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2008 August | Maple Valley WA

Monthly Archives: August 2008

Cedar Downs Market Report

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Cedar Downs Market Report

The following market report is for the Cedar Downs Neighborhood (Div 1-5 & 7) and reflects only single family homes listed and sold through NWMLS. Townhomes and Condos at Cedar Downs Village have not been included in these numbers: Active Listings: 2 Average List Price: $583,250 Average Days on Market: 78 Expired Listings: 1 Average List Price: $568,000 Average Days on Market 54 Sold TYD: 3 Average Sales Price: $455,000 Average Days on Market 63 Cedar Downs Neighborhood Snapshot Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. .She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400 Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser

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‘Twas the Week Before School Starts….

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And I imgine there are a few frantic parents (and kids) wondering “where did the Summer go?”. I for one am wondering “why did Summer never arrive?” But weather woes aside, the two and 1/2 months of vacation have nearly come to an end for students of the Tahoma School district. Bus schedules should come out in this week’s Voice of the Valley. I called the district last week and was told they would be published in last week’s edition, but only Enumclaw times and stops were listed. Hopefully one day the district will be able to post this information on their website. In the meantime, I’ll keep a copy on hand. If you need any information about stops and times, feel free to email me and I’ll send the information out. (Update. I found out the district does have transportation schedules online. Here you go! This is the first September in 16 years that I haven’t been scrambling to buy school supplies, back packs, shoes and the latest “cool” clothes. My youngest son graduated from Tahoma Sr. High in June, so I’m officially finished with primary education, however that doesn’t mean you won’t see me around. My husband and

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Maple Valley…By the Numbers

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Maple Valley…By the Numbers

I love stats, which is a bit odd because Math wasn’t my favorite subject in school. When using statistics in analyzing and following real estate trends and market conditions, there will obviously be variables involved. For instance, I define the Maple Market as being comprised of the area falling within the Tahoma School District boundaries. Others may use the Maple Valley zip code, or stay within the City limits.  I like to see what statistics others are compiling and how they compare to my own.  The other day when I received a Neighborhood Profile of Maple Valley the other day from The Talon Group (A division of First American Title). Most likely these numbers were compiled using Metro Scan. There were some interesting categories which I don’t track so  I thought I’d share: Assessed Values: 40% of Homes in Maple Valley are assessed between 200,000 and 300,000 and the second highest group, at 29% were assessed between 300,000 an 400,000. Owner Occupancy: Approximately 81% of homes in the area are owner occupied. Age of Homes: A whopping 59% of homes in Maple Valley were built between 1990-present. The one area my numbers differer from The Talon Group’s source is in number of sales: 2006: Talon: 942  ME:

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Dog Days of Summer Not Stopping Sales

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Dog Days of Summer Not Stopping Sales

The phrase Dog Days of Summer is used in reference to the hottest days of the year; which typically here in the greater Seattle area would be right now….but I’m wearing a sweater today, go figure! August is also typically a slower time in our market, as many agents and would-be home buyers are squeezing in last minute vacations. But if there is one thing we know about the ’08 market is that there is nothing typical about it! August has been my busiest month of the entire year and judging from pending sales in Maple Valley since the first of August, I’m not the only one! As of 8/1/08, 30 Single Family homes have gone under contract. Some of these sales will close in August, others in Sept or beyond. But I think it will be interesting to start tracking these numbers more closely from this point forward given that the Maple Valley market began it’s downward trend last August. Only time will tell if things are truly picking up or if this is an isolated flurry just prior to the start of school. Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been

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Higher Priced Home Sellers May Need an Extra Dose of Patience

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Higher Priced Home Sellers May Need an Extra Dose of Patience

Home Sellers with properties priced at or above $700,000 may need to come to terms with the fact it may many many months (even a year or more) to sell their high-end property. I’m basing this on current NWMLS statistics for Single Family homes in the Maple Valley/Covington area. Currently there are 74 active listings on the market which have an offered price of $700k or more. There are 0 (ZERO) pending sales in escrow, and 8 which have sold and closed within the last six months. Assuming no new inventory came on the market and the sales pace remains the same, we should have approximately 16 closed sales within a 12 month period of time. Given the inventory of active listings, it would take approximately 4.6 years to have those 74 Active listings sold & closed. It’s tough when there aren’t many buyers in the market for what you have to sell. A common saying in real estate is “price or time”. If you’re willing to wait, you’re more likely to get your price and if you’re willing to be more aggressive on price it will take less time. Either way, in a market where supply significantly outnumbers demand,

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Thank You!

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Thank You!

I was recently notified that for the 3rd year in a row I have been named as a 5 Star Real Estate Professional by Crescendo Marketing Services. The ratings are based on information gathered by Crescendo from recent home buyers, title & mortgage companies as well as subscribers of metro publications. After being nominated, each professional’s license is verified to be active and free of disciplinary actions. Finally a blue ribbon committee reviews the list of nominees and has veto power if it is felt any are undeserving. ‘ The list will be published in the December issue of Seattle Magazine. I don’t know how many of us in the Maple Valley area were named to the list so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. But to those of you who were kind enough to nominate me…Thank You!

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Are Builders Still Winning on Price?

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Are Builders Still Winning on Price?

Seven months ago, at the tail end of ’07 I wrote on my Active Rain blog about New Construction pricing versus resale Homes in the Maple Valley market. At that time, buyers were able to get more home for their money with a brand new home than with one much older (and probably more worn). At that time a buyer in the 300,000-400,000 range could get a larger home (2341 sq. ft on average for new vs. 2092 for resale) for less money. I thought it would be interesting to revisit this and see how prices and inventory have adapted to the prolonged market softening and whether New Construction still seemed to be the better buy. Resale homes in this range have an average list price of $356,692 and an average square footage of 2039. This equates to a price per square foot of $174.93 New homes on the other hand have roughly the same average List price ($356 154), but are slightly larger with an average square footage of 2382. This equates to a price per square foot of $149.50.    Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce

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Maple Valley Photo Op….Gotta LOVE It!

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Maple Valley Photo Op….Gotta LOVE It!

On the way home from the office this evening, I stopped by the Maple Valley Market to pick up a few things for dinner. This is the sight that greeted me: Old school meets new(er) school. Welcome to Life South East of Seattle! Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990 but specializes in the Maple Valley Washington area. .She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400 Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser

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