NCW Real Estate Blog

I did a posting in a Chelan Real Estate Blog about the continuing struggles, that made the Wall Street Journal, on the Puget Sound real estate market.  It continues to weaken, which is not a good sign for areas like Chelan and Leavenworth that depend on Seattle area buyers to buy vacation homes.

In the latter part of 2007 a leading mortgage insurer put the Seattle metro area in its lowest risk category–meaning that it viewed the likelihood of a decline in Seattle home prices over the next two years as extremely small.  That benign outlook was shared by many area home buyers–including real-estate investors who were exiting already topped-out markets in the West. – WSJ

Tags: General Interest, Marketing, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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In today’s Wenatchee World, Tim Eyman has an opinion piece where he proposes that it is more productive for the efforts on property tax reform to unite behind one property tax initiative.  He proposes that it be his initiative, 1033, that substantially reduces property taxes by controlling the growth of government.  I-1033 says that the growth rate of state, county, and city general fund tax revenue cannot exceed inflation and population growth.  Tax revenue collected above the limit will reduce property taxes.   Here’s Tim Eyman from the opinion piece in the Wenatchee World:

We’ve got incredible momentum.  But we face a huge challenge:  we must raise enough money and earn enough volunteer effort from supporters to collect over 300,000 voter signatures by early July.  That’s darn tough.  And it’ll be even tougher if those in favor of property tax relief divide their efforts among two initiatives – better to focus our collective energy and money on the best initiative led by a battle-tested team of activists with a proven track record of success. 

 United we stand, divided we fall. 

 Let’s work together and succeed with I-1033.  Join us. - Wenatchee World

 It sounds to me like he would like to see Courtney Cox and her supporters, who have their own initiative in the works, to work together for property tax reform and help get his initiative on the ballot. 

This has been playing out in the editorial pages of the Wenatchee World, starting with Tracy Warner’s editorial, A Tax Shift is Not Tax Reform,  that criticized the approach taken by Courtney Cox’s group.  Courtney responded in the World with a well written response, A Fair System will not Tax us Out of Our Homes, and now we have this editorial from Tim Eyman.  Property Taxes are certainly creating some discussion!

Tags: General Interest, Local, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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The State Legislature is in session, so we all need to watch out for our livelihoods! Governor Gregiore put out an Executive Order Setting Greenhouse Gas Emissions Goals.  That order has been embodied in House Bill 1718.

It’s also known as “Cap & Trade” and is supposed to reduce Washington’s carbon footprint to 50% below 1990 levels by 2050.  Whether or not you believe that CO2 is a threat, this bill would change your life if it passes.

Here are some of the highlights according to an analysis by Representative Matt Shea:

• New Taxes, lots of them!
• Tolling the I-90 bridge with the fund going to reducing greenhouse emissions, not transportation infrastructure.
• Mandates reduction in vehicle miles driven for both commercial and private vehicles (pay as you drive/don’t drive).
• Creates what appears to be stringent rent control regarding new buildings.
• Fully incorporates “green building codes” at an enormous upfront cost to builders and new home buyers.
• Implementation of “complete street principles” increasing the cost of transportation projects.
• Severely limits use and disposal of real property.

 Those are just some of the highlights of this bill.  Certainly this bill would impact real estate as well as almost every other aspect of trying to live and make a living in the State of Washington.  A hearing was held that started already, at 8:00 a.m. this morning.  However, you can still provide feedback to your legislature and others.  You can phone call the legislative hotline number at (800) 562-6000 to call and express your viewpoint.  The website to find your legislator’s contact information is at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/Default.aspx

Tags: Construction, Design, General Interest, Land Use, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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I was slow finding this, but way back on January 12th Representative Mike Armstrong also introduced Property Tax Relief  legislation.  The measures would eliminate the state portion of the property tax and cap assessments.  To see all of the bill Mike is working on, click on his picture to go to his web site.   Specifics on House Bill 1027  from Representative Armstrong’s office:

Making good on his promise to seek meaningful tax relief for 12th District home- and property owners, Rep. Mike Armstrong has introduced legislation that would eliminate the state portion of property taxes. House Bill 1027 was among the first bills to be introduced today during the opening day of the 2009 legislative session.

“The state budget deficit has attracted a lot of attention in Olympia. But I think the biggest issue affecting the 12th District is property tax relief. Homeowners in North Central Washington are getting hit hard with skyrocketing property taxes. It’s especially difficult for long-time residents of Leavenworth and Chelan where properties are in demand, which drives up prices,” said Armstrong, R-Wenatchee. “People are struggling with assessment increases as high as one hundred percent. In this economy, many don’t know if they can afford to stay in their homes. The goal of my legislation is to prevent government from taxing people out of their homes and allow them to keep what they own.”

Under House Bill 1027, the state property tax levy would be incrementally reduced over six years until it is entirely eliminated.

“Twenty-four percent of the property taxes you pay go into that deep, dark hole known as the state general fund where [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Local, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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Senator Linda Evans Parlette has also already been active this session on the property tax issue as well.  She is the prime sponsor on Senate Bill 5099 which requires annual revaluations of property for property tax purposes.  She is also a cosponsor of Senate Bill 5000 limiting property taxation.

