Real Estate Information Archive

I received my first report of a frozen pipe.  You heard me, someones pipes froze.  The weather has turned and its cold.  8 degrees was the reading on my thermometer on Monday morning.  Today is better about 35, which made the roads really slick.  We will discuss this at another time.

Lets talk about winterizing your home.  Why? Because if you do not, it will, not it may, it will cost you alot of money. 

This time of year were busy, I understand.  I've got at least 6 appointment this week, but that is no excuse.  I visited a home on Tuesday and the hose was still hooked up to the faucet.  Yes, it was frozen, and this can lead to a busted pipe just inside the wall. Here's a short list of things you need to do:

• Remove all hoses from outside faucets.
• If you can turn the water of to a exterior faucet, do so, and make sure you drain it.
• Visit your crawl space and make sure that the vents are closed.  they were open during the summer months to help ventilate the crawl space.  make sure they're closed.  This will help you heating bill and protect against frozen pipes.
• Have your furnace inspected.
• Change the filter in the furnace, this will lessen the wear and tear on the unit.
• If you have storm windows, now is the time to put them on.
• Make sure your snow blower is working properly
• buy several bags of snow melt and have it ready.
• Clean out your gutters, this helps protect you from ice damming.

This only takes at most an hour of your time.  Calling the plumber when the pipes freeze could take hours, and the bill could be in excess of $15,000. Yes, that's right.  One repair bill I saw after the pipes froze was in excess of $15,000. There was a lot of damage done to the home.

It's winter, take of your home. Oh, bythe way, put new wiper blades on this weekend.  If it snows you'll really appreciate it.

I was very surprised this morning when I reviewed the current homes listed for sale in Eagle River.  The number of homes has been slowly diminishing as we moved into the fall selling season, which is reverse of what we normally see. 

If you are looking for a home; the number of home you could visit got much smaller this week: 

• Only 91 homes are on the market available for sale. 
• There a few new homes being built, but not the number need to keep the market balanced. 
• This last week there was only one new home listed for sale and 7 homes went under contract.

Several homes left the market; at least one was a higher priced home and there is very few buyers above the $700,000 mark.  These sellers are waiting for spring.

Good news out there about the First Time Home buyers tax credit:

• It appears that Congress is about to pass some type of extension that may allow you to purchase a new home and receive the credit, as long as you buy a house before next April. 
• There appears to be two versions of the bill, one in the Senate and one in the House. 
• They will need to get together and come up with something they both agree on. 
• It does appear that they may have a meeting of the minds before Thanksgiving.

From what I see there are more people moving to Eagle River in the coming months.  My estimate is 35-50 new families are currently on their way to Alaska and will be in in January and February.  You might want to sell your home and move into something more fitting for you. 

I have two websites that can assist you. 

For Sellers- www.ValueMyAlaskanHome.com

For Buyers- www.EagleRiverHomesforSale.com

Feel free to comment ont his post here or text me at 907-360-7471.

The 2009 AHBA Parade of Homes was held the last weekend of September.  The weather was nice and the 100's of people hit the streets to see the latest creations of the Anchorage Home Builders.  The total number of entries in this years Parade of Homes was 25.  These home were spread out across Anchorage and Eagle River.  They ranged in price from $199,000 to $1,800,000, and were situated in new subdivisions as well as older established areas that were being rehabilitated.

Last night was the awards banquet held in Builder's Millwork showroom.  The group assembled included builders, bankers, tittle companies, Realtors and their spouses.  The night was entertaining and food was great, but the main reason we were all there was to see who walked away with the hardware.  It is a great honor to win a ''Golden Hammer', showing that you are the best in your class (at least for this year).

I am very proud to tell you that two of the entries were located in Eagle River's Premier Subdivision, Powder Ridge.  The Harmony Town-homes, built by the Peterson Group, and a single family home built on Ezi View Circle by Nolan Homes, LLC.. 

In the single family homes priced from $300,000 to $500,000 the winner was "Nolan Homes, LLC.". The home on Ezi view won awards in the following categories:

• Best Exterior
• Best Design
• Best Interior
• Best Kitchen
• Overall Workmanship

And last but not least the home won the coveted

'Golden Hammer Award'

This years Parade of Homes was a great success, and I am glad that we were able to participate in it.  I was able to meet many of you that came through the home and hopefully we will be able to work with you in the future.  There is still time to start a new home this year and current prices and interest rates are added incentives.  For information call or text me at 907-360-7471.

