NCW Real Estate Blog

Tracy Warner wrote an editorial I really enjoyed yesterday.  He talked about a study done out of the University of Pennsylvania that compared what was happening in the post-war 1950s in housing compared to today.  It is an excellent editorial and is available here.

The gist of the study is that it isn’t developers or even construction costs that have driven up the cost of housing, but it is the cost of “serviced” land.  That would be land with infrastructure to support development.

The rage in politics these days is “development must pay for development.”  From a local government standpoint, with the funding options available, that mantra may be more of a practical approach than something that is philosophically derived.  I doubt local governments have much choice today.

While I’m too young, barely, to remember back to the post-war 1950s, [Read more →]

Tags: Uncategorized by Al Lorenz
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Is the “Ten Most Overpriced Zip Codes in America.”  But, at position number three for Seattle’s downtown it could signal that the market correction in such areas could be far from over.  Until Seattle’s woes end, our market will continue to be unsettled.

The study was done comparing how much more it cost to own a home than to rent it.  The areas that made the list typically cost 25 times more to own a home than to rent!  While home ownership has its benefits, I can’t imagine that paying 25 times as much makes any sense! 

Tags: General Interest, Marketing, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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For those of you who still think that the print media are king in real estate consider this: the Los Angeles time just published its last real estate section!

The internet, through bloggers, websites and online news sources have simply taken over with their more extensive, and up to date information.  As budgets at real estate brokerages have tightened, they have become much more focused on spending money that obtains results.  For the print media like the LA Times, that has meant a huge reduction in real estate advertising. 

According to this post at The Real Estate Bloggers:

The real reason for the real estate sections demise is not on the editorial side, it is because the advertising supporting it has dried up. [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Marketing by Al Lorenz
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Sternoff Development and The Vineyard condominiums in Chelan are offering a GEM of a promotion, with a free Global Electric Motors (GEM) e2 electric vehicle from Cascade Auto Center with the purchase of a new town home! 

Chelan, from an address at The Vineyard, is a perfect place for a neighborhood electric vehicle like the GEM.  An owner can go almost every place they need, grocery stores, downtown shops, offices, schools, parks, beaches, clinics, the post office, hospital or even Wal Mart!  With a 30 mile range, a person could make over a dozen local trips in a day without recharging! With a GEM costing only nickels per day to operate, concerns over high fuel prices fade away.

What an opportunity to live in a green, earth-friendly way!  With everything you could need located so close by and a vehicle powered by clean, carbon free hydro-electric power, living at The Vineyard is not only eco-friendly but a great way to enjoy the fun lifestyle of Lake Chelan.

 The Vineyard is being market by Al Lorenz at Criterion Properties and Joe Collins at Windermere.  There will be GEM at the “Open Air” Real Estate market Wednesday nights.  The offer is limited in both time, until August 31, and quantity, 4 electric cars.  So, those interested in having Chelan be their GEM City should act soon! 

Tags: General Interest, Local, Marketing by Al Lorenz
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The City of Chelan is considering how and where to allow Cottage Homes in Chelan as part of its update of housing and zoning in Chelan this year.  I am on the citizen advisory group for this project.

Today, I noticed a Wall Street Journal article with the above video that describes a couple of these projects in Seattle and Boston.

The designers of the Moon family house, Ross Chapin and Jim Soules, think small in a way that is practically un-American. [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Land Use, Local by Al Lorenz
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The county is running a new tourism ad in Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, Vancouver, B.C., and Kelowna, B.C. The networks it is running on include Discovery Channel, CNN, ESPN, Food Network, Life, MSNBC, Travel Channel, USA, TNT and AMC.

What do you think?  Click here to see it and please comment!

Tags: Uncategorized by Al Lorenz
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There was a meeting last night at City Hall to discuss the staff’s proposed action plan on affordable housing.  I wasn’t there.  I had another meeting in Manson.  However, the Wenatchee World was there.

The plan is three pronged, and a draft of it is available here.  It includes incentives for construction of affordable housing, a license and inspection program for rentals and regulation of condo conversions. 

I admit to being cynical about government agencies, or even non-profits for that matter, providing “affordable” housing.  The whole concept of affordable and government don’t seem like they work together. [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Local by Al Lorenz
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With all the angst over property taxes in Chelan County, I had to share this editorial in Investor’s Business Daily titled Proposition 13 Surprise.

Taxes: Thirty years ago, Californians took to the ballot box to save their homes and put some brakes on the growth of government. Now, even the government is reaping the benefits.

It may not get much national notice, but a significant man-bites-dog story has emerged from the debris of California’s real estate bust. Cities and counties are finding that their assessment rolls actually are going up while house values are diving. - IBD

With the downturn in property values in California, you might expect that the tax revenues for local governments are being decimated as well.  As it turns out, a benefit of proposition 13 turns out to be the discipline imposed by proposition 13 and the moderating effect is has on tax revenues.  Who would have thought…. 

Tags: General Interest by Al Lorenz
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If it is, Wenatchee has done great compared to most everywhere else.  The Snapshot from Pacific Appraisals is out again, and it has 2008 through June.  The bottom line: median price in Wenatchee has held between $240k and $245k for the last 5 months, which is slightly above June last year.  Yes, inventory is up and yes sales this year are 31% below last year.

However, I’m starting to hear from investors who are actually looking [Read more →]

Tags: Uncategorized by Al Lorenz
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Yvette Davis wrote a very thorough article in the Wenatchee Business Journal on the real estate auctions this June in Wenatchee.  You can download it here.

Jon Port, who sold seven homes via an auction that was held May 31st said in the article:

“I spent around $30,000 to do the auction, with around $10,000 going to Northwest Auctions up front, and the rest spent on radio, flyers and billboard advertising,” Port said.

Even with those costs, he said he is happy with the results. He sold seven of the nine houses in one month. All of the homes were in the $250,000-$350,000 price Range, which Port said has stiff competition for buyers.

“Right now there are over 100 homes in that price range on the market, so they aren’t moving really fast. I don’t know too many builders that can say they’ve sold seven homes last month, so I’m pretty happy right now,” he said.

 If you have any interest in how real estate auctions did this spring in Wenatchee, it is good reading.  My auction on May 29th gets some mention as well.

Tags: General Interest, Local by Al Lorenz
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