Chad Hauer Video Real Estate Blog

 Here's what's happening in our market and how it affects you.There's a lot happening in the market, and it's starting to get a little weird. That's why I wanted to share some hard data with you today to show you what's taking place. Let's dive right into these numbers and what they mean for you as a buyer or a seller.You can watch the full video above or skip to each section using the timestamps provided:0:00 — Introducing today's topic0:32 — Home prices are at an all-time high1:13 — The five-year graph for the sales-to-list-price ratio2:02 — We are still seeing a fast market2:39 — The pending sales, homes for sale, and number of homes sold3:52 — We've been in an extreme seller's market for a while4:21 — We only have 18 days of inventory4:56 — Interest rates have jumped, and that will affect the buying pool6:27 — Wrapping upIf you have any questions or would like to develop a specific strategy for your situation, call or email my team and me. We'd love to hear from you.

Even though we're in a hot seller's market, you may not want to sell right now.Considering how much homes have increased in value recently, many people are wondering whether they should sell their homes or cash in on their equity. Selling may or may not be a good idea, so today I'll give people in this position something to consider: capital gains taxes.Many people don't really think about capital gains taxes until after their house has already been sold. When you purchase a home, the IRS determines whether you'll pay short-term or long-term capital gains based on how long you've lived in the home.If you've lived in the home for less than a year, you'll pay a higher capital gains tax, so be sure to check with your CPA to find out exactly how much yours would be if you sold. For simplicity's sake, you can expect to pay around 22% of your total profit. If you've lived in the home for more than a year, your capital gains taxes are reduced. Again, your CPA can give you a more exact figure, but you're looking at somewhere around 10% to 15%. "If you're pretty close to that two-year mark, then it may be a good idea to hold off on selling."Now, if you are in a position where you have lived in the home for at least two out of the last five yearsand you're single, you are exempt from having to pay capital gains taxes on up to $250,000 worth of profit. If you're married, you're exempt for up to $500,000. If you're pretty close to that two-year mark, then it may be a good idea to hold off on selling.Hopefully this has given you some helpful information to better inform your decision to sell or not to sell.If you have any questions or need assistance, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to be a resource for you.

Our market conditions suggest sellers should act sooner rather than later.With how volatile the market is, does it make sense to sell your home now, or should you wait? Many homeowners are asking this question. After all, home values will continue to rise, so wouldn't it be better to let home prices rise before selling? That way, you could extract the maximal value from your sale. Today I'll address this question and some concerns that I have for those thinking of waiting.First, let's consider what's going on in the market. As I said, home prices are on the rise. As prices go up, your pool of potential buyers shrinks since fewer people will be able to afford your home. The Federal Reserve has also announced that they're going to increase interest rates multiple times. They've already jumped quite a bit in just the last few weeks. Rising rates also have the effect of reducing your buying pool."You'll have a larger buying pool now than you will later in the year."It's not hard to see why consumer confidence has been getting lower and lower. Many are starting to wonder if it's even worth it to pay that much for a home anymore. If confidence continues to drop, that's even fewer buyers in the market who will be prepared to make you an offer. That, in turn, means the value of your home will go down since you won't be able to take advantage of high demand and bidding wars to boost your sales price.With all that in mind, if you're thinking about selling your home in 2022, I strongly encourage you to take action sooner rather than later. You'll have a larger buying pool now than you will later in the year, meaning that you're more likely to get a higher price if you don't wait.If you have any questions or need help getting the sales process started, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. Hope to hear from you soon!

How rising interest rates could affect your ability to buy a home.Interest rates are on the rise, so what does this mean for you? If you're thinking about buying a home soon, you need to know what's happening. Interest rates are in the low 4% range, so I want to break down what that means for your pocketbook.A chief economist at a large brokerage recently said, “With certainty, by the end of this year, interest rates will be 5.5% to 6%.” That's a huge jump from where we are now—up to a 2% difference. That might not sound like that much, but it is."Act sooner rather than later to protect as much of your money as possible."The median home price in Pierce County is $525,000. Let's say you own a home at that price, and you'd like to move into a larger house that would cost around $750,000. If you put 20% down on that home and rates were at 4%, your monthly payment would be $2,864. If rates rose to 6%, your monthly payment would be $3,597 for that same house. That's a difference of $733 per month. Over a year, you'd pay $9,000 more, and over the life of your loan, you'd pay $264,000 more. I want to make sure you're aware of how much rates affect your monthly payment. If you want to move, I recommend acting sooner rather than later to protect as much of your money as possible. A lot of people don't want to sell until they find where they're moving to, but there are a few strategies you can use to help. You can purchase the new property first and sell your home immediately afterward. There are ways you can structure and finance that option. If you know someone who would benefit from this information, please pass this on to them. As always, if you have any questions, I'd love to help. Just call or email me.

Here's how you can use a HELOC to buy a new home before you sell. Are you looking to move? If so, you probably need to sell your old home before you can buy a new one. If you're in this position, how can you sell your house without going homeless? I have a great tip that's helped plenty of our clients, and I want to share it with you today. The big issue in our market right now is our low inventory. Sure, you can get a great deal on your home, but what will you do when you have to buy? Fortunately, we've worked closely with lenders to help solve this situation, and you may be able to use a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, to make your move. So how would this work? Let's look at an example: Say you want to move up from your existing house into a bigger one. Because homes have appreciated so much in the last few years, you probably have a lot more equity than you think. In this instance, you can use a HELOC to pull the equity out of your home. It doesn't cost any money until you deploy the funds, so you can use that cash to pay for a down payment on your new home. "You probably have more equity than you think."Even if you aren't looking to move, there are plenty of good reasons to take out a HELOC, such as an emergency fund. While I'm not a financial expert, I will caution against spending your equity on things like expensive cars. If you need a lender to speak with about this topic, please reach out to us. We'd be happy to put you in touch with a great one.If you have questions about today's topic, please call or email my team. We are always happy to be a resource for you!

