Weber Real Estate NW

10/18/2024

I knew it! iCap was a ponzi scheme!

I have been working with the management firm out of LA that was overseeing the iCap bankruptcy file, unloading some of their Washington portfolio to return as much as we could to burned investors.

About a year ago to the day, when first going over the file and creating a pitch to service the portfolio, something seemed a bit off. After being given 4 properties to sell, a pair of development sites and a pair of investment properties, I poured through what info on the sites the courts had and what I could find from the city.

After digging through info provided, and what I could scrape from the city, I vividly remember talking with the MGMT company and the trustee I was working with, in early January 2024, saying something along the lines of “something isn’t right here. They should be making money. I don’t have access to everything you have but someone should dig deeper. These numbers don’t make sense. Something weird is going on.”

A little time later (late Feb) the first article came out in the Seattle Times regarding iCap and the MGMT company suing over ponzi scheme allegations. This morning it comes out a Wa judge has affirmed that allegation.

The picture featured below is from the development site in Kenmore I sold back in March.

A great experience and grateful for the opportunity

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled that a Washington real estate investment company operated as a Ponzi scheme.

09/04/2024

This year has been an interesting one in real estate. I hooked up with a mgmt company that was overseeing a bankruptcy file for a RE investment firm out of Bellevue that went bankrupt in 2023. I was tasked with a couple development sites and a pair of AFH investment properties.

This was a development site out in Kenmore. It was a fun project pulling all the city docs and prepping as much as I could for builders. And a much different process than normal. We ended up at auction with 5 bidders. Successful marketing of the property and driving quality interest led to a closing price a bit higher than we expected.

This closed back in March.

My time with windermere has allowed me to work in a variety of price ranges and property types, 175k-12m. Including but not limited to condos, SFR, multi family, commercial and development sites. My time running my family’s rental business, a mixture of commercial and residential, has given me a background in the construction trades, RE investing, project and property mgmt and development.

If you have any need in real estate, give me a call or shoot me a DM. Let’s get together and chat!

09/04/2024

This development site perched on a bluff in east Bremerton was the site for a proposed 42 unit podium style apartment building. Originally listed with other agents near the 1m mark, this property needed a huge price cut to find traction.

A few issues with the old owners original plan was the lack of demand for their product in that area. The rents needed to achieve any kind of financial performance were un achievable. Construction and financing costs ballooned compared to when they started the process.

It was a bit challenging backing in the land value for the site based on its build potential. We ended up getting to a place where the buyer can afford to go back to the drawing board and start over.

At closing I was still unclear what their plan was moving forward but this will be a fun site to follow and see what gets built!

This just closed last week

09/04/2024

A gorgeous setting for an adult family home. This 11 bed 9 bath 4,359 sq ft home in Lynnwood overlooking Martha Lake sold at a 7% cap rate with an operating business inside.

The lease was lengthy up to 17 years left w/ several extensions involved. It was an attractive place for an all cash international buyer from Indonesia.

A relatively simple transaction, we provided a slight concession on a few inspection response items and everyone walked away with a smile on their face.

This closed back in April.

My time with windermere has allowed me to work in a variety of price ranges and property types, 175k-12m. Including but not limited to condos, SFR, multi family, commercial and development sites. My time running my family’s rental business, a mixture of commercial and residential, has given me a background in the construction trades, RE investing, project and property mgmt and development.

If you have any need in real estate, give me a call or shoot me a DM. Let’s get together and chat!

01/10/2022

Price Down Payment (5%) Interest Monthly payment (T&I)

300k 15k 3.8% $1700

400k 20k 3.8% $2225


700k 35k 3.8% $3650

900k 45k 3.8% $4625

01/05/2022

January 2022 Seattle area Real Estate:

It is no secret there simply has not been enough inventory to satisfy the number of buyers in the market. According to the US census Bureau, Dec 16, 2021 there we 1.712M homes permitted, 1.679M homes started and about 1.282M homes completed. Builders simply are not able to keep up with the demand that buyers have expressed. The fed signaled rate increases this year, which are completely necessary to help combat inflation. The fed will stop buying mortgage back securities to add to their balance sheet come the end of Q1 this year. All of this will have an impact on demand, hopefully cooling the market a little and bringing competition over homes and soaring prices back down to earth. Interest rates have had one of the biggest impacts on the increasing demand. Historic lows have allowed many to afford (borrow much more than expected) due to lower monthly payments.