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As we get closer to December there seems to be less and less inventory (homes for sale).  Usually this time of year the number of homes on the market is climbing.  There should be more homes on the market, but there isn't.  If you're a buyer looking for a home, I know you must be frustrated.

In Eagle River there was just 141 homes at the beginning of the week.  I just ran a search and there is just 121 homes plus another 15 homes marketed as to be built.  Here is a link to the search Eagle_River_Home_Search.

The number of condominiums available is 31.  This offers some alternatives to those of you desperately looking for a new home.  Don't be discourage, be ready.  Keep an eye on the market, get pre-qualified with a lender you trust.  I suggest visiting www.LendAlaska.com. This is Aaron Gray's website, Aaron is a great loan originator with Homestate Mortgage. 

If you have the right information than buying a house can be very easy, not stress free, but easy.

Hang in there.

This weekend I was replacing light bulbs around the parameter of my home.  I replaced several burned out bulbs with the new energy efficient bulbs.  First let me explain that I am not a big fan of these bulbs, and definitely not outside in the cold winter nights.  They take forever to warm up and produce good bright light, but they do not burn out quickly and they will save my family money.  It is the right thing to do.

"Save Energy, Money and the Environment with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs" This is the headline I saw online for these bulbs.  However they do take time to warm up, before they produce good bright light. Which is why I am writing this post.  You save money, they do save you money, right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong, they will cost you thousands if you're not careful.  In Alaska lighting is very important, actually it is important everywhere, but in Alaska if the buyers think your home is dark they will move on to the next one.  Staging a home, moving furniture, cleaning, and painting are just some of the things sellers do to entice buyers.  They want the visiting buyer to leave with a positive impression of their home.

So why am I concerned about these lights, a buyer should feel good about you being environmentally conservative.  Many buyers visit a home when no one is there, all the lights are turn off.  They come in turn on the lights look around the room, turn off the light and walk out.  The compact fluorescent light bulbs do not have enough time to warm up, so their light output is low and the buyer may leave with the impression that the room is under lit, or worse dingy.  They may not know why they feel this way, they're not looking at your light bulbs trying to figure it out.  They're to busy trying to find a good home, and they do not want to make a mistake.  They do not want to be next years news story.

Here's my advice:  When you leave the house turn every light on. Yes, I said it, leave every light on.  This way your lights are working for you to sell your home.  It will make a difference, the lights will be warmed up and providing maximum out put. The home will be warm and inviting. The increase in your electric bill will be minimal compared to the amount of money you will make when they make they're offer on your home instead of the under-lit home down the street.

Have you been waiting to see what's new in home building?  What are the builders and designers using this year?  Will the homes be as nice as what you see on TV at HGTV?

The answer to these questions and many more will be answered this weekend September 26th, 27th, and 28th.  It's time for the annual AHBA Parade of Homes.  There will be several homes showcased this year in Eagle River.  We have two homes in Powder Ridge.  Nolan Homes, LLC. will be opening a wonderful home on Ezi View Circle.  This will be the last time to see this amazing property, unless you're invited by the new owners.  They move in next Wednesday.

I would invite you to come by and see the Nolan Home in Powder Ridge.  While there take time and look around the subdivision to see the available home sites.  Now is great time to build a new home.  Inflation may start taking hold as the country begins its slow recovery from recession.  Interest rates are holing low, and if you want to sell you existing home there is very little competition on the market.  See my previous posts on this subject.

Come by and visit, Saturday 12-6, Sunday 12-6, and Monday 5-8.  Please vote online at AHBA.net for the people's choice award.

What's happening in the Eagle river Market this week?  that is a question I keep getting asked and  I have a great answer, but before I going to the weekly numbers I would like to share with a conversation I had Saturday evening at the Annual Chugiak/Eagle River Chamber of Commerce fund raiser.

I know I'm name dropping, but so would you, and this is Alaska.  My wife and I were looking at all the very cool items in the silent auction and we had the opportunity to speak for several minutes with Senator Mark Begich.  We exchange pleasantries and I asked Senator Begich about is real estate license, he has been a Realtor for many years.  Our conversation revolved around what was going on around the country.  The Senator shared with me information that he had obtained that showed new housing starts around the country were increasing.  He also shared with me what he had seen as he drove across the country on the way back to Alaska. 

