Olympia Harbor Days has been around for 37 years and counting! This annual festival brings tugboats to our beautiful area, the southernmost tip of Puget Sound, for three fun filled days of entertainment, food, art and history for the last hurrah of the summer.
Come on down to Percival Landing this September 3rd through the 5th to join in on the fun! Many of the vintage, working and retired tugboats will be open for tour on Saturday the 4th. Don't miss out on the exciting Annual Harbor Days Tugboat Races Sunday at noon!
Keep your fingers crossed for another beautiful weekend here in the Puget Sound! See you there!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sand in the City 2010
The Hands on Children's Museum annual Sand in the City event is this weekend, August 27th thru the 29th!
This free community event benefits the Hands On Children's Museum and is sure to be a fabulous time! Last year's event drew 10 teams and over 43,000 visitors!
For the Sand in The City Schedule of events visit http://www.hocm.org/page.php?id=83
Here is our past Sand in the City creation. What do you think?
This free community event benefits the Hands On Children's Museum and is sure to be a fabulous time! Last year's event drew 10 teams and over 43,000 visitors!
For the Sand in The City Schedule of events visit http://www.hocm.org/page.php?id=83
Here is our past Sand in the City creation. What do you think?
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
81st Annual Pet Parade, Downtown Olympia
Saturday, August 21st, all kids 16 and under are invited to join the 81st annual Pet Parade in Downtown Olympia. The parade begins at Heritage Park on Water Street adjacent to Capitol Lake and ends in Sylvester Park on Legion Way. Lineup begins at 8am and the parade starts at 10am. Judging is from 8:30am - 9:45am (Heritage Park). The Grand prizes are announced at 11:30am at Sylvester Park.
This years theme is Once Upon A Time so dress up in your creative costumes, dress up your favorite pet and come on down!
For more information visit http://www.theolympian.com/petparade/
This years theme is Once Upon A Time so dress up in your creative costumes, dress up your favorite pet and come on down!
For more information visit http://www.theolympian.com/petparade/
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Taste of the Olympia Farmers Market 2010
Have you heard of the Taste of the Olympia Farmers Market? If you haven't you are missing out! This fabulous fund raising event is put on by the Friends of the Market on August 24, 2010. Enjoy a variety of fine cuisines of our 22 local restaurants, wineries, breweries and coffee roasters.
Hurry and order your tickets today before this event is sold out!
Visit http://www.farmers-market.org/ for more information about our very own Market and to purchase your Taste of the Olympia Farmers Market tickets today!
Hurry and order your tickets today before this event is sold out!
Visit http://www.farmers-market.org/ for more information about our very own Market and to purchase your Taste of the Olympia Farmers Market tickets today!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time to Refinance?
Have you refinanced your loan in the last month? If not, you may want to investigate it now. Rates have never been lower. In some cases we have seen clients save hundreds per month by locking in today’s historically low rates.
Earlier this year, the federal government ended its program to buy mortgage-backed securities. That stimulus program was run to keep mortgage rates low. Most economists expected that rates would rise once that artificial demand for the securities was halted.
In fact, rates have gone down. The private investment markets have moved to these more secure investments as fears over the European markets built throughout the spring. This demand has brought mortgage interest rates to the lowest levels since Freddie Mac started tracking rates in 1971.
Refinancing, however, is not for everyone. Even if today’s rates are significantly lower than your current rate, the upfront loan costs may outweigh the monthly payment savings.
Before you refinance be sure to do a little homework. Get all the facts and figures from your mortgage lender. Compare the upfront costs (such as appraisal, loan origination fee, and settlement costs) against the monthly savings and the length of time you plan to stay in the home. If you are planning a move in the next year or two, the math may say it is not time to refinance. However, if you plan to stay in your home long enough, then the savings can add up.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have. We would be happy to assist you.
Earlier this year, the federal government ended its program to buy mortgage-backed securities. That stimulus program was run to keep mortgage rates low. Most economists expected that rates would rise once that artificial demand for the securities was halted.
