Seattle Home Buying Guide

Seattle Median Home Prices are off 18.2% from the 2007

robgraham — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:05:38 +0000

Depending on how you see the glass, the good news is that prices are flat from a year ago. Looks like the bleeding has stopped and price depreciation has been halted. From the highs in the summer of 2007, the median home price for Seattle single family homes is down 18.2%.

Median single family home price in Seattle at the peak in 2007 was around $485,000. Now we are looking at around $397,000. Great opportunity for buyers. Seller’s hang in there.

Give me a call if you need help.

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Rob Graham

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

www.robgrahamrealestate.com

Great Video for Seattle Home Buyers Explaining Closing Costs.

robgraham — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:18:37 +0000

Everyone likes watching videos more then reading right? Here is some info about closing costs for Seattle home buyers.

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Rob Graham

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

www.robgrahamrealestate.com

Senior Citizen & Disabled Tax Exemption for King County Residents

robgraham — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 23:49:38 +0000

Many of you may not be aware that if you are 61 or older, and make less then $35,000 per year, you are entitled to a property tax exemption (reduction).

Many of you may also not be aware that you can also qualify for the same exemption if you are retired as a result of a permanent disability regardless of age so long as your income is under the $35,000 limit.

In order to qualify for the exemption you must fill out an application and submit it to the King County Assessor’s office.

You must be in possession of the home on January 1st of the year you apply for the exemption.

So this won’t help you if you are searching for a home right now, but if you qualify, you can apply next year and save yourself a lot of money in the future.

Applications are available on line or by going to their web site by clicking here.

There are also allowances for widowed spouses and widowed spouses of veterans.

Feel free to contact them if you have any questions. It can save you thousands of dollars on Taxes each year.

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Rob Graham

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

www.robgrahamrealestate.com

Seattle Average Housing Prices. Condos too!

robgraham — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:03:35 +0000

The new numbers are out through January 2010. The following graph is the average home price for single family homes in Seattle.

Pretty flat over the past year. Some seasonal fluctuation, but the good news is that home prices do not appear to be drifting lower at this point.

It is true that prices are being buoyed by the first time home buyer tax credit. It will be interesting to see what happens when that expires in April.

So how about condos?

More of a rollercoaster with condos over the past year and a half, but still encouraging news out of the most recent month. Buyers saw an opportunity with lower prices, good interest rates and a tax credit.

Condos are still struggling with so much inventory on the market and a higher percentage of the homes being short sale and bank owned compared to single family homes.

Overall, we are still cruising along the bottom of the recession as far as houses are concerned.

Overview: A great time to buy if you are a first time home buyer or moving to a larger (more expensive) home.

Give me a call if you need help.

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Rob Graham

Accredited buyers Agent

Windermere Real Estate

www.robgrahamrealestate.com

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

How do student loans effect home loan qualification?

robgraham — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 22:12:56 +0000

I had an interesting exchange with a buyer who asked how having student loans will effect his ability to qualify for a home loan. I thought others of you might also benefit from the info, so here was my advice to him:

Having student loans alone does not preclude you from qualifying for a loan. The problem as you have already figured out is the monthly payment. How much the bank will allow you to pay monthly for a loan is reduced effectively by how much you are paying into your loans. Your best bet is to talk to a bank and find out the real story for sure.

Just as an aside, did you see that Obama has hopes of signing into law that student loans will be forgiven in ten years if you are in public service and in 20 years if not? Just something to think about for the long term.
Overall it sounds to me like have a great income. You may want to consider renting for a year or two and paying off as much of the loans as you can. It improves your credit and will allow you to pay less per month.

When I graduated school I had the same situation. Here is what I did. I paid the minimum on the loans and then when I had saved up enough to pay off one of the loans (usually the smallest) I did so. Then it lowered my monthly. If you can just do this a few times your monthly starts to drop and gives you more money to save toward the next loan. In a year or two the monthly goes down, you get a raise or two and viola, now you qualify for a bigger home.
Just a thought.

Best of luck,
Rob

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www.robgrahamrealestate.com

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