Do not let the thought of rising rates scare you. This is a healthy correction, not a scary spike. If you’ve been debating on whether or not to enter the market, rates are still low, relative to all time. It is still a great time to way the pros and cons of renting or buying in the market. With rents where they are in the city, many can afford a condo within their same budget.

If you’re curious about what your rent could get you in Seattle feel free to reach out and let’s do some brainstorming.

Flash Stats: 700-1m 1m-1.5M
% comparing YTD

Median home price 825k (+.6%) 1.253m (+.2%)

$/ft $522/ft (+11.8%) $542/ft (+10.6%)

Supply inventory .9 mths of inventory 1.1 mths of inventory (-50%)
Pending (48.3%)

Showings/listing 15.2 (72.7%) 14.5 (+95.9%)

Closings 4,733 (26.1%) 1,843 (+47.1%)

Homes for sale 324 (-27%) 135 (-28.6%)

Sold price % of list price 100% (0%) 103.8% (+3.8%)

Days on market 6 (-14.3%) 6 (-14.3%)

11/02/2021

Market Update for Seattle Area homes priced 600-900k and 900k – 1.2m

If there is a price range or specific area you’d like to know more about let me know

600-900k Market highlights:

Median sales price in this range has finally hit a seasonal top of 735k. In October we saw median price dip .7% or about 5k when compared to October of 2020. 2020 was an extremely unique year in real estate with homes selling at ridiculous prices over asking compared to normal market conditions. The behavior of the market in the second half of 2021 is shaping up to be one that behaves a little more traditionally. Each of the past 5 years, excluding 2020 there has been a seasonal slow down as fall creeps to winter. This is illustrated in small price drops each year during this period. Another good illustration of this slowdown is number of new listings. We are down 14% when compared to October 2020, but still significantly higher than falls of recent years past. Closings are also down 7% YTD, hinting that buyers may becoming a little more patient. Still up significantly compared to years past. Days on market remains unchanged YTD and sellers can still expect their home to be under contract, if priced appropriately within 6-7 days of listings, with an average of 12 showings per listing, up 30% compared to this time last year. Median $/ft is up nearly 18% from last year. The first time buyers range has been ultra-competitive over the last year. A combination of cheap money or low interest rates and a desire to have more space to work from home has made turned buyers into a frenzy at times when competing for what little inventory comes available.

900k-1.2m Market highlights.

Medians sales price is up about .8% compared to October of last year. Number of listings is just about the same, with a slight tick up of inventory of 1.2% YTD. This price range has also seen seasonal slowdowns in years past. It is typical to see a slower market towards the holiday season. For the homes that are on market this range is experiencing 6 days of list time as well. Appropriately priced and well marketed homes don’t last a week still. Down 1 day from a median of 7 days on market in October 2020. Although 20 offer bidding wars are fading away, there are still buyers chomping at the bit for what little sellers are willing to part with. Closings are up 11% in this price range. This signals buyers are still looking hard in that sub 5K mortgage payment range. $/ft is up 8% compared to last year. One reason the 600-900k range has seen a jump of more than double that this range is most new townhome builds, which have small footprints in terms of square footage are very often pushing or trying to set the top of the market when looking at $/ft. Things in the 900k-1.2M are going to be existing homes, typically aged but the possibility of some recent updates. But these homes will also have a larger footprint and more lateral space.

11/13/2020

Good morning everyone,

This report focuses on the last 6 weeks of the Seattle real estate market. As a year winds to a close and we move into holiday season, you may be looking over your financial performance of your investment portfolio and strategizing with your financial advisor and how best to approach next year. This is also something you should do for any real estate holdings you have, even if it’s just your home.
With that I offer free real estate reviews to anyone that would like one. We’ll go over your asset(s), recent behavior, behavior in its market place and based off historical data what you may be able to expect over the next few years.
With interest rates having no sign of significant increases in the near future, it may be a good time to think about an investment in real estate. If you already have investment property lets chat on how we can maximize your return in the next 5 years. Or start planning for your next 1031 exchange or acquisition. My background in Seattle rentals, property management, carpentry and remolding is something I’m happy to share to help you get the most out of your real estate holdings.

