Tired of getting five calls every time you try to get some info on a home for sale?

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I have the answer. Get your own Realtor. Why? The listing agent works for the sellers. Ever notice how sometimes the place looks a lot better in the pictures? No matter where you get your photos, videos and virtual tours, it was all created by the seller to put his or her property in the very best possible light. So what’s it gonna cost? Nothing. The sellers and their Realtor have a fee agreement and the seller’s Realtor and I have an agreement. It doesn’t cost you a penny more to have a pro on your side too.

So why call the seller’s agent even if you enjoy getting calls at dinner time? Call us. We work for you. Simple as that.

Winter in Boise – fish like snow

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Winter always sneaks up on me but this year I keep wondering when it’s really going to begin. I love winter in Boise. It’s quiet – no lawn mowers or barking dogs and we might finally get to ski again by next week.

It’s not a question of dates or temps, it’s more like a mood. People here tend to hibernate when the tops of the mountains turn white. And it’s all about the white. The snow feeds us, quite literally. From the run-off filled reservours to the network of canals and ditches, that fan out across the Treasure Valley, keeping the high desert at bay, to the aquifers we tap for drinking water, we depend on our snow pack. Skiers like it, the farmers like it and the fish like it.

I get up to Bogus Basin 20 or 30 times a year and the snow can be light and fluffy or moisture rich or as solid as pig iron. Sometimes I go up just to be outside in Idaho’s high country. On a clear day you can see the mountains behind Sun Valley, over 100 miles distant as the raven flies.

But spring is worth the wait. So even if you are not a fan of winter, hang in there, enjoy the quiet and cozy up with your Kindle. Forget that – go buy a season ski pass for price of a nice dinner and get up there! Ride a tube. Cross Country ski under the stars. When it’s cold and foggy in the valley and you are up in the sun, you won’t want to go home.

Fannie Mae sees 2012 home sales up 3.5% to 4.74 million

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The housing sector will likely take incremental steps forward in 2012, but new mortgage originations will decrease due to fewer refinances, according to economists at Fannie Mae.

According to Fannie’s Chief Economist Doug Duncan, the second half of the year should outshine the first half in terms of growth. Fiscal policy and political uncertainty in Washington will affect consumer and business behavior.

Boise Housing Market up 7% in 2011

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December’s Ada County Market Facts

- Sales are down 1% from last month and 11% down from this same month last year.

- Pending sales are down 12% from last month, and are up 22% from a year ago.

- Short Sales were 23% of the total sales this month. Record high 12/12 23%.

- REO sales were 21%. Record High 12/10 at 40%. That makes 44% of the sales “distressed” this month. Record high was 12/10 at 61%.

- Short Sales closing success % UP to 19.5% this month . 12/10 high of 22%. Low 1/10 at 10%.

- Year to date sales up for 2011 5% more units than a year ago. The year-to-date dollar volume is 0% lower this year.

- Median Price down for a home sold this month – $145,900. This is 2% down from last month; and a 1% decrease from this month last year.

- Resale Median down this month – $135,250, down 2% from last month and down 5% from this same month last year. Record low 01/11 at $126,500. That is still a 7% increase since 1/1/11!!!!

- Inventory is Down 9% from last month and 26% lower than last year at this time.

- Resale inventory down 1414 from 1596 last month. Last year at this time there were 2148 resale homes for sale. July 2008 was the all time record high at 3920! July 2005 was the low in resale inventory at 657.

- Single Month Measurement of Inventory Supply is down. This month’s 4.1 is down from 4.5 month’s of inventory last month. This is a calculation of a single month’s inventory month divided by that month’s sales – no averaging. January 2009 set the all time new record high at 16.7 months of inventory.

- Last year at this time there were 4.8 months of inventory. July 2005 was the peak of the seller’s market at point 9 months!

15k over asking price and WE LOST!

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Just last week I wrote an offer in the 200k range on a REO home in Boise. I explained to my buyers that since this home was #1 that we might want to offer full price and not ask for any seller concessions. Never mind full price, my buyers wanted to go $15,000 over! I explained that we might have an appraisal problem but it would surely beat out the multiple, competing offers already in play. IT DIDN’T!!! We lost to a higher offer! Mr. Shiller – are you paying attention?