2022 Recap

2023 Predictions

National and Industry-Wide Headlines

What began as an extension of 2021’s high-flying real estate frenzy soon enough tumbled and fell to a near standstill by the Federal Reserve’s hiking of interest rates, rendering borrowing costs too pricy for most would-be homebuyers, who, no matter how hard they tried, couldn’t bend the numbers to their will. 

As rates rose, existing-home sales fell, builders pumped the brakes, price growth decelerated, and property sat on the sidelines far longer than forecasted. Real estate companies, meanwhile, braced for lean times after riding high through most of 2020 and 2021, with thousands of workers laid off and quarterly earnings reports showing losses — in some cases, to an…

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KIRKLAND, Washington (January 6, 2023) – Last year was a tale of two housing markets, suggested broker Dean Rebhuhn in commenting on the latest statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

  •          In the first half of the year, we had low interest rates, rising prices, and little inventory
  •          The second half of the year brought increasing interest rates, some lowering of prices, and increasing inventory
  •          The local housing market in 2022 ended with a whimper rather than a bang
  •          Overall, the housing market is going to continue falling off the artificial ‘sugar high’ that was a function of the artificially low mortgage rates during the pandemic
  •          Gardner, the Windermere economist, expects prices will…

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Mortgage rates are continuing their downward trend as investors keep a lookout for more signs of cooling inflation.

“This week, labor cost data provided a ray of hope as it showed that hourly compensation was lower than previously reported in the second and third quarters for all sectors except manufacturing,” writes Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, adding that gas prices are also plunging.

Nadia Evangelou, NAR senior economist and director of real estate research, commented: 

“Mortgage rates continue to move down. According to Freddie Mac, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 6.33% from 6.59% the previous week. Housing affordability rose about 8% in the last four weeks as mortgage rates moved closer to 6%. If…

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Stuff happens! That’s especially true during the holiday season. With guests coming and going, the fireplace regularly blazing, and packages arriving at your front door by the truckload, this is a particularly precarious time.

New data reveals that porch pirates (aka nefarious folks who sneak up to your doorstep and steal your packages) are among the most dreaded holiday-related worries, according to a survey from home security company SimpliSafe.

Almost half (45%) of the respondents reported they have had packages stolen from their front porch or home.

Porch pirates

The United States Postal Service estimates it delivers more than 13.2 billion parcels between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. And with more people doing their holiday shopping…

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Mortgage rates continued their plunge from a peak of 7.08% in November, marking their biggest three-week drop in 14 years.

“Mortgage rates continued to drop this week as optimism grows around the prospect that the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of rate hikes,” says Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater.

Mortgage rates this week

30-year fixed-rate mortgages

The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.49%, down from 6.58% the week prior, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 3.11%.

Mortgage rates began to slide below 7% after the most recent inflation data was released in mid-November. The consumer price index was at 7.7%, coming in below economist's expectations.

“Data shows that mortgage…

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With everything going on from Holiday parties to shopping and visits from the in-laws we know that it’s easy to turn away from listing and selling your home during the holidays. Plus, almost everyone says the market slows down in the Winter and you should just wait until Spring, right? WRONG!

While it’s true the market is usually slower around the holidays, the current market trends of constrained inventory and desperate buyers have in fact made the Holidays an excellent time to put your house up for sale. With fewer sellers listing during the Holiday period, buyers are left sitting around with pre-approval letters in-hand just starving for inventory!

Here are 5 TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME AROUND THANKSGIVING

1. Make Curb Appeal a Top…

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What a difference just a few months can make. As the year comes to a close, the red-hot housing market has been brought to its knees by soaring mortgage interest rates.

  •          “Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco could all see 20% price drops.”
  •          Wolf, of Zonda, expects prices could fall by 15% nationally over the next year
  •          “A really important thing to remember is housing is cyclical,” says Wolf. “We came from a massive run-up in prices, sales, demand in the housing market, and now it’s contracting. This is not new.”
  •          Nationally, home list prices rose 40.6% in just over two years’ time
  •          So, a 10%, 15%, or even 20% drop over a two-year span isn’t as significant as it might seem at first.

It now…

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The home selling process has changed considerably over the past year. Last year sellers could throw their homes on the market with little to no prep work done, throw a few pictures online and still expect multiple offers and a final sale price well over asking price. This red-hot sellers’ market was unprecedented in history and certainly not the norm.

Currently the market is in a state of readjustment and is trending back to a more normal balanced market. This adjustment may be perceived as scary by many sellers who are seeing their neighbors home prices fall in price and sit on the market for months. This slowdown can be directly correlated to raising interest rates and a huge increase of properties on the market.

The news for sellers in the…

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“As for the interest rate ‘elephant in the room,’ the time has come for buyers and sellers to revisit financing methods from previous markets,”

  •          “Mortgage programs are offering below-market rates with various buydown options – something we have not seen for years!”
  •          Buydowns, adjustable-rate loans, carrying back second deeds of trust, and closing cost allowances as possible options.
  •          Sellers need to be “laser focused on price and condition
  •          “What your neighbor’s house sold for six months ago has very little bearing on your home’s value today.”
  •          This is the new normal until interest rates go down.”

KIRKLAND, Washington (November 7, 2022) – Brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service…

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The only thing scarier than paying too high of a commission to sell your home… Is realizing that you don’t have too while getting even MORE service and support than most brokerages offer at a higher fee!

The Cascade Team Agents are Full Service. We are a real estate company like no other, because of the tools, service and savings we provide our clients with. We understand that in today’s fast paced environment, we need to provide a high level of service, utilize technology to keep our clients up to date at all times and provide added value to both buyers and sellers in the transaction. By leveraging these technological tools, it allows our agents to focus more of their time to servicing our clients, and also provide the most comprehensive marketing…

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