Learn about local real estate and housing market trends from The Cascade Team Real Estate.

Southern California’s housing market remained geared towards buyer's in the month of April despite relatively strong demand from investors and others paying cash for homes. Prices have trended up 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 May 1st, the median price in Carlsbad for a single family detached home for sale was $744,900.  With inventory trending up, and days on market trending down, the real estate market action index was esentially flat and there doesn't appear to be a strong pull in either direction.  Short term the price action appears to…

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The Cascade Team is pleased to announce our sixth annual Crayon Drive for Seattle Children's Hospital.  We will be collecting Crayola brand crayons during the month of May for the kids at Seatle Children's. We will have donation points setup throughout the area where you can drop off crayons throughout the month of May. Please begin collecting crayons and help us support the tremendous need that is experienced each year. For more information, please contact us at 800.509.6905.  Also, be watching for our Rady Children's Hospital drive down in San Diego coming this fall.  The Cascade Team is proud to support our local children's hospital's in this effort.

Did you know:

  • Children’s Hospital distributes over 240,000 crayons…

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Saturday May 7th
6 PM to 8 PM
1718 NW Market Street - Seattle

Please come join us to celebrate the grand opening of the new Seattle Cascade Team branch office! Enter to win 3 different gift cards to Nordstrom, I-tunes and a Visa cash card.

Enjoy appetizers drinks, and learn about all of the exciting events taking place in the Seattle and Ballard market!

For all of you on the eastside, it's time to get out of your neck of the woods & have a good time here in Seattle

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By Meg Handley Meg Handley –

Thanks to falling home prices and rising rents, would-be home buyers have the upper hand this house-hunting season. In nearly 4 out of 5 major U.S. cities, it's now cheaper to buy a home than to rent. That's up from 72 percent of cities last quarter, based on the Rent vs. Buy Index released by online real estate resource Trulia.

"With home prices nearing a double-dip and more foreclosures expected to flood the housing market over the next two years, the decision between renting and buying a home across most of the country has clearly moved in favor of buying," said Ken Shuman, head of communications at Trulia, in a press release. "As we head into the summer buying season, those…

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Waterfront homes for sale in Carlsbad are starting to become more in demand, because who doesn't love a waterfront home? However, these homes do come at a price, but if you can afford it, Carlsbad's waterfront property offers a great real estate and home purchasing opportunity.  Because there are only a couple of areas in Carlsbad where you can truly own waterfront property, due to Coast Highway 101, however there are still a number of homes for sale to the east that offer great views of the ocean as well.  However if walking out your back door onto the sand is something your looking for, the options within Carlsbad begin to be a little more limited.

Waterfront homes for sale in Carlsbad can be found in the Carlsbad Village area, west of the downtown…

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Trulia Price Reduction Map

Click HERE to use Price Reduction Map

Trulia's Home Offer Report gives homebuyers and sellers the upper hand - whether they're making an offer or putting their home on the market. Click here for Trulia's full methodology.  You will be able to see number of days on market before a listing had a price reduction, the percentage size of the real estate price reduction and the probability of another price reduction before the home is sold.  Very interesting information for both the home buyer and home seller in today's real estate market environment.  The Cascade Team is a Trulia Pro member in Seattle and San Diego.

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   shaneanne_120_01       Shane and Anne          206.915.SOLD  

The number of single family homes on the market in Sammamish is pretty much static when compared to a year ago. Statistics from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for March report 637 active single family home listings compared to 653 a year ago. Pending sales, or homes with deals inked last month, were down almost 25 percent from 2010, with 160 homes going under contract. However,the median sales price of $509,990 is up 4.51 percent from last year's $488,000. "There's a couple of factors at play," said Scott Bobson, broker/owner of Sammamish Realty. "There's a lot more buyer confidence, and we're seeing the upper end really start moving which is moving the median price…

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Search Seattle & San Diego Foreclosure Homes Here

Foreclosures continue to flood real estate markets across the country, and buyers are looking to cash in on what they view as some of the best real estate deals. But experts say that while some foreclosures are a great purchase, buyers need to be cautious before jumping in to make sure they really are getting a bargain.

Dan Steward, president of Pillar to Post Professional Home Inspections, advises buyers considering a foreclosure to avoid the following:

1. Don’t judge a house by looks alone. A $2 million mansion may look fabulous but have mold hiding beneath the walls or need numerous, costly repairs. A fixer upper, on the other hand, may look rundown but have excellent bones and can be repaired at a…

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KIRKLAND, Wash. (April 6, 2011) – Last month‟s pending sales fell below year-ago totals in Western Washington, but brokers say the market is faring quite well, considering last year‟s activity was boosted by federal tax credits.The latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service shows 7,570 pending sales of single family homes and condominiums during March. That‟s down about 12 percent from a year ago when members reported 8,605 pending transactions (mutually accepted offers) across the 21 counties in the Northwest MLS service area.

"The market is doing surprisingly well without a stimulus," observed Northwest MLS director OB Jacobi, president of Windermere Real Estate Company. "Considering that this time last year there was a rush of…

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By Kelly Campbell Kelly Campbell –

Clients often ask if they should pay off their mortgage with their savings or take that nest egg and put it to work in the market. My answer: It depends, but in today's interest rate and market environment, I would likely suggest investing.

Yes, your house is an appreciating asset, but it is not appreciating as quickly as it once did, which may be true for a long time. The credit markets are generally dried up and it takes free flowing credit for the real estate market to boom, a phenomenon that may not happen again in our lifetimes.

Let's examine the question more closely assuming the following:

--You have a $500,000 home.

--Interest rate on your mortgage is 5 percent.

--Return on investment is 8…

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