REGISTER HERE!Are you thinking about selling your home in the area?It's overwhelming, I know.The current pandemic is tragic and does not help. We're seeing fluctuating home price trends all over the place with volatile mortgage rates.People are afraid to move, and rightfully so, with our immediate public health crisis. (My heart goes out to all the people on the front lines of this and everyone else affected by this tragedy).You also see many new home selling options (instant offers, sell ‘as-is”, auctions, discount brokerage, luxury marketing, and more).A few companies who buy your home directly without any showings just recently suspended their activities.You even have options now to get a loan to remodel your home before you sell and the government, along with private companies, are stepping in to suspend mortgage payments.What option is best for you? How do you navigate all this?I'll help you make that decision.Even with “shelter in place” and all that's going on, I can assure you real estate is still selling. I will share the latest stats, facts, and trends from our Puget Sound MLS with you in our workshop.Homes can also be sold safely with minimal human contact - in compliance with the law - without people walking through your home in groups.Virtual tour technology, video conferencing, instant offers and more are here to help us.With so many questions, and so much uncertainty, I wanted to step up and educate you on everything you need to know to sell your home that works locally from experience.If this sounds like you, I encourage you to attend my free workshop:1. Are you overwhelmed selling your home with all the “stuff” you've saved over the years?2. Are you concerned about repairs from the home inspection, or what repairs to make upfront?3. Do you want to know what you need to do to get your home ready for today's buyer?4. Are you curious about what price to your list home to get top dollar while selling quickly?5. Curious to know the current market trends with the best time to sell here locally?6. Are you concerned about paying your mortgage or selling your home safely during the pandemic?Given the state of affairs to protect the public, this is a “virtual” teleconference/webinar you can attend from your tablet, computer, or phone. You'll get the link when you register.I've been selling real estate for many years and have helped hundreds of homeowners sell their homes.I'll show you exactly how you can sell your home for the most money in the current environment. That's either with an agent or on your own. You don't need to hire me.You'll learn all my best-practices (and pitfalls to avoid) which can mean the difference of tens of thousands of dollars on your final sales price.I've seen it. I have the facts to back it up.In short, it's really all about (1) high-end photos, (2) a marketing plan, and (3) someone guiding you along the way.When you attend the workshop, I'll have a neighborhood market report prepared for you along with my suggested price range to list your home at today. This is my gift to you.Here's an overview of the material I will cover with our time together:How to price your home based on what's currently for sale to get the most moneyThe most common pricing pitfalls, and how to properly price to get over asking priceMarket insight so you have context to make smart decisions to avoid missing out on offersTips for negotiation and how to handle the inspection to reduce hasslesThe best online marketing plan to attract the most buyers to your home as possibleHow to stage your home so it stands out and looks the very best it canA simple way to get rid of all the “stuff' from over the years in your homeHow to create competition among buyers to drive up your price (we call it a “blitz”)How to choose a photographer (and what order to display your photos online for the most views)How to make the most of the first 2 days your home is on the market (most important!)My simple fixes that cost very little but add considerable value to your home sales priceHow to time a sale correctly if you need to buy and sell at the same time (no double mortgage payment)BONUS: I'm sure you already know a real estate agent. Hiring one, if you do, is a business decision. It can cost you thousands of dollars if your sale is mishandled. You likely already know a real estate agent, maybe even a friend or family member. It can feel like you're trapped. You don't want to risk your personal relationship if your deal goes south, and you don't want to miss out on hiring an agent who you know can get you more money. I'll share my insights during the workshop on how to handle this delicate situation. I will even make the call for you should you decide to hire me.The bottom line is I can help you sell your home for the most amount of money in the least amount of time especially in our current state of uncertainty along with protecting public health.If you're thinking about going into one of the largest transactions of your life, come join me for this workshop. It's free. There's zero catch.You can then make the best decision for yourself, your family and your finances.I'm here to guide you.See you there!

Here's what's happening in our Pierce County market in October.Today I'm sharing what's currently happening in the greater Pierce County real estate market. Feel free to refer to the graphs in the video above if you'd like a visual representation of the data.September had a median sale price of $507,480, which is the third month in a row we've seen a small decrease in prices. That isn't unusual for the season, and we've seen a rise of 14.3% in home values compared to this time last year. That's excellent appreciation; the normal rate is about 4% to 5% in a single year. So we've seen about three years' worth of appreciation condensed into just this past year. Sellers are getting 2.7% over the asking price when they sell and are doing so very quickly at an average of five days on the market, on average! When we look at pending sales, the number of sales that are taking place has grown 7.3% compared to September 2020. The number of homes for sale has improved by 19.5%, and homes sold have climbed 4.4% in the last year. Our market truly needed more inventory, and we're starting to see it. I would say the jump in sold homes is due to having more options available for buyers. "We've seen about three years' worth of appreciation condensed into just this past year."When we have less than six months' worth of homes on the market, we're in a seller's market, and home values are usually escalating. When we have six to seven months of inventory, we're in a neutral market (not a buyer's or seller's market), and home values follow inflation. Neutral markets rarely last very long. When we have over seven months of houses for sale, we're in a buyer's market, and home values frequently decrease. Even though inventory has been creeping up a bit, we're still very much in a seller's market at 0.7 months of inventory, or just 21 days. We're still desperate for more homes to hit the market, which is fairly consistent all across the U.S. right now. Diana Olick, CNBC's Real Estate Correspondent recently said: “Fall is usually the start of the slower season for the housing market, but nothing is usual in today's pandemic-driven housing market. Potential homebuyers are seeing a slight rise in inventory and consequently rushing back into the fray. Mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 7% last week from the previous week… That is the highest level since April of this year.”That's a great sign that buyers are still interested, and as more inventory is becoming available, they're excited and taking action. Please don't hesitate to reach out to our team via phone or email if you have any questions about our market or real estate in general. We're here to be of service to you. 

