Puget Sound Real Estate Sales - Mixed results so far in 2009

The good news for home sellers is there were more sales in January than there were in December, and inventory is down a little from a year ago. The sales results are not surprising, as there are always more sales in January than December. The bad news for the month is there were fewer reported pending sales this year than in any January of this decade, for King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.

Analysis of results is published monthly by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service and continually linked in the Real Estate News section of the MLS4owners.com website. If you need information about market activity in your neighborhood, let us know and we would be glad to help.

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign

When ordering extra signage from us, it is important to be aware of your local sign ordinances and practices. While each community is different, here are a few links that may help:

Summary Chart of 2008 ordinances: from the REALTOR associations of Seattle-King County, Tacoma-Pierce County, and Snohomish County-Camano. You can check for updates on this matrix by visiting NWRealtor.com and clicking on the Tri City Sign-Code Matrix.

City of Redmond Sign Ordinance: from Redmond Neighborhood blog

The City of Bothell also sent out a notice on January 26, 2009 requesting compliance with its ordinance, which according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service states:

• Up to four off-premise open house signs may be used.
• Signs may be place in the public right-of-way (off the roadway) except where landscaped with anything other than a lawn.
• Signs may not be placed in an intersection or traffic island at any time.
• These signs may be placed where they do not block pedestrian, bicycle or handicapped access.
• Signs may be posted only during daylight hours when the agent or property owner is in attendance at the property.
• Directions/stake signs are not allowed.

For more information on sign ordinances in your city, please contact your local government office.

New Website for MLS4owners.com - Announcing Self Service Realty

This week MLS4owners.com’s new website debuts. The address hasn’t changed, but the design has been changed to provide more information than ever for sellers who are using Self Service Realty from MLS4owners.com. With Self Service Realty, MLSowners.com enables YOU – the seller – to be in control, while giving you access to all the essential tools of a listing agent. We provide massive advertising exposure, and we enable you to research and understand the market so you can complete your sale efficiently and cost-effectively. Among the new website features you will find are:

- Seller Contact information embedded in the marketing remarks of our customers’ listings
- Improved and indexed Questions and Answers
- Easy online payment system

Take a look around the new site and please let us know what you think. There is a short survey you can click on at Questions & Answers / Contact Us.

New Septic Inspection Rules for King County

Thanks to our friends at the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for alerting us to this new rule that went into effect on January 19, 2009. In King County, the seller of any single or multi-family residential property served by an on-site septic system is now required to have a monitoring and performance inspection prior to transfer of title. King County will require the inspection and report to be completed by a King County licensed On-Site System Maintainer (OSM). A copy of the inspection report must be submitted to the Health Department and the buyer prior to transfer of title.

To obtain more information, including a copy of the inspection form and a list of licensed OSMs, visit King County's website.

REALTOR® Association appoints MLS4owners.com broker to its Board of Directors

We are always trying to make the voice of our customers heard, so this is good news.

Chris Nye, founder and President of MLS4owners.com, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS®. “Chris brings a valuable perspective to the board with his business experience and vast amount of work with state and federal government on anti-trust and consumer issues,” says the Board’s President Keith Nelson. “We look forward to his expertise and input.”

MLS4owners.com releases new study of customer results

In addition to the statistics we continually update on our site, we also conduct periodic studies of the results of individual homesellers. In December 2008 we looked back at what subsequently happened to properties that had canceled their listings in the six months ending December 31, 2007.

Of the 225 properties on which listings expired or were canceled, 137 left in order to be represented by an agent, and 73 of them eventually closed sales. On average sellers had to reduce their price by $72,000 (11%) from their last asking price in order to complete the sale, and were on the market an additional 120 days. They also paid a commission to their listing agent.

Of the 73 that have sold, only 2 sold at or above their MLS4owners.com asking price. Both of them switched to an agent early on, within 45 days of activation, and one of them had been offering a 1.4% commission. Of course there are good reasons for wanting representation, especially when one’s circumstances have changed. However, our 2008 study had similar results to our 2002, 2003 and 2005 studies which showed that if a home is priced right for its condition and location, and given the MLS4owners.com exposure that meets or exceeds full service exposure, it will sell!

Visit our website for more information on this study and our customers' results.

MLS4owners.com wins one in federal antitrust case

When it comes to freedom of choice in real estate, MLS4owners.com is an advocate for consumers. Unless they are running for office, not many people monitor activities of federal, state and local governments. We try to keep on top of these things because they are important not only to us, but also to homeowners.

MLS4owners.com was the only Washington company to file a public comment on the recent proposed settlement in United States of America v. National Association of REALTORS®, and last week our work paid off.

Is your home a bargain?

John Gillie of The News Tribune is doing a story about the relative bargains that are now available on the market, and he is looking for homes and ideas.

Some of the examples he gives are "it's priced substantially below what the neighbors paid for their homes, it's 60 percent of last year's asking price, it comes with a free cruise on the Amazon or the owner is willing to finance with zero down."

Does your house fit one of these categories? Or is your house a bargain because you are saving so much in listing commissions? If you think your house would be part of a good story for John, let him know. Click the link in the first line of this post, or email him at The News Tribune.

Competition helps consumers

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has an interesting website about Competition and Real Estate. It does a good job of explaining some of the options available to homesellers, and also helps debunk many myths we have encountered.

What should I do if my home is not selling?

When sellers ask us what more they can do to get their home sold, we recommend the 3 P’s – Pricing, Presentation and Patience.

Is your home sale subject to an inspection?

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service recently changed the way that sales are reported to agents and to the public, making it clearer to buyers whether the property is actually available for sale. Sales that used to be called "Active-Subject to Inspection" are now called "Pending Inspection." 

The latest stats and spin

One person's statement is another person's spin, so we'll let you decide which is which.

The latest statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service are out. You can review the current press release any time on our site or the public site of the NWMLS.

The good news is pending sales in April 2008 were the highest they have been since August 2007. The bad news is pending sales are always higher in April than they are during the winter, so April's results are not a positive surprise.

What does MLS4owners.com think?

We send and receive hundreds of emails a week, and once in a while we respond to things that pop up in the press. Here is a sampling: [UPDATE: Most of the press website links are now obsolete and are no longer available in 2010]

Dramatic Increases In Inventory

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service sends a monthly press release with a summary of market activity, and it is continually updated on our site.

Check out the May release, which shows a 21% increase in regional inventory compared to the prior year, with higher county-wide increases in Grays Harbor (up 63.4 percent), Thurston (up 60.9 percent), Kitsap (up 35.2 percent), Pierce (up 29.2 percent), Island (up 26.6 percent) and Kittitas (up 25 percent).

What does this imply for you?

Our Email Newsletter

[2/11/09 update - this old blog post has some defunct links in it. For the latest and greatest info, check out the new site.]

We sent an email today to our past, present and future customers. With addresses changing so often and email hosts being extra cautious with filtering out spam (rightfully so), we know some people will not receive the email version. So here is a reprint, blog-style:

We are writing today to give you an update on MLS4owners.com and the real estate advertising model you have helped make so successful.