OK, Joke Time is Over

[Nick Ostrowski]

Whoever hid all the home buyers in this area, you can release them now.

I've been busier in the dead of winter than I am right now.

[Matt Fellman]

Whoever hid all the home buyers in this area, you can release them now.

I've been busier in the dead of winter than I am right now.

Same here.... I'm so bored I'm about to start talking to the solicitors that call :(

I've talked to several of my regular agents and they agree things are pretty slow right now... and getting an agent to admit that isn't easy.

[David Argabright]

Keeping my fingers crossed but I expected things to slow down after the first few weeks of the month. What with the end of the first time buyers credit and such. But things have kept chugging away. So I guess the answer to your question is that at least some of the buyers are moving to central Ohio. Not setting recorrds but keeping busy enough for now.

[Bob Elliott]

I am in that same group after being busier than ever 3 weeks ago,I now hear crickets.

Anybody Know a Micky D's that might be hiring.:o

[Jim Luttrall]

Me too but things have picked up in the last few days.

[Rick Hurst]

They must have all moved to Dallas is all I have to say on the subject.;)

[Nick Ostrowski]

Keep rubbing it in Rick. If there's one thing I've noticed over the years of ups and downs in this profession, your area seems to remain pretty steady regardless of what goes on in other areas of the country.

[CHARLIE VAN FLEET]

colorado

still busy here

cvf

[David Weiser]

They must have all moved to Dallas is all I have to say on the subject.;)


Keep rubbing it in Rick. If there's one thing I've noticed over the years of ups and downs in this profession, your area seems to remain pretty steady regardless of what goes on in other areas of the country.

God bless Texas, haha.

[Jim Hintz]

Here in the South Puget Sound area it is being reported that sales are up, but yet it has been "deader than a doornail" since the 8K tax credit program ended, which was also being reported as not having much of an effect on the purchase of homes. The media must have their blinders on again :confused:

[Frank Bombardiere]

I think it will pick up in about two weeks. A lull was to be expected as many people that wanted a house tried to meet the deadline. Now the normal patterrns will likely start to come around again. It hasn't been dead here, but have dropped about 50% of what I was doing a month ago. Have been getting more of the bigger homes now. Interest rates are still too low to pass on if you can buy and have the desire for a new home. It is concerning me that the job market still sucks though.

[Nick Ostrowski]

The month of May did end up respectably overall for me. A number of reinspections helped fill in the gaps. Rates are still very low so I would expect to see things pick up. At least inquires and website hits are picking up so jobs should follow.

[Kary Krismer]

Here in the South Puget Sound area it is being reported that sales are up, but yet it has been "deader than a doornail" since the 8K tax credit program ended, which was also being reported as not having much of an effect on the purchase of homes. The media must have their blinders on again :confused:

The sales that are occurring today are still tax credit sales. That will be true through next month too.

I'm not sure where you read the tax credit didn't have much of an effect. I haven't seen that reported.

[Matt Fellman]

The stories the media reports usually lags behind what we're seeing by between 1 and 2 months. Inspections we do usually close anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks after we're there.... then a month of data is compiled and the numbers are released around the 15th of the next month.

May should see a small drop in closed sales and June's should be more substantial. I forsee a "sky is falling" moment in mid-July when the June closed sales are released.

We should be giving the media the story on housing activity rather than the other way around. By the time they tell us about it we've already seen it and are well past it.

[Jim Hintz]

The sales that are occurring today are still tax credit sales. That will be true through next month too.

I'm not sure where you read the tax credit didn't have much of an effect. I haven't seen that reported.

I knew I had read it somewhere.


Home buyer tax credit has less effect than last fall - USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/MONEY/usaedition/2010-04-22-home-sales_NU.htm)

[Jim Hintz]

I knew I had read it somewhere.


Home buyer tax credit has less effect than last fall - USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/MONEY/usaedition/2010-04-22-home-sales_NU.htm)


Kary, here is the site and article from May 25th 2010 which you recently posted a few comments on. You're a Realtor with Keller Williams in Renton? Are you a home inspector as well?

Case-Shiller: Flat is the New Up • Seattle Bubble (http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2010/05/25/case-shiller-flat-is-the-new-up/)

[Kary Krismer]

Kary, here is the site and article from May 25th 2010 which you recently posted a few comments on. You're a Realtor with Keller Williams in Renton? Are you a home inspector as well?

Case-Shiller: Flat is the New Up • Seattle Bubble (http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2010/05/25/case-shiller-flat-is-the-new-up/)

I'm an agent, not an inspector. I came across this site trying to research things that pop up in inspections, and have found it very useful. It's nice to get another opinion on something an inspector calls out.

That link above doesn't deal with volume, mainly price, and it's for a period well before the expiration of the credit. The earlier link you posted is also before the expiration of the credit, and comparing two different things because the prior credit had to close the same month as the expiration date, where this credit you have two months from the expiration date to close. So we really don't know yet what the effect of the credit was. They're just guessing.

This chart from the Seattle Bubble site is probably better, because it deals with closed sales throughout the years in King County, and allows you to make your own judgment about seasonal factors. But note that sales locally declined last year in November, despite the credit expiring. That is normal for November, but it does show that the tax credit expiration didn't provide that much of a bang back then.

http://seattlebubble.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/KingCoSFHClosed2010-04.png

[Joseph P. Hagarty]

April & May
busy
difficult time juggling Radon Monitors (10)
between Dropoff and Pickup times....

not complaining :)

hope it continues.....

[Nick Ostrowski]

That does it Joe. Now everybody is trying to rub it in. ;)

[Erby Crofutt]

Joe,

I had the same problem trying to juggle radon monitor pick up and drop off without interfering with the inspection schedule.

When I went to my last continuing education class, I took the wife and got her certified.

Now when it conflicts, I let her do it. (Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with her church and school volunteer activities.)

-

[Nick Ostrowski]

You know it's slow around here when you have no requests coming in for Saturday inspections and you haven't worked a Saturday in a while.

At least the weather is nice.

[Rick Hurst]

Nick,

You might have to go back to work at Chippendales.

rick

[Nick Ostrowski]

The I better get to work on my tan lines.

[Walter Bancroft]

I'm in south central Wisconsin and things have been picking up. Still not what it was pre-2000 but at least steady so far. Granted it is mostly REO's, but I guess we have to get rid of them before the owner occupieds pick up.:)

[Michael Thomas]

I FINALLY booked ONE job for this weekend: a seller's broker from an inspection earlier in the month who want's me to inspect a condo he's purchasing as his personal residence.

I'll take that as a compliment, I guess.

[John Dirks Jr]

Slow in my neck of the woods. I got one call yesterday. They said, "Sorry, wrong number".

Time to get other stuff done I guess.