How Active is the Market for Real Estate in Vancouver Washington for the month of June 2009?
This early July morning we logged into the MLS for Vancouver to obtain a quick snap-shot view of what happened real estate wise within the confines of Vancouver, in Clark County Washington. Here is what we have to report:
From this snap-shop view we see an almost 30% higher number of Pending transactions compared to the number of SOLDS, as well as a modest decrease in the number of total Active listings available at the end of the month. This month the 3rd Party + PreForclosures + Foreclosures combined are about 29.5% of the Active homes listed (about 30% last month County-wide), yet they represent about 42.0% of the homes going under contract (about 45.1% last month County-wide).
Key items we are looking for in a market turnaround are not just an increase in the number of transactions but, an increase in the non-PreForeclosure / Foreclosure category. In our opinion we are starting to see very positive improvement in that direction!
If you are looking to sell your home in Clark County Washington in this challenging market time please call or e-mail us with the details of your situation and we'll customize a marketing plan to get your Clark County Home Sold!
------- Definitions: 1) 3rd Party = the sales contract requires the approval of a third party; and includes Short-Sales, Trust Sales, Relocation Company sales, etc. 2) PreForeclosures = aka Short-Sales are homes where the lending bank(s) agrees to take less, allowing a sales transaction to take place. 3) Foreclosures = aka REO's and Bank Owned Homes, already Foreclosed by the Lender(s). 4) PENDING = listed homes that have been marked as under contract by the listing agent during the past 30 days. 5) SOLD = listed homes that have been marked as closed sales by the listing agent in the past 30 days. Note: some of these sold homes may have been "pending sales" for far more than 30 days!
For more information, including videos on real estate and living in Vancouver Washington and the rest of Clark County, please visit:
How Active is the Market for Real Estate in Clark County Washington for the month of June 2009?
This early July morning we logged into the RMLS system to obtain a quick snap-shot view of what happened real estate wise within the confines of Clark County. Here is what we have to report:
From this snap-shop view we see an almost 10% increase in the number of Pending transactions over last month, as well as a modest decrease in the number of total Active listings available at the end of the month. This month the 3rd Party + PreForclosures + Foreclosures combined are about 29.4% of the Active homes listed (about 30% last month), yet are about 41.3% of the homes going under contract (abuot 45.1% last month).
Key items we are looking for in a market turnaround are not just an increase in the number of transactions but, an increase in the non-PreForeclosure / Foreclosure category. In our opinion we are starting to see very positive improvement in that direction!
If you are looking to sell your home in Clark County Washington in this challenging market time please call or e-mail us with the details of your situation and we'll customize a marketing plan to get your Clark County Home Sold!
------- Definitions: 1) 3rd Party = the sales contract requires the approval of a third party; and includes Short-Sales, Trust Sales, Relocation Company sales, etc. 2) PreForeclosures = aka Short-Sales are homes where the lending bank(s) agrees to take less, allowing a sales transaction to take place. 3) Foreclosures = aka REO's and Bank Owned Homes, already Foreclosed by the Lender(s). 4) PENDING = listed homes that have been marked as under contract by the listing agent during the past 30 days. 5) SOLD = listed homes that have been marked as closed sales by the listing agent in the past 30 days. Note: some of these sold homes may have been "pending sales" for far more than 30 days!
For more information, including videos on real estate and living in Vancouver Washington and the rest of Clark County, please visit:
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How Active is the Market for Real Estate in Vancouver and the rest of Clark County Washington in May 2009?
This early morning of June 1, 2009 we logged into the RMLS system to get a quick snap-shot of what happened in the Vancouver and surrounding real estate market scene. Here's what we found:
Listings Total 3rd Party* REO* ACTIVE 3,909 930 168 PENDING* 514 123 109 SOLD*. 321 59 73
On a Percentage Basis this works out as follows:
Listings Total 3rd Party* REO* ACTIVE 100% 23.8% 4.3% PENDING 100% 23.9% 21.2% SOLD*. 100% 18.4% 22.7%
From this snap-shot view we can see that volume of home buying has increased, and the transactions involving REOs and those requiring 3rd Party approval - combined are about 30% of the homes listed, yet are now only 45% of the properties going under contract. The message we see for both Buyers and Sellers of homes in Vancouver and Clark County is that motivated home shoppers are including all eligible properties, and not just those based solely on price! Call or e-mail us to see how your individual situation fits into the current market.
