Statistics are sometimes cold and meaningless. The inevitable question I am asked is “how’s the market?” I could give you all the statistics but numbers on a page don’t tell you what is really happening with Spokane area real estate.

Here’s my insight based on the professional chatter and my daily experiences:

• Appropriately priced properties under $200,000 are selling to local buyers.
• Acreage properties in outlaying areas are not finding buyers willing to spend gas money to get home.
• Recreational property sales have all but stopped.
• We are in a very typical Spokane cycle of appreciation vs. sales. It is not unusual to experience a 10-12 year cycle in Spokane - one that usually doesn’t dip as seriously as some markets, and does not appreciate as rapidly either.

In spite of all the negative media coverage of real estate, this has been a fairly busy year for me. I have represented both buyers and sellers - buyers finding great buys, and most sellers finding buyers without the discomfort of long listing periods. The exception is the price range above $200,000. My heart is always heavy when families are anxious to move on to new goals, and all the marketing in the world can’t create buyers! The answer to how to sell in a buyer’s market lies in only one thing - price! Surprised?

My final thought is this: variables are many when discussing real estate markets - mortgage ups and downs, local financial stability, inventory and national concerns. A discussion for another day!

The bottom line: it’s time to buy houses at bargain prices!

Tags: bargain, insight, pricing, Statistics

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 7:52 pm and is filed under Editorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.