Western Washington's Real Estate Boom
Since I started my career in selling real estate, there has been
plenty of talk about how good the market has been lately, second
to what we've seen in California of course.
Bothel for example, according to our General Manager at our
company-wide meeting in mid April '05, had seen prices increase
by 26%. Meanwhile, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service--the
largest MLS in our area reported that from March 2004 to March
2005, prices in Northwest Snohomish County rose more than 17%;
Meadian prices rose more than 22%!
Meanwhile there is plenty of talk among agents in this area
concerning the new outlet mall that is supposed to open on May
5th, 2005, as well as a Six Flags theme park that could be on
the way right behind it. The expectation is that this will bring
more jobs into the greater Marysville area and fuel a doubling
of Snohomish County's total population by 2025 as many local
authorities are predicting.
So given this extraordinary growth rate, how high is too high
for a mortgage interest rate? at what point does the cost of
money offset the enormous gains that could be made through real
estate investments in our area?
I frequently need to point out to my first-time homebuyers that
waiting say 6 months to pay off their car so that they can
afford more house is not necessarily going to do the trick
unless they have credit that is in need of repair. The $5,000
dollars that they put toward paying off their car comes with the
added cost of aproximately $44,000 that home prices will have
gone up during that 6 months.
Unfortunately, homeownership is slipping further out of reach
for most but those who already own or expect their annual income
to rise steadily by at least 17% until they are able to purchase.
To see current prices in and around Snohomish County, WA use the
free search tools at my website: www.JoeGilesRE.com.