Green Lake Open Houses were quite hopping today according to our office agents - I thought it felt like a lull last week, but I am wondering if that had anything to do with the $8k tax credit back and forth.  The credit is still there tax wise, but approval was signed in regards to being able to use it as a down payment on a purchase rather than getting it back as a credit from the IRS.  Shortly after that happened I heard FHA came out and said, no not on our loans.  In addition,  the process on how that money would get to the closing table seems pretty convoluted according to the info sheet I received from my local Realtor Association so I am still waiting to see how this irons itself out.

 

In the mean time, Seattle has had some record breaking gorgeous weather - almost made me go hit the boat store for a look around, but a ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston and back again cured me again for a while.  I can see judging by the reports out there from our office associates and other friends in the Seattle real estate industry, though, that open houses were very full today!  Buyers are definitely hitting the pavements looking for some nicely priced Seattle homes. 

 

Maintenance and how well a home has been cared for seems to be a real theme with many of the home buyers we are talking to.   Many are renters and don't want to have to do a lot of upgrading on an older home and are looking for low maintenance or newer.  The compromise there, though, is you might not get some of the great charm of an older Seattle home or the larger room sizes compared to a newer town home or condo.   Pretty interesting choices in either case are out there and I am really enjoying seeing some of the houses that haven't been on the market in the last ten or twenty years.

 

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