Are you thinking about buying a home in the Puget Sound, or have you been thinking about purchasing an investment property?You're invited to my Home Buying Workshop: How to navigate the home buying process during uncertain times on December 1st 2021 at 7pm PST.Register for your spot here!It's a virtual, online event to stay safe.I'm going to answer your biggest questions about investing in property or buying a home, including:• Is COVID-19 affecting home prices?• How much house can I afford?• Can I safely tour homes?• Are home prices dropping?• Is now a good time to buy?• How do I get the best price on my new home?• Where do I start with real estate investing?• How do I finance the first real estate deal I find?• What mistakes should I avoid?• What are the best tax benefits associated with real estate investing?Hurry! It's limited to 25 attendees. You can attend safely from your computer, phone, or tablet.If you're thinking about buying a home or investing in real estate, you need to attend to this.See you there!Call my team at (253) 377-3039 if you have questions or if you need an offer on your home right away.

Here are the latest stats from the Pierce County market as of September 2021.Today I'm sharing the latest information about our Pierce County real estate market. The median sale price is $515,000. Though prices have plateaued in the last three months, that still represents a 16.5% increase in home values since August 2020. To give you some context for how huge that is, real estate historically appreciates by about 5% per year—we got almost three years of appreciation crammed into one! Many people have been concerned about the idea of being in a market bubble. I assure you that very few experts think that we're in a bubble. The general consensus is that appreciation is slowing down and leveling off (rather than home values simply plummeting like back in 2007 and 2008), bringing us back to a more balanced market. Homes in Pierce County are selling on average for over 2.1% over their asking prices. Keep in mind that asking prices are just starting bids. Homes are also selling very quickly; five days is the median days on market in our county right now. Pending sales are the number of homes that have offers accepted on them but haven't yet officially closed. The number of pending sales has increased by 5.6% since this same time last year. This shows that even though there isn't as much inventory in the market, the number of sales has increased. "With only 18 days of inventory, you can see how much of an extreme seller's market we're in."At 3:20 in the video above, you can see a chart that compares the number of active listings (in red) to the number of sales (in green). The number of homes for sale is up 3% compared to a year ago, and the number of homes sold is up 9.6%. This is a good thing because we definitely need more inventory in the market. Despite the increase in inventory, now is still a great time to sell a home. Demand for homes is still high in comparison to the number of homes available for sale. When a market has less than six months of inventory, that means it's a seller's market. It's in this kind of market that we see home prices continue to rise, as we've consistently seen for the past several years. Given that we only have 18 days of inventory, you can see how much of an extreme seller's market we're in. The good news for sellers is that you're very well positioned to be able to sell your home and get top dollar. For buyers, we've seen that many are going through what's called buyer fatigue. Multiple-offer situations are rampant, and many are getting beat out for the homes they want. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out over the next several months, but we'll keep an eye on it and keep you posted as to what we're experiencing. If you have any questions or would like to have a deeper conversation about what's going on in our market, feel free to reach out to us by phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here are the latest numbers and information about our Pierce County market.Today I’m sharing a Pierce County real estate market update for May 2021. This market is on fire, and I continue to say that every month because I’m still blown away by what we’re seeing. At 0:35 in the video above, you can see a graph that shows our five-year pricing trends. We justhit an all-time record: The median home price has reached $500,000. We’ve seen a 20% increase in home values in the last year, while historically, values increase around 5% per year. In last month’s market update, I said we were consistently seeing homes spending an average of six days on market and that I didn’t see how it could get any lower than that. However, we’ve now dropped to an average of five days on the market, so homes are moving extremely quickly."Our market is in a feeding frenzy; people are buying more homes than ever." At 1:55 in the video, you can see a chart that illustrates pending sales in the last five years. Pending sales are those that have gone under contract but haven’t closed yet. The number of pending sales has risen 41.61% year over year. At 2:30, you can see a graph showing active listings versus the number of sales in the last five years. We currently have a very low number of homes available for sale; that number has declined 45% compared to this same time last year. At the same time, the number of homes selling is much higher than the number of homes for sale. The number of homes sold has climbed 46% over the last year. That means our market is in a feeding frenzy; people are buying more homes than ever. A seller’s market is when there is fewer than six months’ worth of homes on the market and home values are trending upward. When we have six to seven months’ worth of homes, we’re in a neutral market, and home prices will only appreciate with inflation. If we have seven months or more of homes on the market, it’s a buyer’s market, and home prices will depreciate. Knowing all this, we’re in more of a seller’s market than we’ve ever been before. We have only half a month's worth of homes for sale right now. If no more homes were to come onto the market, we’d sell out in just 15 days. The number of homes for sale has just been decreasing and decreasing. This is the hottest market I’ve ever seen, by a long shot.If you’re considering selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to be a resource and educate you about timing, what you need to know, preparation, and more. Feel free to contact me via phone or email anytime if you have questions about the market or real estate in general. I’d love to speak with you.

