Housing Stats for 11/20/2005

Watching stats like these will help you determine what kind of a market you are in.

For Kitsap County Washington as of 11/20/2005

953 Active Listings
72 Homes went Pending last week
52Average Days on Market
$278,189 Average List Price
$275,704Average Sale Price
99% List price to sale price ratio
13.23 weeks of inventory

Learn more about Defining Your Market.

Bcoming a Real Estate Agent

Becoming a real estate agent is just like starting your own business, however most do not approach it with that mind-set.
8 or 9 out of 10 agents don't make it their first year.
10% of the agents make 90% of the money.

Having said that, real estate is one of the more exciting and rewarding businesses you can get into provided you come in with your eyes wide open. See The Three Bridges discussion in my web site.

Ask lots of questions of friends who are agents, talk with local brokers.

Read books about getting into real estate.

Start saving your money so that you have start up capital to start your new business.

Stay tuned to this Blog for more information about becoming an agent and tips for new agents.

Blogroll Me!

Your input for my next article would be appreciated.

Please take a moment and take the poll or survey on the bar to the right. In return my next post will be about interest rates. There are a lot of misperceptions out there concerning interest rates and your input will help me focus the post.

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Real Estate Stats for Kitsap County Washington 11/6/2005

Watching stats like these will help you determine what kind of a market you are in.

For Kitsap County Washington as of 11/6/2005

935 Active Listings
50 Homes went Pending last week
52 Average Days on Market
$276,924 Average List Price
$274,861 Average Sale Price
99% List price to sale price ratio
18.7 weeks of inventory

Learn more about Defining Your Market.

Home Buyers of Today, Younger, Smart, Wired!

Who are they? They are the Echo Boomers or X Gen. They were born between 1982 and 1995. They are between the ages of 10 and 23. They are the children of the Baby Boom crowd. This group of 80 million have never known a time without a computer. They are more tech savvy then any previous generation. Much of their lives revolve around what their parents would consider gadgets, and doodads their grandparents never would have dreamed of. (Fortunately a few did or we would not have them today.)

This group will affect what a house looks like, how it functions, how we build them and how we sell them. In order to serve the Echos a typically older crowd of real estate professionals will have to change how they work, how they meet and how they communicate with their new buyers.

Wired houses....video, audio, security, networking and of course high speed internet. Speaking of high speed, this generation wants quick and constant input. Prompt returned e-mails, updated photos, daily updates on their transactions.

Their consumer pressure and improved electronic communication will decrease the time it takes to buy a home. What is now a 4 to 6 week process will become condensed into a 1 to 3 week transaction. They are more likely to find and choose their Realtor from a web page, because their friend sent them an IM or through a Blog.

The home they choose will have been viewed from every angle without having even visited the house. They will have viewed virtual tours, a photo walk thru and downloaded pictures from space. They will know who bought it, when and for how much via information available on the internet. Their offer will jump from electron to electron over miles of wire as it makes its way between buyer, seller, agents, lenders, appraisers, title and escrow....and these buyers would have it no other way.

If Your Home Is Not Selling, A Rule of Thumb.

Even in a Sellers market you will find that there are some houses that just don't sell. It can be the price, the condition or the terms......bottom line....it always comes back to price. A rule of thumb I've taught my agents for years: > If you are getting no showings, thus no offers you are more than 5% high. > If you are getting showings, but no offers than you are 3 - 5% high. > If you are priced right you will get both showings and offers.

Views of Kitsap County Washington

Just another Northwest morning over Seabeck Bay. This is why people move to this area. Or prices and quality of life are unparalleled.

This is Seabeck Bay, part of Hood Canal. Depths of the canal exceed 1000 feet, the result of a glaciers work.

Homes on the water start at $500,000 and go up, homes with views start at $350,000.

The school districts are great. Seabeck is part of the Central Kitsap School District.