Real Estate Market

Economic growth has slowed considerably over the last two months.  Is this the sign of a second “double dip” recession or just a temporary period of slower growth? 

Most of the data still indicates a growing economy, rather than a shrinking one.  Both of the previous two recoveries had periods of very slow real GDP growth in their first couple of years.  This suggests that the recovery that began in July 2009 will be a “jobless recovery” with modest job growth, slow declines in unemployment rates, and periods of weak real GDP growth, rather than a double dip recession.

We saw a sharp, but expected, decline in home sales following the expiration of the tax credit at the end of April. Pending home sales in King County were down 45.3% from April to May 2010.  However, modest job improvement, record low mortgage rates, and improving demographics suggest that home sales should rebound in the second half of the year.

Barring any unforeseen shocks to the economy, home sales should increase at a faster pace in 2011.

What's On the Market

Despite the sharp decline in pending sales due to the expiration of the tax credit, the number of homes sold remained surprisingly steady month to month since March.  Year to year, the number of homes sold is up 1% from June 2009.  For a detailed report of recent sales and inventory levels in your neighborhood, contact Troy.

Remember that lower rates give you more buying power, making it an ideal time for anyone sitting on the fence to move forward with that purchase. For example, with a payment of $2,000 P&I, a buyer could borrow the following, based on different rates:

As you can see, a small difference can make a huge impact on the  affordability of a new home!  Contact Troy for today’s interest rate.

BULLET PROOFING YOUR FOOT

If you’re planning on buying a home in the next six months, then    getting pre-approved with a mortgage lender is critical.  Here’s this month’s tip to make sure the bank says “Yes.”

Do—Stay current on all your payments.

Don’t– Spend assets over $1000 without talking to your lender first.

Contact Troy for more important Do’s and Don’ts.

Children’s Country Home:

Founded in 1997, Children's Country Home is an eight-bed, nonprofit home that provides 24-hour skilled care to medically fragile and technology-dependent children. Children's Country Home is licensed as a home health care agency and pediatric group home. Annually, we serve nearly 20 medically fragile children.  We provide respite, transitional, long-term and hospice care.  As a pediatric provider, Children's Country Home serves children from infancy through their 17th year. Children's Country Home complies with federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements regarding nondiscrimination in the provision of client services and in employment practices. We value the diversity of cultures and lifestyles among our clients and staff and encourage the integration of cultural practices into the plan of care. No one is discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or disability To enhance the quality of life of medically fragile children by providing 24-hour health care services in a loving, family centered home guided by the values of dignity, compassion, sharing and stewardship.

Donate Online: www.childrenscountryhome.org

They are currently in need of the following items:

Sterile, non-latex gloves in size small & medium, Kindle DX, Amazon.com gift cards to purchase age appropriate, down loadable books,Children's books on CD and new release DVDs, Baby wipes, and Laundry supplies.

JUST FOR FUN

Tucked away in a non-descrip office park sits Sky High Sports, a 10,000 sq ft warehouse full of trampolines.  Describing this place as just “fun” would be an understatement, calling it “amazing” is closer to the mark, and referring to it as “a mind-blowing-trampoline-powered-funocalypse” is just silly...so lets go with “amazing”.

The staff is friendly and helpful, there are organized events like dodge ball and air-obics, and they have a huge foam pit to guarantee soft landings.

So if you’ve gone to bed thinking that a day without a back flip is a day wasted, then for $11 an hour, you should check out Sky High Sports.

Sky High Sports

1445 120th Ave NE, Bellevue WA  (425) 990-JUMP (5867)

http://sea.jumpskyhigh.com/