Here’s how things have changed in Pierce County real estate.The latest numbers for the Pierce County real estate market are in, and to put it simply, the metricsare astonishing. We’re in the hottest market I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in real estate for about 17 years.The median sales price in March was $480,000, which was a 14.6% increase from the year before. It’s unbelievable. Another unbelievable metric is that homes are spending, on average, only six days on the market before selling. That’s about as low as you can realistically get. If someone tried to sell quicker than that, they wouldn’t be exposing their listing to enough people. When selling, a little time is necessary. "It’s a total feeding frenzy right now, and you can get in on the action if you’ve been thinking of listing."The number of pending listings was 1,636 in March, which is a 33% year-over-year increase. These are homes that haven’t officially sold yet, but the buyer and seller have created a contract; the home will close if no issues derail the transaction. Another crazy metric is our sales numbers. The number of homes for sale is down 64% compared to a year ago, but the number of homes sold is up 8%. It’s a total feeding frenzy right now, and you can get in on the action if you’ve been thinking of listing. It’s never been a better time to sell. You’ll have lots of opportunities to negotiate exactly what you want, and you can easily make more than your home is worth. Inventory is completely wiped out. To put it in perspective, we’re in a normal market when we have around six months’ worth of inventory. Anything above that is a buyer’s market, and anything below is a seller’s market. We’re at 0.3 months—in other words, there are only nine days’ worth of home inventory in our area. It means that if no more homes were to come onto the market, all homes would be gone within nine days.Needless to say, it’s a blistering-hot seller’s market and a perfect time to list your home. If you’re ready to jump into the market or you have any questions related to real estate, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The latest numbers point to an extreme seller’s market in Pierce County.Today I have a quick market update for you on Pierce County real estate here in March 2021. If you weren't aware already, things are pretty wild in the market right now.In the past month, we have set an all-time record for the median sale price in Pierce County at $468,260. That’s a 14.6% increase from this time last year! We weren’t sure if we would see price stabilization at the end of 2020, but last month definitely showed us that this is an appreciating market.In Pierce County, homes are selling in an average of just six days on the market. This is about as low as this figure can get, because any good agent wants to make sure the property gets exposed to the market for at least a few days—if not a week—before accepting an offer."We have just half a month of available inventory for sale."As for pending sales, those are up considerably as well (13%). As a reminder, pending sales are sales that have been agreed to but haven’t closed yet.At 2:20, you’ll see two overlapping graphs that measure active listings (in red) and the numberof sales (in green) over the last five years. You can see that while we started off with about twice as many active listings, there has clearly been a shift in supply and demand. As of January 2021, wehad more than twice as many home sales as active listings.A neutral or balanced market has between six and seven months, and a buyer’s market has more than seven months. Anything less than six months, like the market we’re in now, is a seller's market. We’rein a very strong seller’s market right now with just 0.5 months of inventory (15 days). This means all of the homes in Pierce County would be sold in just over two weeks if no new homes were listed for sale.If you have any questions about your specific real estate situation or the market in general,don't hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you.

The latest numbers point to an extreme seller’s market in Pierce County.Now that we’re into February 2021, it’s time to look back on the numbers from January and see what they say about our Pierce County market. If you’re a seller, you’ll be quite pleased. Not only did the median sale price increase once more, but our months of inventory has dwindled dramatically. The situation is tougher for buyers, but the good news there is that interest rates are still historically low. Feel free to watch the video above in its entirety to get the full scoop on our market, or use these timestamps to skip ahead to various sections at your leisure: 0:22—The year-over-year median sale price increase1:33—The median days on market 1:54—The year-over-year pending listings increase 2:21—Active listings versus number of sales 3:33—The impact of monthly housing inventory on home prices 4:29—The months of inventory has dwindled dramatically5:27—Why sellers are holding all the cards 6:31—Wrapping things upAs always, if you have questions about our Pierce County market or any real estate needs I can assist you with, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here’s why right now might be the hottest our market is for sellers all year. Today we have a jam-packed market update on all the latest goings-on in Pierce County, Washington.In December, the median sale price rose to $440,000. That’s a 5% increase year over year. This is great news for homeowners everywhere. As for our days on market, the average is down to just six days. It’s a very fast-paced market, and buyers don’t have the luxury of time like they had in the past. When the right home comes on the market, buyers need to be ready to make an offer with a pre-approval in hand. That’s how fast homes are selling.Pending sales are up an incredible 21% year over year. These are homes that have had offers accepted on them, but haven’t officially closed yet. The number of pending sales in December (942) represents the largest number of pending sales over the last five years, even with our huge inventory shortage. That’s pretty phenomenal."Don’t wait for spring or summer this year."At 2:15, you can see how unique of a situation our current inventory shortage is compared to the last five years of supply and demand. If you’re a home seller, it might not be the best idea to wait until spring or summer. As you can see right now, sales are as high as they are in the spring and summer, with much lower supply than normal (54% lower, in fact). Our available months of inventory right now is 0.3, which is the equivalent of just nine days! That means it would just take us nine days to sell all the homes in Pierce County if no new properties came on the market. That’s all good news for sellers. I’ve never seen this few homes for sale with this much demand.Think selling your house in the winter months is a bad idea? Think again! The buyer demand right now is insane. A home we marketed over the holidays had 60 SHOWINGS and 17 OFFERS within just a matter of days and we received offers in EXCESS of $100K over asking price! 🤯There’s no saying how long these conditions will last. If you have any questions for me about the market or how you can take advantage of it, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here’s your Pierce County real estate update through the end of November. The median sales price in Pierce County is $442,000, and we’ve seen a 15% increase in home values since this same time last year. Homes are spending an average of six days on the market, meaning that sellers typically accept an offer on their homes within six days after listing them. The number of pending listings is up by 17% year over year, leaving us with 264 this November. As you can see on the chart at 1:43 in the video above, the number of pendings we have on the market is typically seasonal, peaking in the summer and dipping near January, but this year, we’re still up!The next chart you’ll see shows the number of active listings compared to the number of actual home sales over a five-year period. The number of homes for sale is down by 50% compared to last year, and the number of sales is up by 20%, which leaves us at a point where sales are significantly outpacing the number of available homes. Any available inventory is quickly eaten up by the market as soon as it appears." I have never seen such a solid time to sell a home!"In terms of months of inventory, we’re at all-time lows, having dropped down to a mere 0.4 months, or two weeks. That means if no more homes came on the market, with the rate that homes are selling in Pierce County, we’d be completely out of supply in just two weeks.The market is breaking records left and right; I have never seen such a solid time to sell a home! If you’re thinking about selling your home within the next six to 12 months, I recommend that you talk to a professional to help you assess what opportunities are available to you. Nobody knows what the market will look like in six months, so now is a good time to get started.If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at the Hauer Home Team. We’re here to be of service to you.

