What an interesting season it’s been in the Real Estate market here in Western WA.  Interest rates sure have put a damper on Buyer demand in comparison to recent years, haven’t they?!  Let’s piggyback off of last month’s Blog Post about the pro’s and con’s of the current market conditions, with interest rates sitting at their current numbers.

We often hear from Buyers that a co-worker or friend of a friend whispered to them something to the effect of “You can always get a deal on a house in the Fall/Winter market.”  While that’s not necessarily true, it’s not completely false, either.  We talk a lot about market conditions, and how their volatility can quickly sway the market in any direction. For example, in November of 2020, we had 6 clients under contract to buy or sell a house and the average sold price was anywhere from 8-15% above the home’s original list price. Unless a property was in substantial disrepair, overpriced or it was a condo (condo’s weren’t performing as well as single-family homes in terms of Buyer demand), this was a common recurrence throughout that season, extending into 2021 and 2022.

Fast forward to Fall/Winter of 2023 and we are singing a very different tune.  This is where current market conditions have favored our Buyers.  We call this a more “Balanced” market. This season, we were able to negotiate offer terms like final sold price and closing costs in favor of our Buyers, and even squeeze in a few repair requests because of an inspection contingency.  It’s been a very long time since Seller repairs were included in our clients’ contracts!  How did this happen?  Simply put, there are fewer Buyers competing for homes because interest rates are still higher than they’ve been in recent years.  With so many Buyers waiting until interest rates drop before they reignite their search, there’s been a noticeable opportunity for fair negotiations.

For homeowners considering whether or not to finish the basement for more space, or prepare to list your home, you should know that exceptional homes are still selling at or above list price (~ 5% above list price, on average) and we’re still seeing offer review dates on some new listings.  But what is an exceptional home?  They are turn-key properties with clean inspection reports, great staging and a list price that represents a fair market value for the market we’re currently in.  Buyers are still willing to compete for homes that are move-in ready, rather than homes that need substantial updates or costly repairs.  Spending a couple grand on new carpet or investing a little extra on the exterior paint could very well make the difference in a full price offer vs. a listing that gets passed up. We know that major media headlines may be telling you that the sky is falling in the real estate market, but Seattle’s economy is still holding strong, Sellers! And we all know by now that doom = clicks.  If you want the details on your local market, we’re happy to get you relevant answers.

While we’re hopeful for rates to trickle down, the FED isn’t exactly delivering any solid promises for the near future.  Every few months it’s a glimmer of hope and then a vague back peddle to the tune of “maybe, maybe not.” Disclaimer: We really, and I mean reeeeeaaalllly dislike a sales pitch, but in spite of the risk of sounding salesy… As a Buyer, you may actually have more power to negotiate now than in the Spring market when we usually see a big market shift.  Even if interest rates don’t budge between now and March, you’ll still be competing against a smaller pool of eager house-hunters before Spring kicks in.

Balance is good!  Balance brings opportunity.  Balance helps to bring perspective and manageable expectations.  Here’s hoping for continued balance as we navigate the Holiday season and prepare for what’s next.

Cheers!

-Joe & Ashli Haglund

As the leaves change colors and the temperatures begin to cool, so too does the housing market in Seattle.  Because really… who wants to move that heavy, overstuffed (and ripped) leather chair that lives in the basement…while it’s pouring rain?  Cozy season allows us to slow down and gather our thoughts as we close out the year and prepare for the next. During this time, you may even begin your preparation of goals for the following year. In fact, it’s not uncommon for Homebuyers to decide that December 31st is just too late to set a resolution for a home purchase.  Our Cozy Season is usually the time of year when we begin to meet clients who would like to plan for Buying and/or Selling a home within the next 6 to 12 months.  We love having these conversations because we get the opportunity to educate people on the current market conditions, aaaannnnd we get to dispell age-old market myths, and often reassure you that the sky is, in fact, not falling. It’s just low rainclouds 😉

Currently, there are a number of question marks looming over the heads of those watching the Real Estate Market on both a national & local level.  The most common question we get over & over is a variation of “How can we time the market to get the best rates & the best deal?”  Whew!  What a loaded question. The short answer?

