​Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes:
Saturday April 2nd, from 9am-12pm (ish)
       Marshall Community Center, conference room
       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)

Saturday, April 16th, from 12pm-3pm (ish)
        Vancouver YMCA, conference room
        11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave)

Monday night, April 18th , from 5pm-8pm (ish)
       Marshall Community Center, conference room
       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)

Saturday April 30th, from 10am-1pm (ish)
       Marshall Community Center, conference room
       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)

If these class dates and/or times don't work for you, please let us know.  We understand that you have lives, and families, and work.  We will work something out that works better with your schedule.  Just let us know....                                                                                  
....we also have home seller classes available too...link on left on website
                  
Remember...with reservation...we will throw in lunch, or dinner!  :-D
~~~~~~~~~

Happy Spring!!

  So, this week I received an email from a client asking about a 'crash coming'?  I've also have a couple of other clients...both buying and selling... who are asking me the same?  I thought that it might be a good time to address this concern, so please...bear with me here.  This is a hard market right now...for everyone. For those of you friends with me on Facebook, you might have seen some of my recent comments.  There are a lot of offers on home, but only one wins...and nothing sucks more than having to call your client to say that theirs wasn't the offer accepted.  Even when an agent is working for the seller, it is tough... how do you really know what offer is the best one? (Please see last weeks blog for more on that)  So, what is my opinion about a crash coming?

I have been a licensed real estate broker for just a bit over 11 years now...and I worked with a builder for 2+ years prior to that... so over 13 years in total in the real estate industry.   :-)  There are mixed feelings in the industry right now regarding a crash...  and here's why.  In some aspects it is very similar to the boon of 2004-2006, but there are some differences as well.  
The biggest similarity that people see are that homes are selling very quickly with multiple offers and for higher than listing price.  Honestly though that has been happening for 2 years now as the low interest rates, and the (then) lower home prices were bringing buyers back into the market as the economy recovered from the Great Recission.  The difference really is that this is very pronounced, and more extreme this year as home prices have surged in this past year.  There are a couple of reasons for that...

 We do usually start seeing an increase in homes for sale in the spring months as people prepare to sell when the flowers are in bloom (and their curb appeal increases) and with the plan of purchasing their next home(s) between school years.   This will help ease our current super low home inventory, that is in part, driving up those home prices.  Did you know that per the Vancouver Housing Authority, the vacancy rate in Clark County is 1.87%?  That is crazy...and explains the increase in your rental rates....it also explains the surge of homebuyers that we are seeing right now in the real estate market.  If your rent is $1500, or more...that is a mortgage payment!  A lot of landlords will also be selling their rentals because the market is high.  Some homeowners who want to sell are also concerned with not being able to find a home to buy because the market is a 'bit' crazy right now, so they are holding off on listing their homes because of that. 
  Due to the lack of homes for sale, builders are ramping up their building to compensate...but...The cost of land is astronomically high, which is pushing the cost of building up, so while the builders are building a LOT Of homes, they aren't in the most desirable price range of $250,000 and under.  The county is just now (in the past 6 months-year) opening up land for builders to purchase and build on, but again, at the cost of land, this isn't going to help those in the first time home buying bracket too much.  What this does do though, is help those home owners who want to 'move up'.  This means that they will sell their homes (in that first time home buying bracket) as they move up to that newer/more expensive/bigger/etc home. Not surprisingly, it is currently cheaper to buy an already existing home than it is to build one brand new.  The demand for homes is there, but it's (only) my opinion that many builders are going to exploit that.  This also ties into the county and the last crash... when the market crashed a lot of builders (including the one I used to work for) had a whole bunch of land in their inventory to build on, and no one was buying.  When the market crashed a lot of builders ended up dumping that land and going into bankruptcy.  When this happened, the county put a moratorium on land and building.  This is why the small lots have been so plentiful lately...because that is all the county would allow for building.  The county should have started to release land for building, economically speaking, back in late 2014, or early 2015.   So, builders building will start helping the market to have more homes available for buyers...which will help that low inventory I just talked about.  I have been told as well by some of my bank friends that the banks will start unloading some of their 'shadow inventory' in the next year or so...and that will help with housing inventory as well.  

  So, what about interest rates, and home prices?  It is an election year, and historically speaking, 'they' don't like to 'rock the boat' too much during election years.  Historically speaking, election years stay pretty 'status quo'.  What this means is that while we do expect 'some' fluctuation in interest rates it shouldn't be too much.  Please remember though that I DO NOT have a crystal ball so this is all just speculation based on past experiences, market statistics, hearsay from others in the economic world, and a smattering of history.  I honestly don't know what will happen....but like you, I am just along for the ride.  'We' are expecting interest rates to increase though, and 'think' that we will start seeing some serious increases either after the election is over, or after the new president (whoever that is) comes into office.  Again though...interest rates should have started inching up when the market started looking healthier in 2014.  It's all about balance, but of course they didn't because they didn't want to slow down the housing industry.  A LOT of people are employed by, and because of the housing industry.  While again, historically speaking, we don't expect interest rates to do too much this year, "we" do expect to see significant jumps in the interest rates next year, and a lot of people are trying to buy now to tie into those really low interest rates.

