tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44030771640219492202024-02-20T10:54:04.051-08:00Real Estate RealitiesBlog about Matt Harber with Keller Williams Realty in Tacoma Washington. Information about investing in real estate, real estate financing, lease options, owner financing, rental properties, first time home buyers, selling, short sales, bank owned property, REO properties, loan modifications, life in general and more.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-80572457844636386442010-01-06T12:36:00.000-08:002010-01-06T12:36:41.705-08:00More great news for Real Estate!<a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/topstories/story/1017710.html">Pending home sales up 30 percent in Pierce County last month | MORE TOP STORIES - The News Tribune | Seattle-Tacoma News, Weather, Sports, Jobs, Homes and Cars | South Puget Sound's Destination</a>The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-33747084236035670922009-12-29T11:54:00.000-08:002009-12-29T11:55:49.174-08:00Positive Real Estate Trends...A worthwhile read for those invested in Real Estate and those thinking about jumping in!<br /><br /><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2010623767_webhomeprices29.html">Home%20prices%20rise%20in%2011%20of%2020%20metro%20areas%2C%20including%20Seattle</a>The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-60949044782095534212009-08-27T13:13:00.000-07:002009-09-08T16:42:22.636-07:00new listing in Maple ValleyCheck out this great 1 Story home in the Maple Valley area. Call me if you want more information, but I did make this site dedicated to the house. You can also find more information about it, and other homes in the area at <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">Matt Harber's website</a>, <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">http://www.prodigyteam.com/</a>. If not, here it is, live and in color. <a href="http://21215se271stpl.bestpricedhouse.com/">21215 SE 271st Place, Maple Valley WA 98038</a>.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-29038505491305803982009-08-25T11:33:00.000-07:002009-08-25T11:38:07.188-07:00great article on the marketThis was posted on our <a href="http://www.nwmls.com/">MLS</a>. Thought I would share it on the blog...<br /><br /><br /><strong>If there is any more information I can provide, please go to <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">Matt Harber's website</a>, shoot me an email at mattharber@kw.com or give me a call at 253-441-2262.</strong><br /><br /><br /><br />Echo boomers, the 75 million American born between 1979 and 1995, are a "powerful, powerful underpinning of future demand" for housing, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.<br /><br />Echo boomers are expected to help keep demand strong for the next 10 years and beyond, bolstering the markets for rentals and starter homes.<br /><br />Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center, expects the number of echo boomers aged 25-44 will eclipse the number of baby boomers when they were those same ages by more than 5.9 million. "These impending population shifts have important implications for housing demand over the next decade," wrote the authors of "The State of the Nation's Housing 2009."<br /><br />As members of the echo-boom generation enter the prime household formation and home buying ages, they will reverse declines in the 25-44 age group created by the much smaller baby-bust generation. The number of households in this age group is projected to increase by between 2.0 million and 3.4 million, resulting in a surge in demand for rentals and starter homes.<br /><br />Meanwhile, baby boomers will add dramatically to the number of households over age 65, in part due to longer life spans and sheer numbers relative to the preceding generation. This is expected to lift demand for retirement and assisted living communities as well as services and home improvements that help seniors age in place. "How this demand is expressed will depend importantly on how much, and how quickly, these households can rebuild their recently decimated wealth," according to the Joint Center's report.<br /><br />Household growth among Hispanics and Asians is also expected to accelerate as the more diverse echo-boom generation reaches adulthood and as immigration continues. In fact, minorities are expected to fuel 73 percent of household growth in 2010-20, with Hispanics leading the way at 36 percent. Noting this group's lower average incomes and wealth, the authors caution the increase in minority households could add significantly to the nation's already widespread housing affordability challenges.<br /><br />Despite the demographic changes, the echo-boom generation now reaching adulthood will start off on a lower trajectory than the baby-bust generation due to the scarcity of entry-level jobs they face. "In addition, with the tight grip on credit, even sharply lower home prices may not be enough to help the echo boomers match the headship and homeownership rates of their predecessors by the time they reach their 30s and 40s" the report's authors noted.