It’s impossible to time the market, even for Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Professionals and Housing Economists. It just is.

We avoid making predictions about future market conditions, including predictions on where interest rates will fall during any given month or year.  Why? Because so much can change in such a short amount of time.  See: 2020 – 2022. We won’t get into the nitty gritty of the Fed this time, but we will say that there are several Federal Government factors that shape the housing economy.  In 2023, we frequently watched the Fed rates creep up, and up…and up… leaving many Homebuyers with less purchase power, and even more Sellers with waning confidence to put their home on the market. According to Freddie Mac, this time last year (October 2022), the Fed rate was sitting at roughly 6.94% for a 30-year loan.  Six months prior, in the beginning of April of 2022, it was 4.67% and by the end of that month, rates had increased to about 5.1%.  You can see how quickly rates change.  The value of a home also changes, as the two are in direct correlation with each other.  That is to say, when rates are low, demand is high. The inverse is also true. Depending on which side of the purchase you’re on, this could be felt as positive or incredibly frustrating. There’s one more thing to consider… Inventory. How many Sellers are selling at the time when Buyers want to purchase?

In the previous 5 years, we’ve counseled Buyers to consider their long-term goal when it comes to buying a home.  Is it more important to purchase a home that you can realistically afford today and begin to increase home equity, OR is the attempt to time the market worth it, despite the risk of both Buyer demand and home prices increasing beyond your means? Of course, when you’re purchasing the largest asset you’ll ever own, you want to love it. You want it to be a Pinterest dream come true. Are you willing to set aside the Barbie dream house and pivot to the ‘Right Now’ house, knowing that it’s highly likely your equity values will have increased by the time you’re ready to sell? Today, the average time spent living in a home is 10 years, according to the National Association of Realtors, but many first-time Buyers find themselves ready to make the upgrade after 5-7 years.  Relationship changes, growing families and job promotions all play a role in the need for a change of space.

We mentioned Inventory earlier.  When Sellers cannot meet the demand of Buyers, housing prices typically increase.  A home is only worth what a Buyer is willing to pay for it; often when writing an offer in a highly competitive market, Buyers are expected to spend more money on a home than its current list price AND to waive contingencies that would otherwise pad protections, like financing contingencies, inspection contingencies and the release of earnest money. Some will even include aggressively short periods of time in Escrow. Currently, King County is sitting at 1.6 months of housing inventory, which is higher than it’s been in recent years.  Compare this to the height of the 2020 housing frenzy, we were at .5 months of inventory.  That is to say, if all new listings came to a screeching halt today, we would run out of available homes in King County in just under 2 months.  When there are fewer Buyers than there are Sellers, housing prices stabilize, allowing the more risk-averse, or opportunistic Buyer to purchase a home closer to Fair Market Value than they have been in the previous 5 years.

Despite interest rates being where they are today, there are benefits to purchasing a home in today’s market. 

With less competition, you’ll be ahead of the curve and snuggling on the couch in your new home by the time interest rates decrease and Buyers flood the market in order to capture an affordable rate.  Speaking of affordable rates, that’s a great time to refinance your mortgage.  There are specific Lenders currently offering mortgage products that include complimentary or reduced refinancing in the future. If that piques your interest, get in touch with us and we’ll put you in contact with them so you can learn more.

When you’re ready, we’re here to help you live where you feel at home.

