King County Sales Stats for March 2008.

King County homes sales dropped 46% in March '08 compared to March '07.

March Sales: 1,277 in '08

                    2,358 in '07.

Median Home Price in March is down 5% from $450,000 in '07 to $425,500 in '08. 

YTD (Year to date) Sales Jan '08 thru March '08 are down 41% from '07.

YTD Sales: 3,467 in '08

                 5,840 in '07

YTD Median Home Price is down 3% from $440,000 in '07 to $427,250.

For the Real Estate/Seahawk fans:

As everyone may know, Shaun Alexander was cut on Tuesday and all I have to say is "good ridden's". In the world of NFL running backs today your numbers drop, so do you. Do get me wrong, I have been a fan of Shaun for a long time. He is a great person and has done very well in his career but, the time came. The Seahawks finally made a good call. The signing of Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett just made the inevitable come true. "Good call, Tim". 

When one of my clients is about  purchase property the first thing I tell them is that they need to have funds available for a deposit. This is what is called an Earnest Money Deposit. It is a "good faith" deposit, not a down payment. A deposit showing that in good faith you are going to purchase the property. The amount of Earnest Money differs from house to house. If there is a lot of interest in a home,  a larger amount could give you more of an advantage . If not, a lower amount could work.

At the time of the offer, the Earnest Money check is given to me. If the offer is accepted, I deliver your check to the escrow holder, it is cashed and held until closing. 

At closing, the Earnest Money is credited to you, the buyer, against monies due as follows:

• Purchase Price:            $300,000
• Closing Costs:                   $8,000
• Due from buyer:           $308,000
• Less Earnest Money:        $5,000

Total Due from Buyer:           $303,000

When I think of Brio Realty my thoughts always go back to the actual definition of the word "brio". It is a noun and is a quality of being alive, active, spirited and vigorous. This is how we live in the Real Estate World. If you are not active you are not going to go anywhere or do anything.

Knowledge is Power!

We believe that knowledge should be spread fluidly and should be readily available to everyone.

Jonathon Washburn started Brio Realty in 2003.  He first started "WhyNotOwn.com" in the early 90s.  He created one of the very first web-based real estate sites on the Internet.  He also started ActiveRain and Localism, two of the best real estate resources available to agents and consumers alike.  Jonathan will always be our Fearless Leader.

I have been with Brio since September of 2005 and have been an agent since then as well. Having only worked for one agency in my career, I cannot say anything about any other agency but, Brio is clearly the best for me.  If someone was to go to our website, they would find great resources at their disposal. Our agents are knowledgeable, trustworthy and eager to help anyone from a current client, a past client or a referral.

Our Brokers are amazing!

ARDELL DellaLoggia is our Designated Broker in the Bellevue Headquarters office on NE 8th in Bellevue. She is a 15 plus year vet in the biz. She is very straight forward and tells it like it is. There is no messing around with her. Since, her start here she has made a huge impact with our agents and is making some real positive changes. I really enjoy working with her, and I have and will continue to learn a great deal from ARDELL.

Ryan Allie is the Managing Broker of Brio's Tacoma office. Having known him for about 11 years, I know he is a person that people can count on, for his great leadership skills. He has been with Brio since the beginning. Ryan started as an agent, and became a broker in 2006. He is a hard working, positive broker with a warm heart. When first joining the Brio team, he was kind enough to mentor me for the first few months. He definitely jump started my career and greatly contributed to my current success. 

Brio Realty offers a positive environment for agents and consumers alike. A place full of energy, compassion and friendship.

Brio Realty is the best place for me, Jeremy Keener.

I had a listing that was in desperate need of staging. My broker offered to help and this is what happened.

 Check it out:

 http://www.raincityguide.com/2007/10/07/do-it-yourself-home-staging-2/

It is definitely wise for a seller to stage there home when it is for sale. Since the changes there has been a lot more activity.