<br />"The best that can be said of the market is that house price corrections and steep cuts in housing production are creating the conditions that will lead to an eventual recovery," Belsky said. "For now, markets remain under considerable stress."<br /><br />Nevertheless, the authors added, "Once new home sales rebound and the economy begins to pick up, the aging of the echo boomers should reinvigorate the housing market," according to the researchers.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-2740301442781987022009-08-06T11:08:00.001-07:002009-08-06T11:16:20.709-07:002102 North Ferdinand, Tacoma WashingtonJust took a great new listing in the North end of Tacoma. The seller has cleaned it up, its a charmer and move in ready. Currently they are putting some finishing touches on it and within the next couple of days there will be lots of pictures. You can find out more information or schedule a viewing of this property by going to <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com">www.prodigyteam.com</a> or by calling Matt Harber at 253-229-1329.<br /><br />Here is one other link worth looking at:<br /><br />http://www.2102ferdinandst.willsellquick.com<br /><br />Have a good day all...and if you know anyone that needs to sell, or is looking to buy their first home, or an investment property in Washington State, I will always have time to help.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-67326948626834358342009-08-04T09:19:00.000-07:002009-08-04T12:54:28.406-07:00Turning the corner in Real Estate???Matt Harber with Keller Williams at www.prodigyteam.com passing on some information from a friend. Its a great read, encouraging for sellers and motivating for you buyers!<br /><br /><br /><br />Real Estate Outlook: Case-Shiller Reports Reversing<br />by Kenneth R. Harney<br /><br />When the Case-Shiller index reports that home prices have reversed course and are finally rising again, and you know that Case-Shiller has been the gloomiest, scariest-headline-producing monitor of the real estate market for the past three years -- some say: We have truly turned the corner here.<br /><br /><br />Not only are home sales up, new housing starts up, new permits up, but now the last of the doomsayers say that home prices are moving up. For the month of June, in fact, the Standard&Poor's Case-Shiller index found prices up in 14 of the 20 major markets it covers -- and up nationally by one half of one percent.<br /><br />That's the first monthly gain in the heavily publicized Case-Shiller index in three years!<br /><br /><br />Other indexes that get less attention on the evening news began trending more positive a few months earlier, such as the federal government's "FHFA" index.<br /><br /><br />But the Case-Shiller news, late though it was, should send a loud message to consumers: We're past the low point of the cycle on prices: If you were waiting to buy at the bottom, well - we've passed that point.<br /><br />So don't sit on the sidelines if you're serious about buying a house this year.<br /><br /><br />Case-Shiller found prices in Cleveland up 4 percent for the month, Dallas up by close to 2 percent, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago up by a percent or more. But the bottoming out on prices is hardly the only sign of the housing recovery underway:<br /><br /> * New home building is beginning again even in the hardest-hit markets. In California, June bullding permits soared by 17 percent over May. In the high-cost San Francisco area they were up by 20 percent. <br /><br /> * In Florida, sales of existing homes jumped by 28 percent, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. Condo sales were up by an average 37 percent for the month. And despite the foreclosures still weighing down Florida transactions, average prices in June managed to rise by two and a half percent!! <br /><br /> * The share of distressed homes as a percentage of total sales is also on the decline -- thirty one percent of sales in June versus 45 to 50 percent earlier this year, according to the National Association of Realtors. <br /><br /> * Meanwhile, the mortgage market continues to help sellers and buyers on the affordability front: According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, new applications for loans to buy homes remained steady last week. Thirty year fixed interest rates averaged 5.4 percent, while fifteen year loans went for an average 4.8 percent. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />If I can help any of my readers...with more information about the market, about your neighborhood, about your house, or how you can start the process of owning your own home, please, visit Matt Harber's web page at www.prodigyteam.com.