The Senator had seen many small towns languishing in this recession, a stark contrast with our local economy.  We are very lucky that our local economy has fared very well in the recent down turn.  I shared the status of our local market and it is good.  It was a great evening and I really enjoyed myself.

Here is what I shared with Senator Begich:

The Eagle River residential market showed healthy signs again last week.  Ten (10) homes went under contract (pended), eight (8) new homes came on the market, and five (5) homes closed.  The average sales price in Eagle River is $330,000 and the average market time of the sold homes is 73 days over the last quarter.  Active homes still on the market show an average of 113 days on the Market (DOM).  With only 157 homes available for sale and 20 of these homes not built, there is a limited supply in most price ranges. 

Chugiak has a little better supply of homes with 57 currently available.  Two (2) homes pended, one (1) new home was listed, and one (1) home closed.  The Chugiak/Peter's Creek area still provides some of the better values for this area with many of the homes situated on larger parcels of land.

Well that it for this week, if you have questions about what going on or would like help in any real estate matters give me a call or send an e-mail.  Remember this, Real Estate is Local, and Locally we have it pretty good.

What's happening in our market this week?

The weather in South Central Alaska has continued to be mild and with very little rain.  A nice fall, with lots of color in the hills.  As you all know I was not here last week, but I did review the number for the area and I think that many people were out enjoying the extended Labor Day weekend.  Here is a breakdown of what happened.

Eleven (11) new homes came onto the market, six (6) homes went under contract (pending), and eleven (11) homes transferred title (closed).

This weeks feels about the same, although I do not think there will be as many new listings.  The rental market also continues to be very tight, with a very limited supply of homes to choose from.  Current inventory in Eagle River of homes for sale is just 164.  At the end of August there was 184 homes available, and last year at the end of August there was 221 homes available.  This places limitations on perspective buyers.  When you extract the un-built new homes it leaves just 133 homes across all price ranges.

If you are thinking about selling a home, now would be a great time.  Make sure that your home is in excellent condition and it will most likely sell quickly when price accurately.

If you have not signed up to receive new listings updates please visit www.eagleriverhomesforsale.com.  You will receive updates for Homes, land, and recreational property based on the selections of your choosing.

This is a quick update after the last one, but I want to get you this new information as quickly as possible.  With school starting last week I know that most people with school age children no longer have the luxury of extra time.  Knowing what is going on at this time is very important in maximizing the time that you do have available.

Eagle River saw a slow down in pending activity, and this was most likely because local schools started last Wednesday.  I anticipate that buyers will be getting back to it this week.  The number of new homes remains fairly steady, we saw 11 new homes listed for sale last week, while 5 homes were placed under contract and pended.  There were no new homes listed in the Chugiak/Peter's Creek are, however we did see 3 homes placed under contract.

There still are some very good deals on the market, there are also several very good new homes that could be built for you.  Local builders are agressively pricing homes for those that have the time to build.  If you have questions about this or any other real estate related question please contact me at bushnell@mtaonline.net, or call me at 907-360-7471.

Have a Great week!

Wow, what a week! Things have been hopping around here and I am just now getting to a weekly update.  I will still share with you last weeks numbers and try to give some insight into whats transpiring this week.  The weather has been very nice and it brings out the buyers.  School started this week in the Valley and in Anchorage, so many potential buyers have been very busy.

Last week we saw 16 homes pend in the Eagle River market compared to just 14 new listings.  When I looked at existing inventory yesterday there were only 188 homes available in Eagle River; 16 of which are not built at this time. That leaves us with just a 2.73 month supply of homes available in Eagle River.  This is not surprising to me as we are seeing many new military personnel moving into the area. 

Also, keep an eye on your calendar.  November 30th is almost here.  If you are a first time home buyer and wish to take advantage of the $8000 tax credit you must close on your new home by November 30th, 2009.  If you have not owned a home within the last two years you may qualify for this tax credit, even if you owned a home before that. Visit the buyers resource section of my website for more information.

If you are thinking about buying a home now may be the time.  Call me and ask the hard questions, I will give you a straight answer.  Next year it may be more expensive and you will not be able to buy what you want.