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Archive for the ‘Longview Washington Real Estate’ Category

Home sales are rebounding according to the article written by Andre Stepanowsky in the Longview Daily News in last Sundays paper. This was coincided with a firm offer my fiance received on Friday. Vicki has been trying to get her “extra” home sold for over a year with no results till she listed it with Coldwell Banker, Flaskerud Realty. The Real Estate Agent she has been using is Liesel Filkowski. She has had the listing for only a few months.

According to article in the Daily News the median price of homes that sold in Cowlitz County rose to $199,425.00. This was a rise of about $4,000.00 over homes sold last year at this time. Real Estate sales are still lagging behind last years numbers. the surplus of homes on the market is still large. There are not a lot of buyers out there. Homes in the higher price range see to be moving faster. According to the listing service 64 homes sold in July in Cowlitz County. Down about 30% from last year at this time. This year 419 Homes have been sold so far, down significantly over the numbers of 2007 when 614 Homes were sold through July.

For the article in The Daily News here is a direct link: http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/08/10/area_news/doc489f12d0f2271300429521.txt

For the home page link to The Daily News: http://www.tdn.com/

Longview Washington Real Estate Agents have a tough time of it now with the economy and the housing market the way it is now. After interviewing a few Real Estate Agents in the Kelso and Longview Washington area, I thought it would be informative to give a quick synopsis as to the daily life in the job of Real Estate Agents trying to sell our homes or find our next dream house. From the outside it may look like all they do is sit at a desk and do paperwork or drive around showing homes. But with a inside look at the hours and endless searches Real Estate Agents put into their jobs, I can attest they earn their commission.

There is a lot of time spent behind the scenes that no one ever sees when you are a Real Estate Agent. When you list a home the prospective seller needs to know how much their home is worth. They do what is commonly known as comparisons. Agents look up the homes that have sold in the area which your home is in. Then the Agent does a comparison of homes that have the same statistics as yours taking into account the square footage, age of the home, the number of bedrooms, baths, special amenities such as pools or shops. When this is all calculated into the equation the Real Estate Agent comes up with a good idea what your home will bring on the market. With that in hand they will discuss with you what your asking price will be.

Once an Agent and you come up with the asking price the Real estate Agent will usually have a meeting with the Real Estate Broker to come up with a game plan as to how your house will be marketed. Some of the options that are available are Newspaper ads, magazine ads, and online advertising options. Most of the time it will have a Real Estate Agent only tour, to show the house to other Agents so they have a feel for the home and what it offers to their clients that may be looking for a home like yours. Then there is of course Open House Showings we all see. They are usually on the weekend as this is when people seem to have the time to go look for a home.

Once your home is listed and advertised by a Longview Real Estate Agent, offers may come in and you will be contacted. A Real Estate Agents job is to advise you if the offer is a good one or not. You as the seller of the home have the right to refuse the offer or counter offer. Your Agent will be doing all the paperwork involved with the negotiations. There will be conversations between both your Agent and the other Real Estate Agent involved in buying your home. Sometimes counter offers are refused and you will be starting from scratch. Keep in mind the Real Estate Agent and the Real Estate Broker are not getting paid any extra for this, it is just part of the job. Sometimes a home is on the market for a few months and is involved with many showings and negotiations before a home is sold.

When you are purchasing a home and using the services of a Real Estate Agent here in Longview Washington or elsewhere, their job is a little different as they will then be looking for a home for you. Once they find you a home you are interested in they perform a comparison of the homes that meet the same criteria as the home you are interested in to see what a realistic offer would be. The negotiations begin when a formal offer is submitted to the selling agent. As we discussed in the preceding paragraphs, your offer may be refused or a counter offer could come back through your Agent. When your offer is accepted the job is not over for them. Many times they are directly involved with getting you financing. They may be involved with getting repairs done to your satisfaction that may be part of the offer. They do all the paperwork to get your home in the titling process. They also make sure all the special terms of the contract are met prior to closing. Real Estate Agents also make sure all the mandated laws governing Real Estate Sales are met such as environmental issues, inspections, and that all the piles of paperwork are done, and done correctly.

Your licensed Longview Washington Real Estate Agent must have a state issued licence by which most Agents go to school for. They must also stay on top of the new laws that come down the pike. Washington has rules and laws that govern the practice of being a Real Estate Agent in this state. Most states have very similar rules and laws but there are differences and it is important that they stay on top of them.

On top of all that think of all the questions you may have pertaining to a home you may be looking at, school systems, public transportation, crime rate, shopping, neighborhood specific questions. You name it a good Real Estate Agent has to be a source of information to their clients.

A Real Estate Agent usually is self employed being associated with a Real Estate Broker who is responsible for all the transactions that go through their Agency. In Washington a Agent has to be in the industry for a period of time before they can become a Real Estate Broker. Real Estate Brokers in Longview Washington usually own the Agency they work out of.

This is just a quick overview of the Life of a Real Estate Agent in Longview Washington and does not represent itself to be all inclusive! Any Agents who may have something to add feel free to add a comment as it is encouraged. There are several Posts related to Real Estate in this Longview Washington Business Blog

 Some other  Real Estate Blogs for Information is  http://longviewbiz.com/blog/2008/07/coldwell-banker-real-estate-agent/  http://longviewbiz.com/blog/2008/07/our-government-to-help-out-the-real-estate-situation/

Longview and Kelso Washington Real Estate owners, along with the rest of the country will finally be receiving some help from the U.S. Government. President Bush just signed into law a measure to help out the 400,000 Homeowners who are facing Foreclosure in the near future. This legislation would also help out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Spokesman Tony Fratto said it was signed at 7:00 am this morning.

