Can you trust the national news for local real estate trends?

With the many forms of communication we enjoy in our culture today, local information can be lost by events or data that is brought to bear from a larger stage.

It can easily be said that we have seen a severe downturn in our economy in the United States over the last 6 years. But has that downturn affected the entire US from the point of view that it has hurt every citizen of the US? Has it affected every state, or again, every single one of its citizens? How about every person within every county in each state? I think you get my point.

The answer is obviously no and actually there have been many that have flourished and profited greatly in this economy.

This deduction could not be truer when it comes to real estate. I have often said to many people that real estate is so localized that you could literally have one side of Bridgeport in University Place be in the absolute doldrums of the real estate market and the other side of the street be booming. Real estate is that localized.

Here in University Place with our great school district, our many parks and family friendly environs, and oh by the way, a PGA Championship golf course with some of the best trails anywhere in the world, we have been relatively insulated by the real estate market downturn.  You say, “Well my home has depreciated in value so how have we been ‘insulated’ from the downturn?”  Good question.

We have been insulated from the percentage of homes that have been lost to either a short sale transaction or foreclosure. In University Place, based on a rolling monthly average for March 2012, we have been averaging about 64% of all homes sold are what are called “Arm’s length transactions” which means that they are not under any duress to sell.  The percentage of short sale homes in UP is 9% and the amount of foreclosed properties is almost 27%.

These numbers may sound tough, but consider South and East Tacoma for a comparison; in these areas, traditional sales are at about 39%, short sales at 9%, and foreclosed properties at 53%!  Wow, what a huge difference.  This means that over half of the homes in South and East Tacoma have been foreclosed upon.  Those are numbers you cannot ignore.  This is what I mean when I say we have been insulated from what is going on in our sister city, Tacoma.

Our real estate market hasn’t been as bad as other areas in our country and quality of life is great in University Place; we enjoy an overall low crime rate, and a great place to raise our families.  Trust a local professional to help show you make a good decision when it comes to buying and selling real estate in UP.  I look forward to answering any questions you might have about University Place real estate.

Sincerely,

Jim R. Perry

Managing Broker

Hawkins-Poe Real Estate

253-241-6296