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Colleen’s Blog | Maple Valley WA

Colleen’s Blog

Moving to Seattle? | Check out Maple Valley

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Moving to Seattle? | Check out Maple Valley

In 1987, my husband and I elected to relocate our family from the Mid-West to the greater Seattle area. My parents lived here at the time, and after several visits we felt pulled to the area; the climate, economic opportunites and overall quality of life were bold “check” marks in the Pros (vs. Cons) column. Coming from a lower priced market to a higher priced market, with one son and one on the way, we were more sensitive to the cost of housing than proximity to Metro areas. My husband was willing to sacrifice his time with  a 45 minute commute (each way) to Seattle, if it meant we could have a comparable home in an area we could comfortably afford. We did not originally move to Maple Valley.   Seven years later, after having been in the real estate field for 4 years, I began to hear a recurring theme from people I met….”We’d like to move, but we will NOT leave the Tahoma School District”. At this time, we now had three sons and were not only concerned about schools, but were interested in becoming a part of strong community. Fast forward 17 years….my three boys have graduated and my husband and I are

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What’s Your 1st Time Home Buyer Story?

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What’s Your 1st Time Home Buyer Story?

Unbelievably low interest rates are bringing the idea of home ownership to the minds of many first timers. Awhile back, I published a post about  the first time home buying process my husband I experienced. If you or someone you know has recently bought as a first time owner, I’d love to hear your story! In the meantime, here’s a repost of my story: (originally published March, 2009) A young couple, she rents an apartment while finishing college, he still lives at home. The wedding is 6 months away. They want to buy a home; their first together. They don’t see themselves living in someone else’s home. They want to create “their own place”, be able to paint and knock out walls and have a dog without restrictions. They are young. She is 21 and he is 24. They don’t know much about the process, only that they want to own their own home. They meet with their Realtor who tells them they can’t afford much and that their price range is pretty competitve. There isn’t much available unless they are willing to look in a few areas where they absolutely cannot see themselves living. They share this with their

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It’s Baaaack!

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After some back and forth and tweaking and reorganizing, I finally decided to move my photos back over to the MapleValleyPhotos.com website. Sorry for the ping-pong. I hope you’ll continue to find both sites helpful and interesting. Comments are always welcome!

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Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

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Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

This beautiful home on 2.4 acres in Maple Valley has a new owner as of today. Selling at a very competitive price of $334,95o. I represented the sellers, wonderful people who unfortunately were riding the crest of the market during it’s downturn. Thank you to Nina Matheison of Prudential Northwest for a very smooth cross sale, and to Northpoint Escrow for a great closing experience. I wish the new owner many years of happy memories in this wonderful home.

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Is It Time for Homebuyers to Jump Off That Fence?

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Is It Time for Homebuyers to Jump Off That Fence?

The real estate industry as a whole has been notorious for looking over it’s shoulder. We value appraised prices on past sales and analysts look to historical trends to predict future markets. However in these unprecedented times, that practice may not be the wisest or most effective. More and more, we as an industry are trying to interpret a potpourri of data and news available today in order to best inform our clients about tomorrow. And what is that information telling me? It’s shouting strongly indicating if you’ve been sitting on that proverbial fence, it might be time to think about jumping off and getting engaged in the home buying process. There is strong evidence financing difficulties may be on the horizon due to  higher rates and tougher credit standards. Most experts agree there is a strong chance interest rates will rise once the Fed stops buying mortgage backed securities….a move scheduled to take place at the end of this month.  According to the article on CNN, rates could rise as much as a quarter percent in the coming weeks. Higher rates on the way. But even if the Fed holds onto the mortgages it has already purchased, the act

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Return Visitors

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Return Visitors

Our weather so far in 2010  has been incredible . For the past two days I’ve been able to turn the furnace down and open the windows to enjoy the 60+ degree afternoons (warmer with the sun streaming through the windows). Spring seems to be arriving about 4 weeks early here in Maple Valley; plum trees are budding, daffodils and heather are beginning to bloom and….the birds are back! At my house, we have a patio with several Arborvitae trees that the birds just love make home each Spring. They are always in pairs, the male more colorful and easy to spot. As my husband and I have our morning coffee, it’s fun to watch them pop out of the trees to search and gather more nesting materials. When they return, they land on  top of the tree, until certain no one is looking, they slip inside the tree and are completely hidden. I wish I knew what king of birds these are so if anyone knows, please share. One thing we’ve never been able to see though are the eggs or babies. Maybe this year we’ll get lucky!

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Tracking My Prediction Progress

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It’s pretty early for me to be evaluating the accuracy of my predictions for the 2010 Maple Valley Real Estate market, but then again we’re talking about moi. When I go “on a diet”, I weigh myself that afternoon (and the next morning and the next afternoon ’cause you just never know, right?). When we want to paint a room, I put a plate size swatch of color on every wall….just to envision it and then am good. Tell me you have a secret?  I’ll probably get it out of you. In other words, I’m not a very patient person. So, while working on some stats tonight for the Maple Valley real estate market, I decided to take a sneak peak and see where my prediction about the final number of SOLD homes for ’09 fell…. and well what…..d0…..you…..know…..? I was right on in my final estimation of closed sales for the year. Maple Valley had 426 single family homes close in 2009. (Listed and sold through NWMLS ). Part of my prediction for number of units sold included a prediction for the final number of closed sales for ’09: My guess is we will be somewhere around 425-430 once

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Eight Predictions for Maple Valley Real Estate Market in 2010

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In honor of having survived completed two decades in service to the real estate industry, I thought I’d step out on a limb and publish my first ever official list of predictions for our local real estate market here in Maple Valley, WA. Here’s how I see things shaking out for 2010 (in no particular order): Short Sales will continue to put downward pressure on pricing Currently 20% of our active inventory are short sale listings, however they account for 54% of pending sales because their prices are so attractive. Buyers will only step into the short sale pit if there is financial incentive…meaning, if they get more home for a lower price in exchange for their willingness to be patient and risk having nothing in the end. What this means to “regular sellers” is that you’ll get more for your home than the short sale down the street, but it’s tough to ask a buyer to pay 20% more for the same exact house. Don’t kid yourself, short sales affect everyone’s home value. Cash will be King Our market has often followed that of Northern California, albeit lagging by about 9 months or so. A year ago, the East

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