Real Estate Information

The Holiday season has arrived and we have successfully made it past Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  The sales are in full swing and there are several craft fairs each of the next couple of weekends.  The event you need to know about is this Friday night, December 4Th.

The Winter Wonderland and Tree Lighting ceremony in Town Square Park.  This is a big event put on by the Chugiak/Eagle River Chamber of Commerce.  The Eagle River Rotary will be bring Santa and his sleigh to the event, and local merchants will have booths set up to distribute hot drinks and seasonal treats.  The Chugiak/Eagle River Senior Center will be selling bowls of hot soup as a fund raiser, and the Chamber and Eagle River Rotary will be collecting food for local families.

Many of our local school choirs will be present to entertain, as well as singers for the Performing Arts Academy.  This is a lot of fun for everyone.  There will be free sleigh rides, and Santa Claus will be present to say hi to the kids.  Our office will be there handing out warm cookies to our friends and neighbors.

The Merry Merchant Munch is Friday and Saturday.  Prudential Jack White/Vista Real Estate and Homestate Mortgage will be participating on Friday afternoon, please stop by to see the decorations and holiday snacks.

As we look forward to Thanksgiving, we should look back at what has transpired in our local real estate market.  We have a lot to be thankful for. 

This year sales of existing homes has been steady.  As of today the number of sales is outpacing last year.  Inventory levels are well below last years numbers.

Single Family Homes

Condominiums/Townhomes

• 76 Sales in 2008 vs. 68 Sales in 2009
• 10.5% drop in the number sales
• Median Sales price decreased from $227,000 to $222,500

The difference in condo price does reflect a lack of new construction in this segment as well as downward pressure on prices of existing condos.

Construction of new homes sales has increased so far this year up 18.%, 44 new homes vs. 36 last year.

We have a lot to be thankful for.  Our housing market is good, pricing is stable, and some new homes are being built.  If you have a good home, and a roof over your head, please do something to help those that do not.

I would like to thank all the wonderful people I worked with this year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Is now the time to buy a home? 

Can you afford it? 

What are interest rates going to do? 

Should I? 

What if it's not my perfect home?

These are questions we all ask ourselves, and I am here to say that there is no easy answer.  But there can be peace of mind in making a decision and moving in one direction or another. 

Uncertainty causes stress.  Stress causes health problems.  Stay away from the stress.

My father gave me very good advice when I was younger.  I was looking at two career paths and did not know which one would be the better one.  He told me to pick one, and don't look back, go for it.  I did and for the next ten years I excelled at my career.  That move eventually launched me into my present career.

This is a simple lessen, and we've all heard a version of it from someone.  It doesn't make it any easier to make a decision, but here is something that might. 

Change in Interest vs. Reduced Sales Price

Purchase Price  $200,000

Interest  Rate  5%                          Term  30 years                              Payment  $1,073.64

  ½% Increase in Rate  $1,135.58

  5% Increase in Price  $1,127.33

A ½% change in interest rates is approximately equal to 5% change in price  

  1% Increase in Rate  $1,199.10

  10% Increase in Price  $1,181.01

A 1% change in interest rates is approximately equal to 10% change in price 

The National Association of Realtors anticipates that Interest rates will be gin to rise in 2010 and that by the end of the year they will be approximately 5.8%. Compared to day's rate that is an increase of 1% or you will end up paying 10% more for your home. 

I think that says it all.

Murkowski Announces Town Hall Meeting on Health Care in Chugiak

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today announced that she will hold a town hall meeting in Chugiak on health care reform next Wednesday, November 11, 2009, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Mirror Lake Middle School.


“In my efforts to keep Alaskans informed about the health care debate in Washington, I will hold a health care town hall meeting in Chugiak next week,” Sen. Murkowski said. “I continue to hear from Alaskans on this critical issue. The opportunity to share with my constituents what I know about the legislation that is being debated in the Senate and the House of Representatives and to hear their views is an important part of the representative process.”
  
Sen. Murkowski held health care town halls in Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Mat-Su Valley and the Kenai Peninsula in August, a video town hall from Washington with residents in Kodiak in September and two telephone town halls with Alaska constituents earlier this year.
 
WHO:              U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski
 
WHAT:            Town Hall meeting on health care reform legislation
 
WHEN:            Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
 
WHERE:        Mirror Lake Middle School
                       22901 Lake Hill Dr.
                       Chugiak, AK 99567-2069

I received my first report of a frozen pipe.  You heard me, someones pipes froze.  The weather has turned and its cold.  8 degrees was the reading on my thermometer on Monday morning.  Today is better about 35, which made the roads really slick.  We will discuss this at another time.

Lets talk about winterizing your home.  Why? Because if you do not, it will, not it may, it will cost you alot of money. 