Joe & Ashli Haglund

www.H2HomesNW.com

In Early November, we launched a donation drive to collect a list of “survival items” in support of DESC, a local award winning organization who works tirelessly to end homelessness in Seattle. We posted flyers around Greenwood and Phinney, we hung one up in our office, and we even scored a shoutout on the Phinneywood neighborhood blog. Chris, the owner of Ala Mode Pie, a local neighborhood pie shop in Phinney (with a new Ballard location, too!) was gracious enough to partner with us on this event. Anyone who donated in person at our Woodland Park event went home with a personal pie from Ala Mode and they could enter a raffle to win a full sized pie, just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

In the days leading up to this launch, and with this being our first organized community support drive, we high hopes and even higher nerves.  What if no one shows up to our event at Woodland Park? What if we don’t collect much of anything? Do people care? Do people even like pie?

It would have been fine. We would have been fine, seriously.  BUT IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN FINE!

IN FACT, IT WAS AMAZING! Between drop-offs at our office, neighbors coming by our house to drop winter coats, and our in-person donation event at Woodland Park, we collected more than 50 winter coats, 20 pairs of pants, 10 scarves, 10 beanies, 6 pairs of winter boots + shoes, and I lost count for how many tubes of toothpaste were donated. We even had generous neighbors and clients bring grocery store gift cards and it was enough to make our hearts sing. We were floored at the generosity of people coming together to be a part of something bigger than all of us.

Thank you for caring. Thank you for your generosity. Thank you for going out of your way to show kindness to a community who is so often overlooked and misjudged. Thank you for continuing to surprise us in unforgettable ways. We are so thankful that you are a part of our lives, and we can’t wait to see what this next season of giving has in store. If you missed this one, don’t fret. With the success of this donation drive, we promise there will be many more in the future. Stay tuned.

If you’re feeling inclined to donate to this incredible organization, please visit their website and donate there. DESC has many ways that you can contribute, and they’re preparing to open a new permanent supportive housing building in early 2022. For $250, you can sponsor a brand new apartment furnished with basic necessities to help someone transition from a life of homelessness into a life of stability and hope. Of course, you’re welcome to donate any financial amount of your choosing, and DESC will use that money to fund one of their incredible programs to provide services to those who are the most vulnerable among us.

All our love,

Joe + Ashli Haglund

Hey y’all, Ashli here. I’d like to take a moment to share a piece of my heart.

When I first moved to Seattle 11 years ago, I felt pretty isolated. After spending almost my entire life in sunny Southern California, everything about moving to Seattle felt like a new, unfamiliar, terrifying adventure. I moved to this city on a whim in 2010 without knowing a single person here, nearly broke with only $1,500 in my bank account to cover 2 months’ rent (I had 3 roommates at the time), plus a little extra for food and gas to get me to job interviews. I struggled socially, mentally, emotionally, and I will spare you my griping woes about acclimating to the weather. I have vivid memories of my early days living in this city. Specifically, I recall one evening on the phone with my dad while I was in the middle of making dinner.  That night, dinner was a bowl of plain white rice –  the only thing I had left in my cupboard, and I had already allocated $20 for gas to get myself to a job interview the next day. My budget was far from flexible. After a month of job interviews and no promising prospects, I had come to accept that this was my struggle to own, and I tried to let on that I was doing fine. In reality, I was starting to panic. My dad asked cheerfully, “What’s for dinner?” and I hesitated before answering truthfully. My dad must have heard the wavering in my voice, because he & my mom showed up 3 hours later, unannounced, with 2 bags of Trader Joe’s groceries. For context, my parents live up north in Mount Vernon, WA, about 90 minutes north of Seattle. Without their help and generosity, I would have been out of rice by the end of that week, and my mental health would have plummeted.

The difference between my experience and the experience of others who are currently facing homelessness is vast. I had help. I had familial support, and at the end of the day, I still had a roof over my head and a safe, warm bed to rest at night. Without this support, I too, would have ended up living in a makeshift shelter, trying to survive daily while combating the shame and overall vulnerability that comes with losing your dignity, your home.

Homelessness is not a new development in Seattle, but it is more prevalent now than in past years.

