Loading images...
Market News & Updates | Maple Valley WA | Page 23

Market News & Updates

Year To Date Maple Valley Homes Sold Report

By
Year To Date Maple Valley Homes Sold Report

May Year To Date Single Family Homes Sold Report* for Maple Valley, WA. Number Sold 180 Average Sales Price $405,265 Average Days on Market 98 days Highest Priced Home Sold $1,100,000 Lowest Priced Home Sold $170,000 The highest priced home was a waterfront home on Lake Sawyer. The lowest priced home was a 2 Bedroom "fixer" type home. *This information pertains to Single Family Homes in the greater Maple Valley area (Tahoma School District boundaries) listed and closed through cooperative NWMLS sales to date. Technorati Tags: Maple Valley,Market Reports,Tahoma Schools 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 greater Maple Valley area. She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400

Read more »

Maple Valley Foreclosures

By
Maple Valley Foreclosures

If you’ve ever ventured over to Yahoo Real Estate, you may know you can search foreclosures by zip code and/or City & State. According to Yahoo, there are 71 properties here in the 98038 Maple Valley zip code which have already been or are in the process of being foreclosed upon. Not all properties which are in the process of being foreclosed upon will actually be sold at Auction. Sometimes homeowners are able to sell their home either outright or by negotiating a short-sale situation with their lender. Other owners will file bankruptcy and find a way to reorganize their debt and stay in the house. If you are looking at buying a home in Maple Valley which has been foreclosed upon and is owned by an investment company or bank, make sure you have professional representation to guide you through the process. Most banks require their own forms be used for the purchase agreement and won’t allow any time for inspections or a buyer’s due diligence. Always make sure you check out as much as possible prior to making your offer. And my best tip? Make sure you talk with the neighbors to find out whatever you can about

Read more »

Positive News for a Change

By
Positive News for a Change

Despite oil prices at record highs and the pain at the gas pump, there have been several positive economic indications sales may soon begin to increase. In Southern California, an area hit hard by opyright 2008, all rights reseforeclosures, home sales were up 22% in April as investors moved to act on extremely low pricing for the area. When the market is up, investors sell and when prices are down, investors buy. There have been many, many people who have made a ton of money buying properties in a down market. Fannie Mae, the nation’s largest home funding source has announced they will implement a national down payment policy of 3%, lowering the amount needed to purchase from 5% (and 10% in declining markets). This should open up higher end properties to Gen X type buyers with large incomes but low down payments. On the local front, Forbes Magazine has named Seattle to it’s Top 10 Recession Proof cities. Citing low unemployment and strong growth in manufacturing, our area is faring much better during this slow-down than many others across the nation. It’s not “stop the presses” great news, but these small signs are often early indications of changes on

Read more »

Maple Valley Market Snapshot

By
Maple Valley Market Snapshot

Although sales remain lukewarm compared to years past, homes are selling and buyers are looking. However it seems many buyers are still somewhat tentative about jumping into the water. If (and when) interest rates tick up (and they may soon) I think some of shoppers with a “I’ll wait until the bottom hits” strategy, may be forced to act or miss out entirely. Here’s a snapshot of current Market Inventory Property Type Number of Listings Average Days on Market Average Price Residential Single Family 394 103 $502,926 Condominium or Townhome 14 60 days $594.750 Acreage Homes 78 87 days $822,128 Lakefront Homes 6 85 days $1,276,308 Riverfront Homes 5 60 days $594,750 Vacant Land 43 101 days $309,866 Copyright 2008, all rights reserved Colleen Fischesser 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 greater Maple Valley area. She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400 // -->

Read more »

What’s Selling in Maple Valley?

By

The Spring real estate market in Maple Valley is definitely showing signs of increased activity. Sellers are understanding more and more that price is now the driving force right behind showing activity and offers. Buyer are out there, ready and willing to buy, but they need to be able to justify their offered price and will simply not look at any listings which, in their minds, are not priced competitively for current market conditions. Overall, pending home sales in Maple Valley are up with a good portion of those homes being new construction. Of the 80 sales currently pending, nearly half of them (37 to be exact) are new construction. Previously published April 17, 2008 @ Nwhomeblog.com

Read more »

Homes on Acreage in Maple Valley…The Good News And; The Bad News

By
Homes on Acreage in Maple Valley…The Good News And; The Bad News

If you’re thinking about buying a home in Maple Valley on one or more acres of land, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is, you’ll have a great selection from which to choose. From a smaller fixer on 4 acres to a sumptuous 6000 square foot plus Estates on 5 acres+. The bad news? It’s not going to be cheap! There are currently 67 homes on 1+ Acrein the greater Maple Valley area which fall within the Tahoma School District boundaries. These properties range in price from $269,000 to nearly $4 Million with the average List price $797,000-ish. Many of these properties are in acreage type communities (some gated) surrounded by homes of similar size. But the majority will be what we refer to as “non-tract” homes, where there is more of a mixture of home types, sizes, age, etc as well as no Home Owner’s Associates and no Rules & Restrictions. Long story short, whether you need room for horses, livestock, your garden, a shop….or just more room to spread out and play, Maple Valley has many homes available for sale now which could very well be just what you’re looking for!    

Read more »

Maple Valley Commercial Space Asking Big City Rates

By
Maple Valley Commercial Space Asking Big City Rates

Several months ago I was looking into some of the soon to be built Commercial Retail space at Four Corners behind the existing Do It Center hardware store. The complex, which has yet to be built, was being advertised on the Commercial MLS, however no rate information was posted. After talking with the listing Broker about timeframe and availability, I inquired what the asking rate was….and then nearly dropped the phone when he told me they were asking $40 per sq.ft for an end cap (Highway 169 frontage). I couldn’t help myself, I chuckled and told him “Well, good luck with that” and ended the conversation. According to the Seattle Times, this is higher than what tenants pay in Seattle ($31 per square foot). Perhaps this is why several small businesses at the newly developed Maple Valley Commons have closed their doors such a short time after opening. It’s the tale of Supply and Demand. Current Maple Valley Zoning does not afford much opportunity for commercial development and the City has long been struggling to get a firm grasp on which direction it would like to go with respect to Commercial growth. For quite a while, the City has maintained an

Read more »

The Formula For a Faster Sale: Yesterday’s Price – Market Adjustment = Faster Sale

By
The Formula For a Faster Sale: Yesterday’s Price – Market Adjustment = Faster Sale

 My mom used to watch Days of Our Lives every afternoon when I would come home from school. Although I haven’t watch a Soap Opera for years, I can still here the music and the announcer’s voice over “Like Sand through an hour glass….these are the days of our lives” For many home owners having their property listed may seem as painful as watching grains of sand slip slowly through the hourglass…..day after day living life outside their regular routine; making the beds every day, (yes, some people don’t make their bed every day!) keeping the dishes out of the sink, the dog in the laundry room…whatever the hoops they need to jump through may be. The fact of the matter is, if you want to sell now, you have got to price your home aggressively and if it doesn’t sell, be prepared for a price reduction. In my market area, of the 29 stick-built homes with sales pending, 75% made at least one price reduction after the initial list price. These homes were on the market an average of 124 days. Compare that to the 25% which came on the market at a relatively aggressive price, never reduced and sold in an average of 22 days.

Read more »

All information is current as of published date. Listings for sale or rent, are avaialable as of the date published, however price and availability are subject to change.