Make a Good Life

Do you want the Government to give you $6500. to move up to your next home?

That's right....newly passed by the House, the extended First Time Homebuyer credit has been extended indeed.  Now...if you have lived in your current home for five consecutive years out of eight you may be eligible to recieve a $6500 tax credit when you purchase your next home.

And...with the new earning parameters this product will work for many different level of buyer.  Combined income may be no more than $225k and the home price cannot exceed $800k.  Yep....$800k.

So, have you been sitting on the fence, waiting for prices to bottom out, for interest rates to be at a record low?  And now the potential of an added incentive....Hello!  Now is the time to make your move to waterfront, or view.  Inventory is high and the clock is ticking....We have until April 30, 2010 to get you under contract....so let's go!

Read more about the provisions of this bill HERE

Gov. Gregoire speaks to WA Realtors

Click on this link to see the article in the Olympian about Governor Christine Gregoire's speech on January 29th to Washington Realtors:  http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/338260.html

Basically she said that our economy is strong and that she wishes people would stop watching the news because of the "doomsday" predictions...and that consumers in Washington should not be afraid to buy real estate right now...stating, “This is a very frustrating time,” the governor said, adding “Our economy is strong — buy your home. … There is no good reason for a slowing of home purchasing in the state of Washington today.”

Draw your own conclusions about Mrs. Gregoire's opinions on the state of the economy and the real estate market, remembering that she is a politician and that she was speaking to the politically powerful Washington Realtors Association...Pouring more money into the Washington economy by enticing consumers to buy real estate would be a great option for her and her party.

I DO think it is a good time to buy real estate, as good as any.  Prices are not as inflated as they were in 2006-2007 when we were at a 16% growth (compared to the national growth rate of 6%).  We needed to level off, and we did.  The market may not have hit rock bottom, but it is darn close.  I still believe that we have picked up a smidge in the last two weeks, and that we will see some recovery in the next months.

Will real estate agents "make a killing" like we did over the past two years?  NO.  But I don't expect to eat Ramen either.