We’re looking for new agents to partner with, and you might be the perfect fit. I have an exciting announcement to make: The Hauer Home Team is looking for two new agents! Do you think you’d be a good fit? Today I’ll share some insight into our mission, core values, and what we’re looking for in our new agents to help give you an answer. I’ll also give you some background on our current team members to show you what we’re all about. Cited below for your convenience are timestamps that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch it in its entirety or use these timestamps to browse specific points at your leisure: 0:32—Our mission is building generational wealth through real estate1:08—Our core values: faith, growth, and humility2:25—Why we personify the term “small but mighty” 3:16—What we’re looking for in our new agents 4:39—Introducing our current team 6:30—Wrapping things upIf you’re interested in taking advantage of this opportunity and want to start building generational wealth, give me a call today. I’d love to speak with you. 

 September’s stats are finally in, and they’re nothing short of astonishing. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Last month we officially entered fall, but does that mean our market has started to cool off? According to September’s market stats, absolutely not! The median sale price for our market is $435,000 as of September 2020. That represents a 14.5% year-over-year increase in home values, which is pretty remarkable. We’re also seeing that homes are selling faster this fall, as the average days on market dipped down to just seven days from last September’s average of 11. Let’s take a look at the list-to-sale price ratio, which tells us what homes are actually selling for versus what they’re being listed at. The median list-to-sale price ratio for September was 102.3%, meaning that sellers were receiving 2.3% above their asking prices. That figure is also an improvement from last year at this time when sellers were seeing 100.4% of their listing prices. “ It’s clear demand is dominating our market.”Inventory in our market is down significantly compared to where it was last September—a whopping 55.2% to be exact. So, based on the current trends of how quickly homes have been selling, how long would it take to completely sell out all of our existing inventory if no new homes were to come on the market? The answer is an important statistic that we often refer to as ‘months’ supply.’ Right now, our Pierce County real estate market has 0.7 month's worth of supply—that’s the lowest I’ve seen in my 16-year real estate career by a longshot. Simply put, the supply in our housing market is scarce. Granted, we did see a 16.7% year-over-year increase in new listings coming onto the market, but these homes are just selling so dang fast! The number of pending sales (i.e., homes that went off the market after accepting an offer) was up 26.5% from last year. Furthermore, the number of closed sales was up 10.5% year over year, so it’s clear that demand is dominating our market. If you have more questions about the status of our real estate market or are interested in buying or selling soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or anyone else on our team via phone or email. We’re here to be of service to you!

 For a certain segment of the market, selling a home is going to get a little more expensive. Here’s why.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.In the state of Washington, the real estate excise tax is currently made up of a 1.28% rate from the state and a .5% local tax to total 1.78%. That’s all about to change come January 1, 2020.If you’re considering selling, especially if you have some higher-end real estate or commercial property, it’s going to affect you. It won’t have a huge impact on the typical seller below that, however.The 1.78% excise tax is due at the time of sale and is separate from a capital gains tax.  On January 1, the total excise tax on homes in the $0 to $500,000 range will be 1.6%. From $500,000 to $1.5 million, that tax will remain the same at 1.78%. For homes valued in the $1.5 million to $3 million range, you will see a significant jump to 3.25%. For homes $3 million and above, the number is 3.5%. It’s based on the sale price of the home and is doubling for some property owners.If you have any questions about this upcoming change or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Are you overwhelmed by the offers you’re getting on your home? These five tips can help.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Receiving multiple offers on your home can be an exciting—yet daunting—experience. If you aren’t sure how to choose the right offer, these five tips will help:1. Be organized. It can be hard to keep track of every aspect of every offer you receive without any sort of system for comparing them side by side, so putting each offer into a spreadsheet or something similar is always a good idea. This way, you’ll never struggle to remember which offer is which.2. Set a deadline. Make it clear to potential buyers that you will only accept offers up until a certain date. This will not only instill a sense of urgency, thereby making your listing more attractive, but it will also help you to keep moving forward with the home selling process.“Always make sure a buyer is truly qualified to purchase your home before going under contract. ”3. Get to know potential buyers and their agents. You don’t need to know everything about every buyer by any means, but it’s good to at least understand their motivations. When you know what’s driving people to make an offer on your home in the first place, this will put you in a much stronger position when it comes time to negotiate price, terms, and conditions. Certain information about potential buyers may also sway your decision to accept (or reject) their offer.4. Make sure the buyer is qualified and that their lender is competent. If a buyer is planning to use financing to purchase your home, as most buyers will, then you need to verify that they’re truly qualified to close.5. Accept a backup offer. While following the steps we’ve already covered can help you to choose a buyer who’s unlikely to back out, unforeseen circumstances can arise. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to accept a backup offer. This way, you’ve got a “plan b” to fall back on.If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

On Wednesday, July 3, we want you and your family to join us for a day of fun at Mason Lake. Here are all the details.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.The Hauer Home Team wants to show our gratitude for your support by inviting you to our upcoming VIP event. It’s going to be a full, fun day out at Mason Lake on Wednesday, July 3. We’ll have boating, a live band, a barbecue, and much, much more. We’ll end the night with a fantastic firework show around 10:30 p.m. We hope you and your family can join us. All you need to do is click here to RSVP to make sure we get enough food and drinks for all. To learn more, watch this short video.