------- Definitions: 3rd Party = the sales contract requires the approval of a third party; and includes Short-Sales, Trust Sales, Relocation Company sales, etc. REO = Real Estate Owned, which means a Bank Owned Property. PENDING = listed homes that have been marked as under contract by the listing agent during the past 30 days. SOLD = listed homes that have been marked as closed sales by the listing agent in the past 30 days.
For more information, including videos on real estate and living in Vancouver Washington and the rest of Clark County, please visit:
Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden - A Day Trip from Vancouver Washington
This Memorial Day weekend 2009 our family chose to look for an activity where we could enjoy the great weather and drive a reasonably close distance from our home in Vancouver. The trip we selected was the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden in nearby SE Portland Oregon (here's a map from Vancouver to the Garden), which is located just to the west of the Reed College Campus.
According to the Portland City Parks and Recreation department, the 9.49 acre Garden was acquired in 1923, and grows a wide variety of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. Both plants are woody shrubs that can produce incredibly beautiful blooms in the month of May on the West (wet) side of the Cascade Mountains.
After paying the nominal entrance fee of $3 per adult, and free for 12 years old and younger, we made our way through the entrance gate, and a wonderful city retreat revealed itself to us. We quickly encountered a wide variety of azaleas and Rhodies still in bloom (although late in their season), inviting waterfalls and ponds, and also saw a large number of ducks and geese!
One of the attributes of these Rhodies you'll notice very soon is their tremendous size! Most of our common neighborhood rhodies in Vancouver and Portland are kept to a modest size (at least below the home's roof-line). The older rhodies at this garden are as large as a house!
With the close proximity to Vancouver WA, and to downtown Portland Oregon, this Garden is a fabulous member of the City of Portland's Parks, and well worth a trip most any time of the year to take a stroll and enjoy a fabulous garden experience. If you enjoy the flowering beauty of the springtime in the Pacific Northwest, the month of May is the prime-time to see the Crystal Springs Garden in Full Bloom!
Until our next trip!...
For more information, including videos on real estate and living in Vancouver Washington and the rest of Clark County, please visit:
The Day Vancouver Real Estate Moved!
(aka: Don't Let that House Fall On You!)
One typical Sunday afternoon in March, 2009, Vancouver RE/MAX agent
Kathryn Alexander was out showing homes in the Vancouver area. On the
way back home to the Felida area she found the roadway was blocked,
with utility crews from
Comcast,
Qwest and
Clark Public Utilities making temporary height
adjustments to their overhead lines -- not your typical drive home as
it turns out!
Since it was about a 3 mile to 5 mile detour to get back home from that
point, Kathryn parked the car to inquire about the strange activity.
The nearby crewman said a house was being moved from the north side of
Salmon Creek to the lot made ready for it on the south side! Wow!
Kathryn quickly called me (John Slocum) to get out to see the spectacle.
Grabbing my camera and cajoling our 12 year old lad to move quickly
(not an easy task in itself!) we got in the car and parked near the
main road that goes through Cougar Creek Canyon. Parking the van, this
is what unfolded before us:
While watching the arrival of the house to the lot prepared for it,
a Clark County Deputy Sheriff advised: "Be careful! Don't let the house
fall on you!" Kathryn was wondering why the Deputy would make a remark
to her like that (hmmm... maybe we need to re-watch the Wizard of Oz?!)
since we didn't see any nearby tornado brewing (that was last year in
January 2008!). Turns out that earlier in the journey along a steep
section of Seward Road one of home's sections did slide off its trailer!
Hope you enjoyed the movie. By the way, we're told the price of the
home was $1. The Cost to Move the Home: $80,000+!!!
Reporting on the moving real estate scene in Vancouver Washington, I'm
John Slocum.
For more information, including videos on real estate and living in
Vancouver Washington and the rest of Clark County, please visit:
What I learned from my Father about a Positive Attitude
My father served in WWII when at the tender age of 16, he changed his age
(easier back then to alter a birth certificate) and was enlisted in the US Army
and sent off to the war zone. He felt it was his duty to fight for his
country! His mother was terrified, as she had lost 2 other sons in the
war.
My father didn't do a job that most would write home about, he wasn't a
pilot, general, or captain...he was a private and his job wasn't glamorous
either, in fact it was probably the worst one of all...burying the dead.