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-28346997894639103012009-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:002009-07-31T18:31:00.225-07:00www.prodigyteam.comMatt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Harber</span> here with Keller Williams and <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">http://www.prodigyteam.com/</a>. Its been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would return and make a few comments. First, I want to point out that if you go to my website, <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">http://www.prodigyteam.com/</a>, I just added a new feature that will provide you with free market analysis. It is called, fittingly enough "market snapshot" and is provided by me, to you, for free. Check it out. You can find out information about your neighborhood, or a neighborhood you are interested in even. I'd love to hear any feedback about it.<br /><br />It has come to my attention numerous times today by different people about the expose' run by the Today show on NBC. Basically, that if you want to buy a house, wait 3-6 months as there is going to be a surplus of homes that come on the market and housing prices are really going to get hammered. Let me say, that I agree, there probably is going to be a surplus of houses coming on the market as banks have been forced to not foreclose on a large amount of homes and now the time has come to do just that. I understand the news needing to report the news...but I have a serious problem with what to me looks more like sensationalism than anything else.<br /><br />First off, we all know that the media is a major influencing factor in the reaction of the consumer. It seems like we just started turning the corner in the market (as far as sales go) and even in the economy. The stock market has started to recover and it seems, to me, that people are out and about a lot more right now, spending money. News like this causes widespread panic in the consumer.<br /><br />Second, the majority of these foreclosures are going to occur in certain areas of the country, not the whole. Places like California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona have always been the most serious offenders, contributing to 1/3 of the nations foreclosures between the 4 of them alone. But when panic occurs in a consumer, because of the media sensationalizing things like the Today show did, housing prices everywhere are going to suffer. The direct effect of this is a continuation of the downward trend. By presenting it as a National problem, they perpetuate the problem into more of a reality than it ever might have become. Washington State is a prime example. We have been fortunate enough to have not been as hard hit by the foreclosure and catastrophic value loss as California or Arizona. Our sales have been up, and in some areas, values have actually gained stable footing. What does news like this do to the consumer? It scares them away!<br /><br />Third...is there a third? I don't know, but all I can say as a person concerned with the economy, my own home values, and the real estate market, is that the only way we are going to come out of this, is if people stop listening to the dooms day, negative, down in the mouth drivel that comes from the media right now. There are incredible deals right now, and while the grass is always greener on the other side, if you wait too long, you'll be on the outside looking in.<br /><br />All for now.<br /><br />If there is anything Matt <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Harber</span>, or the Prodigy Team can help you with, whether its buying, selling or investing, call, email or visit <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">http://www.prodigyteam.com/</a> and we can help.The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-11375119415159671812008-11-22T09:13:00.001-08:002008-11-22T10:23:13.626-08:00Loan ModificationWhat is loan modification and are you going to be posting every day Matt? The answer is, great questions. Probably not on the posting, but this is just something that I am actually really excited about for my friends, my family and my future clients. It really is going to help a lot of people get out of their financial troubles right now.<br /><br />So what is loan modification? I wanted to go to a reputable source, not some off the street site that would be looking to represent loan modification in the best light. So, the HUD site, defines loan modification as this:<br /><br />A Loan Modification is a permanent change in one or more of the terms of a mortgagor's loan, allows the loan to be reinstated, and results in a payment the mortgagor can afford. (<a href="http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/nsc/faqlm.cfm">http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/nsc/faqlm.cfm</a>)<br /><br />What does this mean? Basically, the people who are falling behind in their monthly payments, have possibly lost some of their income streams, have adjustable rate mortgages coming up (ARMs) or any other possible reason for not being able to make the loan work and are ultimately, at risk for going into default and/or facing foreclosure are candidates. These people are now going to be able to have their loan changed to a permanent, most likely fixed rate, longer term mortgage, that will allow them the opportunity to stay in their home.