Leavenworth Real Estate

Archive for the 'Home Buyers' Category

Cashmere Real Estate | Sold Homes March 2011

 

In March, one home sold in Cashmere.

 

5652 Weatherend Drive, Cashmere

List price: $235,000.  Sold price: $110,000.

Days on Market: 277

3 bedrooms | 2.5 bath | 1750 sqft | 1 acre

An interesting property with two homes on one acre just outside the city limits of Cashmere.  The second home is a small one bedroom, one bath house that could be used as a rental.  The sale might have been a short sale and may be one reason for the long time on market.

 

 

More Leavenworth and Cashmere Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for February 2010
• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for March 2011
• Click Here to Search for Cashmere Homes for Sale

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Windermere’s Leavenworth Team Still Dominant

In 2009 Windermere closed the doors of our Leavenworth branch and consolidated all our agents and office staff in Wenatchee.

Our competitors have tried to tell their clients that we are out of business and it’s a question we get asked often when folks interview us to list their Leavenworth home.

While our support staff is located in Wenatchee, we do maintain a conference room in Leavenworth (at Mittenwalder Platz below Dr. O’ Briens Dentistry) and we have lots of agents who still live and work in Leavenworth.

Looking at the 2011 sales numbers, it’s clear that our lack of office isn’t slowing us down. So far in 2011, Windermere agents have sold more houses than any other company.

Single Family Home Sales in Leavenworth 2011 YTD (sides)

• Windermere Real Estate 8 (25%)
• Leavenworth Properties 6 (20%)
• Prudential Mike West 6 (20%)
• The Johns 3 (10%)
• Lake Wenatchee Properties 3 (10%)

Thanks for your trust and dedication. It’s our loyal clients and friends that keep us coming back to work each day.

 

 

 

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

2011 Mortgage Rates: Analysis From Darel Ansley

This is a Guest Post from Darel Ansley of Peoples Bank in Wenatchee

Executive Summary

 Mortgage rates finished last week around 4.75%. I think for the 2011 selling season we will remain in a range with 5.5% being an extreme high and maybe 4.25% as an extreme low with 4.5-5.25% being more likely.  I was expecting some good growth this year in sales volume to westsiders as their software jobs etc. have remained steady, and the price of a 2^nd home over here has dropped.  However, I am concerned about all the recent news which projects uncertainty:  gas prices, earthquakes, Nuclear reactors, Mideast unrest, etc. driving people back to their 2009-2010 tight habits.

So low stable mortgage rates and nice low prices should be bringing the 2^nd home buyers back, but we have to watch the news headlines to really find out.

Lengthy Analysis

Mortgage rates and the Stock market

Mortgage rates generally follow the 10 yr. US Treasury note, because investors who buy the packaged Fannie Mae or other Agency Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) are buying a stream of mortgage payments, and most homes are sold or refinanced within 10 yrs.  The 10 yr. bond has been around 3.3% and the rate on a purchase mortgage is about 4.75% , so you can say that the difference is just the risk factor of MBSs over US Bonds.  Likewise, when cities, counties, states and foreign governments sell their bonds, they also are priced at a risk factor above US Treasuries. For instance, a 10 yr. bond backed by the government of Portugal is currently at 7.7%.  This means that the bond market (the net of all investors who buy bonds) has determined that it is much more likely that homeowners in the US will make their mortgage payments than the country of Portugal to make theirs. 

 Investors buy fixed income securities like bonds or MBS because the return is fixed and presumed safe.  Investors make the choice when they see the 10 yr. treasury yielding 3.3% , they decide how much of their money they want to lock in there VS the unpredictable stock market.  When it looks like the stocks will do well, people pull money out of bonds and put more in stocks.  When the future of stocks looks more risky, more money runs to the bonds.  The more people buy bonds, the lower the yield, and in our world, Mortgage rates drop.  The opposite happens when people think the stock market will do well; mortgage rates rise.  So in recent weeks, people are concerned about corporate profits if Japanese semiconductor supplies drop, and/or Japanese spending on US products drop.  Also, with regard to Mideast tension, if Oil and gasoline prices rise, people will have less money in their pockets to buy other consumer goods (especially as food prices have already increased).  So these two events caused investors to sell stocks and buy bonds, so mortgage rates dropped.

