One of our hardest jobs of late has been educating our clients on managing the sudden onslaught of recent information on the national mortgage crisis with our local real estate reality. Simply said, what happens in the industry in California, Florida, Nevada or elsewhere doesn’t translate to our local real estate market. We’ve been saying for several years now the same thing: the Puget Sound is governed by geography (mountains, water, and wetlands) and politics (because of our geography, environmental regulations make it more difficult for builders to build in certain areas). These factors combined with our strong economy result in a more stable local real estate market than almost any other large metropolitan area.

Despite our argument, it’s still hard for many people to ignore the headlines in the newspapers, or the cautious words of a friend or relative who knows the friend of a friend who bought at the top of the market and lost their shirt. We’re thankful then for a little help from the news industry when they differentiate between California’s woes and Washington State’s boon.

No housing woes in booming Washington State (Reuters) – While California suffers in the housing crisis, the economy of nearby Washington state is flourishing with strong job growth and some of the highest appreciation in home prices in the nation. The outlook for Washington’s economy is bright because so many people are moving there in response to help-wanted advertisements. Seattle, the state’s biggest city, is an especially hot job market, boosting confidence of sustained growth.
FULL ARTICLE

What? A real estate “free” post? We are (after-all) versatile agents, filled with thoughts and ideas, vim and vigor, passion and nuance. The review below is written from guru of all things non-fiction: Dennis Pearce.
First, let me say that I don’t read much fiction. I think life is wild, wacky, weird, and wonderful enough that I really don’t have a strong need to search out alternate worlds, or explore fantasy dimensions. This book reinforces my belief in the surreal nature of reality, while simultaneously awakening a desire to leave a more meaningful mark on our world.

Opening in the mountains of Pakistan, the story begins with Greg becoming lost during his descent from a failed attempt on K2, in the Karakorams. After his resuscitation by a local tribe whose village he happened to stumble into, more dead than alive, Greg resolves to repay their kindness by building a school for their children. In spite of his own impoverished state, he returns to the US to begin gathering the funds to fulfill his promise, and is launched onto a path that eventually blossoms into a lifelong vocation.

The soul of the story lies in the connections that are made between our culture and the world’s ancient cultures, and how much we can learn- and have ignored. Through his efforts, Greg has become one of the few positive links we have to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan- a region of the world that has become a focus of attention since it has become the suspected hiding place of Osama Bin Laden. Some of the characters in this story were Mujahideen fighters against the Soviet army, and were armed by our own CIA, with weapons that are now being used against us.

The secular education that Greg’s efforts have provided to over 55 villages in the region are a slender cord connecting a misunderstood corner of the world to our own- a vital bulwark against the numerous vacuous Bin laden & Saudi funded madrassas that have brainwashed an army of illiterate young men to commit mindless acts of violence. This is truly a testament to the power of education. It makes one wonder how different our current landscape could have been if we’d been putting our secret funds into teachers and books rather than tanks and bombs.

Greg Mortenson has lived a life that I sometimes must confess a longing for- one of undeterred, unflinching dedication to a single ideal. My own wanderlust nature tends to lead me down a variety of paths, never choosing that one sublime devotional mentality that some fortunate souls seem to trip onto. And Greg Mortenson is a prime example of the Charitable savant nature. His story provides hope for the futures of many cultures- our own included.

Greg will be in Seattle September 23-27 for a series of speaking and book signing engagements. For times and locations, click HERE.

Priced to Sell FAST! 3 bedroom/1.75 bath top floor, corner unit condo. It includes a 1 car GARAGE AND an assigned parking space. 1162 square feet, with gas fireplace, open kitchen with breakfast bar, dining area, and balcony surrounded by mature trees for a feeling of privacy. Located near the covered cabana and sports court. Gated entry. Super conveniently located for easy access to Boeing, Freeway, Shopping & Golf Course. 1 Year AHS Home Warranty Included.

List Price: $200,000
MLS#: 27162408
Address: 1001 W Casino Rd,#B202 Everett, WA 98204
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 1.75
Square Feet: 1162 square feet
Homeowner Dues: $211/month
Price/Sq. Ft: $172.12
Year Built: 1996
Taxes: $1,592 (2007 Tax Year)
Heat Source/Type: Electric / Wall, Gas Fireplace
School District: Mukilteo

Call Lisa Bender at 425-770-4438 or Jesse Moore at 425.876.0766 or Dennis Pearce at 206.931.9945 for more information.

We’re proud to announce that after several weeks of development, we’ve successfully completed our update to the “Resources” page of our site. Synonymous with all things “Pickett Street,” we found that to get the tools that we wanted to offer, we needed to start from scratch.

The Interest Rate Update, for example, was designed for our lending partner (Jeff Brown with Homestead Mortgage) the ability to update the web pages without delay as rates fluctuate. This gives visitors to our site easy access to timely and accurate information in a fluctuating mortgage market. All rate information is assuming a 3% down-payment, which we consider a reasonable expectation as zero-down loan programs become less and less available. Jeff Brown will be updating the rate information every other day, and more frequently as necessary if the rates shift drastically, so we expect the “Resources” page to be one of our most frequently visited pages on our site.

Visitors will also find a mortgage calculator on our “Resources” page. While the end-user can change all of the fields on the calculator, the tool assumes a downpayment of 3% and pulls the 30-year fixed rate from the rate update tool above. We’ll be updating the calculator soon to include the property tax payment, which will make the calculator more accurate overall.

The heart of the “Resources” page is in the links. We’ll be able to easily modify the links on this page, which will be especially necessary under the “Puget Sound Market Indicators & News,” where we’ll link to relevant articles specific to the real estate market in the greater Puget Sound area. Visitors will also find links to preferred vendors, to information on “Green” building, and links to other sites of interest to the Pickett Street team members.

So, enough said! Go visit our RESOURCES page!