Language from Senate Bill 5099 that would eliminate the fluctuations in valuations seen in Chelan County caused by the current system of revaluation every 4 years includes “Not later than January 1, 2014, all taxable real property within a county shall be revalued annually and all taxable real property within a county shall be physically inspected at least once each six years.” 

Senate Bill 5000 sounds very similar to the approach taken by a Chelan area group,  [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Local, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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Being that this ended up as sort of a legislative roundup day, our very own Representative Cary Condotta has also been very busy.  While he has not introduced property tax legislation (although I would bet he is aware of and supportive of other efforts), he has been very busy as well.  His bills cover topics including: the family leave program, use of industrial insurance funds, veterans services, a variety of business tax related issues, license plates and many others.  But, since this is a real estate blog, we are going to talk about his bills in this session regarding water rights!

He is a secondary sponsor on two bills, House Bill 1268 concerning relinquishment of water rights and House Bill 1334 concerning water resource management on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

House Bill 1268 eliminates partial relinquishment of a water right back to the state for lack of use.  As I read it, if a property owner does not use their entire water right for a period of 5 years, but still uses a portion of it for its intended purpose, they do not automatically relinquish part of their water right.  Some pertinent language from the bill “a person shall not be deemed to have voluntarily failed to beneficially use said water right if the person has continued to use at least a portion of said right for the established purpose of use.” [Read more →]

Tags: Land Use, Local, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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According to the Northwest MLS, Frigid temperatures and record snowfall brought home sales to a standstill for several days in December. The unusual weather, when coupled with the expected holiday slowdown, contributed to a 17.6 percent slide in pending sales compared to the same month a year ago.

The four-country Puget Sound region saw December sales decline 18.2 percent from a year ago. Inventories actually declined slightly, by 0.9% from 38,440 active listings 12 months ago to 38,089 at the end of December. The decrease in actual closed sales in December is not surprising considering the economic downturn and chaos in the financial markets in October and November.

In spite of the weather, brokerages are reporting an increase in activity from potential buyers who have grown weary of waiting. The historically low interest rates, return of some predictability in the mortgage markets and depressed prices have some buyers moving from spectators to actively looking to purchase.

There was a feeling that deferred activity from those who were stopped for awhile by the weather in December will be pushed into January. We’ll know soon!

Tags: General Interest, Marketing, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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In King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, residential sales volumes and values were down in November compared to one year ago.  Based on data compiled from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, King County had 1,145 closed sales of residential homes and condos in November of 08 versus 2,187 in November of 07 which is a 48% decline.  Snohomish County had 383 in November of 08 versus 835 in November of 07 for a 44.2% decline.  Pierce County closed 463 sales in November of 08 versus 784 in November of 07 for a 41% decline in sales volume.

Median prices also declined.  King County was down 5.44%  from last November to a median price of $365,000 for residential homes and condos.  Snohomish County declined 7.46% to a median price of $310,000 versus November of 07.  Pierce County dropped 12.53% to a median price of $230,000.

Single family residences, excluding condos, show the median price in November of 2008 in King County at $395,000 a drop of 9.2% versus one year ago.  Snohomish and Pierce counties dropped 11.07% and 13.21%respectively.

While the Puget Sound area is still doing well compared to the rest of the country, we are continuing to see degradation in that market.  With many of the real estate customers for the Chelan Valley and North Central Washington originating on that side of the mountains, I would expect to continue to see weakness in our local markets.

Tags: General Interest, Marketing, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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According to the NWMLS, single family homes in King County (excluding condos) had a median sale price or $314,000, 10% below last years $349,900 for completed sales.  While low interest rates and abundant selection are making for good buys, tighter credit and the elimination of seller funded down payment assistance continue to inhibit sales activity.

Across Western Washington inventory is leveling off with pending sales comparable to the last 4 months.  11,415 new listings were added in August compared to 14,500 in August of 2007.  There are still 8.1 months of inventory system wide and a 7.4 months supply in the 4 county Puget Sound area.  Nationally, there is an 11.2 month supply.  6 months supply is typically considered a “balanced” market between buyers and sellers.

Seven counties showed price gains in August. Median selling prices in Clark, Grant, Island, Kitsap, Mason, Okanogan, and San Juan counties were up in August from the previous month. 

With inventory leveling off, prices may be at a point where the market is flattening and becoming more balanced.  Stay tuned right here to keep abreast of it all!

Tags: General Interest, Marketing, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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According to a post in Crosscut today, Seattle is one of the most extreme cities in the USA.  How extreme?  Seattle has few families, is highly educated and very gentrified.  The big number is that Seattle averages only 2.08 occupants per household.  The closest rivals of major cities are San Francisco and Portland at 2.24 and the national average is 2.61.  A local Community Housing Steering Committee I am serving on shows a trend towards similar demographics in certain parts of North Central Washington.

Here’s an excerpt from the article and a link:

A related statistic is the share of households that are families with children; the Seattle share is 19 percent, San Francisco 18 (lowest in the country), and Portland 24. (The U.S. average is 31 percent share of families with children.) Conversely, the share of non-family households (singles, unmarried partners) is 55 percent (33 for the U.S.). Seattle is only slightly behind the winner, San Francisco, in the share of adults never [Read more →]

Tags: General Interest, Land Use, Northwest by Al Lorenz
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