Seattle Market, 750k-1.25M:
Median sales price for Seattle homes in this range of 750k-1.25MM has increased 1% YTD, sliding up from 877k at. We usually see some market slow down moving into the winter months from the peaks of summer. It is also normal to see a slight “rush to close” before the holidays. Often times sellers wanting to get something put together before the new year, it can be flexibility in some instances. With that inventory has been consistently low the entire year. Even into these slower months we are seeing multiple offer and homes being sold over list price.
In terms of inventory we are down 36% YTD for October and down 44% in September YTD. This has caused a very competitive market for buyers. Many of the desirable homes receiving multiple offers and going over asking price. The interest rates have helped a new wave of buyers into the market place compared to this time last year even with all the economic turmoil that is going on. If you are thinking if it’s the right time to get into your first home, let’s connect you with a lender to see where your pre-approval comes in at to judge the budget. 1.3 months of inventory available to buyers.
Another good indicator of our high market activity is the number of closed sales. Typically we see slowly see a decline of the number of closed home sales from Summer into January/February. YTD, October saw 76% increase in the number of closed home sales. When looking at the charts we’ve broken a pattern for years past, and this year broke the downward trend of post June closing numbers. This year we’ve seen the numbers of closings increase or stay about the same each month since June this Year. This has thrown a curveball at traditional listing strategies for sellers.
Average days on market is down 62% YTD. Homes averaging 6 days on market in this price range in Seattle. Again another expression of the competitiveness we are see.
While we’ve only seen a very modest 1% bump in median sales price YTD, Seattle has seen a 5.5% increase in price per sq ft. Just like sales price we’ve broken the patterm of declining $/ft from summer into winter this year. We are now at $362/ft just $9 under the peak this year at $372. This is a much closer spread than we have seen in years past. This indicates fall and winter are not slowing buyers down.
One more crazy metric showing how abnormal this year is, the average shows per listing is up 1688% YTD! On average properties were being shown 16 times in October. This is up from 4.9 per listing in just April.

09/01/2020

What an exciting last week. I’ve been working with these clients for about a year now. We’ve looked for about 7 different scenarios and home fits over the year, everything from townhomes to view homes, among several price ranges. All in northeast Seattle, mostly Laurelhurst. To my surprise we found something in Issaquah a few weeks back. So happy to help this family find a great view home in Issaquah that they could customize as it gets completed. Looking forward to seeing the finished product come December.

08/06/2020

Seattle Area Home Market update July 2020 homes up to 2MM

July was another hot month in Seattle real estate. Demand has stayed high with the low interest rates. Right now we’re seeing rates for 30 year fixed mortgages right around 3.125%. This is going to keep the buying frenzy going as the lower interest rates have created affordability for many with the lower monthly payment.

The median home price for Seattle is up nearly 7% year to year. Seattle’s strong tech sector and economy in general when compared to the rest of the country has kept area home prices on the rise. While the price/sq foot is only up about 2%. This is showing us that people are willing to pay more to be in the city. There is a premium on dirt here. There is no expectation of decreasing demand, but more importantly an increase in supply to ease the levels of competition buyers are experiencing.

New listings are up about 45% year to year right now. This sounds like a contradiction to the statement of limited inventory. But in relation to the amount of buyers in the market we are seeing buyers get squeezed a bit. When homes are priced appropriately they are selling on average in 20 days, compared to 37 days for the entire MLS. This is down 25% compared to last year. This is indicative of again the competition buyers are experiencing. The lower interest rates have brought many new buyers into the market.

Activity on listings is way up. We’re seeing an average on 12.5 showings for listing. This is up from 1.4 last year. Again many more buyers competing over a small supply. The huge increase in showings has helped start bidding wars on some properties, many in which they sell above the list price. We’re seeing homes sell in Seattle for about 1.7% over listing price. Great news for sellers.

If you have any questions about real estate. Let’s get together and find out how I can help you. I offer free real estate reviews for any holdings you have. Let me know if you’d like to get one for your home or portfolio. With interest rates at these all-time lows now may be the time to get into real estate.