The law is aimed at stopping foreclosures and the sharp decline in Real Estate values and hopes to bolster sales and construction of new homes. The law in essence would provide federal insurance to refinanced 30 year mortgages. The measure is also designed to instill confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who are the two largest mortgage lenders in the country.

The recession in the Real estate market and the industry in general is the worst since the depression. Coupling this with the current fuel crisis, that has no indications of improving has put this country in a terrible condition economically.

More info on this subject can be seen in Bloomberg.com http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=am2yQYThqmxQ&refer=us

Kelso and Longview Washington Real Estate Agents are realizing a small upswing in the current Real Estate market. Currently we in Cowlitz County are still seeing a better market than our neighboring larger cities of Portland and Vancouver. Liesel Filkowski, a local Real Estate Agent who is associated with Coldwell Banker here in Longview Washington, feels the market will continue to stay steady until after the elections when the economy is expected to strengthen.

Liesel and her husband have been in the Real Estate industry for years as they have been developing properties and own several rentals in the Kelso/Longview Washington area. If you should talk to her you will quickly find she has a terrific knowledge base in all areas of Real Estate as she knows first hand the current Mortgage Options that are available to her clients. She is also very savvy to the particular needs of customers that are looking for investment properties as her and her husband have been in that market for many years.

When Liesel was asked why she chose Coldwell Banker to be associated with first of all she told me that Coldwell Banker is not only the largest Real Estate Company in the Kelso/Longview Washington area, but nationally as well. She stated that one of the main reasons she chose to be associated with them was the fact that even though it is a very large company that are the top producer in Real Estate sales nationally as well as in our local market, the company has a genuine desire to help you realize your own personal goals. Coldwell Banker provides terrific tools for Real Estate Agents to use in assessing property values. Coldwell Banker also is one of two companies in this area that has Virtual Tours in their website to show prospective clients your home or commercial property. Liesel states that she is very happy with the professional and personal support she receives from her Agency. Liesel can be reached at 360 773 8219, and her website is www.filkowskil.cbflaskerud.com if you may need her services or advice. Liesel also advertises in this Business Directory and you may locate her info at LongviewBiz.

With the Real Estate Market in the Longview/Kelso Washington area being in the slump it is in now, I thought mabee marketing your Home or Commercial Property by way of a auction might be a viable avenue to move a piece of Real Estate. With a little research on the Internet I came up with this information that I found interesting.

In many cases, Real Estate Auctions can be a good way of selling a piece of property when the other conventional ways have failed. One of the greatest benefits of selling your property at auction is it speeds up the process. Additionally if you are a buyer it has the potential of putting you in your dream home quicker.

There are benefits for both the Buyer and the Seller of property. The seller realizes a quick sale. He or she can very well realize a fair market value for the real estate through competitive bidding! The purchaser can benefit by having more time to research the property prior to purchasing. With Real Estate, like all auctions, there is a sale date and perspective buyers have a great deal more time to analyze the Home or Commercial property prior to making a offer. You could even enlist a Real Estate Appraiser to establish fair market value.

Here are some tips for anyone wishing to attend a Real Estate Auction. As a buyer it is always prudent to prepare ones self prior to attending a auction. Do your analysis of the Home or Commercial Property, get a feel for what it is worth, and more importantly, what it is worth to you! Do the comparisons, all this information is available to you through either a Real Estate Agent or through local government. Don’t be afraid to enlist a Real Estate Broker or Agency in the purchase of any property. Although purchasing or selling any property through a Real Estate Auction Service is at this time unconventional, most Agency’s will be willing to work with a prospective buyer in establishing value and market on a piece of property, and possibly become involved in the transaction. www.LongviewBiz.com

Everyone is wondering about the economy and the fuel prices, not to mention the Real Estate Market. There is sure a glut of Homes For Sale in Cowlitz County at this time. I have heard around 800 now. There are 30 more active listings in the real estatemarket in Cowlitz County and 20 less homes sold than last month. Here are some current real estate statistics for Cowlitz county homes. These statistics include Longview, Kelso, Woodland, Castle Rock, Kalama, Toutle, Silver Lake and surrounding communities in Cowlitz County.

803 active listings

130 days on the market

$292,705.00 was the average price.

8 contingent listings

115 days average on the market

46 pending listings

127 days average days on the market

56 sold listings

127 average days on the market

$171,698 was the average price for sold homes

The most active price range was the $250,000.00 to $299,000.00 price range for homes sold in Cowlitz County, Washington

The statistics show the Cowlitz County market is getting tougher and tougher. Sucks hu?

 http://longviewbiz.com/index.php      http://longviewbiz.com/Real-Estate.html

Liesel Filkowski, an associate of Coldwell Banker has joined LongviewBiz.com as a featured advertiser. She is a Real Estate Agent who specializes in Realty in the following areas: Longview, Kelso, Woodland, Castle Rock, and surrounding areas in Washington state. Liesel works for clients who are in the need of purchasing a Home or Commercial Property. She also can list your Home or Commercial Property to get your property the best exposure possible in Cowlitz County area with Coldwell Banker. Coldwell Banker is the largest Real Estate Broker in the Longview area. Her office is Flaskerud Realty Inc. The address is 1106 Douglas Street, Longview Washington 98632 Her personal cell number is 360 773 8219 Liesel’s e-mail address is Liesel@flaskerud.com  Liesel’s Website is www.filkowskil.cbflaskerud.com

The Real Estate market is still going strong in Cowlitz County, and specifically in Longview and Kelso Washington. My research is showing it is doing better than our neighboring cities north and south of us, namely Portland and Seattle. There are approx 900 homes for sale in Cowlitz County at this time. According to NWMLS statistics the high end Real Estate market has slowed down a bit. But the medium and lower end Real Estate markets are still moving.