When I was growing up we loved to hear his stories, although he was honest
about the situation and didn't "sugar coat" the reality of the situation, he
always found a way to switch to HUMOR so we wouldn't have negative images in our
heads. For example, he had a photos of his time in the service and NOT ONE
had anything scary or sickening...which I found amazing considering what he saw
every day! The pictures were priceless and humorous. My favorite was
a picture of an outhouse with a sign pointing to the "Ladies Room" and my father
and another young man pretending to go inside...after the ladies of course!
They were smiling as if going to a party!
Most of his pictures were just like that, joking around and poking fun at
himself or others...perhaps in an attempt to forget the reality of the
situation? Probably.
He had a way to always see the positive. When my mother announced that
she was pregnant for the 12th time my father said "Well, what's one more kid!"
and smiled! It mortified everyone else!
I am thankful that we don't hear bombs exploding in our neighborhoods, that
my 11 year old doesn't run around with a gun, that we can drive just about any
place and not worry about making it back home...alive and that our homes will
still be, in the same shape as when we left. I am thankful that I don't
know what it is like first-hand (and I hope I never will) to walk outside and
see bodies strewn among the ground. I am thankful for our Veterans, for
our military for keeping us SAFE and sparing us at home, the real reality of
what their "working worlds" deliver to them daily.
So when I hear the economy is going south and we're heading into a
recession...just imagine being a real estate agent in Iraq! We have it
easy here! Thanks Veterans and the US Military! And thanks Dad for
always making me laugh and teaching me about having a positive attitude.
My father passed away in 1982...I still miss him. - Kathryn
The Real Estate Market on the National and Local Vancouver Washington Scene
has seen mortgage rates go up about 0.7, while at least one major lender put a 90 day hold on new foreclosures. Here's
our Market Minute Report for the last day in October, 2008.
Press the Play button to view the brief real estate
video report.
Please call or write us if you have any questions or would like more information
on buying a home in Vancouver Washington during these uncertain market
conditions or, if you would like to know what it really takes to sell your home
in this market.
Vancouver Washington Sunday Tour of REO
properties
Did you remember that Daylight Savings Time is over?
Since we had an extra hour today, I searched the multiple listing service for a
list to preview and take advantage of this "extra hour". I found 7
properties to search through and all are REO's (bank owned homes). We
packed up the car, cheat sheets, soda, cards, and keys and headed out for our
"Sunday Adventure".
The Tree Frog: The first house was off a main
street and just under $200K, it was 30 years old with hardwoods, and un-even
tile that we kept tripping over. Apparently whomever installed it didn't
know how to level it! Each bedroom had a different bright color, Cobalt
Blue, Lime Green, Sunkist Orange...the bathroom had pink tile that was held into
place with a lot of duct tape. I named this house the "Tree
Frog" as it had so many bright colors, just like a tree frog!
Sad House: The next property was a flashback
those terms you learn when studying for your license you think you may never
use...like "functionally obsolete"...until you walk through one and the words
come popping up...as you are walking through scratching your head trying to
figure out why...and...what? What the heck is this room? This
house made me sad, truly. As I looked through it, the cold bit through to
my bones, the dark rooms took the words from my normal chatty mouth...half
packed boxes everywhere, black plastic garbage bags being filled, but not
completely...left on the carpets and tile...abandoned. The dark brown
liquid on the kitchen floor that was never cleaned up had dried into a large
stain on the tile. The garbage strewn all over, every room, as if a
tornado had hit the day before!
It was my son who pointed down on the carpet in one room,
two tiny little socks about 3" long lay on the carpets...his eyes met mine and
he said in almost a whisper "a little child lived here"...then as we walked
through the rest of the house, his questions kept coming "Why didn't they take
all their toys? Why would they leave their things here? Are you sure they
aren't here any more?"
It was sad to see, I hear so many negative comments about
homeowners of distressed properties, I don't even like to read them! I
explained to my son that we don't know what happened, it could have been
hundreds of reasons they had to leave quickly. I then imagined MYSELF
there and that's MY house...Why would I leave so quickly? Why would I
leave my child's toys, socks, books and abandon a house that clearly I had been
improving! There were improvements that were being done, a new bathroom,
new kitchen countertops. We both agreed at the same time that we also needed to
leave this house, we named it the Sad House for obvious reasons.
Freeway House: Then we found the Freeway
House! Wow, it was a completely remodeled house about $450K LESS than the
original list price and other than the location, it was a fabulous house!
Someone had put a lot of TLC into this baby, it was truly nice...inside.