<br /><br />How can I get my loan modified? If you fit the above mentioned criteria or know someone else that does, honestly, call me (253-441-2262), email me (<a href="mailto:mattharber@kw.com">mattharber@kw.com</a>), track me down <a href="http://www.prodigyteam.com/">http://www.prodigyteam.com/</a>. I will set you up. There are all sorts of attorneys that are working this system right now. I am currently getting set up with an attorney that charges about $2,000-4000 to negotiate the contract with your lender and come to terms. That might seem like a lot of money, but first understand that there are others out there charging 3 and 4 times that amount, but in the long run, you will realize the benefit of this cost hand over fist. I don't care what part of the country you are from, I can help you.<br /><br />The reason I am excited about this...Is because the fewer homes that have to come onto the market because banks are taking them back or people are having to sell to keep from getting that foreclosure, means the sooner this whole thing is going to settle down and turn around. Once the glut of houses evaporates, prices will normalize. This is a tremendous opportunity. Call me!The_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403077164021949220.post-45916826636838188862008-11-21T16:33:00.000-08:002008-11-22T09:12:28.710-08:00My deal of the weekSo this is clearly going to be an evolution. Its going to be a process, me developing what I want this blog to be. I hope that people find it useful. Ask me questions. Tell me what you want and what I can help with. There will probably be some boring stuff in here, skip it and come back again. I'll try to get something for everyone at some point. This week, its going to be my deal of the week. The thing that I love about Real Estate, particularly in this market that we are in, is that there is an amazing amount of opportunity to be grasped if people are willing to step out of their comfort zone and reach for the spoon. There will be people that lose large sums of money over the coming years but there are also going to be an incredible amount of people that make FORTUNES off of this market. Those who establish stringent criteria, use people such as myself who are able to identify that properties that meet those criteria, and then make it happen.<br /><br />There is a great quote by a man I have tremendous respect for, Gary Keller. He said in his book, the Millionaire Real Estate Investor (which is a great read):<br /><br />Money lives on the other side of fear...Fear keeps us from getting what we want, especially in matters of money. It is true for me, and it is true for you. All of us can look at our lives and count the times when fear stepped in, prevented us from taking action, and cost us a precious financial opportunity...It blinds us to opportunities. It keeps us where we are, stuck in a financial box-a box built by fear, a box built by our own hands...<br /><br />Now obviously, I understand, especially in times such as now that we have to be careful and not throw caution to the wind. That is why we establish criteria for investments. We establish it and don't waiver from it. If it is sound, we remove the risk.<br /><br />I look forward to being help many, many people over the coming years build financial wealth. Wealth and freedom from the 9-5s that we all dread. Seize the opportunity in front of you. We may never see another time such as now in our lives.<br /><br /><br /><br />Without further ado, here is the deal of the week. I have been in this 4 plex. The neighborhood is marginal. Not bad. Not great. Near an elementary school and the lively 6th Avenue district of Tacoma.<br /><br />The positives: Developing area, close to popular area, structure appears sound and requires minimal work to turn into rental (less than 5k), section 8 possibility (which means secure payments from the government and you dont have to worry about your tenant not making payments). Will cash flow immediately upon full occupancy. Killer Price.<br /><br />The negatives: The area. It is a catch 22. Time will tell what happens to the area if it improves or not. Right now it is marginal. Needs some work. Currently vacant.<br /><br />Take a peak. <a href="http://locator.nwmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Locator&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=I9xUF6hi%2BAmcF%2B8gU%2BqONhm5hKfAmbnL6%2BDVbO67%2Bx4%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria">http://locator.nwmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Locator&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=I9xUF6hi%2BAmcF%2B8gU%2BqONhm5hKfAmbnL6%2BDVbO67%2Bx4%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria</a>=<br /><br />This expires in 30 days I believe. If you want to find out about it after it expires, send me a note. I don't think it will be available for long howeverThe_Real_Estate_Prodigyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12547293476896737064noreply@blogger.com0