Great Room & Formal Dining

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Chef's Kitchen with Wolf Appliances

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It was big! Surrounded by windows

Of course the unit offers a modern finish with high-end appliances and fixtures, but what is most outstanding is what you see when facing the o the other direction.

Master Bedroom with views of Mount Rainier

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Lake, City, Mountain, and Expansive Horizon Views from Living Space

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Southwestern View

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The city from aloft

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The most "commanding" view in the Northwest

During this particular time of the year, the skies are generally more clear than any other.  We had just missed crystal blue skies and mountains with crisp outlines of thier snowy caps.  Bellevue Towers will be one of our next pages to be located on our homepage.  Be sure to visit our Bellevue Towers designated page for active units for sale, neighborhood businesses, building demographics, image gallery, email updates, and more…

According to the Treasury Department, US lenders have permanently modified only 31,382 mortgages out of their goal of 4 million loan relief.  At present, more than 697,000 are in trial modifications through November 2009.   The Treasury Department disclosed how small the percentage of the loans converted to permanent modified mortgages to initiate efforts in pressuring the lenders into taking more action that will result in bolstering the administration’s foreclosure prevention plan. 

Here are some interesting facts and data from some industry experts:

Ever since the housing slump started about 3 years ago, home values have been reduced at least 28% nationwide (according to government and industry data).  And in addition, almost 23% of homeowners owe more than the value of their properties, (as per First American Core Logic, a real-estate data company) and a record of 7.9 million US homeowners fell behind on their mortgages in the 3^rd quarter (data from the Mortgage Bankers Association). 

The program is geared towards aiding millions of borrowers in danger of foreclosure to enable them to lower their payments by a variety of methods which includes negotiating the length of the mortgage terms, lowering their interest rates or changing some other mortgage contract terms.  Banks and lenders that received TARP money are required  to participate in this $75 billion program that endeavor to save millions of families from losing their homes.  However, there are those of the opinion that this program will not succeed unless the lenders reduce the outstanding principal because they believe negative equity is the major reason that is driving the foreclosures. 

I will keep you updated on any developments of this program.  Let’s hope whether it be lowering interest rates, extending the mortgage term or forbearing the outstanding principal, this massive investment of taxpayers’ money will eventually result in halting and hopefully even reversing this housing crisis which has permeated not only our nation’s entire economy but have also affected every aspect of our lives.

The 1^st time homebuyer’s tax credit, lower interest rates and decreased home prices greatly contributed to the impressive gain of the number of sales contracts.  The index is based on signed contracts, not closed sales but this is still a strong indicator of the housing market’s performance and its short term future.  This can also be attributed to the number of homebuyers that rushed to beat the December 1^st deadline.  There is always a possibility the index will decline in the next few months or so due to the period between finding a home, negotiating and getting it under contract. However the number of pending sales contracts is expected to soar once again before the next deadline.  The expanded tax credit now available for both 1^st time homebuyers and some qualified, existing homeowners will expire on May 1^st, 2010. 

The boost in the number of pending sales also caused the decline in the home inventory with the rate of supply now at seven months which is down from a little over ten months a year ago.  This will likely cause the home prices to firm up and would broadly stabilize the home values and net worth of millions of US homeowners.   Looking forward to a brighter year ahead!

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, which was slated to expire Nov. 30, 2009, will be extended for contracts signed before May 1, 2010 that close before July 1, 2010. First-time buyers, who are in the process of closing now, no longer have to worry about qualifying for the $8,000 tax credit if they do end up closing after the Nov. 30 deadline. The new legislation also increases the income limit for couples with income up to $225,000, a nearly $55,000 increase above the current level.

Buyers who already own a home are also now eligible for a tax credit and the purchase of a home. The $6,500 maximum credit will be available to existing homeowners who have lived in their current residence for five of the prior eight years. The legislation does set forth several provision including, limiting eligibility for existing homeowners to homes worth $800,000 or less, as well as making both credits available only for primary residences, not second homes or investment properties. The legislation will take effect November 7, 2009 and is not retroactive.

The original first-time homebuyer tax credit jump-started the housing market, driving home sales to the highest level in more than two yeas. The National Association REALTORS® reported sales jumped 9.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million units in September and are 9.2 percent higher than the 5.10 million-unit pace in September 2008.

“Don’t believe the hype!”

While most media outlets were giddy about the news and started the hype that the recession is behind us, it’s important to remember that there’s more to the economic data than just the headlines.

The temporary “Cash for Clunkers” program has now expired, but was a big part of last quarter’s GDP gain. If we remove it from the total, the reading would have been a more modest 1.9%. But there is even more to the rise in the latest GDP number that is just temporary…

Also bolstering the economy has been the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit – which is set to expire at the end of this month. Many home buyers have been taking advantage of this program – and wisely so.

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Chart: US Gross Domestic Product (By Quarter)

New Home Sales were reported last week, showing a 7.5-month supply of inventory. While that number is slightly worse than last month’s 7.3 reading, it’s still a big improvement from where we were in January. Back in January, inventory levels reached a high of 12.4-month supply! The improvement in housing inventories has been due in large part to the $8,000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, which is set to expire on November 30.

There is a real possibility of an extension of this program through a proposed Bill, but it is not yet a certainty. The extension Bill still must be reconciled between the House and Senate, and then voted on for final approval. Under the current extension proposal, sales with signed purchase agreements by April 30th that close before June 30^th, 2010 would qualify for the credit.

Another positive element would be the possible addition of $6,500 tax credit for other primary home purchasers, meaning the tax credit would no longer be limited only to first-time homebuyers. There is also a possibility that qualifying income limits could increase from $75,000 to $125,000 for singles, and from $150,000 to $250,000 for joint tax filers.

I will be keeping an eye on this for you, so stay tuned.

After all last week’s news and movement in the markets, Bonds and rates ended the week slightly better than where they began.

DON’T FORGET: THIS WEEKEND MARKS THE END OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME. SO MAKE SURE YOU SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK TO AVOID UNEXPECTED PROBLEMS…LIKE THE KIND DESCRIBED IN THE MORTGAGE MARKET GUIDE VIEW ARTICLE BELOW!

This letter is an email that was sent out to Realtor’s in WA urging the extension of the tax credit to be extended since it has proven to work so well so far…

The House passed the Tax Credit [ within the Unemployment Benefits bill] by a vote of 403-12. It now goes to the President for signature, as early as Friday.

Notice from yesterday….

The US Senate voted 98-0 to pass the Homebuyer Tax Credit [within the Unemployment Bill]. It now goes to the House. We expect the House to pass the bill as well and it could go to the President for signature within the week.

Passage of this bill would be wonderful news for the real estate industry in Washington. In essence, the bill extends the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit through April 30, 2010 and provides a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current residence for five or more years.

According to Senator Patty Murray, “Extending and expanding the successful homebuyer’s tax credit will help families purchase homes and will provide a much needed boost to the local housing market”.

Download Bill Details

Thank you REALTORS for contacting your Senator and urging them to support this bill. Over 25 percent of our members responded to the call to action and helped push this bill through the Senate. Washington REALTORS are preparing a public relations plan to promote the extension if/when the bill becomes law.