In fact, rates have gone down. The private investment markets have moved to these more secure investments as fears over the European markets built throughout the spring. This demand has brought mortgage interest rates to the lowest levels since Freddie Mac started tracking rates in 1971.
Refinancing, however, is not for everyone. Even if today’s rates are significantly lower than your current rate, the upfront loan costs may outweigh the monthly payment savings.
Before you refinance be sure to do a little homework. Get all the facts and figures from your mortgage lender. Compare the upfront costs (such as appraisal, loan origination fee, and settlement costs) against the monthly savings and the length of time you plan to stay in the home. If you are planning a move in the next year or two, the math may say it is not time to refinance. However, if you plan to stay in your home long enough, then the savings can add up.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have. We would be happy to assist you.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Home Prices
The average sales price for homes sold in the first half of the year was $246,000, down 5.7% from the same period last year. Recently, however, home prices have started to level out (See Chart below).
Click on chart to enlarge.
While not every home for sale is priced at market value, more sellers are starting to price right (which means a list price reduction was not needed before an offer was accepted). In January only 26% of sellers were pricing right; by June this number rose to 41%. The consolidated numbers for the entire first half of 2010 are found in the chart below.
Click on chart to enlarge.
Click on chart to enlarge.While not every home for sale is priced at market value, more sellers are starting to price right (which means a list price reduction was not needed before an offer was accepted). In January only 26% of sellers were pricing right; by June this number rose to 41%. The consolidated numbers for the entire first half of 2010 are found in the chart below.
Click on chart to enlarge.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Sales Are Up For the Year
If you’ve ever been on a college campus the night before final exams you know the frenzied pace of kids cramming in last minute studying.
Our office at the end of April looked a lot like that. We were working with a lot of buyers and sellers to get contracts put in place by the April 30th expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credits. It is hard to imagine a busier time for contracts. April pending sales were up 34% over the previous year.
If you follow our blog you know that the tax credit itself was not responsible for stimulating demand. What it did do was speed up the home search process for buyers who were already in the market. Anyone who had planned to buy this year tried to take advantage of the credit. The result was that a lot of sales that might have happened in May and June were pulled into March and April.
As a consequence, the sales numbers for the first half are a bit distorted. Typically, sales steadily build from the winter months into the summer months before tapering off again. This year, before the credit deadline, sales were up big time. March and April sales were up over 30%. After the deadline, sales were down – May and June were both off by 20% over the prior year.
Even with the drop off in sales after April, sales for the first half of the year are up a solid 12.5% from the same period in 2009. The pent-up demand we have been mentioning over the last year is starting to come back to the market (See Chart below).
Our office at the end of April looked a lot like that. We were working with a lot of buyers and sellers to get contracts put in place by the April 30th expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credits. It is hard to imagine a busier time for contracts. April pending sales were up 34% over the previous year.
If you follow our blog you know that the tax credit itself was not responsible for stimulating demand. What it did do was speed up the home search process for buyers who were already in the market. Anyone who had planned to buy this year tried to take advantage of the credit. The result was that a lot of sales that might have happened in May and June were pulled into March and April.
As a consequence, the sales numbers for the first half are a bit distorted. Typically, sales steadily build from the winter months into the summer months before tapering off again. This year, before the credit deadline, sales were up big time. March and April sales were up over 30%. After the deadline, sales were down – May and June were both off by 20% over the prior year.
Even with the drop off in sales after April, sales for the first half of the year are up a solid 12.5% from the same period in 2009. The pent-up demand we have been mentioning over the last year is starting to come back to the market (See Chart below).
Click on the chart to enlarge.
Going forward we expect the sales to be more steady. Buyers are jumping back into the market not because of stimulus programs but because of affordability. They sense that prices are now at more reasonable levels. Sellers are also realizing that while they cannot get the lofty sales prices from 2006, they are buying the next house at the right time. As we mentioned last quarter, people are back to moving because it makes sense for their life, not because they are expecting over-the-top investment returns.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Marine Creature Monday at Boston Harbor Marina
Join us this Monday August 9th from 11:30am - 1pm at the Boston Harbor Marina. The Stream Team will be showing off the creatures that live on the bottom of Puget Sound!
