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Moses Lake, WA Real Estate News

By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Moses Lake, WA is home to one of the largest airports in the United States.  We were formerly home to the Larson Air Force base before it closed down, which has an incredible history in itself.  In 1959 we were home to a three missile launching facility for the ballistic missile program.  In 1966 the base was closed down and primarily began to be used for public air traffic.  This also lead to the area of town that we term "base housing." Moses Lake, WA international airport has over 4700 acres and covers five runways for public use.  The main runway is 13,500 x 200 feet wide and we have also become an alternate landing site for the NASA space shuttle in case of bad weather conditions elsewhere.  Currenlty the airport is being used for training for the U.S. military, Japan Airlines, the...
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Moses Lake Pumpkin Patches  If you are looking for some local places for harvest events and pumpkin patches here are a couple places that will   come in handy for the Halloween season. 1.  Grandpa Burts Pumpkin Patch:  Located at 10820 Dune Lake Loop SE, Moses Lake WA  509-431-7119   Hours of Operation:  Starts Oct 16, 2009  From 10-5:30  Find them at Dune Lakes Flower Farm 2.It looks like the Haywire Maize in Pasco won't be opening this year but check back next year for dates and times. 3.  The County Mercantile:  Located right off Highway 395 entering   Pasco 509-545-2192Hours of Operation:  Starts Oct 1-Oct 31  from 9:00-Dusk       Admission $6.50 personTons of Activities for the kids: Hayride out to the pumpkin patch. Two massive straw bale pyramids. A craft straw bale maze for the ...
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By Lisa Hanley
(Windermere Real Estate/K-2 Realty, LLC)
Ever play the game "Fortunately/Unfortunately? It goes like this... Fortunately, homes that have gone to pending are up 59.4% since last month!  Unfortunately, sales are down 39% since last year this time.  Fortunately, the number of homes going pending has gone up in that same period of time over 10% meaning we will see an increase in closed sales soon. Unfortunately, with the end of the first time homebuyer credit, the number of homes in pending will likely drop again very soon. Fortunately, many homebuyers got to take advantage of a program that helped them realize their dreams of homeownership! Unfortunately, we will be paying for that for years to come. Fortunately, hmmmmmm.....is there an appropriate ending after that?  
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
In the last couple weeks it feels like the market is slowly shifting. We currently have 61 homes in pending....but we'll see how many of those can actually get to closing. It seems with the financial institutions the way they are that getting them actually to sold is one of the hardest parts. In those pendings the average price is $192,000 and the average days on market is 124. That is up from our 90 days on market that we had 2 years ago The key as always is pricing your home to today's market and not hoping for yesterdays price. Everyone needs to be realistic about what the market is doing. A couple ways to get your everyone on the same page would be.... Take clients out to look at comparable properties. Make sure they get a chance to look at sold comps. Give them the sold comps visua...
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
I'm am so thrilled to have gotten a phone call from some first time home buyers today.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about this and not for the reasons that you're thinking.  They are coming to look this weekend in hopes of moving right away.  I have everything ready, my binder full of listings that fit thier criteria and my Buyers Agency Agreement.  I am now determined to use these with all my buyers.  I've been in this business long enough to see what happens without them and in our current real estate environment I refuse to go without them any longer.  I digress however..... The reason I am so excited is that in the past 3 years I have primarily been working as a listing agent, not by choice, it just seems that is what happened.  Representing a couple different bu...
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Because of the recent changes to licensing for Home Inspectors we are running into a situation here in Grant County as I'm sure most counties are running into. Our 2 (yes you read that right) our 2 inspectors who are actually still licensed and have all the training required to perform Home Inspections are currently 2 weeks out on Home Inspections. This of course doesn't work with the 10 day time frame for inspections so I have recently changed my inspection notices to 14 days. I have some questions for Washington State fully licensed Home Inspectors. Do you drive to other counties for inspections? What would an extra cost be for drive time? Is it safe to hire out of town inspectors...obviously weather conditions in different areas cause different issues in homes so if you're great over...
