Friday, October 28, 2011

Washington Real Estate Market Research for Autumn 2011

Photo courtesy of Jake, Prairie View School
Palouse Country, Washington
Derived from the Washington Association of REALTORs, the data for Autumn has been compiled as follows:


23,750  Homes sold in Washington in 2nd quarter, 2011. 12.2% below 2nd quarter 2010


$226,900  Median home sales price in Washington in 2nd quarter, down 7.6% in last year.


47,838  Homes listed with MLSs as of June 30, 10.2% fewer than a year ago


45.1%   Increase in multifamily building permits from 2nd quarter 2010 to 2nd quarter 2011.  Single-family permits declined to 9.7% in same period.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Credit Scores & Mores

Looking for a mortgage loan may cause multiple lenders to request your credit report, even though you are only looking for one loan. To compensate for this, the score ignores mortgage, auto, and student loan inquiries made in the 30 days prior to scoring. So, if you find a loan within 30 days, the inquiries won't affect your score while you're rate shopping. In addition, the score looks on your credit report for mortgage, auto, and student loan inquiries older than 30 days. If it finds some, it counts those inquiries that fall in a typical shopping period as just one inquiry when determining your score. For FICO scores calculated from older versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 14 day span. For FICO scores calculated from the newest versions of the scoring formula, this shopping period is any 45 day span. Each lender chooses which version of the FICO scoring formula it wants the credit reporting agency to use to calculate your FICO score.


Generally, people with high FICO scores consistently:
  • Pay bills on time.
  • Keep balances low on credit cards and other revolving credit products.
  • Apply for and open new credit accounts only as needed.
Also, here are some good credit management practices that can help to raise your FICO score over time.
  • Re-establish your credit history if you have had problems. Opening new accounts responsibly and paying them on time will raise your FICO score over the long term.
  • Check your own credit reports regularly, before applying for new credit, to be sure they are accurate and up-to-date. As long as you order your credit reports through an organization authorized to provide credit reports to consumers, such as myFICO, your own inquiries will not affect your FICO score.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Waterfront Properties For Sale

October has officially arrived which means now is the time to begin searching for waterfront real estate.  Contrary to popular belief, it's not when the sun is shining and you feel like going boating or skiing. The best time is NOW!







If you already have your waterfront property when the sun starts shining, you'll be able to spend your time enjoying the weather instead of looking for somewhere to enjoy it from!