As we head toward the halfway point of the year, it’s time to take a look at some recent market trends and what they mean for buyers and sellers. Here’s what you need to know.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.We’re nearly halfway through the year already. Can you believe it? Today I thought it would be a good time to give you a quick update on some trends that I’ve been seeing in the Pierce County real estate market so far in 2019.For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps below that will direct you to various points in the video. Feel free to watch the full message or use these timestamps to browse specific topics at your leisure:0:30- A look at the current absorption-based pricing index (aka supply and demand)1:05- How pricing trends have changed in just the last six months in Pierce County?3:45- Why it was a good thing for our market to see a decrease in home appreciation4:10- What’s currently available to buyers in Pierce County?4:45- The two types of markets for home sellers right now5:30- A final look at our absorption rate and what that means in this marketIf you have any questions for me or would like to see the statistics for your specific neighborhood, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

If you’re interested in adding value to your home before you sell, today’s message is for you.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Not all improvements will bring as high a return as you might hope as you prepare to sell your home. When getting your property ready for the market, you need to be strategic in the upgrades and repairs you choose to invest in.There are a few specific areas that will bring a high return on investment (or ROI).To begin, make sure to spruce up your curb appeal. First impressions matter, which is why your home’s exterior is so critical to your success as a seller. However, don’t forget that less is more. Simple touches can go a long way in terms of adding value. The most important thing is that your yard is neat, tidy, and leads buyers to expect an equally inviting interior when they set foot indoors.“Less is more. ”Also, make sure the color of your home’s exterior doesn’t hurt its overall value. Certain colors, like yellow, can decrease what buyers will pay for your home by thousands of dollars. Conversely, having a front door that’s painted the right shade can add thousands to your value. Researching and implementing current design trends can make a world of difference.Moving on to your home’s interior, bathroom renovations bring some of the highest ROI of any project. Modest bathroom renovations will bring an average of $1.71 for every $1 spent. Making more extravagant renovations, though, is typically a poor choice. Over-improving your bathroom will generally cause you to lose money instead of gaining it. All in all, the key to upgrading your home before you sell is to strike a balance between “enough” and “too much.” Again, less is more.If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The highest offer doesn’t always win the house. To make your offer as strong as possible, there are six big mistakes you need to avoid. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.As a buyer, it’s still possible to get your dream home without having to empty your wallet. To make your offer as strong as possible without breaking the bank, there are six mistakes you need to avoid: 1. Not being flexible with the seller’s timeline. If, for instance, their house is vacant and they’re sitting on a hefty mortgage, they probably want to sell as quickly as possible. In this case, how quickly you can accommodate them depends on how much you’ve worked with your lender to prepare the necessary documentation to make your offer. It’s also possible they haven’t found their next home to move into and they want to know that they’ll have a post-closing grace period to find that next home before they accept any offers. In this situation, it might be advantageous to agree to allow them to stay in the home after closing and rent it back from you until they can move out. 2. Not having your paperwork squared away. If you’re not pre-approved before you make your offer, it won’t hold any weight with the seller, so make sure you get pre-approved. It doesn’t matter how good your offer is if you can’t guarantee your financing will process or not.“If your offer is rejected once, don’t give up.”3. Asking for too many concessions and/or contingencies. If the seller wants these kinds of things included in the deal, they’ll probably include them themselves. 4. Requesting too many things to be included with the property. If the seller specifically declares that a certain part of the home is excluded from the sale, I don’t recommend trying to include it. 5. Not expressing your love for the house. We all take pride in our homes, and sharing with the seller how much you appreciate their house and how much you look forward to taking care of it can make a big difference in whether your offer is accepted or not if you find yourself in a multiple-offer situation. 6. Giving up after your offer is rejected. If your offer is rejected once, don’t give up. A home sale is a process that involves some negotiation, so don’t be offended by a counteroffer you don’t like and possibly miss out on a great opportunity. Instead, keep the conversation going with the seller.  If you’d like to know more about making your offer as strong as possible or you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

 The latest from our Pierce County market. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report.  Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Today I’m bringing you the latest numbers from our Pierce County Market. Appreciation for homes in our area has gone up 9.2% year over year, and the median price is currently at $355,000—a mark that is even with where we were little more than a year ago. From January to February of this year, the median price jumped by 7.58%. New home sales reached a seven-month high in December, making it the largest total since May of this past year. As far as mortgage rates are concerned, we’re currently at 4.37%, which constitutes a 12-month low—rates decreased to 4.33% in February of 2018.“Don’t confuse homes that are on the market with homes that are in the market. ”Homes that are selling are doing so in 53 days on average, and homes that are struggling to sell are spending about 91 days on market. This is demonstrative of a tale of two markets, so don’t confuse homes that are on the market with homes that are in the market. 842 homes sold this past February. That’s a 12-month low for Pierce County, which can likely be ascribed to a lack of inventory for buyers to purchase from. How does the current median list price compare to the median sold price? Right now, the median list price is a little shy of $480,000, while the median sold price is $355,000—a 26% disparity. These numbers bear out the fact that there’s a lot of overpricing happening in our market. If you’re selling your home and it’s been on the market for 53 days, in all likelihood, you’ve priced it too high. Know that we’re here to be a resource for you. If you have any real estate-related questions or you’d like to know more about your neighborhood so you can make an informed decision for your own property, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. I hope to hear from you soon!

How did the 2018 housing market compare to 2017? Let’s find out. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Now that we’re in the new year, it’s time to compare our year-end numbers for 2018 with those from 2017. Let’s see what changed.3,935 homes were sold in 2017, while 3,407 were sold in 2018—a decrease of 13.5%. This is most likely because there wasn’t as much inventory. The amount was getting lower and lower, but we’re finally seeing it begin to correct itself. “ Decreased inventory meant an increase in price.”   The decreased inventory meant an increase in price; the median sales price in 2017 was $315,000, which increased to $340,000 by the end of 2018. This is an 8% increase year over year. The sale-to-list price ratio was 100% for both years, meaning that all homes met their selling goals.The median size of homes (at $340,000) is still three bedrooms, two-and-a-quarter bathrooms, and 1,900 square feet. The average number of days a home spent on the market was 21 days in 2017 and 23 days in 2018.Overall, we’ve seen some great growth in our market as people move into the Pierce County area. If you have any questions, need more information, or would like to know more about your hyperlocal market, reach out to us. We look forward to helping you soon.