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By Trisha Bass, GRI, e-PRO
(HomeSmart Advisors)
September May 1: Farmers Market- The Farmers market will be held on Saturday mornings at the Civic Park May 23: SculptureWALKMoses Lake - This annual program of the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center is an exhibit of outdoor sculpture displayed in downtown Laketown Landing, Moses Lake, Washington. June 1: Farmers Market- The Farmers Market will be held on Wednesday afternoons at the Sinkiuse Square. September 30: Mud Flatts Run- Come join the last chance midnight Mud Flats Fun Run. Starting at 8pm in the 0t Sand Scorpions will all be goin on the last run in the lats ending at midnight with a good fireworks show! October 1: Wenatchee Wild Vs. Kenai River Brown Bear Hockey Game!- Wenatchee Wild Vs. Kenai River Brown Bear Hockey Game!Starting at 6:35pm at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee. O...
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By Raymond Gravelle, Serving Moses Lake, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Grant Cty
(Realty Executives Grant County)
Time is running out (68 days to be exact) to take advantage of the $8,000 GOVERNMENT STIMULUS MONEY for first time home buyers. The program expires Nov. 30th.                                                       This means the home buying process must start immediately to close on the purchase before the deadline. Typical real estate transactions today are taking 45-60 days. That AFTER you have picked out your future home and lined up financing. The first step in the home buying process is to get prequalified with a mortgage loan officer. We work with several and would be happy to connect you with them. Often the pre-qualification can take place with a phone call. Time is running out fast to get your share of the stimulus money AND your own home to live in. Feel free to give me a call ...
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Interesting market that is is what this shows you is that: 1. There are more homes on the market now then there were 6 months ago. 2. The number of pending homes went up dramatically this last month, probably due to the homebuyer credit. 3. The number of closed are still low due to the very difficult financing environment. We may be able to get them into pending but that won't mean they can close!
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By Trisha Bass, GRI, e-PRO
(HomeSmart Advisors)
I came across this site today and thought of how helpful it would be for Buyers. It is very clear and informative on the existing $8,000 tax credit that is soon coming to it's end and also clearly spells out the Financial Assistance Programs currently available in Washington State. I've bookmarked it... I hope you do too!   http://wahomeowners.com/
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Those of you looking for more information on Grant County and what it has to offer you in the way of community look no further... Grant County currently has over 83,000 people and since the year 2000 has enjoyed a growth rate of over 10%.  The Greater Moses Lake area has a population of 30,000.  Moses Lake itself covers over 120 miles of shoreline with most being undeveloped.  Our weather here is fantastic most of the time and we only get on average 7.69 inches of rain a year.  Situated right off the I-90 corridor between Seattle and Spokane we are a perfect centrally located "small town," in the middle of the state. We have recently been blessed with new growth in industries that include Microsoft, Yahoo, Intuit data centers due to our low electricity rates.  This adds to our already r...
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
Hold on for the winter months because this is not looking good.  There is no better time to stress the importance of Price Price Price. Being that the majority of our sales are being done in the 100-200,000 range this shows the "good" part of the market in our area.  We've watched a steady decline in the market for the last 6 months but that makes sense because we were a little late to feel the impact of the economy.  We may be feeling this a little longer then most so tighten the belt for a little bit longer.
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By Heather Adkinson, Real Estate Agent - Moses Lake
(Windermere K-2 Realty LLC www.propertiesinmoseslake.com)
We fought hard to get this back now we need to fight hard to keep it....everyone support your local community. SkyWest Airlines is more than happy to provide service in Moses Lake, but Brandi Honey, spokesperson for the air service says the number of passengers needs to increase ASAP for everything to pencil out. “There are a lot more seats that need to be filled. The higher the number, the better the chances of sustainability,” she said. “We understand it’s only been a month and a half, but people definitely need to start utilizing local air service.” Service was re-established in June and after a full month of service, the numbers revealed only a 16.2 percent load factor, which equates to 4.9 passengers per flight. Mid-way through July, that percentage bumped up slightly to 18.33 or 5...
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By Raymond Gravelle
Moses Lake continues to be a buyer's market with plenty of inventory to choose from and lower prices than last year.                                                                                                 Here are some stats pulled from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for Grant County, including Moses Lake (the areas largest city). Average Price - 2008 = $184,763, 2009 = $177,297. A 9.6% drop Days on Market - 2008 = 93,  2009 = 125 Number of Active Listings - 2008 = 1,103, 2009 = 885. Moses Lake has 352 listings. The 'action' is in the $100,000-$200,000 price range. Number of properties sold since January 1, 2009- $300,000+ = 20. $200k-$299k = 35. $100k-$199k = 93. $0-$99,000 = 17  If you need assistance buying or selling in the Moses Lake/Grant County or would like addit...
