Spring Sale Is Here, Goodbye Doom and Gloom

It’s easy these days to get caught up in the media’s narrative about real estate. But they tend to overlook the basic data in search of an attention-grabbing headline.

The spring real estate rush is on, and so far it’s looking mostly good – especially for sellers – and closer to a normal spring than you have been led to believe. As I had stated in past newsletters and vlogs, year-over-year analysis is flawed, if one of the years considered is an anomaly, as was Q1 of 2022, when the market was red-hot and out of control.  

Here are the numbers for single family homes (SFH) in King County, comparing January to April:

• Median sales prices are up 9.3% since January, from $799,900 to $875,000 – nothing gloomy about that for sellers.

• New listings are up 6.7%. This is a smaller increase than you might expect, as sellers still seem a bit hesitant, and listings are still lower than in 2019 before covid disrupted everything. But buyers are out there looking, and homes are selling fast.

• How fast? The median number of days a home sits on the market for sale has plummeted over 80%, from 34 days in January down to just 6(!) days in April. That’s fast! If you want to sell, you will likely sell very quickly if you put your home up for sale now.

• Closed sales nearly doubled from 793 in January to 1443 in April, an 82% spike.

• And pending sales are up 48.5% during the same time.

So the spring sale is definitely starting off on the right foot.  Median prices, new listings, and closed sales are all decidedly up, and the time it takes to sell is dramatically down. Most of the time, we refer to that as a seller’s market. And that’s exactly what it is.

Next month we’ll have another data set that will be able to tell us if these trends are continuing, and if so, how strongly. In the meantime, make sure you take all the media reports with a HUGE grain of salt.

If you know someone who is looking to sell, please send them our way – by email, phone or through our website weisbarth.com/referral. Our 5-step system lays out the plan for selling fast and for the most amount of money. And a good portion of our income then goes to support the kids at Childhaven.

Painting the Exterior of Your House Yourself? Here’s What You Need to Know

“So now what?” is one of the most common questions that buyers ask me after we close on their sale. I always tell them that the most important thing is to make sure that the home envelope of their new place is tight and secure against the elements. If your roof, exterior walls and siding, windows, doors, and foundation are all in good shape, then the home will stay in good shape for a long, long time.

A good exterior paint job will ensure that your home siding will stay strong, and protect your home. Paying a professional craftsman to paint your home will get the job done faster and be much easier on your body. But it is also more expensive. So if you’re set on doing the job yourself, here are a few tips to set you on the right path.

Step 1: Trim Branches

You’ll need to clip and cut back branches and bushes away from your walls wherever possible. If that isn’t possible, you’ll have to cover and pull them back so they don’t touch the walls.

Step 2: Protect Doors, Windows and Areas Next to the Home

To save yourself from unnecessary cleaning, make sure to protect all the surfaces around the home, including plants and beds, walkways, driveways, and, of course, doors and windows. Use plastic and/or thick cloth tarps, painters’ tape, etc. This will protect these surfaces from paint flakes and splatter.

Step 3: Clean and Clear Off Current Paint

You will need to clean the siding and, if the paint is flaking off, remove the flakes before painting the new coats. You can do this with pressure washing, or with hand scrapers, and sometimes you’ll need both.

Step 4: Add Caulking

Before painting, you want to caulk the edges and borders. This helps keep water from getting inside your walls and ensures a longer-lasting paint job. Select a high-quality calking material that is paintable.

Step 5: Lay Down a Coat of Primer

Primer paint seals the surface, hides stains, and gives the final coat of paint something to bond with. Your paint job will last much longer if you use a primer first. If you don’t, it will start peeling sooner. You can buy a primer that already has paint pigment blended in, but this is not always recommended, so be sure to consult the paint store, or research online to find out more.

Step 6: Lay Down Two Coats of Color

Whatever color you’ve chosen, you’ll get better, more lasting results if you apply two coats. For south-facing walls, that take the brunt of the weather, you might even want to do an extra coat. Again, paint isn’t just about beauty and appearance. It also seals and protects the surfaces of your house and helps repel the effects of weather, so that your home will last longer.

Step 7: Use High Quality Paint and Equipment

The better paint can be applied more easily and will last longer. And you’ll also need quality equipment, such as a paint sprayer, rollers, brushes, ladders, etc. Some of these can be rented, but make sure that you reserve them in advance, so that they are available when you need them.