Tips from The Cascade Team Agents

  •          Buyer opportunities have returned to the Puget Sound market
  •          Active listings have nearly doubled from a year ago
  •          The market balance is favoring buyers
  •          “We are seeing builders moving their price points down and providing incentives to buyers in closing costs and buydowns to help borrowers obtain lower interest rates.”
  •          Overpriced listings have missed the market.

KIRKLAND, Washington (August 4, 2022) – New statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service confirm reports of a shifting housing market, prompting one industry leader to suggest “all parties involved in a transaction today have to recalibrate.”

“Today’s buyers have their cups finally overflowing with options as residential…

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Growing Number of Experts Calling for Substantial Home Price Declines

  • Significant price declines lie ahead, many experts argue.
  • Insider recently spoke with three experts calling for median home prices to fall.
  • Recession fears and rising interest rates have started to cool interest in the U.S. housing market.
  • Poor consumer sentiment implies home prices may decline this year and next.

One of the most remarkable developments in the post-pandemic economy has been the sharp rise of the housing market. Despite initial pandemic fears, people with means rushed into the real estate sector in 2020, inherently driving up home prices. The Federal Reserve also dramatically reduced benchmark interest rates, spurring acquisitiveness.

But what…

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Compared to a year ago, Northwest MLS (NWMLS) brokers reported:

  •          Significant jump in inventory,
  •          double-digit drops in both pending and closed sales
  •          And the smallest year-over-year (YOY) increase in prices since June 2020.

What the changes mean in general terms are:

  •          More houses on the market
  •          Longer market times
  •          Stabilizing home prices
  •          Fewer showings and open house visitors
  •          Fewer offers at one time
  •          And more price adjustments

KIRKLAND, Washington (July 6, 2022) – Housing statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service for June show signs of a shifting market, creating opportunities for some buyers. Compared to a year ago,…

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High Impact Real Estate Marketing & 4% Total Commissions For Today’s Home Sellers

The Cascade Team Real Estate is a company like no other because of the marketing, service and home seller savings we provide. We understand that in today’s real estate & home selling environment, we need to provide a high level of real estate service and widespread marketing of the home for sale, utilize technology to keep our home seller clients in the communication loop and provide added value to both buyers and home sellers in the real estate transaction. The effective use of technology tools allows our local real estate agents to focus more of their time on servicing our clients and finding buyers for your home, all the while providing the most comprehensive real…

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Mortgage lending took a nosedive across the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022, according to a new report from ATTOM. 

Secured mortgages fell 18% from the fourth quarter of 2021 and were down 32% from the same time last year — the biggest year-over-year drop since 2014. This marked the fourth quarterly decrease, which the data management company said was the result of “double-digit downturns in purchase and refinance activity, even as home-equity lending rose.”

Along with the 32% decline in residential mortgages, the report found the number of new loans fell for the fourth straight quarter, meanwhile refinance lending fell another 22% and purchase mortgages were down 18%. 

Mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since 2008, pinching…

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The housing market is entering the ‘most significant contraction in activity since 2006,’ says Freddie Mac economist.

Cracks are beginning to appear in the red-hot housing market. The pandemic's housing boom is finally running on fumes. Home sales are falling. Inventory levels are rising. And home sellers are cutting list prices at the fastest clip since 2019.

Spiraling mortgage rates on top of record-high and still-rising home prices are leading many experts to predict the real estate market is on the verge of a correction—if it isn’t already in one. They anticipate home prices will flatten, or even go down a bit, in certain markets.

This Shift is a lot bigger than a seasonal cooldown. The economic shock of higher mortgage…

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What a difference a few months make.  With the rise in interest rates and inflation, we have seen homes go from selling almost before the ground is broken for the sign, to now homes are sitting on the market for days, if not weeks.  For example, according to Altos Research, one Seattle bedroom community, Sammamish, saw 37% of homes during the first week of June have a price reduction.

  •          Home sellers really need to re-think their expectations.
  •          The days of “multiple offers and waived inspections are behind us.”
  •          Active Listings up a whopping 59% from a year ago.
  •          Both pending sales (mutually accepted offers) and closed sales during May were down from a year ago.
  •          Rising interest rates coupled…

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  •          The Puget Sound housing market has shifted down several levels
  •          Not all homes are selling within the first week on market
  •          Multiple offers will not be as commonplace as they’ve been in the last two years
  •          The latest MLS report showed a mix of positive and negative numbers.
  •          New listings (11,681) surpassed the number of pending sales
  •          This is evidence that interest rates are having a cooling effect.

KIRKLAND, Washington (May 5, 2022) –Rising interest rates and inflation, coupled with slight improvement in inventory, may bring some normalcy to Western Washington’s frenzied housing market suggest some brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

“The Puget Sound housing…

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Average mortgage rates are higher for all loan types today with the 30-year mortgage rate crossing above 5%.

  • The latest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 5.17%. ⇑
  • The latest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 4.197%. ⇑
  • The latest rate on a 5/1 ARM is 3.974%. ⇑
  • The latest rate on a 7/1 ARM is 4.135%. ⇑
  • The latest rate on a 10/1 ARM is 4.245%. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is done sitting idly on the sidelines as inflation burns away Americans’ purchasing power. The plan? Draw upon the central bank's decades-old inflation playbook by increasing rates until demand pulls back, and price growth slows.

This is already presenting a test for runaway inflation's poster child: the U.S. housing market.

CoreLogic, a real…

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Download Your Home Selling Game Plan

Ready. Set. Sell.

Table of Contents 

1. Welcome to the Game: Discovering Your Why

2. Game Prep: Get Serious About the Finances

3. Pre-game: Tackle Your ''To-Do" List

4. Prepping the Field: Staging Your Home

6. Checking the Equipment: Cleaning House

7. Let the Games Begin: Negotiation Time

8. The Last Play: Inspections

9. The Final Timeout: Waiting for the Closing

10. Happy Selling

Some Seattle area suburbs have literally doubled in price over the past 12 months!

The 8 Seattle Area Suburbs With the Biggest Home Price Increases in 2022 So Far! (# 1 is going to blow your mind!)

King County had the steepest drop in active listings, shrinking nearly 59% from a year ago,…

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