Some of you might ask yourself, why did Dustin choose Windermere Real Estate as the brokerage under which he does his real estate business?

Here are a few reasons:

1. They are an ethical real estate company, at least the Windermere office that I work at.

2. As a company, in Spokane they have a reputation of a service company like Norstrom’s as compared with some other real estate companies that model their customer service philosophy after Kmart. It goes back to the old saying, ‘You get what you pay for’.

3. They devote a significant amount of money into technology that will better serve the clients. They are not afraid to spend money to develop the tools that will better help their agents serve their clients in a first-class manner.

4. Their real estate sign is simple, classy and professional. The real estate sign that a company uses says a lot about a company. As you drive around Spokane or whatever city you live in, take a look at the real estate signs you see and you will see my point.

5. The brokers at the Windermere North office, John and Marianne Becker, do not list and sell real estate, so when they get a client they know who needs help buying and selling, they refer them to an agent in the office who would be a good fit for that client. (There are very few owners who have taken this approach to business.)

 6. Windermere Real Estate is in Spokane for the long-term. There have been so many Spokane real estate companies that have sold their ownership to bigger companies and others that have merged with two or more companies in Spokane, but Windermere began in Seattle area and came to Spokane and has increased its market share significantly as each year passes.

7. Windermere is one of the, if not the most, established real estate company in the Northwest, and it’s presence and influence is growing throughout the western United States.

You might be asking yourself, “Should we continue to rent or should we looking into buying a home?” That is a very legitimate question and the fact that you are asking it is a step in the right direction.

The following is some information you might find useful.

• Over the last 30 years, the average increase in sales price of homes has been 6%.
• Homes nearly double in value every 10 years
• The average homeowner’s net worth is 46 times more then that of the average renter, the homeowner’s being $176,000 and that of a renter’s is $4,800.
• Here is the link to the website if you want more information. www.housingmarketfacts.com

1. If you are worried about the ‘national real estate market’ you have been unduly influenced by national media. Let me ask you, if you are thinking about buying a home in Spokane, Washington does it really matter what the housing market is like in Nashville, Tennessee? It doesn’t. If you are living in Nashville and considering moving to Spokane, then you might care.
2. Buy a home as a long-term investment, not a gold mine in which you will net millions of dollars in 1 year.
3. Interest Rates are really really good for a buyer. The days are gone in which you are able to buy a house without a job and without a down payment…if you ask me…GOOD. Those people probably shouldn’t have been buying houses anyway. But, if you have good credit and have some money as a down payment and have sufficient income to pay your mortgage you should really consider buying a home or some type of real estate, especially if you are in Spokane.

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If you are reading this and would like to be added to my Client Appreciation Program and get the opportunity for some free tickets to Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on May 17th, give me a quick call and I will set up up on the program. If you want to see a preview for this upcoming movie, click HERE.

 

 What are the benefits of my Client Appreciation Program?

• A trusted Realtor who is active in the industry and would keep you up to rate concerning Spokane Real estate information, trends and market statistics.
• First-Class Service
• Monthly information
• A professional who works hard to negotiate the best deal possible for you
• A professional who seeks to do what is ethical in all situation, no matter what the short term cost of doing the right thing.
• Active member of Spokane community
• Helpful and detailed knowledge about other aspects of Spokane (restaurants, parks, events, churches, businesses, etc.)
• A professional who believes in the importance of providing clients credible information, which allows them to make wise decisions about their needs and desires relative to real estate ownership, investing, selling and buying.
• A free movie for the family in May!
• Many others that you will have to call and experience for yourself…

Again, if you are interested in joining my Client Appreciation Program and would like to attend a FREE showing of the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian showing on May 17th, please give me a call (509-435-1107) and let me know you would be interested in attending.

I just finished reading an article that described some projections for this coming year. In short, the real estate market of existing homes is going to remain stable for the time being and will continue to improve into 2009.

Existing home Sales for 2007 will probably total: 5.66 million, which is the 5th highest year on record. That is nothing to be ashamed of. With all of the ‘doom and gloom’ media going around, we are currently in and will remain in a stable market respective to real estate. The research analysts are estimating that 2008 will have about 5.70 million existing-home sales this year and 5.91 milliion in 2009. The sold price of existing homes for 2007 is likely going to be down 1.9% from the year, at $217,600, will hold still this year, and rise 3.1% in 2009 to $224,400.

