January 2007
Monday 2:45PM

 

Dear Friends and Clients,

Another New Year rolls around. Wow, it seems like they pop up about every other month now…

Notwithstanding I’ve written purchase offers Christmas Eve in the past, the holidays are typically slow for me. So, now it’s back to work.

After almost 15 years with John L Scott, I’ve decided its time to make a change. Last week I severed my affiliation with John L Scott and have opened my own firm with another long-time associate. It’s an amicable parting and

I have only good things to say about John L Scott.

When I started with JLS they were a small company. Now they’ve grown into a large corporation (7th largest non-franchise firm in the US depending on how you count). With that growth come more rules, regulations, politics and the inevitable bureaucracy.

I yearn for a bit more flexibility.

I guess I’m a small company kind of guy. JLS made it hard to employ an assistant. I see opportunities forthcoming and I want to form small real estate investment groups to take advantage of them – out of the question with JLS. I want to personally fly clients to remote properties. Unthinkable with JLS... an agent now needs to fit the corporate mold.

Since virtually all my business comes from past clients and referrals, the added credibility imparted by John L Scott affiliation is inconsequential.

For those of you who may be wondering,

I would not have changed if there was any chance client service or performance would weaken.

I’ll still be doing much the same thing, with all the same tools. Listings will continue to show up on John L Scott’s web site, along with all the other major real estate web sites. Only the banner will change.

One thing I won’t be doing is spending time building a company. I don’t want to manage agents or be concerned with administration – we’ll only consider accepting a handful of the most skillful agents in the business – those whom I already know and whose expertise I trust.

Having owned a commercial real estate firm 18 years ago, this isn’t new territory. So, while I’m excited about the change and the opportunity to work with a tight knit group,

day to day activities won’t be all that much different.

Spring (March/April) is seasonally the busiest time of year, and right about now folks thinking of moving this year are starting to realize it may take some work to put their home in selling shape. Now’s the time to start if you want to avoid creating an overwhelming job.

Real Estate Market: more of the same

Same trends continue for December - growing inventory, fewer sales and rising prices.

Pending sales of single family homes and condominiums (combined) fell 9.8 percent from the same month a year ago. Across the 19 counties in the NWMLS inventories are up more than 37 percent from a year ago.

The median price for sales of single family homes and condominiums that closed during December was $315,000, up about 9.4 percent from twelve months ago.

In King County, the median sales price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes (only) was $440,000, up about 12 percent from a year ago. Condo prices in King County jumped 21 percent, rising to nearly $270,000.

From Northwest Multiple Listing Service (not all 19 counties included in total are shown)

STATISTICAL SUMMARY BY COUNTIES
Market Activity Summary for December 2006
 

LISTINGS

PENDING SALES

CLOSED SALES

New Listings

Total Active

# Pending Sales

# Closings

Avg. Price

Median Price

King Co.

1,602

6,802

2,251

2,592

$477,845

$399,900

Snohomish

966

3,636

935

1,128

$378,284

$341,831

Pierce

1,040

5,286

916

1,121

$302,900

$269,950

Kitsap

230

1,698

244

303

$341,496

$261,700

Mason

93

561

53

79

$233,589

$220,000

MLS TOTAL

5,357

28,307

5,744

6,796

$377,389

$315,000

They Just Keep Coming

More than 88,500 net new jobs were created in Washington from November 2005 to November 2006.  Since November 2005, non-farm job growth in the state was 3.2 percent, compared to a national rate of 1.3 percent.

Coming to a neighborhood near you: Eminent Domain Abuse

The US Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo decision says the US Constitution does not prevent state and local officials from seizing people’s homes and small businesses and giving them to private developers.

In a split 5-4 decision, the judges said local officials can take private property to promote "economic development", increase their tax base, and meet the "diverse and always evolving needs of society."

Think it can’t happen here, that our state constitution prohibits it? It’s happening now. Under Washington’s Community Renewal Law (CRL), once an area is declared "blighted" (a vague and subjective term that could apply to almost any property in Washington) the government can condemn the homes and business in the area and transfer them to private developers.

Under CRL, any property that constitutes "an economic ... liability" may be condemned and transferred to a private developer. "Economic liability" includes areas that "contribute little to the tax income of the state and municipalities."

The "economic liability" standard is not the only vehicle for eminent domain abuse provided by CRL. "Blighted area" is defined in state law (RCW 35.81.015(2)) to mean an area that is afflicted with a range of "problems," many of which are outside the control of residents. Many innocuous things constitute legal blight including "diversity of ownership." You own your home, your neighbor owns their home – your property is blighted. More on this next month.

Stay well. Stay frosty. Lee R. Mason