   Home prices are expected to steadily rise due to the high demand and low supply.  I am hoping it won't jump in increases as much as it did last year though.  We saw the highest increase in home values during 2013-2014,  as the bottom of the market was really 2012, and this past year, 2015.  

So, what is driving this?  Interest rates, expectation that they will rise next year (we are hearing that they expect to be about 5% by the end of next year), low inventory of homes for sale, land just now being opened for building, low vacancy rate for rentals (50% of clark county is actually rentals), folks who can sell waiting to see if the market will increase even more, and of course the fact that the Vancouver/Portland metro area is still one of the fastest growing areas in the country.  Ridgefield is, in fact, the fastest growing city in the state.  
, 
So what do I expect to happen?  I think interest rates are going to rise and I think that will slow down the housing market a bit as folks won't be able to buy as much house.  Homeowners who have been thinking about selling will see that prices aren't jumping as much so they will put their homes on the market..which will help inventory.  Banks will release shadow inventory more as they see the way the market is going as well.  Buyers however won't be out in the droves they are now so that will stagnate the market a bit....balancing it out.  Prices might inch down some, but that is an unknown... it really depends on the buyers that are out there. As crazy as it seems, the housing market is really driven by you...buyers and sellers.   
The housing market really goes with the level of confidence that people have in the economy and in the elected officials.  Right now people are getting in while the getting is still good because we have NO idea what will happen in the next 4 years...depending on who gets elected.  

Is there a crash coming?  I don't know...  there are similarities, but there are also a lot more differences than the last crash.  Do I think a 'balancing' is coming? Yes.  The market has to balance out to continue healthy growth because this past year has been ridiculous!  It's also bringing out the worst types of realtors and lenders into the market again... :-(

I know...no real answer here, and I'm not an economist, or an elected official... or a soothsayer.  My crystal ball shows me nothing but dust bunnies...that I really should be cleaning up before they band together and take over my house!  All I can report is what I know and what I'm being told by those who have a higher pay grade than myself.  :-)
 
   One last thing you need to remember is that a real estate agent is not a sales person.  It is not our job to 'sell' you anything.  We are assistants,  advisers , guidance, and help.  You should not feel as if your agent is trying to sell you a home, or anything else, our job should be to help you in getting the home you want.  This being said remember that you do not get T-Bone steaks for the price of hamburger...Look ONLY at homes within your budget.  ALWAYS ask questions, and expect answers without a lot of lingo.  I was always told that if you can't explain something in a way that the other person can understand clearly, it is because you don't understand it yourself.  :-)
  
        Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you.  Good luck, and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there....  AND If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.                                                                       
 
    As always....this is just a quick overview.... please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU.  You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals.  Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure.  The goal is to be informative and non-promotional.  :-)  We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.  

If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard...or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email,  text, or facebook me anytime.  I am, as always, happy to help!
 
Thank you again for your business and your referrals!!  ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers. 
 
 .   ..disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings... 
 
 
Upcoming Topics:  Septic vs Sewer
Last Week:  Multiple offers...how can you make YOUR offer stand out??


Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,   
;-D   
Tracie DeMars   
Real Estate broker    
Re/Max - Van Mall   
360/ 903-3504 cell   
360/ 882-3600 fax   
www.traciedemars.com   
traciedemars@aol.com   
    
“Interested in free and non promotional home education classes?  Go to www.freehomebuyerclasses.com for local upcoming home buyer and home SELLER classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog.”
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."    
   - Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999).

Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes:

Saturday March 12th , from 9am-12pm (ish)       Marshall Community Center, conference room
       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)

Thursday night, March 17th , from 5pm-8pm (ish)
       Marshall Community Center, conference room
       1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)

Saturday, March 19th, from 11am-2pm (ish)
        Vancouver YMCA, conference room
        11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave)

If these class dates and/or times don't work for you, please let us know.  We understand that you have lives, and families, and work.  We will work something out that works better with your schedule.  Just let us know....                                                                                  
....we also have home seller classes available too...link on left on website
                  
Remember...with reservation...we will throw in lunch, or dinner!  :-D
~~~~~~~~~

