Buildable Land?

From Jeanne Lang Jones and the Seattle Business Magazine 

Only 3,900 new [buildable] lots are added annually…415,000 new residents to the Puget Sound area since 2012

Inventory is increasing, but it’s too little too late for Seattle Homebuyers.  Inventory levels in Seattle have grown 54.7% since April 28^th to a city-wide level of 764 homes for sale.  On one hand, wow!  Over 50% growth in inventory in the last 6 weeks!  On the other…  764 total homes for sale is still not very many, in a city where the US Census Bureau estimates 704,000 residents (year ending July 1, 2016). That’s about 1 house for sale for every 921 Seattle residents.

Part of the problem can be found in one of the best written articles for WHY Seattle housing is where it is I’ve read in a long time.  There are lots of reasons, but Jeanne Lang Jones from the Seattle Business Magazine takes a pretty in-depth look at two of the major reasons, one of which is simply a lack of new homes being built.  The link to the full article is below, but basically the Washington Growth Management Act limits the areas where builders can construct new homes, and for better or worse, it’s too constrictive.  Builders just don’t have enough buildable land near the city centers…and the land they can find, given the demand, it’s much more profitable to build townhomes or multifamily (condos/apartments).  Bye Bye white picket fence and big back yard  : (

On top of not enough land, institutional investors have purchased around 44,000 homes in the region in recent years.  The lack of new homes + the additional demand from investors has Seattle as the tightest real estate market in the country per Realtor.com. 

Again, if you have some time, I definitely recommend checking out the full article below

Full article by Jeanne Lang Jones:  http://seattlebusinessmag.com/real-estate/vanishing-dream-home-ownership

I have a listing for a buildable waterfront lot on Lake Walker in Enumclaw. Send me a private message at wendy@c21nwr.com for more details.

Happy Investing!

Local Real Estate News

Western Washington pending home sales higher than listings in January

http://www.kentreporter.com/business/western-washington-pending-home-sales-higher-than-listings-in-january/

Seattle workers are second-best paid techies in U.S.

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/seattle-tech-workers-are-second-best-paid-in-us/

Seattle No. 6 in new ranking of best places to live in U.S.

http://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/press-room/articles/2017-02-07/us-news-unveils-the-2017-best-places-to-live

How long are Seattle’s houses on the market?

http://seattle.curbed.com/2017/1/30/14433998/seattle-houses-time-on-the-market

Single women finding it unaffordable to buy homes in Seattle and many other large cities

http://www.seattlepi.com/realestate/article/Single-women-out-of-luck-when-it-comes-to-home-10918528.php

Seattle home prices grow at slowest pace in three years

http://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-home-prices-grow-at-slowest-pace-in-three-years/

More workers are turning to transit to get to Downtown Seattle jobs

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/as-jobs-grow-in-downtown-seattle-workers-turn-more-to-transit/

Silicon Valley tech workers lead migration to Seattle

http://www.geekwire.com/2017/silicon-valley-employees-leading-the-migration-to-seattle-new-study-finds/

HAPPY INVESTING!

Chinese Investment in Seattle

What do London, Paris, and Dubai have in common? Aside from being the most popular cities in the world to visit, none of them are the new hotspot for Chinese real estate investors. In fact, through an impromptu IP search, Amy Bohutinsky, chief marketing officer at Zillow found that the second most popular United States search destination for users in China was Bellevue, and the fifth was Seattle.

Wondering how the greater Seattle area became so popular? It provides “luxuries” that China is lacking- clean air, space to move around, and the opportunity to own land. “In China, you purchase a land lease and after a certain amount of time, usually 75 years, the land goes back to the government,” explained Director of New Markets Development for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest, Joseph Ho. Beyond their attraction to Seattle’s culture and environment, Chinese investors are seeking offshore financial stability. This stability is of growing concern, following China’s recent stock market dive. In January, “the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.6 percent, putting it more than 20 percent below its December high and entering bear-market territory for the second time in seven months,” according to Bloomberg News.

Although China’s currency has devalued in response to their roller coaster stock market, further investments are not projected to slow. In fact, Chinese investments may actually accelerate, as investors are noticing returns of five to eight percent within the past year; compared to the alternative of leaving their money in China.

