Real Life "Up" House Is Having A Hard Time Getting Off The Ground

The 100+ year old bungalow style home previously owned by Edith Macefield, who turned down a $1 Million offer to sell her home to developers in Ballard is running into a few issues reaching new heights. The current owners want to raise the home to be 5 stories tall. To fund the project they are selling tiles between $250 and $1,000 but have had limited interest. The tiles would be displayed in the new building and would feature the purchasers name and credo. "Credo Square" as it is called would be open to the public during business hours and feature many plants and water features. Only a few tiles have been sold so the current owners are looking for additional funding from traditional lending institutions and private investors. Learn more about Edith's story here, the current project here and here.

Would you turn down a $1 Million offer like Edith? What do you think of the current plans for the home? What is your credo?

2010 March Housing Numbers Are Out: Pending Home Sales Up

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service: "Brokers Report Signs of Improvement in “Real-time” Housing Market" Click here to see the full press release.


Here are some key points:
Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported strong gains in home sales during February, with brokers pointing to several encouraging signs for a busy spring season. Improving consumer confidence and a looming deadline for homebuyer tax credits are helping to boost activity, according to NWMLS officials.


Pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) jumped nearly 45 percent last month compared to a year ago, marking the 11th straight month of month-over-month increases. Twelve of the 21 counties in the MLS market area reported double-digit gains in pending sales, led by San Juan County (up 85.7 percent), Snohomish County (up nearly 71 percent) and King County (up nearly 63 percent).

Closed sales also outperformed year-ago totals, rising 33.5 percent. Members tallied 3,214 completed transactions last month, up from the 2,407 closed sales for February 2009.


Prices, while showing signs of stabilizing, still lagged year-ago figures. Area-wide, the median price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) was $260,000, down about 6.5 percent from a year ago. The median price for single family homes (excluding condos) dipped 4.6 percent, while condo prices declined nearly 9 percent.

The report referenced above is for the whole of the NWMLS. Let's take a closer look at Pierce and King Counties shall we? I am a visual guy so I included a few charts.


Pierce County has seen recent increases in listings, sales, pending sales and sales price. But year over year numbers still show lower sales and listing prices keeping homes more affordable.


King County on the other hand has seen a recent increase in listings, sales, pending sales with listing prices still dropping and sales prices holding steady.


As always, if you have any questions or would like a detailed analysis on your home don't hesitate to email or call. Also, if you know someone who would find this information valuable please put them in contact with me. Have a great day!

Forbes: "No Double-Dip For Housing"

There has been many economist that believe the recent gains in the housing market will be followed with another test of the bottom. However, Forbes recently posted an article that makes a good case for a different kind of recovery. I'm more inclined to believe that we will see a small slow down after the expiration of the Tax Credit and then we will start the recovery that this article describes. What do you think?

Easter Egg Hunts And Activities

Although it will be a bit damp this weekend an Easter Egg Hunt is fun for the whole family no matter the weather.


Follow these links to view lists of Easter Egg Hunts in the local area:
Greater Tacoma Area 
Sumner/Bonney Lake
South Hill Mall