Hello there!!  :-)

 Welcome to (almost) Spring!  Where the weather is bi-polar, and so is the housing market!  The time of allergies, fast growing grass, homes that fly off the market, weather that is sunny once second & thundering the next, and just for kicks...let's throw in hail, and rainbows too!  Know what I love best about spring....beside the daffodils?  The rainbows because it reminds us that there is always beauty after a storm, cheerful yellow flowers after a winter, and good things to come.  :-)  Unfortunately, spring is also the time of scams in real estate.... this is the time to be aware...if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  Always feel free to ask your agent questions about something you see.  Let's start off where we see most of the scams....looking for homes....

So, where do you go to look for homes?  Trulia?  Redfin?  Zillow?  Craigslist?  If you do, then you should know that all of these sites are marketing sites.  They pull their information from one site, and often the information on these sites are incorrect, or out of date.  For example, last year spring I listed a really cute home up in the Heights area close to SW Hospital.  The sellers are clients of mine, and I helped them buy the home 7 years ago.  They had just gotten married, and needed a 'starter' home.  This was that home, but now my clients had a toddler, and another on the way, so it was time to sell their 'starter' home and buy the next one.  We put their home on the market, and within 24 hours I was getting phone calls asking if it was for rent.  I was confused..."No, I am sorry.  This home is for sale.  Where did you hear it was for rent?"  Trulia....withing 24 hours of me listing the home, some guy had 'stolen' the pictures and put it on Trulia as a rental.  :-(  I contacted Trulia 3 times asking them to remove it....no answer.  Then I had another call for this home as a rental, this poor couple had actually contacted the person, and this guy had asked to meet somewhere to sign some paperwork, and put down a deposit for the home.  They drove by the home, saw the 'for sale' sign, and called me about it.  This couple was nice enough to forward me the emails this scam artist had sent them so I was able to email this guy telling him to 'cease and desist'.  Not surprisingly, it was shortly removed from Trulia.  Sadly, for many of these so called 'find a home' sites...this is pretty common.  A lot of the information is wrong, incorrect, and not up to date at all.  These sites pull their information from the actual site agents really use. So, let's skip the  middle-man, and go to the site that the agents actually use....RMLS.COM.  Rmls stands for 'Regional Multiple Listing Service.  In the Clark County, lower Cowlitz county you will find homes on the rmls.com.  In Seattle area it is a different mls.  The rmls.com is owned by agents, and when an agent writes up a listing agreement with a seller that agent has a limited amount of time to put that home on the rmls.com.  If the agent receives an offer that gets accepted, and signed around, that same agent has a limited time to take that home off the market.  So, if you go on the rmls.com what do the status's mean?


Active (ACT)...this home is active, and currently available on the market.  This means that the home is available to be shown by your buyers agent.  The agents information that is on the rmls for this home will be the sellers agent and is hired by the seller to represent them....not you.  Call your buyers agent for information on this home.  Your agent will be happy to set up an appointment for you to see this home, and get as much information as they can, on this home for you.  This information may also include asking if there are any other offers on this home.  Active means that the home doesn't have any accepted and signed around offers on it.  There may have been an offer, or maybe an offer that is in counteroffer status, but not accepted yet.  

Bumpable (BMP)... This home is a grey area...it IS still available for showings and offers, but (and this is a big BUT) there is an offer on the home that has been accepted.  The current accepted offer is 'contingent' on something happening first...usually on the buyers getting an accepted offer on a home they have for sale.  This is a 'domino' deal.  You can see it, and make an offer (if you want).  The seller then has to go to the current buyer and they have the choice to either remove their contingency and go forward, or back out.  If the current buyer chooses to go forward and remove their contingency then the home will go to pending and you need to move to the next house.  If the current buyer chooses to back out, then the seller has the right to either accept your offer, or counteroffer your offer.  

Pending (PEN)...  This means that the home you are looking at has a fully signed around and accepted offer on the home.  Legally, per rmls rules and regulations, we are not supposed to show pending homes to a client.  A pending home is no longer available....  Now, even though the home is pending sale, there will still be a sign in the yard.  The 'for sale' sign is marketing, and won't be taken down until after the deal is closed, and the new owners get their keys.  So yes, the 'for sale' sign might still be there, but if the home has an accepted offer on it, the home is considered Pending Sale, and we are not supposed to show it to another prospective buyer.  