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• Both the Davenport Hotel and Davenport Tower were recently honored with a AAA Four Diamond award and named among Expedia’s top 10 hotels in the nation.

 

• Daniel Iacofano, a leading national expert in urban planning from MIG in Berkley, said “Downtown Spokane is on-trend with successful urban revitalization efforts accros the country and offers many unique elements.”

 

• Recently, Forbes ranked Spokane as number 20 on the list of Best Places for Business and Careers, up from 114 in 2006.

 

• Visitors to Spokane spent $739.8 million in Spokane in 2006, creating $55.7 million in non-residential tax dollars. The spending total was up nearly 7.5 percent from 2005 or $50.9 million, according to Washington State County Travel Impacts report.

 

• Washington CEO recently ranked the Spokane Convention Center number one in total meeting space at 372,565 square feet. Its largest single-room space is 100,160 square feet.

 

• The 2007 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships was an eight day event that generated $30 million, and set a new attendance record for the event at 154,893, which blasted the 125,345 mark set in Los Angeles in 2002.

 

• This event was awarded ‘Sports Event of the Year’ by Sports Travel Magazine over the World Series, Super Bowl, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and other prominent national events.

 

• This is all great news for Spokane, the residents of Spokane, and those who are considering visiting and moving to Spokane.

 The Spokane Journal of Business provided this information. It is an important resource and publication in the Spokane area.

There have been some interesting market movements this past month:

* Closed Sales: 521 closed sales, down from 718 closed saled in September of 2006.
* Average Price: $212,598, which is up from a year ago, at 205,001.

* The biggest number to mention is the number of active listings that are now on the market. At the end of September 2007, there were 3,273 active listings on the market, up from 2,662 a year ago. That is good news for potential buyers…you will definately have some more choices of Spokane homes then you had a year ago.

I don’t usually post information about new listings on this website, but this is an exception. This house just came on the market today and it is in a great Spokane area. You might taken it for granted if all your neighbors cut their lawn regularly, but you shouldn’t. As a Spokane Realtor, I see a lot of stuff that might make someone cring. Yet, all the people on this street all care for their homes.

 If you would like to see some pictures of the house, click on the following link: http://www.windermere.com/tid197687 

To all you who read this, I am sorry that I have blogged in a long time. It was an incredibly eventful summer and early fall, but I am finally getting back into the routine of life in the world of Spokane real estate, and blogging will be a weekly priority of mine through the fall and winter.
To all those who care, the main reason I haven’t spent any time blogging has been because of a new 12 month old son that my wife and I have. The month of August was a time of unbelievable transition for us…we traveled to Ethiopia to pick up our son, Ezra Abera Greenup, and are now back in Spokane, learning to adjust and live life with a new family member. Also, Heidi, my wife, is 18 weeks pregnant. So, our family is growing fast. If you are interested to know further, feel free to visit our family blog: www.greenupfamily.blogspot.com

Next week will resume normal Spokane news and Real Estate blogging.

On one day each summer, June 15th this year, all of Windermere Real Estate agents, managers, and brokers, pick a project in their community to help better the community. This year, the Spokane Windermere offices, chose Camp Dart-Lo to offer our united team effort. Having 200 agents working a full day on a project gets some serious work done. We were able to construct a few small buildings, paint existing buildings, clean & trim up the grounds, and much more.

 It was truly a pleasure to see the employees of Camp Dart-Lo so excited and touched by the work that was able to be completed. One of the reasons I choose to hang my real estate license at Windermere is because of their commitment to serve and help the community.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but I thought I should get up some new statistics concerning the Spokane Real Estate Market.

 Spokane Real Estate Market CLOSED SALES: 

• 714 CLOSED IN THE MONTH OF MAY
• 604 SALES CLOSED IN THE MONTH OF APRIL

Spokane Real Estate Market Average Sales Price:

• $210,530 for the month of May
• In the month of April, the average price was $216,660
• May of 2006, the average price was $186,328

Spokane Real Esate Market Median Sales Price:

• $184,900 for May 2007
• $165,000 for May 2006

Spokane Real Estate Active Listings:

• 2,756 in the month of May 2007
• 2,545 in the month of April 2007
• 1,871 in May of 2006