Could Homes Soon Be Powered by Google?

Real Estate News

The Internet giant is increasing its stake in the solar home power business with a $75 million “initial investment” to buy and own solar-panel generators on roofs of thousands of homes, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Google is investing in Clean Power Finance, a start-up company that matches solar-panel installers with investors willing to buy rooftop solar-panel systems. “With Google’s investment, solar-panel installers can find home owners who want solar panels on their roofs but don’t want to have to pay several thousand dollars to own the system,” The Wall Street Journal article notes. 

"We're excited about the opportunity to really help accelerate residential…

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Carlsbad Homes For Sale - Weekly Market Update

Southern California’s real estate market remained geared towards home buyer's in the month of September. Prices have trended down slightly over the last couple of months, but it appears that prices over the last few weeks have stabilized, at least temporarily.  We are hopeful this trend will continue and establish a floor for Carlsbad home prices.

As of Sept 22, 2011, the median price for a single family residential home in Carlsbad held at $699,900, with an average of 144 active days on the Carlsbad real estate market.  While home prices have held just below the $700K point, the days on market are beginning to climb; which is not a receipe for continued pricing strength.  While Carlsbad home price action has been essentially flat,…

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2 Important Factors in Judging Neighborhoods

Our Cascade Team Real Estate Community & School Report Tool: 

• Compare two zip codes side by side
• See income, household, cost of living and climate information
• See local shopping, restaurants, services, recreation and leisure, along with local grocery stores.
• Compare local public and private schools
• See information about local schools and compare them side by side.
• Select individual schools to review and see their scores, teacher ratios and school profile

To view all this valuable information, just click on the "View Community Reports" button below.

View Community Reports

With home prices falling, buyers are looking for a neighborhood that has a greater likelihood of…

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King County Shadow (Foreclosing) Home Inventory

Check out this information on upcoming Foreclosures! Several of these upcoming Foreclosures are NOT even listed on the NWMLS.

Moving forward: Every Monday The Cascade Team/ With assistance from Liberty Capital will provide the best 4-6 upcoming foreclosure homes. These will be properties that investors will most likely not be after for a buy and flip. They will usually also have pictures and have an opening bid well below assessed value so youryou can feel comfortable in getting a good deal!

http://www.thecascadeteam.com/foreclosure-homes.php       

The Cascade Team track homes that are foreclosing in King County exclusively our clients to purchase these homes as owner occupied residences.  The following homes are scheduled to be auctioned off…

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Foreclosure Sales Slow

Search Seattle Foreclosures

While lenders have resumed foreclosures after putting them on hold as a result of an investigation into "robo-signing" a year ago, snags remain in the process.

1010data Inc. and CoreLogic Inc. report a drop in the number of foreclosed homes liquidated to 3.6 percent in June from 5.7 percent in August 2010. The number of homes entering the foreclosure pipeline tops the number being sold by banks.

The delays help home owners hang onto their properties longer and aid the economy in the short term, but make it difficult for new buyers to close on foreclosed properties.

Source: “Effort on Home Loans Stalls," The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 19, 2011)

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Short Sale Information - The Cascade Team on KOMO News

The Cascade Team Real Estate and Darin Robertson were featured on KOMO 4 News tonight regarding short sales in the Seattle area. Take a look at the video and contact us if you have any questions or think you may be a candidate for a short sale. We will answer any questions you have and assist you in determining if selling your home short is the best alternative for your situation.

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Underwater Borrowers Hold Back Sales

Short Sale Information

Declines in home values have pushed a high number of home owners to be “underwater,” in which borrowers owe more on their properties than they are current worth, and it’s hampering home sales, according to new data by CoreLogic. 

About 10.9 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter, down slightly from 22.7 percent in the first quarter, CoreLogic reports. What’s more, about 2.4 million borrowers had less than 5 percent equity, which CoreLogic refers to as “near-negative equity,” in the second quarter. 

Since the peak in home sales in 2005, nondistressed sales in ZIP codes with…

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August ranks as 2011's best month for both pending and closed sales in Washington state!

KIRKLAND, Wash. (Sept. 6, 2011) – August now ranks as this year’s best month for both pending and closed sales around Washington state , according to the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Last month’s volume of pending sales was the highest number of mutually accepted offers since April 2010 when the homebuyer tax incentive expired.

Northwest MLS brokers reported 7,632 pending sales during August, a gain of more than 26 percent from the same month a year ago when they notched 6,037 pending sales. Last month’s total for the 21 counties in the MLS service area surpassed July by 450 transactions.

Thirteen counties had double-digit gains from a year ago, led by Snohomish County where pending sales jumped more than 46 percent.

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Banks Agree to More Short Sales

Short Sale Search Here

Banks are agreeing to more short sale transactions, and short sales are taking less time to sell, which is helping to clear large inventories of distressed properties more efficiently, says James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, in releasing new housing data this week. 

“This is a glimmer of hope that lenders are getting more realistic,” Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, told Bloomberg News. “It’s a win for borrowers who avoid foreclosure, buyers who get a house in better condition and banks that lose less money, which is also a win for taxpayers.”

During the second quarter, the number of homes nearing foreclosure accounted for 12 percent of total home…

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Carlsbad Real Estate - A Housing Market Update

Southern California’s real estate market remained geared towards home buyer's in the month of August, despite relatively strong demand from investors and others paying cash for homes. Prices have trended down slightly over the last couple of month, but many potential home buyers appear to still be on the sidelines and may still be waiting for a bottom in prices or a relaxing of the mortgage guidelines to allow more people to qualify for homes.

As of August 26th, 2011, the median price for a single family residential home in Carlsbad fell to $699,900, with an average of 131 active days on the Carlsbad real estate market.  In addition, there were 51% of the active MLS listings that had price reductions, just slightly less than last week,…

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