Question for Realtors from a Realtors wife (Spokane, Riverside: days on market, sales) - Washington (WA) - City-Data Forum

slay6454 · 09-08-2012, 01:19 AM

My husband is a Real Estate and Mortgage Broker We are considering a move to the Spokane area in June 2013. The Real Estate market here in Riverside county Ca. where we are at went in the toilet in January of 2010. It is just now barely starting to get a few houses on the market. Every agent we know is working other multiple ""JOBS"" to make ends meet.

2 years ago if you could breathe you could get a loan my husband refused to do those kind of loans unless the person was really qualified because he didn't want to see anyone out on the street. Now it is the other extreme and its almost impossible to get a loan unless you really don't need it.

My question is what is the market like in the Spokane area now? 3-6 months ago? Also, what changes or improvements do you see coming down the road? How long are houses staying on the market?

Also, what Real Estate companies have you had good and bad expriences working for? I'm not trying to wage any war of words between companies. We are starting fresh and just trying to find out best options as we owned our own 3 person office and always worked off of referrals and word of mouth.

Feel free to pm me if you don't want to go into too much detail in open forum. The info will be extremely helpful. Thank you all in advance?

Yeledaf · 09-13-2012, 05:13 PM

Why must you capitalize Real Estate and Mortgage Broker?

I mean, not even ministers, priests, or brain surgeons get to capitalize their jobs. Nobel Prize winners do. So do Presidents, Governors, and Senators.

But real estate salesmen? Please. That seems so....Pretentious.

slay6454 · 09-14-2012, 03:18 AM

Yeledaf you are a riot! You finally responded to one of my posts. I am honored.
The reason for the capitalization is that I was always a very poor student in English all through Junior high and High school. I always figured when in doubt BS my way thru and capitalize capitalize capitalize. There I said it that feels good to get it off my chest

Now if I could actually get someone to answer my question life would be good.

WendyK · 09-14-2012, 07:56 AM

I will give my experience as a realtor in the Spokane area where I have worked since 1998. The boom years of 2005, 2006 & 2007 were super busy with floods of people coming from California, Nevada, Alaska, etc. buying up homes with multiple offers and escalated prices. Then everything came to a halt and the years of 2008, 2009, 2010 were pretty dismal with activity and prices falling. The past 2 years have been a little more brisk and hopeful, and we're now seeing some price increases and multiple offer situations. Inventory levels are slightly down, so buyers have less to choose from in some areas. Market time really varies depending on the location of the house - some homes in town in desired areas are selling right away, others have been on the market for many months.

If your husband is the type who can easily meet people and gain their trust, then he should do fine in the Spokane area. It may take a year or so for him to get involved and meet people in the area but there are certainly opportunities here. The main brokerages in this area are Windermere, Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, Century 21. You can have him contact me if he wants to know more about working in the area.

Yeledaf · 09-15-2012, 12:06 AM

Okay, you two. I'm putting you both on notice that I want you in my corner when I get home from Japan next year and put my house on the market...

slay6454 · 09-15-2012, 01:51 AM

I won't be there till June. So if its after that it works for me if not it will just be you and WendyK

Yeledaf · 09-15-2012, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slay6454

I won't be there till June. So if its after that it works for me if not it will just be you and WendyK

And a few of our closest Friends.

slay6454 · 09-20-2012, 02:25 AM

Thanks so much for your help Wendy K

buyandsell509 · 10-05-2012, 03:38 PM

Hi there. The last 3-6 months have been very good for Spokane's housing market. We've seen increased sales, deminished distressed inventory, and even a little bit of growth. Sales are up 20% year over year for the past 3 quarters, and that's the first time that's happened since '07. Days on market has decreased dramatically as sales have increased and inventory has decreased. New construction has come out of it's shell and new starts are up 20%. That is really good news since it shows growth and some faith in the market/economy. Of course, some people selling their houses are against a wall of debt, especially if they bought in '06 through '10 and are trying to sell in today's market. Most of that inventory is overpriced and stays on the market for a really long time if it sells at all. That can skew numbers quite a bit and make it appear that homes aren't selling, or that Days on Market statistics are high, but I think that if you are overpriced then you really aren't in the market at all. We've seen many full price offers and multiple offer situations all over town, both new and used. I think we've really turned the corner in the Spokane market.
Moderator cut: see note

slay6454 · 10-05-2012, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by buyandsell509

Hi there. The last 3-6 months have been very good for Spokane's housing market. We've seen increased sales, deminished distressed inventory, and even a little bit of growth. Sales are up 20% year over year for the past 3 quarters, and that's the first time that's happened since '07. Days on market has decreased dramatically as sales have increased and inventory has decreased. New construction has come out of it's shell and new starts are up 20%. That is really good news since it shows growth and some faith in the market/economy. Of course, some people selling their houses are against a wall of debt, especially if they bought in '06 through '10 and are trying to sell in today's market. Most of that inventory is overpriced and stays on the market for a really long time if it sells at all. That can skew numbers quite a bit and make it appear that homes aren't selling, or that Days on Market statistics are high, but I think that if you are overpriced then you really aren't in the market at all. We've seen many full price offers and multiple offer situations all over town, both new and used. I think we've really turned the corner in the Spokane market.
Moderator cut: see note

It really helps to look at all points of view. Also, it does make a difference in the numbers when there are sellers out there that are unreasonable in thier sale prices no matter how you try to educate them.
Thanks for the great info