If you want to grow your credit score in 2019, follow these tips. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.How can you grow your credit score in 2019? Here are a few tips that will help. First, shoot for perfection! In terms of a perfect credit score, the magic number is 850. Not everyone is able to achieve this mark (the ratio is roughly one out of every 200), but it’s still a good goal to have. If you want to be more realistic, you can shoot for a score of 750 or higher. Meeting this benchmark opens up many possibilities for you as well. For one thing, you’ll get a better interest rate, so you’ll save a lot of money over the life of your loan.“35% of your credit score is determined by how timely your payments are.”Next, set up automatic payments for yourself. Approximately 35% of your credit score is determined by how timely your payments are, and a great way to ensure that your payments are consistently on time is to automate them. Also, keep an eye on your credit limit. Maintaining a good credit score is a bit of a balancing act. For example, if you have a credit limit of $5,000, spending up to that limit will reflect poorly on your credit score. You should try to only spend 10% to 20% of your credit limit—that’s the sweet spot. Don’t spend 0%, either—a 0% balance can make credit rating agencies suspicious that you’re not using your credit responsibly. If you’d like more tips about improving your credit score or you have any other real estate-related questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.

 Why wait until spring? There are four reasons why the holidays are a great time to buy a home.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Instead of waiting until after the holidays to buy a home, why not do it now? There are four surprisingly smart reasons why the holiday season is a great time to buy, and today we’ll be going over each one: 1. Less competition. Traditionally, we see the most homebuyers during the spring and summer seasons. These aren’t great times for you to jump in as a buyer; you’ll find yourself competing in bidding wars with many others who are looking to buy. Finding a home during the holidays means you won’t have to deal with all the competition that comes after the new year.2. Sellers are more motivated. Whether they’ve listed early in the fall and are frustrated that their home hasn’t sold or they’re needing to sell their home to relocate, sellers are more eager to find buyers. As a result, we find that sellers are more motivated now compared to those in spring and summer.“Traditionally, we see the most homebuyers during the spring and summer seasons. ”3. You can get a better idea of the home. It’s during this season that you’re more likely to see a home at its worst, which is one reason why sellers wait to list. You’ll be able to see how bad the falling leaves are and get a better idea of what you’ll be dealing with in yard maintenance. In spring and summer, you may be fooled by manicured lawns and blooming flowers. During the holidays, you get the whole picture.4. You will have more access to professional services. It’s easier to find home inspectors, mortgage lenders, and related service providers during the holiday season. Since there’s not as much real estate activity taking place this time of year, you have the luxury of better access to these professionals.We hope you have a happy holiday season, and if you have any questions or would like some more information, feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to hearing from you.

 If you are still renting, now may be the time to switch to homeownership and start enjoying certain tax benefits.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Owning a home offers a number of practical benefits, but did you know that it also offers some incredible tax advantages? There’s a good reason that homeowners have an average net worth that’s 47 times more than the typical renter’s. So if you don’t already own a home, now may be the time to start your search. When you rent a property, you may already be paying at or above the amount you’d pay each month if you owned a home. Why not make the switch to homeownership and start enjoying tax benefits? There are far more benefits to paying your own mortgage than there are to paying someone else’s.“There are far more benefits to paying your own mortgage than there are to paying someone else’s.”Imagine you took out a 30-year mortgage, which is typical for most homeowners. Though your first year of payments will go almost exclusively toward paying off the interest, the portion of payments applied toward interest become a tax write-off. Not only that, but, unlike rental payments, mortgage payments are fixed. And as you make these mortgage payments over the years, less and less will be applied toward interest and more and more will go toward principal. You can see a graph illustrating the breakdown of these payments over time in the video above. The bottom line is this: There are many tax advantages associated with homeownership. To make sure you’re taking full advantage of them, though, I highly recommend meeting with your CPA within your first year of homeownership. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

In real estate, commissions have been a somewhat questionable topic to discuss, but it’s important you understand how they actually work.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.There is no such thing as a set commission in real estate. By law, commission rates have to be negotiable; the real estate community as a whole can’t just decide what you’ll pay.And when it comes to real estate, it’s important to know that you get what you pay for. If a firm says they’ll do a 1% commission, it will still be a 4% commission because you’re still paying the buyer’s agent when they bring the buyer a 3% commision. If they’re being deceitful in how they market themselves in the first place, how do you think the rest of the transaction will go?The Hauer Home Team’s philosophy when it comes to commissions is if you’re aren’t getting value from what we bring to the table, then we don’t see the point of charging you money for it; it’s as simple as that.“The Hauer Home Team’s philosophy about commissions is if you’re aren’t getting value from what we bring to the table, then we don’t see the point of charging you money for it.”We have what we refer to as our variable commission schedule—it’s entirely dependant on the value that we bring to you. For example, if you have a friend or family member who is interested in purchasing your house, that’s totally unrelated to the elaborate marketing efforts that we normally put forth to get your home on the market, and in that situation, we’ll charge you a big, fat 0% commission for the transaction. That’s part of the benefit of working with a team of our volume: The average agent sells eight homes a year, while we sell over 100 homes in that time frame. Because of how much business we consistently pull in, we can take the loss of money we spend on marketing when you don’t end up needing it.Additionally, if you find the buyer for your house on your own, we can help you facilitate the sale for a 1% commission. That way, you know that everything has been done properly in the transaction, and you’ll still pay much less than if we had found the buyer for you. If we find your buyer for you, we charge the typical 5% commision, and if an outside agent ends up bringing the buyer, then it’s a 6% commission. However it happens, we’ll take good care of you.If you have any questions regarding commission or how we can help you sell your home, please reach out to us. We can discuss in detail exactly how we can help you make the most money possible from your transaction.

We appreciate our supporters and want them to be part of our VIP program. See how to join below.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.After all the support our team has been given, we want to make sure you know about our Hauer VIP program. As a token of our appreciation, those who have referred us or have done business with us can become VIP members. Why should you join the program? We want to spoil you, and we do so with events and giveaways such as:Crock-pot packagesMonthly giftsMarch Madness giveaways and eventsSip n’ paint eventsSporting outingsLake days“We want to spoil you.” If you’re not already a member, let us know by emailing hauersupport@fivedoors.com. From there, you’ll begin receiving notifications about our upcoming VIP events. The only qualifications are that you have either referred someone to us or you have done business with us before.We look forward to seeing you become one of our VIPs. Thank you for being a supporter of Hauer Real Estate Group.