In the late 70’s, this city began to witness an increase of people in the houseless community. On November 19, DESC opened its doors as an overnight emergency shelter in the ballroom of Pioneer Square’s Morrison Hotel. From 7 p.m.-7 a.m., a staff of 14 welcomed nearly 200 homeless adults through its doors on a first-come, first-served system. DESC began as a partnership between the City of Seattle, the Greater Seattle Council of Churches, and WAMI (Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill) to address the shortage of services in the community.

By the 1980’s, the Downtown Seattle area experienced such a significant increase in the houseless community that various leaders in Community Organization knew they had to act.  Fast forward to 2020. In spite of challenges during a global pandemic, an on-going public health crisis in the houseless community, and Covid-19 related shelter capacity restrictions as the cherry on top, DESC has managed to spearhead the issue of an affordable housing shortage while continuing to remain a world leader in crisis assessment & response.

DESC is an award-winning local organization that works tirelessly to end homelessness in Seattle.  Above all else, they know that permanent shelter is the answer. That’s why they’re opening 4 brand new low income housing facilities in Seattle, as a means to provide permanent shelter, medical and mental health services, 24 hour staff, crisis response, employment support + training, and a restoration of human dignity to those who have remained unhoused for so long. They rely on both government funding and communal support to continue their daily operations in service of 3500 adults per day. We are in full support of their mission.

This year, we are launching a Pop-Up & Drop Off Donation Drive to collect what DESC describes as “Survival Items” to help people survive the winter in Seattle.  These items, while they may seem trivial to some, are considered vital to meet the bottom of the barrel, basic needs for those living without a permanent home. When you’re living outside and carrying every item you own in a duffel bag, it’s likely that you’d also be wearing every piece of clothing you own in an attempt to stay warm. Have you ever tried to layer a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, thick sweater and a hoodie underneath your raincoat? You’d probably come out looking like that kid from A Christmas Story. Good luck trying to put your arms down at your sides.  If, for some reason, you found yourself in need to layer this much clothing, it would probably suit you better to wear a larger sized coat.  According to Don Rupp, DESC’s Community Resources and Events Manager, XXL coats address this problem and it’s one of the items they have the least amount of. Not only that, but larger coats can prevent people from freezing to death by doubling as extra body coverage while sleeping. Because of this shortage, it’s a survival item that is frequently stolen off a houseless person sleeping in the night.

From now until Tuesday, November 23rd, we are collecting a list of items which are currently the most needed. These items will better the chances of survival by those living unhoused while they wait for permanent shelter.  Donated items can be new or used, but we ask for clean items only:

You can drop these items off at our office, Windermere Greenwood, at 311 N 85th Street in Seattle. There is a parking lot in front of the office for your convenience.  If you can’t drop off during the week, we are hosting a Pop-up & Drop-off Event at the NW area of Woodland Park near the West Playground on Saturday November 20th from 11am-3pm. You can drop off your donated items and go home with a mini-pie from Ala Mode Pies in Phinney Ridge – Our way of saying THANK YOU! for giving back to the community.  Every donor also has the opportunity to enter our raffle for one of two full-sized holiday pies, just in time for Thanksgiving!

For us, being a part of a community means that we see our own humanity reflected in the faces of others. It means lending a helping hand when able, and it looks like coming together in numbers to better the lives of others. This is bigger than just us, and we are asking for your help. Help us care for those who need it the most. Help us help someone get through the winter. Help us help someone transition into permanent housing. Help us help them.

With all of our love and gratitude,

Ashli + Joe Haglund

How does one even begin to describe 2020 in a recap sentence? Please don’t say unprecedented… Can we please retire that word, or at the very least, drop the “un” and get back to precedented times?

Through one of the most challenging times we’ve ever faced, we made the point of always seeking something positive to get us through the day. The silver lining. The hidden blessings. The good. The small things. That’s not to say we didn’t experience bad days, or worse. Like many, we trudged through moments of darkness that seemed impossible to navigate. It was in those very depths where we discovered that our Community was the light at the end of that tunnel. When we say Community, it’s not just inclusive of friends and family, but the beating heart and soul of Seattle – People; friends and strangers alike. We saw this city come alive in ways we have never seen before. We banded together, rolled with the punches, marched our way through the Summer months, and embraced a newly illuminated beauty about this city that can only be seen in the humans who contribute to her deeply rooted cultures in people, food, art and innovation.

