Real Estate Information

Yesterday I did not really think it was that cold.  The temperature was moderate and a lite coat was perfect.  However as I was driving across the Hay flats I noticed many of the ponds just before the Knik river were frozen.

This is a sign that we will see colder weather soon.  Most lakes have not froze yet, although just the other night I thought I saw some ice creeping out from the shore.  So it is time to get winter ready.  If you are new to Alaska, remember to take the hose off the faucet.  This will keep you Hose bib from freezing over the winter.  Put up all tools and if you have fragile out door plants get them covered up with leaves or burlap bags.

Clean up all the toys and tools that may still be out there, they could disappear over night under a blanket of white not to be seen for months.  Also get you winter tires on.  The roads will be slick in the morning.  So slow down and be safe.

Everyone have a great day and don't forget to close your basement vents (very important).

This will be a short note to bring you up to speed on the market here in Eagle River Alaska.  Nothing spectacular is happening, at least not if your an Eagle River resident, because you already know this.  Eagle River is the "Most livable Community in Alaska".  The homes sales are steady and consistent, kind of boring, right?

Well to those of you that may be moving here or are just curious and stumbled upon this post, may seem incredible.  Our market is very good!  we are not selling hundreds of homes, we're just selling the ones that come on the market.  Less people are moving away from Eagle River and more are moving here.  Good steady, sustainable growth.  If the builders built 20% more homes than is currently underway we could easily fill the residences.  Eagle River residents are proud of their community and remain committed to it.  The first time home buyers tax credit expires in on December 1, 2009.  If you want take advantage of this, you need to move quickly. 

We lets dispense with the rhetoric.  Sales in the last week continue to be steady and stable.  There were 14 new homes listed for sale, and 7 homes went under contract (pended), while 6 homes closed.  The current inventory of homes is 150, just 1 more than last week.  Interest rates continue to be low, last week in the 4% to 5% range depending on the terms chosen.  fourteen (14) of the 150 are not built, and ten (10) are currently under construction.

Well, I'm getting a little long winded here so I'll wrap this up.  The market is good, now is the best time to sell your home, and it is definitely a good time to buy if you can find a good home.  If you can find one, call me we can always build it for you.

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.

Sorry I have written anything in the last week, I was up north or Delta Junction on the Good Paster River.  It was quite the adventure and a great trip in a very beautiful and remote part of Alaska.  According to my estimates we made it about 75-80 mile upstream from the Big Delta Landing on the Tanana River.  

We started out last Saturday evening and drove 320 miles north to Big Delta and launched our boat into the Tanana River.  From there we travelled 5 miles upstream in the fog to the Good Paster River.  This was fun and thought I would be able to find the mouth of the Good Paster fairly easily with the help of my GPS.  Unfortunately my GPS chart plotter had no record of the Good Paster in the memory file.  I had reviewed the google maps online so this helped me find the mouth.

The next stretch of river was very twisty and with 150 gallons of fuel on board we made our way up stream.  A little over 2 hours later and 45 gallons of fuel lighter we made to 6 miles above the south fork and found a nice gravel bar to camp on.  We set up camp there and got comfortable.  It was truly beautiful and very hot, it must have been 65 every day.  

The next couple of days we ran up and down the river, some times in the river and sometimes, like the day we ran into a raft coming downstream, we ended up in the wrong channel and high and dry.  In the week up on the Good Paster the river slowly dropped a little over a 1.5 feet.  It got really shallow.  On the way out we rubbed the bottom several times, and there were miles of river that we ran in only 3 to 4 inches of water.  One mistake and it was going to be a long was before we could get back on step.  

I learned a lot about what my Wooldridge could do in shallow water situations, as well as my driving skills.  At least one high and dry espisode was due to sun glare and missing the ripples in the middle of the river. Oh well, it was a lot of fun and what was supposed to be a hunting trip turned into a great camping trip.

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.

This weekend was a time to check our list, make sure all the laundry was done, and a couple of trips to stores to find the last of the school supplies.  Why, because school starts today in the Mat-Su Valley.

We had to double check the lists, buy new shoes, and look for that elusive primary journal for my first grader.  Then it was to bed early, ya right.

Planning sure makes this easier, but even with the best planning it seems like I'm missing something.  I've checked my list and now I will leave my children to the local schools, and I am sure that they will do great.

A little last minute cartoons, breakfast, get dressed, and it's picture time.  Check out the photos on www.Facebook.com/eric.bushnell, I should have them uploaded later today.

Now that summer is officially over here in Alaska, we can only hope for a long fall with mild weather. More on this later in the week.  School has started and now were back into the daily routine.

Good luck to all of you with school age kids.