When is it time to increase the rent on a property? Today I’ll discuss.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.A good rule of thumb is to plan a 5% increase in rent every year. If you have great tenants that keep your property in amazing condition, it does bear consideration; is it worth it to you to raise the rent and risk having a less-than-stellar, long-term tenant? There are also costs associated with having vacant properties.As you can see in the graph in the video above at the 1:00 mark, the trajectory of rents since 1988 has gone consistently upward. Very seldom have we seen dips in rent. Of course, one of the benefits of buying a home is being able to avoid the consistent rise in rental rates.“I recommend setting the appropriate expectation with your clients regarding your yearly rent increase to keep up with the costs of rising insurance and tax rates.”Ultimately, I recommend setting the appropriate expectation with your clients regarding your yearly rent increase to keep up with the costs of rising insurance and tax rates; this measure will make sure that your margin isn’t shrinking as those costs go up.If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. That’s what we’re here for.

  For part two of my latest Pierce County market report, you’ll see the latest statistics from Steilacoom, Lakewood, Southeast Tacoma, South Tacoma, Parkland, Fife, Puyallup, Lake Tapps, Roy, Graham, and Spanaway.Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale. Here is the second part of my area-by-area Pierce County August market report. As with the first part, I’ve attached timestamps of the video above so you can jump ahead to your specific community:1:00 (Lakewood): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 114% to 61.9% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 16.5%, inventory rose 11.9%, and sales increased 4.5%.1:45 (Steilacoom): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 114% to 100% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.3%, inventory rose 15.7%, and sales increased 31%. 2:51 (South Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 209% to 97.5% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 15.2%, inventory dropped 12.9%, and sales decreased 15%.3:45 (Southeast Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 214% to 113% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 13%, inventory dropped 9.2%, and sales decreased 8.2%4:29 (Parkland): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 120% to 90.4% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 27%, inventory didn’t change at all, and sales increased 37%.5:20 (Fife): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 110% to 50.4% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 30.3%, inventory dropped 4%, and sales increased 1.7%.6:03 (Puyallup): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 92% to 58.6% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased just over 18%, inventory rose 9.7%, and sales decreased 6.7%.6:45 (Spanaway): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 222% to 99% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 15.2%, inventory dropped 21%, and sales decreased 17.5%.7:23 (Lake Tapps): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 102% to 59.7% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 24.2%, inventory dropped 16%, and sales increased 9.3%. 8:01 (Roy): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 73% to 52% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 27.5%, inventory rose 14.5%, and sales increased 22.2%.8:47 (Graham): The likelihood of sellers getting their home sold dropped from 90.5% to 54.6% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 26.7%, inventory rose 1.7%, and sales increased 14%. If you have any questions about your specific market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.

For part one of my latest Pierce County market report, you’ll see the latest statistics from Gig Harbor, North Tacoma, Central Tacoma, University Place and Fircrest, and Browns Point. Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Here is the first part of my area-by-area Pierce County August market report, with all the most important statistics you need to know. I’ve attached timestamps of the video above so you can jump ahead to your specific community:0:48 (Gig Harbor): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped compared to the previous month to 43.4%. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.7% to $530,000, inventory dropped 24%, and sales decreased 5.3%.1:46 (North Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 124% to 89% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.9%, inventory dropped 19%, and sales decreased 20%. 2:45 (Central Tacoma): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 326% to 79.5% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price decreased 20.3%, inventory rose 2.6%, and sales decreased 34%. 3:31 (University Place and Fircrest): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold increased from 83.6% to 90% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 21.3%, inventory dropped almost 26%, and sales decreased 1.4%. 4:27 (Browns Point): The likelihood of sellers getting their homes sold dropped from 150% to 71.4% compared to the previous month. Year over year, the median sale price increased 8%, inventory dropped 35.5%, and sales increased 9.4%.If your area wasn’t listed, be sure to check out part two of this market update. If you have any questions about your specific market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you.  

 Many people have been asking me if we’re headed toward another real estate market crash. Here are my thoughts.   Want to sell your home? Get a FREE home value report. Want to buy a home? Search all homes for sale.Is the real estate market going to crash? I’ve been getting that question more frequently, so today I wanted to give you my answer. There are plenty of differences between what we saw in the crash about 10 years ago and what we’re seeing in the market right now. We peaked in the summer of 2007 before dropping 45% and bottoming out in 2012. Since that time, we’ve seen an upward trajectory in the market.We’re due for a correction soon, but a crash is unlikely. A recession is certainly plausible. However, a recession simply means we’ll see a slowing in the pace of growth, which is healthy and needed. Here are a few different statistics that show we are in a different place then we were back then.In 2005, everybody with a pulse could get a subprime mortgage loan. In fact, $620 billion was loaned in subprime mortgages back then. That made up 20% of all mortgages. These days, we are only seeing about $56 billion spent in subprime loans, which is only 5% of the market. This means that the banking industry has learned their lesson and isn’t being irresponsible with loans like they were in the past.“Homeowners are much more responsible with their equity these days. ”Banks have certainly increased their lending standards since the market crash. In 2016, the loans given out by lenders were the highest quality of loans that we’ve seen in the previous 15 years. Back in 2001, the average FICO score for a homebuyer was 490, which is awful. In 2009, that figure jumped to 686—a much more reasonable score.Finally, American homebuyers are much more responsible when it comes to using their equity. In 2006, homeowners were pulling out $85 billion worth of equity. A lot of it was being misused in the form of buying second homes, cars, and other unnecessary expenditures. These days, our community has been much more responsible. Although values have come back to where they were before the crash, only $14 billion was pulled out for equity in the last year.In the Puget Sound area, our average sale price is now above where it was at the peak in 2007. People understand the market better and are more responsible with their assets.If you have any questions about the market, your home, or your future buying or selling plans, don’t hesitate to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.