This time of year were busy, I understand.  I've got at least 6 appointment this week, but that is no excuse.  I visited a home on Tuesday and the hose was still hooked up to the faucet.  Yes, it was frozen, and this can lead to a busted pipe just inside the wall. Here's a short list of things you need to do:

• Remove all hoses from outside faucets.
• If you can turn the water of to a exterior faucet, do so, and make sure you drain it.
• Visit your crawl space and make sure that the vents are closed.  they were open during the summer months to help ventilate the crawl space.  make sure they're closed.  This will help you heating bill and protect against frozen pipes.
• Have your furnace inspected.
• Change the filter in the furnace, this will lessen the wear and tear on the unit.
• If you have storm windows, now is the time to put them on.
• Make sure your snow blower is working properly
• buy several bags of snow melt and have it ready.
• Clean out your gutters, this helps protect you from ice damming.

This only takes at most an hour of your time.  Calling the plumber when the pipes freeze could take hours, and the bill could be in excess of $15,000. Yes, that's right.  One repair bill I saw after the pipes froze was in excess of $15,000. There was a lot of damage done to the home.

It's winter, take of your home. Oh, bythe way, put new wiper blades on this weekend.  If it snows you'll really appreciate it.

I was very surprised this morning when I reviewed the current homes listed for sale in Eagle River.  The number of homes has been slowly diminishing as we moved into the fall selling season, which is reverse of what we normally see. 

If you are looking for a home; the number of home you could visit got much smaller this week: 

• Only 91 homes are on the market available for sale. 
• There a few new homes being built, but not the number need to keep the market balanced. 
• This last week there was only one new home listed for sale and 7 homes went under contract.

Several homes left the market; at least one was a higher priced home and there is very few buyers above the $700,000 mark.  These sellers are waiting for spring.

Good news out there about the First Time Home buyers tax credit:

• It appears that Congress is about to pass some type of extension that may allow you to purchase a new home and receive the credit, as long as you buy a house before next April. 
• There appears to be two versions of the bill, one in the Senate and one in the House. 
• They will need to get together and come up with something they both agree on. 
• It does appear that they may have a meeting of the minds before Thanksgiving.

From what I see there are more people moving to Eagle River in the coming months.  My estimate is 35-50 new families are currently on their way to Alaska and will be in in January and February.  You might want to sell your home and move into something more fitting for you. 

I have two websites that can assist you. 

For Sellers- www.ValueMyAlaskanHome.com

For Buyers- www.EagleRiverHomesforSale.com

Feel free to comment ont his post here or text me at 907-360-7471.

The 2009 AHBA Parade of Homes was held the last weekend of September.  The weather was nice and the 100's of people hit the streets to see the latest creations of the Anchorage Home Builders.  The total number of entries in this years Parade of Homes was 25.  These home were spread out across Anchorage and Eagle River.  They ranged in price from $199,000 to $1,800,000, and were situated in new subdivisions as well as older established areas that were being rehabilitated.

Last night was the awards banquet held in Builder's Millwork showroom.  The group assembled included builders, bankers, tittle companies, Realtors and their spouses.  The night was entertaining and food was great, but the main reason we were all there was to see who walked away with the hardware.  It is a great honor to win a ''Golden Hammer', showing that you are the best in your class (at least for this year).

I am very proud to tell you that two of the entries were located in Eagle River's Premier Subdivision, Powder Ridge.  The Harmony Town-homes, built by the Peterson Group, and a single family home built on Ezi View Circle by Nolan Homes, LLC.. 

In the single family homes priced from $300,000 to $500,000 the winner was "Nolan Homes, LLC.". The home on Ezi view won awards in the following categories:

• Best Exterior
• Best Design
• Best Interior
• Best Kitchen
• Overall Workmanship

And last but not least the home won the coveted

'Golden Hammer Award'

This years Parade of Homes was a great success, and I am glad that we were able to participate in it.  I was able to meet many of you that came through the home and hopefully we will be able to work with you in the future.  There is still time to start a new home this year and current prices and interest rates are added incentives.  For information call or text me at 907-360-7471.

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As we get closer to December there seems to be less and less inventory (homes for sale).  Usually this time of year the number of homes on the market is climbing.  There should be more homes on the market, but there isn't.  If you're a buyer looking for a home, I know you must be frustrated.

In Eagle River there was just 141 homes at the beginning of the week.  I just ran a search and there is just 121 homes plus another 15 homes marketed as to be built.  Here is a link to the search Eagle_River_Home_Search.

The number of condominiums available is 31.  This offers some alternatives to those of you desperately looking for a new home.  Don't be discourage, be ready.  Keep an eye on the market, get pre-qualified with a lender you trust.  I suggest visiting www.LendAlaska.com. This is Aaron Gray's website, Aaron is a great loan originator with Homestate Mortgage. 

If you have the right information than buying a house can be very easy, not stress free, but easy.

Hang in there.