News and Market Update

MORTGAGE & FINANCE news

4 ways to pay off your mortgage earlier

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/4-ways-to-pay-off-your-mortgage-earlier-1.aspx

Time for home buyers to get off the sidelines

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-harney-20140427,0,242681.story#axzz30C5d8IYB

Fading middle class perk: Lower mortgage rates

http://www.king5.com/news/business/256706381.html

REAL ESTATE news

10 tips to help you take your home from winter to spring and beyond

http://rismedia.com/2014-04-23/top-10-tips-to-prepare-your-home-for-spring-after-severe-winter/

32 Outrageously fun things you’ll want in your backyard this summer

http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/outrageously-fun-things-youll-want-in-your-backyard-this

25 Amazing facts about solar energy

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/20/25-amazing-facts-about-solar.aspx

LOCAL news

44-offer bidding war for this Bellevue home

http://seattle.curbed.com/archives/2014/04/this-465k-bellevue-home-incited-a-44-offer-bidding-war.php

17 local zip codes predicted to soon surpass peak values from before the recession

http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/home-values-rising-seattle-metro-area-breaking-dow/nffqj/

10 hottest neighborhoods in Seattle

http://www.seattlemet.com/articles/10-hottest-neighborhoods-in-seattle-may-2014

WEEKLY DOSE OF awesomeness 

Surprise in the attic

http://www.canalina.com/so-theres-a-house-for-sale-in-london-it-seems-normal-til-you-go-to-the-attic-what

TITLE & ESCROW info

Researching schools and school districts? Click on the link below -- select “community links” then “school links” and you’ll find links to websites that will help you find your school district and/or specific school and compare them by report cards, test scores and ratings. http://www.cwtitle.net/title-and-escrow-resources/

NEWS

MORTGAGE & FINANCE news

 

Mortgage rates edging closer to historically low levels

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2014/04/10/mortgage-rates-fall-ahead-of-spring-home-buying-season/

 

Tips for first time homebuyers

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlerealestate/2014/04/09/tips-for-first-time-home-buyers/

 

Home sales may surge following on heels of spring mortgages

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-31/home-sales-in-u-s-poised-to-surge-with-spring-mortgages.html

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE news

 

Staging to sell, curb appeal key to selling your home even in a hot market

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/morning_call/2014/04/staging-curb-appeal-most-important-when-home.html

 

Reducing clutter in our homes, helps eliminate drains on our time, health and emotions

http://seattletimes.com/html/homesrealestate/2023278357_hreecoconsumer06xml.html

 

The outdoor office and other outdoor home trends for 2014/2015

http://www.infolink.com.au/c/Adbri-Masonry/Key-2014-2015-trends-to-transform-your-outdoor-space-n2505928

 

LOCAL news

 

Sale and sprucing up of old Everett Herald building may draw more into the downtown core

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2014/04/big-property-in-downtown-everett-sells-whats-next.html

 

Lack of inventory holding back the Snohomish County real estate market

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140403/BIZ/140409682

 

Inventory shortage in Seattle and Snohomish county reflected in rising prices

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2014/04/severe-inventory-shortage-sends-seattle-area.html

 

 

 

WEEKLY DOSE OF awesomeness

 

Even in Amazon’s hometown, independent bookstores may actually have a chance

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/us/bookstores-in-seattle-soar-and-embrace-an-old-nemesis-amazoncom.html

 

Wouldn’t you love to live on one of these “branches”

http://stylepantry.com/2014/03/26/luxury-high-rise-that-simulate-white-tree/

 

 

 

TITLE & ESCROW info

Our region has so much to offer, entertainment and culture, sports and recreation and so much more.  Click on the link below -- select “community links” and you'll find quick links to main attractions and related information. 

http://www.cwtitle.net/title-and-escrow-resources/

Weekly Market Preview

MBS OVERVIEW ***We have a holiday-shortened week*** Thursday - the Bond Market will Close early at 2:00EDT Friday - the Bond Market will be CLOSED all day. Even though we have a short week, we have a lot of big name economic data to digest like Retail Sales, CPI, Production and the Fed's Beige Book. Plus we have a few "Talking Fed's", most notably Janet Yellen. It's Ground Hog Day all over again: As we once again start off the trading session with economic news that would normally pummel your pricing. But the "Teflon Bond Market" has shrugged it off. March Retail Sales were much stronger than expected and February's data was revised upward. But this was once again offset due to a flight to safety into anything U.S. due to more news out of the Ukraine. This time, Pro-Russian supporters have taken over at least two Ukrainian Police stations and are refusing to leave. This has traders concerned that Ukraine may respond with force and escalate things further. As a result, MBS are down only -9BPS in early trading. Typically, with this type of strong Retail Sales data, MBS would be down at least -50BPS. Wednesday's release of the Fed's Beige Book will be key as we learn how the manufacturing, housing, lending, and labor markets are doing in each Fed district. There are no major U.S. Treasury auctions this week. TODAY'S EVENTS Retail Sales: Potentially, the most important economic release of the week. Headline Retail Sales for March were much stronger than expected (1.1% vs est of 0.8%). Plus, February was revised upward from 0.3% to 0.7%. Excluding Autos, Retail Sales were up 0.7% vs estimates of 0.5%. Retail Sales are the top of the economic pyramid, and these numbers come from a period where weather was an issue. This is certainly positive economic news and that means that this reading is negative for MBS pricing today. Business Inventories: Generally not a major market mover. The consensus estimates are for a small improvement from 0.4% to 0.5%. What happened last week? MBS OVERVIEW Mortgage backed securities (MBS) gained +47 basis points (BPS) from last Friday's close which caused 30 year fixed mortgage rates to move slightly lower from the prior week. The market saw the lowest rates on Thursday and the highest rates on Wednesday. For the third straight week, we had domestic economic data that (under normal circumstances) would have caused MBS pricing to deteriorate. Consumer Sentiment was stronger than expected (82.6 vs 81.0), Initial Jobless Claims were lower than expected (300K vs 320K), the Producer Price Index was higher than expected (0.5 vs 0.1) and Import Prices were higher than expected (0.6 vs est of 0.2). But once again, the growth in the U.S. was overshadowed by concern over China (this time over their weaker than expected import/export data) and Ukraine/Russia as tensions still mount. This caused more flight to safety by international traders which propped up demand for our bonds and completely countered our economic growth. As a result, your interest rates improved.

Windermere Lake Stevens Spotlight

how can one hold title

Here are five ways to hold title:
Community Property/Domestic Partnership
Tenancy in Common
Trust
Joint Tenancy
Separate Estate

"The all-time record low – since Freddie Mac began tracking mortgage rates in 1971 – was 3.31% in November 2012. Conversely, the all-time record high occurred in October of 1981, hitting 18.63%. That's more than four times higher than today's average 30-year fixed rate of 4.32% as of March 20...rates hovering around 4.5% may be high relative to last year, but something to celebrate compared to almost any year since 1971."