To prevent capital flight, the Chinese government has an annual foreign conversion limit of $50,000. How are they purchasing real estate in Seattle? “People with money find ways around that limit,” Kristi Heim, president of the Washington State China Relations Council explained. In fact, there are incentives if they do. Through the EB-5 visa program, foreigners are provided with a way to obtain their green card and immigrate to the United States in return for a capital investment of $500,000-$1,000,000 in an American development that will create ten permanent jobs.

According to the National Association of Realtors, for the first time, Canada has been knocked down to the second largest group of foreign real estate buyers in the United States. Who surpassed them? You guessed it, China.

Not only are Chinese investors purchasing an abundant amount of real estate in the United States, but between March 2014 and March 2015 buyers from China spent $28.6 billion; eight percent of which was used to acquire homes in Washington State, which was only surpassed by 35 percent in California. As a distant comparison, buyers from Canada spent $11.2 billion, though only falling behind China by two percent in terms of buyers.

For decades, buyers from China set their sights on Vancouver, British Columbia, pushing the average single-family home price to over $1 million despite the city’s median income of $71,000. Another result of this craze is an increasing amount of neighborhoods filled with vacant houses due to investors who are solely interested in diversifying their portfolios.

How does this impact your own real estate journey? Chinese investors are willing to excessively overpay for these properties with cash, making it nearly impossible for locals to acquire homes. Since this influx of investors is not projected to slow anytime soon, you will need to be well-armed if you are looking to purchase a home. 

Happy Investing!

Today's blog courtesy of Will Heaton, Heaton and Dainard, Intrust Investing

Seattle Market Update

Exciting week for buyers this week!  Inventory increased at its quickest pace this year adding 54 homes, or 8.39% to the overall stock of homes for sale within Seattle City Limits!  Prices and Days on the Market also moved sideways this past week for the first time in a long time.  It’s still a highly competitive market out there, but at least it’s not becoming MORE competitive.  If you have buyers who got frustrated and took a small sabbatical from house hunting, now might be a good time for them to take another look. 

In other news, great article in the Seattle Times last week…and no, I’m not talking about the one where we need another zip code (564) because there are too many people moving to Washington and not enough phone numbers to go around - I’m talking about the “Million-dollar-home count triples across Seattle area in 4 years” one.  The headline says it all, but the story is full of great housing stats including comparisons between the current Seattle housing market and California’s (ie. Despite going from 2.5% to 7% of all homes being worth at least $1m in the Seattle region in the last four years; California still has it worse – In San Francisco 57% of all homes are worth at least $1m). 

Check out the full story here:  http://www.seattletimes.com/business/million-dollar-home-count-triples-across-seattle-area-in-4-years/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=mobile-app&utm_campaign=ios

Happy Investing!

Today's blog post courtesy of Kyle Bergquist, Guild Mortgage

First-Time Homebuyer Loans

ARE THERE SPECIAL MORTGAGES FOR FIRST-TIME
HOMEBUYERS?
Yes

Affordable First time home buyer options

WSHFC Home Advantage

NHF Platinum

MCC Tax Credit

WHAT IS AN NHF PLATINUM LOAN?

True Grant For Down Payment and Closing Costs
and or Pre-Paid Items

Income Less Than $103,040 In King and Snohomish
Counties

FHA/VA 5% of First Mortgage Amount

Conventional 3% of First Mortgage Amount

USDA 3% of First Mortgage Amount

QUALIFYING

FHA 640-659 FICO 45% DTI

FHA 660 and Above 50% DTI

Manufactured Homes    660 FICO

FNMA My Community 97% 680, FICO FNMA Income

FNMA My Community 95% 640, FICO FNMA MCM

FNMA Condo 95% and lower LTVs

Standard FNMA 95% 740 FICO 140% Area Median
Income

1 Unit Properties only

Maximum Loan Amounts $417,000

1.5% Origination Fee All Programs

This is simply a general outline of financing available for first-time homebuyers. If you are interested in learning more about your qualifications to buy your first house, please send me a private message at HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com or call my 24/7 recorded hotline at 888-621-4999.

Happy Investing!

Today's blog courtesy of Cheryl Taylor, American Pacific Mortgage