OPEN HOUSE - Sun, Nov 30 from 1:00p - 3:30p

Terrific NEW Price -- Canyon Park Home

May All Good Things Be Yours In Abundance -- Happy Thanksgiving!

OPEN HOUSE - Mon, Nov 24 from 12p - Dusk

An Evening of Holiday Cheer & Photos with Santa with Windermere Woodinville Office

YOU ARE INVITED TO...
An Evening of Holiday Cheer & Photos with Santa with
our office, Windermere Woodinville

Friday, December 5th, 5:30 to 9:30 PM
13901 NE 175th St, Ste 100, Woodinville

Bring the whole family! Take a FREE photo with Santa,

and join your neighbors for cookies and cider.

This holiday season, Windermere asks...

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

Come to our event and share your thoughts by filling out an

event card, or send us an e-mail: woodinville@windermere.com

We are also accepting donations for the

FORGOTTEN CHILDREN'S FUND

Please help out if you can.

Donations accepted anytime at our office,

or simply call me and I can stop by to pick it up.

A friend asked "Is Inventory in Snohomish/Everett (Cathcart Area) down compared to this summer?"

For those of you who haven't discovered the time-consuming, all-addictive social network called Facebook (www.facebook.com) I can tell you that I have. But through it I have gained connections to old friends and made great connections with new ones. And although I do enjoy the social aspect to this forum, I also enjoy my ability to share my successes in Real Estate with those to whom am connected - I believe my positive attitude and consistent contact with my clients and friends has helped me thrive through what has been a slower than past market.

Recently, an friend posed a question to me on facebook, outside of the typical "Hey there - How are you?"

Tanya G. asked me -
"Hey Stacey, I was curious to know why on Windermere there is suddenly so much less inventory of houses in our area? It seemed like this summer there was so much. Are people just not putting stuff on the market or is it selling quickly in our neck of the woods? Hope you are well and getting a ton of business :-)"

The first point I can make is when she refers to "Windermere", she is commenting on the Windermere's website (http://www.windermere.com/), where an individual can search through all homes listed on the NWMLS whether they be listed with a Windermere Agent or another real estate agency. Additionally, the area she references by "Our Area" is the Everett/Snohomish Area located just off Cathcart Way near Hwy 9 and Seattle Hill Road -- and what a Real Estate Agent would classify as area 740.

So with all of that said I prepared a graph to show the trends of inventory of homes, pending sales and sold homes for that specific area, narrowed down by the price range and square footage size found in that area $300,000 - $699,999.

So as you can see Tanya, inventory is down from the summer, but pending sales comparatively are much higher. Typically, you do see homeowners who have been trying to sell their homes take them off the market during what they believe is a "bad time" to sell (from November through December) -- however, I disagree with this thought process since homes do sell during these times and the buyers that are looking to buy are SERIOUS buyers, not just "lookey-loos" -- they usually need a home and have less inventory to view during these months, so why not let yours be one that they look at? Additionally, when those buyers who have taken their homes off the market put them back on in January, you suddenly see a HUGE rise in inventory.

Buying vs. Renting - The Benefits of Home Ownership

Trends in home prices, personal income and mortgage rates,combined with the tax advantages of home ownership, make this an excellent time to turn the home of your dreams into a reality. If you’re thinking of buying a home, you’ve probably already asked yourself, “Can I afford to buy?” Another good question to ask is, “Can I afford to continue renting?” No matter what you’re currently paying for rent, your total cash outlay over a period of several years will probably add up to a much bigger total than you may have realized. The chart below shows how quickly the rent payments you’re making add up figuring in what this money would earn invested at 5
percent interest.