Bainbridge Island
Real Estate Listings
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Bainbridge Island
Real Estate News and Questions
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have once again begun offering "Premium Pricing," which is a way for a lender to charge you a higher interest rate but pay for some or literally all of your closing costs.For many months the "no cost" refi (a misnomer because the "cost" is a higher
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Bainbridge Home Sales Are Up Nearly 10 Percent Year-to-DateThe Northwest Multiple Listing Service says its members reported a 63 percent jump in pending sales during October compared to the same month a year ago, a gain many brokers attribute to the first-time buyer tax credit.
On Bainbridge Island, according to the
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Tax Credit Extended AND Expanded President Obama signed into law the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 that will extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit as well as offer a new tax credit up to $6,500 for current homeowners who buy a new primary residence. Estimates say
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When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac started offering "Premium Pricing" again -- is a way for a lender to charge you a higher interest rate but pay for closing costs -- the move also benefited those wanting to lower the rate on their rental property.
This move can benefit those that
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Edward and I have have just listed the most elegant and well designed coastal home on Pleasant Beach on Bainbridge Island. This home (www.PleasantBeachHome.com) is a new construction 4 bedroom gracious home with elements of turn of the century eastern coastal homes. The Builder, Gene Knox of Blue Fish was designer,
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We all know that Bainbridge Island was named after US Naval Hero, William Bainbridge (Captain of the USS Constitution)....BUT did you know there are five ships of the United States Navy that have been named Bainbridge, also named after William Bainbridge.â–ºThe USSBainbridge(1842), was a 12-gun brig commissioned in 1842 and lost
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One Call for All, a unique Bainbridge Island tradition, started almost 50 years ago when a few forward-thinking Islanders decided to combine the individual fund appeals of multiple organizations into one annual mail drive. Every Fall, Red Envelopes appear in our mailboxes and Islanders know this is the time to donate
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It seems that everyone I talk to asks how our Bainbridge real estate market is doing. Home sales have remained steady through September and October. Inventory fluctuated in the 250 active listings range with around 30 to 40 under contract for an average absorption rate of 16%. Not exactly the 28%
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Bainbridge Island residential properties were selling for an October median price of $492,000, about 6% lower than in September. The more stable three month moving average of closed sale price fell 8% from last month to $536,333 and is 12% lower than it was a year ago. Sales at the top
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I was chatting with Karl Buchmeier this week about insurance matters and asked him to share a story about why health insurance is valuable.
Last November Jim, a 42-year-old general contractor from Port Orchard, met with Karl to explore health insurance options. Jim had no coverage at all. He chose a
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Bainbridge Island residential properties were selling for an September median price of $592,000, about 11% lower than in August. The more stable three month moving average of closed sale price fell 17% from last month to $580,417 and is 2% lower than it was a year ago (recall that the median
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Condo rule changes from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as FHA are radically altering the condo lending landscape. Condos sales have been distressed and unfortunately, many of these changes are unlikely to help spur condo sales. But Realtors need to know about these changes if they are going
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Many homeowners who have been unable to sell their homes and take it off the market have been surprised by a lending rule when they go to refinance their home.It's called the "Time off Market" rule. Because of it, many lenders require the homeowner to wait for six months after their
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Slowly we turn, inch by inch . . . . Activity this week was less than last week, but ahead of this time last year. Average selling prices were higher. I expect activity to increase in the coming weeks as the deadline for first-time homebuyers approaches. If you are interested
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Bainbridge Island is not known for its affordable housing, so when something affordable comes on the market it's worth a look. This conveniently located rambler just came back on because the buyers lost their employment and couldn't follow through. If you are a first-time homebuyer (or know one), you can gain
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Lenders continue to tighten their rules and the latest salvo is that a credit report, which for years has had an expiration date of 120 days from the time it was pulled until the loan recorded has now been shortened to 90 days.
What can that mean for home buyers?
If
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FHA is the loan of choice for parents that want to help their kids buy their first home. Even if your son or daughter is in college and has no income, if you are on the loan with them, FHA will allow your income and assets to be used to qualify
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There are 30+ pending transactions currently and the Jumbo Fixed mortgage market is showing some signs of thawing. While we only had 20 single-family detached home sales in August according to the Peekmeister (aka Jim Peek at John L. Scott, one of my favorite data gurus) vs. 26 in August 2008,
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If you are looking for more good news in the real estate market, don't talk to local appraisers. They have a pretty dim view of the next few months. Appraisers are seeing more distressed properties coming across their desk and its making them a bit pessimistic about values. Just ask anyone
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Fannie Mae is making so many changes with their newest announcement that the link to the full document is listed below.Many of the changes will result in more paperwork for borrowers, but some guidelines are being radically altered, such as the one real estate columnist Ken Harney covered this weekend: no
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U.S. News & World Report placed the Bremerton-Silverdale area on its top ten list for the nation where home prices are expected to appreciate the most over the 10 years.
The news magazine predicts home prices will increase an average of 5.2 percent annually in the next decade.
Among the positive
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Nothing, except it's not a McMansion.
Here's a well-maintained rambler with a very large fenced yard in Bainbridge Island, a market not known for affordable homes. If you want to build equity in Bainbridge while you bus/ferry to downtown Seattle, here's your opportunity! Don't forget the $8000 tax credit for first-time
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Finally, it drives me nuts when I pick up the Seattle Times and they run a chart of "local lenders" and mortgage rates. First, there is not one major lender on this monthly list, just companies you have never heard of before. Second, the rates are a week old and mortgage
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If you threw away a recent "disclosure" notice from your credit card company thinking it was junk mail, you better check your interest rate online or in your next statement.Dozens of my customers -- many with nearly perfect credit -- have told me their interest rates have recently been raised, some
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