April 2019 Reece Homes Newsletter

Welcome to Spring! It's a delight to see the sun and cherry blossoms after a snowy start to the year. As I'm sure you've already seen, yard signs are sprouting like daffodils in yards and "sold" strips are quickly following. Buyers are enjoying the greater choices from a bit more inventory as well as greater affordability from lower interest rates (more on this in our Market Update section).

In addition to helping clients find the perfect home or sell their home and move up, the team here at Reece Homes is staying busy helping clients prepare for the Spring and Summer selling season by consulting on home improvement projects, remodels, and investment plans for 2019.

We're also planning many great client appreciation and community events for the coming months including Sips & Tips, Easter Egg Hunt, and The Summer Movie Night and more. We hope you will add these to your calendar and join us for some fun.

Spring is a time of renewal with new plans, hopes, and dreams.

Market Update

The year is off to a great start with the promise of more sustainable growth in value than we've seen in recent years. 2018 was marked by a 'perfect storm' in the local market where the combination of "Head Tax" politics, Amazon HQ2, and higher interests rates substantially slowed the market which raised inventory levels and decreased home values in the last half of the year removing the early gains from the first two quarters of 2018.

At the start of this year, inventory is down about 35% from last year to just 1.5 months and is holding steady despite a substantial increase in homes coming to market - this is a very clear sign buyer demand is rising. The higher demand is the result of greater affordability for buyers coming from lower interest rates improving buying power by 5-8% for most borrowers, as well as more choices, and less brutal competition in the market. In addition, prices are already starting to rise with an increase from January to February 5.25%.

Our listings are selling quickly, and our buyers are finding the need to act swiftly with thoughtful negotiation, and are competing with the multiple bidders for the best homes. That said, there is still plenty of opportunities in this market, though they tend to come with a need for elbow grease and a tool belt (or a checkbook).

Why is the Seattle market recovering and growing? It simple... we're seeing about 7,000 people move to the Puget Sound region every month AND we're only building about 50% of the new housing units needed to keep up with this demand.

Team House DIY Fails

- JAMIE: Found out it was a bad idea to cut ALL of the fence boards the same length when the was not level.

- SARAH: Had to invest in new sunglasses after swearing that deep red semi-gloss paint was what was needed rather than matte.

- JERRY: Didn't listen to his Dad and used the wrong material and expansion joints for a floor and it got waterlogged and warped.

- ENID: Scraped off popcorn ceiling without a good plan for replacement. Ended up using drywall mud to make a textured look.

- MAGGIE: Clogged neighbors drain with tile dust while installing tile in a second story condo bathroom.

- ANNE-LISE: Waiting too long to remodel a bathroom into the bathroom of her dreams. Such a low cost with a huge impact.

- CASSIDY: Has been banned from assembling IKEA furniture bu her boyfriend.

- JAN: "Fixed" the bathroom sink so well a plumber had to come fix it.

Welcome to the club! If you're like me, it's hard to hire someone to do a job I know I could probably figure out and do myself. The question is, is that the best use of my time and resources? Often the DIY route isn't always the cheapest. Here are a few things to consider when deciding:

• What's the scope of the job?

          What exactly are you hoping to have done. Measure, use visual aids, do your research at local hardware stores, design stores, etc..

• Your Cost

          There are a number of factors that go into determining cost: the cost of your time, what are you giving up to do this project? The cost of the materials that you want, and do you have the right tools and experience to perform the task?

• How much does a professional cost?

          Talk to your friends, neighbors, and trusted professionals (such as the Reece Homes team) and get recommendations for professionals they trust. Have them come to bid the job. Don't just get one bid, get 3 or 4 if possible and use them to negotiate the best price and service. Don't forget to ask how soon the Contractor can actually perform the job. Often good contractors have a waiting time so factor that in. 

• Cost Benefit
  Time to do a little economics 101. You may find that your time and expenses will be more than if you hired a professional, or they may not.

6 Easy Bathroom Remodeling Projects

• Update Vanity
• Change up the flooring
• Boost the lighting
• Jazz up the tub/shower
• Paint/wallpaper (yes it's coming back and it's ok)
• Change out the mirror

Source: Trubuild Construction

You Ask We Answer

Question: When in the best time to sell?

Best Answer: When the time is right for you and your family based on your needs, wants, goals, and dreams.

Timing a real estate market, like the stock market, is nearly impossible to optimize since we can't control many of the variables (interest rates, economy, politics, weather, etc ). Over 20 years, we've found seasonal differences don't make a huge difference, but they can be a boost in some areas:

• Selling w/out Buying another home: we prefer February to May, buyers tend to outnumber sellers and you'll have less competition.
• Selling & Buying: Get your home on market April to July so you can shop at peak inventory in June to September.

Recipes We Love

Grilled Corn with Basil Butter

This is a fast and simple way to make corn truly sing. The basil adds a delightful brightness to the sweet corn, and it plays perfectly with the traditional butter and salt additions.

• 8 ears of corn, shucked
• Olive oil
• Salt
• 2 stick of butter at room temp
• 1 cup basil, loosely packed
• 1 tablespoon of sea salt

What to do:

1. Preheat grill to med hot
2. Roll corn in olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill until bright shiny yellow
3. Blend butter, butter, basil & salt in food processor until basil in finely chopped
4. Take corn off grill, slather in butter and eat immediately

Source: www.food52.com