To kick off 2020, we set incredibly high goals for ourselves as a couple. This was to be the first year that we would be working as a team, rather than individual agents, and we had no idea what was in store for us. We began the year with strong plans and a sales goal in mind that was absolutely attainable, but it was ambitious, as real estate can often be impossible to predict. We wanted 16 transactions – that’s one and a quarter houses per month on average. Doable? Yes. But it would require us to constantly be on the hustle, hosting a lot of lunches, happy hours, networking events, and being glued to our phones. We were pumped and mentally prepared to be very busy in the coming months. Then, Covid was like, “……hold my beer.“

To say that the Seattle real estate market was wild in 2020 is a broad understatement. We were all gearing up for what was supposed to be an explosive year in our housing market, only to be stalled and stifled for the first several months and without inspiration on how to change our circumstance. The Spring market usually trickles in from the end of February through March, and the floodgates open in April. With a complete shutdown in March, our faces were masked, but our hands felt tied. This is when the good stuff began roll in, but we were slow to realize. That’s how it always is, isn’t it? We’re so focused on the big picture that we often miss the small, swirling magic that takes place right under our noses. With the launch of our new website, H2 Homes NW we began to get referrals from friends and past clients. Without open houses, we knew we needed to get in front of a wider audience, so we took to YouTube and created videos of us being ourselves and talking about our current lives. Honestly, they didn’t start out great, but our friends think they’re hilarious, so they’re still up on our channel. Please don’t judge us on the first few. *facepalm*

From connecting with clients, to touring homes with new safety restrictions and guidelines from our Governor, and getting involved in a communal effort to keep this city and her citizens afloat, we had one of the busiest years that we were not expecting. By August, we were at 10 transactions and agreed that 16 might not be in the cards for us, but 12 would be a happy ending for the year. Out of (what seemed like) nowhere, we ended up with 17 total sold homes, and 6 of those homes sold within 3 weeks of each other. Q4 of 2020 looked like a tornado of phone calls, emails, and thank you letters, with a whole lot of gratitude in the mix. We were truly humbled by the support we received from friends, family, colleagues and clients alike. We felt compelled to mirror that support, but in the direction of local communities who would directly benefit.

Many don’t know this, but the Windermere Foundation is a big reason why we chose this company to represent us. We donate a portion of every sale we make to the Windermere Foundation, who then uses that money to support low-income families and those experiencing homelessness. Because so many were encumbered and devastated by the impacts of Covid-19, we knew we needed to do more. We were able to contribute large donations to the following local organizations:

Wa Na Wari – Wa Na Wari creates space for Black ownership, possibility and belonging through art, historic preservation and connection.

Mary’s Place – We provide safe, inclusive shelter and services that support women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness.

DESC – DESC works to end the homelessness of vulnerable people, particularly those living with serious mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and/or chronic health conditions. We choose to work with the most marginalized and most vulnerable people first, not the most cooperative.

People’s Harm Reduction Alliance – PHRA is a drug user empowerment organization that promotes the philosophy of harm reduction and safer drug use.

To all of our current, past and future clients: Thank you. Thank you for trusting us, and thank you for your loyalty and support. We could not make these kinds of contributions to our local communities without you, and we are honored that you choose to work with us. Our gratitude is at an all time high!

Moving forward in 2021, we will continue to support these organizations and others like it, in order to strengthen our city and empower those who are living through various challenges. We have even bigger goals for this year, both for our career and our communal impact, and we’re so excited to share in this journey with you!

In the meantime, if you’re looking to enter the real estate market in Seattle, we want to meet you. We want to know you, and we want to help you live where you feel at Home.

Always love,

J&A