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.

07/09/2020

Market Report July 8th 2020

There was a lot of activity in the market in June. We saw things fly off the shelf in some areas. When things were priced accordingly they sold in about a week. Inventory is beginning to pick up a bit, giving some relief to a very competitive market for buyers. Along with increases in listings we can look at dollar volume as well for the MLS. June compared to May was up about 70%, and up 2.4% from this time last year. It is not uncommon to see multiple offers. When looking at price/foot in Seattle It’s about the same as it was a year ago, and up slightly from May.

Seattle is shaping up to what’s become recently expected for our market, a red hot summer. We are still in a sellers’ market, according to the days of inventory. We’ve seen low average days on market the last couple months. Another indicator is the showings per listing. Showings per listing are way up the last few months, illustrating buyers visiting and eventually competing over the limited number of homes available.

Rates are still in a good spot for buyers right now. The Fed has signaled they don’t plan on raising their rate anytime soon, which should help keep mortgage rates near their historic lows. Conventional rates as low as 2.875%, High balance 3.125%, FHA 3.125%, and Jumbos 3.5%. We have seen lots of positive numbers week over week for mortgage applications. Consistent increase shows buyers are beginning to line up for the homes that are available.

As we dial past the half way point in the year, it’s a good time to talk about real estate reviews. Every year you likely have a meeting with your financial advisor to talk over your portfolio and plan for the future. Real estate should be no different. Whether your portfolio is the home you live in, or it includes a vacation or investment property. It’s a good idea to review what’s happened in each of those micro markets and how it impacts the property(s) you own. If you’re curious on what might be in your real estate review, please reach out for more information. This is a complimentary free service I provide to anyone.

06/03/2020

Market update as of June 3rd
Seattle are market, homes up to 2.5MM

Hello Everyone,

May was an exciting month in real estate. We are seeing showing activity levels creep closer to 100% of last year’s volume. This is indicative that buyers are getting back out there. When the virus first hit we saw and incredible slow-down of showings. This took away much of the leverage many sellers had with the limited number of listings on the market.

We saw a small increase of homes hitting the market in May compared to April, and a similar increase in homes sold. However ,the pending sales shot up quite significantly by about 50% compared to April. This is showing us that people are starting to ignored accumulated days on market in the hopes of locking is a historically low rate. By doing so eating up inventory that has accumulated during Covid as may buyers stepped out of the market. What this means looking forward is Seattle should continue to feel a squeeze when it comes to inventory.

Months of inventory has been increasing, which is a little contradictory to above. Currently sitting at 1.4 months of inventory. We’ve seen a large number of buyers pull out of the market, which may be unfairly influencing our months of inventory. Typically, late spring and early summer we see a flood of new listings. I don’t see any reason for this seasonal pattern to change. This is still a sellers-market, described when there are between 0-2 months of inventory.

We’ve seen a small decrease in aver price per foot in Seattle for homes up to 2.5 Million the last couple months. Year to date we are up 2.9% from last May, while being down about 1% from April. The stagnation in the market can be attributed to the global pandemic. With so many out of work it has had a major impact on first time home buyers. Employment has had a large impact on peoples’ ability to borrow. Lenders want higher credit scores and more down payment during the virus. Many, like Jamie Dimon, CEO of Chase Bank, “are focused on serving our existing customers.” Typically, we see home prices appreciate during the summer months as demand sky rockets with a wave of new inventory that comes on during the selling season as well.

Days on Market matched that of April. The average time on market was 17 days in April and 18 days in May. Even with lenders squeezing and the economy in turmoil when you work with an agent that prices your home appropriately you can expect to be in and out of the market fairly quickly. These average days on market are down from 34 days in April 2019 and 38 days in May last year.

With mortgage applications continually increasing there should be more buyers in the market this summer than we saw during the major impact Covid had on all markets during Q1 and now Q2.
In Washington state, applications were 23.1% below the same week last year, while in for week ending in May 22.

Mortgage applications for loans used to purchase homes have increased on a weekly basis for six consecutive weeks now, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That’s a sign that buyers are lining up financing in order to march into the housing market. – may 28th

Real estate continues to be a safe haven in economic downturns. I don’t believe we are out of the woods yet. Covid has created challenging times for many but If you’d like to discuss buying ,selling or investing in the future I’d be happy to get together and go over your thoughts.