Other than the freeway, which was right in front of the door...the noise was
deafening! We thought this would be a good house for a
musician with a band, as the freeway noise would drown out the music and the
neighbors would never hear it! (Maybe we should call it the Rock-Star-Ready
Jammin' House?)
Series of 3 Pet Houses: The next three were
the pet houses, all were built in in the last 5 years, all were filthy, had some
sort of STRONG pet odor, all needed paint and carpets DESPERATELY, just to
mention a few things and we could not get out of those houses fast enough.
There was the
Dog House, the
Cat House and the
Praying Mantis House; although the Praying Mantis house had the strongest
pet urine odor (probably from several pets and the carpets were torn to shreds),
it was the cool...due to the Large Praying Mantis on the slider that caught our
attention!
Light at The End of the Tunnel: The last
house on our list was another bank owned home for sale, but this one was truly
nice! Fresh paint, new carpets, it was the light at the end of the tunnel!
It's how the other houses will probably look AFTER someone puts some TLC back
into them! It was the perfect ending to our tour and we couldn't have
planned it better.
I don't know about you, but I will be so thankful when
the bank owned homes, foreclosures and short-sale homes are no longer on the
market! I miss the days when previewing homes was happy and pleasant; the
majority were clean with nice furnishings and the smell of cinnamon and vanilla
lingered in the air!
What They Haven't Told You About
Short-Sale Homes vs. Bank Owned Homes
The number of homes coming onto the market has increased of late in the
Vancouver WA and Camas areas that are in the Bank Owned and Short-Sale
categories. We've fielded many inquiries from clients as to what are
the differences between purchasing the two types of homes and what is the
better deal. (...and YES, there are BIG Differences).
Let's start with some of the similarities: in each case
the home itself has likely had some exposure to the financial hardship, often
causing deferred maintenance issues and perhaps some utility company liens to be
present. In the worst cases there may be missing fixtures or other
damage(s); for whatever reason, that you'll want to attend to. In both
cases these homes are usually sold in AS-IS Condition.
Having YOUR Financing in order prior to viewing these homes and writing
an offer is also critical. There are currently many great programs
available, even loans for homes that require immediate TLC!
When writing a purchase and sale agreement for one of these homes, there will
also be a "Bank" (mortgage lender) involved HOWEVER, here's where the process
becomes very different.
Let's start with the easiest one to explain, the Bank Owned Home or, sometimes
known as an REO = Real Estate Owned (as the Accountant at the Bank knows it).
This piece of real estate has already been through
Foreclosure
and Auctioned at the Clark County Courthouse Steps. The Bank has bid up
the price on the home, and eventually outbid other Cash Investors at the action
and now expects to sell the home on the open market. Offers made now on
such homes are usually reviewed and responded to in about two business days.
Once an offer is agreed to, Closing and possession has occurred in as little as
a week and a half in our office!
The Short-Sale purchase is very much different with respect to the offer and
acceptance process. Here there may be two or three banks involved,
covering the First Mortgage; Second Mortgage, and sometimes the Equity Line of
Credit Loan! To get all these entities to agree on a price, and which one
of the banks to take the biggest Hit is a time-consuming and less-than-certain
process. An offer on a short-sale usually takes weeks to get an approval
-- and may never get approved.
Additionally with short-sales there may be several
competing offers or back-up offers that the Banks love to see (the Bank wants
the highest sales price possible). In these situations there can be
another long time factor in revising upward offers until the highest accepted
offer wins.
Finally, if the Bank (or, one of the banks) declares times-up and schedules a
Foreclosure Auction, and the time of the auction is less than 20 days, the
short-sale will probably fail as there is insufficient time to safely Close the
transaction.
To briefly sum it up, a Bank Owned Home can be purchased rather quickly with
reasonable certainty; while the Short-Sale property usually has much
uncertainty. Thus, as real estate agents in the Vancouver WA and Camas
markets we recommend home shoppers to look at Bank Owned Homes, and prefer the
Investing property shopper to look at both.
There are very few search parameters we Realtors can use in the RMLS system to
identify bank owned homes. However, we've created a list of about a dozen
fine homes, mostly bank owned homes for you to view at:
Bank Owned Homes in Vancouver WA.
If you have any questions or interest in Bank Owned Homes in Camas or Vancouver
WA please contact us right away!
Vancouver Washington Real Estate and Home Information Resource for home owners,
home sellers and home buyers in Vancouver Washington. We also cover other Clark County Washington areas including
Camas, Battle Ground, Ridgefield, Brush Prairie, La Center and Washougal.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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