The cap on rates

I am not concerned about mortgage rates going to 7 in the near future.  While our government printing press has been working overtime in a fashion that might normally cause this to happen, I believe there is a cap to rates because of the following:   Mortgage rates are derived from US Treasury rates as explained above.  If mortgage rates get to even 6%, this would mean US 10-year Treasury notes would be paying roughly 4.5%.  But if that becomes true, Portugal will need to be paying about 9%.  If Portugal can barely pay its bills at 7.7%, it heir rate goes to 9%, they would have to lay off a ton of government employees and cut programs and spending just to pay their interest, if they do that, the laid off workers and the government starts buying much less from Germany, Spain and other European countries.  As there are many European countries currently on the ropes because of too much debt and spending, the whole European economy begins to contract rapidly, and they cut their purchases of US goods.  Plus the multinational companies like GE, McDonalds ,Microsoft, Starbucks, etc. that rely on worldwide sales for their profits would begin to see their volumes drop. 

So – stocks start to drop and look uncertain, so investors run back and put their money in the safety of US Treasuries which brings down mortgage rates.

 If this seems like a never-ending cycle; good analysis – it is, because if you remember it was a debt crises that got us into this recession, and all we have done is move the debt away from the big banks to the Governments (bailouts) and then we added to the debt (stimulus) and made it worse.

 Two last points.  First – my prediction that rates could get back down to 4.25% – this is because the terrible program from the FED called Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) comes to an end in June.   The mediocre results we have been getting are with the FED spending hundreds of Billions; when that comes to an end, it may be like removing the life support from the stock market.

Second – Our good friends to the North, the Canadians; I used to tease my Canadian friends about their Socialist government policies, but I have since shut up.  All you have to do is look at their unemployment.  They didn’t go the route of a stimulus package, and their unemployment is back in the 7s where it was pre-crises.  We could maybe learn something there.

The bottom line may not help any of our incomes right now, but here it is: our population grows every day, so there is always an increased need for housing. Temporarily, 20 somethings might move back into Mom’s basement etc., but long term, the more people there are, the greater the need for housing.

Leavenworth Real Estate | Sold Homes February 2011

 

In February, four homes sold in the Leavenworth area.

 

23112 Saddle Street, Leavenworth

List price: $229,000.  Sold price: $147,500.

Days on Market: 323

2 bedrooms | 1 bath | 600 sqft | .58 acres

A small but cute cabin at the edge of the Ponderosa Estates neighborhood with one bedroom that was a loft accessible by ladder.  The home is waterfront, although it is very steep access.  The home is also right next to the high voltage power lines.

 

 

 

 

18098 North Shore Drive, Leavenworth

List price: $460,000.  Sold price: $395,000.

Days on Market: 226

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1800 sqft | .17 acres

Newer cabin with lots of interior wood accents.  It is across the street from Lake Wenatchee.

 

 

 

 

22585 Lake Wenatchee Highway, Leavenworth

List price: $599,000.  Sold price: $490,000.

Days on Market: 6.08

3 bedrooms | 2 bath | 1900 sqft | 6.08 acres

Log cabin on the north side of Lake Wenatchee Highway with a large meadow and a creek.  The home was really a two bedroom with a bonus room.  The home is in a very private setting with great views of Dirty Face Mountain.

 

 

 

15870 Cedar Brae Road, Leavenworth

List price: $765,000.  Sold price: $698,500.

Days on Market: 580

5 bedrooms | 2.75 bath | 2400 sqft | .22 acres

Newer construction on the south side of Lake Wenatchee.  The home has views and 100′ of lake front.  The home has a steep shared driveway that is typically not plowed in the winter.  The home originally went on the market in 2009 with an asking price of $970,000.

 

 

More Leavenworth Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for January 2011
• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for February 2011
• Click Here to Search for Leavenworth Homes for Sale

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Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.

Cashmere Real Estate | Sold Homes February 2011

 

Only one home sold in Cashmere this month, but it was a doozie.

 

1165 Willems Road, Cashmere

List price: $1,950,000.  Sold price: $1,650,000.

Days on Market: 148

3 bedrooms | 2.5 bath | 1494 sqft | 719 acres

No, that is not a typo.  The property is 719 acres in three parcels.  The property has a modest cabin with large garage, additional bunk house, and LOTS of elbow room.  The property has been on and off the market since 2007.

 

 

More Leavenworth and Cashmere Real Estate Info

• Click Here to See Cashmere Sold Homes for January 2010
• Click Here to See Leavenworth Sold Homes for February 2011
• Click Here to Search for Cashmere Homes for Sale

**********************************************************************************************************

Required Disclaimer

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.