31/2008 AmericanWest posts huge loss, plans branch closures ... AmericanWest Bancorp., Spokane-based parent of AmericanWest Bank, today reported a third-quarter loss of $96.9 million, or $5.63 a diluted share, down from net income of $5.3 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, and said it plans to close six of its 64 branches, including branches on the West Plains, in the Qualchan area, and in Latah, Oakesdale, and Kennewick, Wash., plus an in-store branch in St. Maries, Idaho. It also said that last month it began a process of marketing for sale "an initial cluster" of branches as part of a strategy to reduce assets and streamline operations.