Short Sale Pending (SSP)... This home is a short sale where the seller has a 'working offer' on it to the bank.  The seller received an offer, it has been signed around and seller accepted and has been submitted to the bank for their approval,or decline.  In a short sale, the seller no longer has the right to sell their home, only the bank can accept, negotiate, or decline the offer.  This can take anywhere between 6-9 months...or longer.  The bank does not have to negotiate or accept any offer as the bank can just send the home to foreclosure.  The listing price doesn't mean anything because the bank has not accepted that price.  Short sales are like gambling...


Sellers Market... we are very strongly in a sellers market where we have more buyers on the market than we have homes on the market.  Please expect multiple offers on some homes.  Please expect the sellers to counter your offer.  An offer is written by the buyers agent to/for the best advantage for the buyer.  The seller (and the sellers agent) will look at that offer, and if it is acceptable they will sign it around.  Most times the seller will want to negotiate a couple of items...it could be price, it could be closing date, it could be closing costs, or any number of things...maybe they want to exclude some items from the sell of the home that may otherwise be included....  Most of the offers I am making with my clients are receiving counteroffers, and sometimes my clients accept the sellers counter, or sometimes we counter their counteroffer.  Anytime we are in an offer/counteroffer situation though anyone else can make an offer and yes, the seller can accept the other offer.  A home isn't pending until both parties have agreed, signed, and the buyers and sellers agent have the paperwork.  In real estate we have a very important phrase....Time is of the Essence.  This means that everything is time related and contingent upon time.  This is difficult for folks who need/want some time to talk about and discuss things.  The market is moving fast.....faster than is comfortable for most people.  However, please remember that this will be your home, and you need to be comfortable, and happy with it.  No one else is paying the mortgage but you.  :-)  The offer/negotiation process can be frustrating, tense, stressful, and a bit scary....it can also be exciting, nerve-wracking, and fun.  LOL :-D  I guess it is a lot like the rest of the home buying (or even selling) adventure...  a lot like a roller coaster, or driving down Mill Plain. 

    As your agent, I will do everything I can to make it as smooth a process as I possibly can.  Most agents will do all we can to help our clients have as smooth an experience as possible.  There are a lot of other folks involved in the adventure though, so I am going to hope everyone wants to play nice in the sandbox, but it isn't always the case.  There are 28 people involved in the purchase/sale of a home...TWENTY-EIGHT!  You will only see 4 usually....your agent, your lender, the inspector, and the title person.  Most of these people are on your side, but there will be some you aren't.  Your team will do everything they can to help you achieve your goal of KEYS, so hire the team that works best for you.  :-)  Sometimes we can get into a home the same day, but in most cases, 24 hours or an appointment works best.  Right now we have a lot of homes for sale that are owner occupied, and with the market the way it is, a lot of sellers agents are holding off on looking at offers until the home has been on the market for a couple of days.  Every home is different though... and that is what your buyers agent is here for...to help you navigate it all.  

   One last thing you need to remember is that a real estate agent is not a sales person.  It is not our job to 'sell' you anything.  We are assistants,  advisers , guidance, and help.  You should not feel as if your agent is trying to sell you a home, or anything else, our job should be to help you in getting the home you want.  This being said remember that you do not get T-Bone steaks for the price of hamburger...Look ONLY at homes within your budget.  ALWAYS ask questions, and expect answers without a lot of lingo.  I was always told that if you can't explain something in a way that the other person can understand clearly, it is because you don't understand it yourself.  :-)
  
        Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you.  Good luck, and as always...May the odds be ever in your favor out there....  AND If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.                                                                       

 
    As always....this is just a quick overview.... please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU.  You drive the bus...we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals.  Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure.  The goal is to be informative and non-promotional.  :-)  We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.  

If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard...or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email,  text, or facebook me anytime.  I am, as always, happy to help!
 
Thank you again for your business and your referrals!!  ...and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers. 
 
 .   ..disclaimer...if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings... 
 
 
Upcoming Topics:  Septic vs Sewer? 
                Buyer love letters?  How do you make your offer stand out?
                        

Last Week:  Inspections... what you need to know, and what to ask


Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,   
;-D   
Tracie DeMars   
Real Estate broker    
Re/Max - Van Mall   
360/ 903-3504 cell   
360/ 882-3600 fax   
www.traciedemars.com   
traciedemars@aol.com   
    
“Interested in free and non promotional home buyer classes?  Go to www.traciedemars.com  for local upcoming classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate for my home buyer education blog.  Classes are now available for home owners thinking about selling their home.  Links are on the left."

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be."    
   - Shel Silverstein, American poet, cartoonist and composer, (1930 - 1999).
​