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By Raymond Gravelle, Serving Moses Lake, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Grant Cty
(Realty Executives Grant County)
As of 2009, Moses Lake Metro Area's population is 83,047 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 10.59 percent. The median home cost in Moses Lake Metro Area is $113,170. Home appreciation the last year has been -2.30 percent. Year to date Grant County is up 9% in appreciation. Compared to the rest of the country, Moses Lake Metro Area's cost of living is 10.60% Lower than the U.S. average. Moses Lake Metro Area public schools spend $6,648 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 18 students per teacher in Moses Lake Metro Area. The unemployment rate in Moses Lake Metro Area is 12.20 percent(U.S. avg. is 8.50%). Recent job growth is Positive. Moses Lake Metro Area jobs have Increased by 0.30 percent. Our job situation is improving ...
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By Raymond Gravelle, Serving Moses Lake, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Grant Cty
(Realty Executives Grant County)
We are hearing these reports of increases in numbers of homes being purchased. Home resales in the U.S. rose in June for a third consecutive month, spurred by tax incentives,lower borrowing costs and foreclosure-driven declines in prices. Purchases climbed 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 4.89 million, stronger than forecast and the highest level since October, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Median prices fell 15 percent. Lower prices, lots of inventory to choose from, record low interest rates, it just doesn't get any better for buyers. Give me a call if you want to find out what it takes to purchase your next home. --Raymond Debra & Raymond Gravelle"Team Up" withRE/MAX Home Team Realty(509) 771-9099 or (509) 771-0027Debra@DialDebra.comwww.ServingMosesLa...
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By Trisha Bass, GRI, e-PRO
(HomeSmart Advisors)
  When a buyer steps inside your home one of the main turn-offs that can deter a sale is the smell of your home. This is rather blunt but really... freshen it up a bit! Don't ignore the power of fragrance when your home is for sale. Smoke,pet odors and cooking smells can each dramatically impact how buyers feel about your home. Your home may look great to a potential buyer while they are surfing the net.. Nice photos on display which will attract them to your home. But what happens when they step inside your home and the litter box is full or the ashtray is brimming over or there are stinky socks on the floor in your large master closet. Once you remove these offensive smelling items from your home you can actually use scent to your advantage. If it's not practical to bake an apple pie ...
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By Raymond Gravelle
No matter what the season, break-ins often occur when homeowners are away on vacation. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your house doesn't look unoccupied while you're gone. Here are some things you can do to increase security around your home when you travel: * Install a burglar alarm system.* Have the police or a trusted neighbor periodically check your home.* Insure your possessions and keep an up-to-date inventory.* Stop deliveries, such as mail and newspapers.* Leave lights on, preferably with an automatic timing device.* Consider turning on a radio in one centrally located room.* Secure all entrances with sturdy door and window locks.* Trim shrubs and trees close to your house to eliminate hiding places. These basic security measures can help ensure that your home stays secure...
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By Raymond Gravelle, Serving Moses Lake, Ephrata, Soap Lake, Grant Cty
(Realty Executives Grant County)
When is a good time to refinance? The best time is when you can save money. Many lenders say that when there's a spread of 2% between the interest rate on your existing mortgage and the new one, this is a good time to refinance. Still, you must consider the costs of refinancing before you decide whether it's right for you. If you are offered the opportunity to refinance at no cost, make sure there really are no hidden costs and that the interest rate is competitive. Some lenders will offer a no-fee refinance, but they don't offer the best rates. Many homeowners take advantage of low interest rates to refinance and cash out some of their home's equity to: * Buy a rental or other investment property* Remodel their home, such as creating the dream kitchen they've always wanted* Buy a vacat...
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By Rebekah Littlefield
(Gary Mann Real Estate)
HAH!  Got you with that title, you are probably thinking, what is wrong with her??  Nothing!  I am just taking a positive look at this slow and crazy market.  While our sales are down, our phones only ringing 50 times a day instead of 100- I am taking this opportunity to better myself as a Real Estate Agent.  What a great opportunity this is to begin taking more classes, earn designations, reading up on area statistics, and enjoying those wonderful books out there!  ( I just finished Outliers - loved it, everyone needs to read that one.)  Once our market rebounds- I will be happy to say that I am a better Realtor.  A little tattered and torn from dealing with this weird market (who isn't?) but I am making this work for me and I am sincerely enjoying this opportunity.  So to those who ar...
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