Well, I'm back from vacation... back in the saddle, so to speak.

It was interesting, spending time in southern California and watching what has been happening with real estate down in that market area.  Believe me, relatively speaking, Wenatchee real estate (and surrounding areas) is a great value and VERY affordable.   

In southern California, you could get a one bedroom condo for under $150,000 IF you're willing to gut it and totally renovate it.    Under similar circumstances, you could get a small single family residence for under $250,000.  

I'm pleased to be back in North Central Washington, offering value and affordability.    During the latter part of our trip, I picked up a flyer in Cathedral City, offering a one-level, 1500 square foot, 3 bedroom rambler for $449,000.  Nothing fancy.  Just a 3 bedroom rambler.  Ouch.

Contact me, and let's talk about finding you a good value in the North Central Washington area.

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
1-509-670-7840

Buy a house.  Get a New Car?

I've been on vacation for the last few weeks, but I'm still keeping up with inventory and home sales activity in the Wenatchee real estate market and surrounding area.   As always, when I travel, my laptop, cell phone and Fax machine come with me so I'm never out of touch for very long.

Our travels have taken us through Oregon, California, into Arizona and back to the Palm Springs area of California where we have been for the last two weeks.  Southern California real estate activity  has been a hot topic of conversation for quite some time, with a lot of nationwide discussion centering on whether there will be a burst in the proverbial bubble.   Where ever I go here, it seems the discussion turns to the real estate market, whether they know I'm involved in real estate or not.  People are still amazed at the recent escalation of values.   But, it appears the market has stabilized.  No serious price decline, but inventory of homes is substantially more than it was a year or two ago and it's taking longer for homes to sell.  It's no longer a strong sellers market. 

Along these lines, I was reading an article the other day about sellers starting to offer incentives to buyers.  These incentives included: cars, vacations, landscaping, kitchen remodels, etc.  There was a poll taken about which incentive buyers would prefer, and the free car won by a significant margin.  So, instead of reducing prices, some sellers are opting to offer a buying incentive.    I guess, all things being equal, I would buy a house with a new car over one that wasn't offering the car!

It's amazing to watch all the new construction going on and fathoming the ability for the market to remain stable.  It just seems like, with all the new inventory, prices should be falling.   Only time will tell what the long term effect will be. 

Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com

We are back from England now, and had a wonderful time.   I'll be getting back to the business of reporting on Wenatchee real estate (and surrounding areas), and discussing other issues I think may be of general interst.   

In the meantime, if you're interested in the details of our trip, please visit our personal website.  I've posted a lot of pictures, dialogue, and linksto pertinent websites.

Have a great day,
Carol

Search local, state, or national listings here

Real estate transactions in Wenatchee and across the United States seem to be handled quite a bit differently than those in England.  My meeting on Tuesday with Melvyn Danes, a very successful local real estate agent (called "Estate Agents" here), was extremely  interesting and informative.  We had a nice long chat over lunch and he has invited me into his office next week to see some of the nuts and bolts of how a transaction is handled.    Melvyn spent quite a bit of time giving me a history of land ownership, through the ages, in England.   I'll delve into that a little more later, as time permits... probably after returning to The States.

As for current information, the primary difference I picked up in the marketing aspect of the business is that offices to do not cooperate with other offices in the sale of properties.  By this I mean, what we know as the Multiple Listing Service does not really exist.  If Melvyn has a listing, a potential buyer must work with him or someone in his office(s) to procur the purchase of that listing.   Likewise, if Melvyn has a buyer interested in another offices listing, he cannot sell it to his buyer.  That buyer must go to the listing agency office to procur the purchase.   This is contrary to our concept of buyer agency, giving the buyers an option of who to work with based on who they think will most effectively represent their best interests.  They do, however, have a liability insurance similar to our Errors and Ommissions, which covers them in case of legal problems arising from a transaction. 

One major change coming into law in England in January of 2007 is the "Seller's Information Packet" (SIP).  This "packet" will be jam packed full of information about the subject house and property.  When I meet with Melvyn next week I will request a detailed list of what will be included in this packet.  But, it is my understanding, every possible known detail of the property history will be revealed (recorded and unrecorded).  This information will include major things, such as history of ownership, the date of roof replacement, rewiring, replumbing... and also a history of such things as service to the furnace system and other more minor details.  This information will be available to  potential buyers.    

Another major change, to coincide with the Seller's Information Packet, is a required Home Inspection Packet (HIP), to be supplied by a registered home inspector.   This report will be required before a property owner is allowed to even list their property for sale.  This will be a very detailed report and will cost about 1,000 pounds (equivalent to nearly $2,000 US dollars).    It is estimated the country will need about 7500 inspectors to fulfill the need, but only 1600 inspectors have registered so there is a serious shortfall anticipated.  Obviously, this will slow down timely  property transfer closings. 

The SIP & HIP reports are anticipated to considerably increase the cost of doing business for the estate agents.  This will, obviously,  be passed directly to the sellers and buyers.   Melvyn anticipated he may need to increase his fees by 100% to cover the additional time and resources required to meet these new laws.   There will be an "introductory" period, starting next June, to phase in the implementation of these new requirements. 

One additional comment that Melvyn made that surprised me was that nearly 30% of  pending transactions fail before closing.   There is a multitude of reasons, obviously, but I got to thinking that the very age of many of the homes being sold could be a major consideration.   Under current ways of doing business, the home inspection is not done until after a Purchase and Sale Agreement is solidified.  Perhas when the Home Inspection Packet report is provided upfront, the number of failed sales will decrease.    This will allow the sellers to become aware of defects and correct them before entering into a sale agreement.  It will also give the buyers more assurance that they are not buying a home that has undisclosed problems.   In spite of the anticipated cost of  time and money, I tend to like this trends.     Without the benefit of scientific documentation, I often get the impression one of the reasons people want to sell their own home (For Sale By Owner) is that they don't feel compelled to make all the required disclosures.  Most of them don't even know what the required disclosures are.   This, however, is a topic for another day.

Those are my thoughts for now.    Watch for future reports on this subject.

Cheers from the olde country!
Carol

P.S.:  For a look at my personal blog, documenting our travels in England, please visit the mid October - early November archives at:
   www.TreeDoctor.blogspot.com

On Tuesday, I will be meeting with a local real estate agent, and will gather fodder for posting some local real estate information.

In the meantime, please go to my personal website where I have made several postings about our travels during the week we've been in England.


Cheers!
Carol

As some of you know, my husband & I will be traveling to England next week.   I'll be writing some articles for the Real Estate Blog Squad (a national consortium of  real estate bloggers and journalists), as well as posting pictures and information of our family adventures to my personal blog. 

Our base will be in Solihull, England, which is northwest of London a couple of hours.  

Anyway, thought you might like a map to refer to during our adventures. 

Cheers!
Carol

We arrived home safely yesterday, after our whirlwind trip to Cardston, Alberta.  We had a great time but, as always, very happy to be home.  

I'll try to get back on task with postings of pertinent Wenatchee real estate news, info and trends.  

Have a wonderful week-end,
Carol