Experts will be demonstrating fun ways to learn about different marine creatures, and what role we all can play in keeping our environment clean and healthy.
Space is limited, call 360-570-5841 or e-mail ppyle@ci.olympia.wa.us for more information and to make a reservation.
See you there!
Experts will be demonstrating fun ways to learn about different marine creatures, and what role we all can play in keeping our environment clean and healthy.
Space is limited, call 360-570-5841 or e-mail ppyle@ci.olympia.wa.us for more information and to make a reservation.
See you there!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Thurston County Property Tax Q&A
We’ve had a lot of questions from clients this year about property taxes. It is no surprise that housing values have fallen over the past few years. What has come as a surprise to many is why property taxes have not.
Q: My home’s assessed value went down this last year, but my property tax payments actually went up. How is that possible?
A: Property tax math is a funny thing. The most important question when determining how much you might pay is how your property’s value changes relative to the area average change in value.
The government is limited in how much it can raise taxes from year to year. The total amount collected for property taxes can increase only by the lesser of 1% a year or the amount of inflation (additional increases, such as levies must be voter approved). It is rare to see the total amount collected actually go down.
Once the government determines the total amount it is going to collect from property taxes, it then apportions that amount across the property owners in the county based on property values. This is why it is important to know where your value change stands relative to the average change in the taxing area.
If your property value falls more than the area average, your share of taxes paid will be less. In this case, you could be paying less than the previous year. However, if your property value fell less than the area average you will pay more in taxes.
Q: Why is my tax assessed value so much different than the values of homes I am seeing sell in my neighborhood today?
A: Property tax assessed values for the current year are not based on today’s market value. Instead, assessed values are determined on January 1st of the year before the tax year. For instance, the taxes you are paying in 2010 are based on an opinion of your property value set on January 1, 2009. That means the assessor was reviewing 2008 property sale prices. The sales that are happening today will impact your assessed values in 2012.
Q: My home’s assessed value went down this last year, but my property tax payments actually went up. How is that possible?
A: Property tax math is a funny thing. The most important question when determining how much you might pay is how your property’s value changes relative to the area average change in value.
The government is limited in how much it can raise taxes from year to year. The total amount collected for property taxes can increase only by the lesser of 1% a year or the amount of inflation (additional increases, such as levies must be voter approved). It is rare to see the total amount collected actually go down.
Once the government determines the total amount it is going to collect from property taxes, it then apportions that amount across the property owners in the county based on property values. This is why it is important to know where your value change stands relative to the average change in the taxing area.
If your property value falls more than the area average, your share of taxes paid will be less. In this case, you could be paying less than the previous year. However, if your property value fell less than the area average you will pay more in taxes.
Q: Why is my tax assessed value so much different than the values of homes I am seeing sell in my neighborhood today?
A: Property tax assessed values for the current year are not based on today’s market value. Instead, assessed values are determined on January 1st of the year before the tax year. For instance, the taxes you are paying in 2010 are based on an opinion of your property value set on January 1, 2009. That means the assessor was reviewing 2008 property sale prices. The sales that are happening today will impact your assessed values in 2012.
Thurston County Fair is Here!
The Thurston County Fair, previously named the Mutual Aid Fair, was first held in 1871 at the Columbia Hall which is now the 4th Avenue Tavern. The Mutual Aid Fair was created to aid farmers and agriculture, and to aid the development of our area by encouraging immigration. The Fair was a great success, filling both floors of the building.
Come out to the fair grounds this week August 4th thru the 8th for this year's Thurston County Fair festivities! Great fair food, carnival rides, 4-H animals, entertainment and so much more!
Enjoy!
Come out to the fair grounds this week August 4th thru the 8th for this year's Thurston County Fair festivities! Great fair food, carnival rides, 4-H animals, entertainment and so much more!
Enjoy!
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