JULY 2025 MARKET UPDATE Office Sales https://youtu.be/qEdanyR5DQ0 In July 2025, the Greater Seattle real estate market was shifting toward a more balanced environment, with more inventory and longer days on market, though well-priced homes still sold quickly. The median sales price for Eastside homes saw a year-over-year dip, while Seattle's median prices generally held steady or saw slight increases. Mortgage rates remained stable, contributing to a slow but steady increase in transactions compared to 2024. Buyers had more options and a bit more time, while sellers were advised to price and prepare their homes strategically to attract strong offers. Market Conditions  • Increased Inventory: The market saw more homes for sale compared to the previous year, leading to more choices for buyers and a more balanced dynamic between buyers and sellers.  • Slower Pace: While not a stagnant market, the quick "caffeinated" pace of previous periods had moderated, giving buyers more time to evaluate properties. • Balanced Market Indicators: The market was described as moving towards a balance, with some areas showing more significant increases in inventory and fewer price reductions compared to the frenzied market conditions of previous years.  Pricing Trends  • Eastside: The median sold price on the Eastside dipped slightly compared to the prior year, with some submarkets seeing price drops.  • Seattle: The median home price in Seattle showed slight year-over-year increases in some analyses.   • Price Sensitive Buyers: Despite the price shifts, buyers were still price-sensitive, and properties that were well-priced and positioned strategically continued to attract competitive offers. What This Meant for Buyers and Sellers  • For Buyers: More inventory and a bit more time to consider options provided more leverage. However, to secure their desired homes, buyers still needed to be pre-approved and ready to act on well-priced listings. • For Sellers: Strategic pricing and thorough property preparation (including staging) were crucial to attract buyers in a market where timing and presentation significantly impacted a home's success.

SEATTLE REAL ESTATE MARKET - JUNE 2025 https://youtu.be/nd73CqoBqK8?si=EuR2_aNPzcILEn1J In June 2025, Seattle's real estate market saw a continuation of rising inventory, with active listings increasing significantly year-over-year, leading to a more balanced market compared to previous years. While overall sales activity cooled from the peak of spring, homes still sold at a healthy pace, particularly well-presented and correctly priced properties. Median prices remained stable, demonstrating resilient demand despite slower buyer activity and economic uncertainty, though some areas experienced slight year-over-year price decreases. Key Market Indicators Inventory: Continued its upward trend, with year-over-year increases reported in King and Snohomish counties. Median Sale Price: Showed stability, with some sources indicating it remained flat or slightly increased year-over-year, while others noted slight dips in specific areas like King County. Sales Activity: Sales in June outpaced the previous year, but pending sales, a measure of buyer urgency, dipped slightly from May. Days on Market: The average time for a home to go under contract increased slightly, indicating less frantic buying than in the past. What This Meant for Buyers More Options: Buyers had more choices due to the increased inventory, though the market was still considered low inventory and not yet a buyer's market. Leverage: Buyers had more leverage for negotiation compared to previous years, but the best homes still moved quickly.  Patience: While buyers could "sleep on it" for some properties, being pre-approved and ready to act on desirable homes remained crucial.  What This Meant for Sellers Focus on Presentation: Sellers needed to focus on pre-listing preparation to attract serious offers.  Strategic Pricing: Overpricing was not an effective strategy, as buyers were more price-sensitive and less willing to chase inflated listings.  Market Adaptability: Sellers needed to price their homes correctly from the start to see strong offers, as homes needing updates or priced too high were lingering on the market.

WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM FOR THE MORTGAGE LOANS? In the olden days, when someone wanted a home loan they walked downtown to the neighborhood bank or savings & loan. If the bank had extra funds lying around and considered you a good credit risk, they would lend you the money from their own funds. It doesn’t generally work like that anymore. Most of the money for home loans comes from three major institutions: Fannie Mae (FNMA - Federal National Mortgage Association) Freddie Mac (FHLMC - Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) Ginnie Mae (GNMA - Government National Mortgage Association) This is how it works: You talk to practically any lender and apply for a loan. They do all the processing and verifications and finally, you own the house with a home loan and regular mortgage payments. You might be making payments to the company who originated your loan, or your loan might have been transferred to another institution. The institution where you mail your payments is called the servicer, but most likely they do not own your loan. They are simply servicing your loan for the institution that does own it. What happens behind the scenes is that your loan got packaged into a pool with a lot of other loans and sold off to one of the three institutions listed above. The servicer of your loan gets a monthly fee from the investor for servicing your loan. This fee is usually only 3/8ths of a percent or so, but the amount adds up. There are companies that service over a billion dollars of home loans and it is a tidy income. At the same time, whichever institution packaged your loan into the pool for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae, has received additional funds with which to make more loans to other borrowers. This is the cycle that allows institutions to lend you money. What Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and Fannie Mae may do after they purchase the pools is break them down into smaller increments of $1,000 or so, called mortgage-backed securities. They sell these mortgage-backed securities to individuals or institutions on Wall Street. If you have a 401K or mutual fund, you may even own some. Perhaps you have heard of Ginnie Mae bonds? Those are securities backed by the mortgages on FHA and VA loans. These bonds are not ownership in your loan specifically, but a piece of ownership in the entire pool of loans, of which your loan is only one among many. By selling the bonds, Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae obtain new funds to buy new pools so lenders can get more money to lend to new borrowers. And that is how the cycle works. So when you make your payment, the servicer gets to keep their tiny part and the majority is passed on to the investor. Then the investor passes on the majority of it to the individual or institutional investor in the mortgage backed securities. From time to time your loan may be transferred from the company where you have been making your payment to another company. They aren’t selling your loan again, just the right to service your loan. There are exceptions. Loans above $333,700 do not conform to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, which is why they are called non-conforming loans, or “jumbo” loans. These loans are packaged into different pools and sold to different investors, not Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Then they are securitized and for the most part, sold as mortgage backed securities as well. This buying and selling of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities is called mortgage banking, and it is the backbone of the mortgage business.

LEAD POISONING Lead poisoning is a serious problem that can lead to adverse health problems. In children, high levels of lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, behavioral and learning problems, slow growth, and hearing problems. In adults, lead poisoning can cause reproductive problems, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorder, memory and concentration problems, and muscle and joint pain. Lead poisoning is especially a problem in cities with older buildings. Typically, lead is present in the paint from older buildings, in the water supply, and in the environment from cars and buses. Preventing lead poisoning in large cities, where there is such widespread possibility for exposure is both difficult and expensive. Federal programs have attempted to address this problem. Lead poisoning is also an issue that buyers and sellers need to consider. Houses that were built before 1978 probably have paint that contains lead. Federal law requires that sellers disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Sales contracts must include a federal form about lead-based paint in the building. Buyers will have up to 10 days to check for lead hazards and are likely to stipulate corrections.

PLAN OF ACTION Analyze why you are selling - If you understand your motives, you will be able to better negotiate and to get what it is that you want, whether it be a quick sale, high price, or somewhere in the middle. Prepare your home for the buyer - Maximize the strengths of your property and fix up its weaknesses. You want the buyer to walk away from your home with a lasting good impression. Find a good real estate agent that understands your needs - Make sure that your agent is loyal to you, and can negotiate to help you achieve your goals. In addition, they should be assertive and honest with both you and the buyer. Be prepared for negotiation - Learn and understand your buyer’s situation; what are their motives? Can you demand a big deposit from them? Try to lock in the buyer so that the deal goes through. Negotiate for the best price and the best terms - Learn how to counter offer to get maximum value from every offer. Make sure the contract is accurate and complete - Be honest with your disclosures; you do not want to lose the deal because you were lying or diminishing your home’s defects. Insist the buyers get a professional inspection. This will protect both you and the buyer.

IS BUYING A HOME STILL A SMART PLAN With the burst of the housing bubble, credit crisis, and millions of foreclosures across the country, you may wonder if buying a home is such a good idea after all. However, it’s important to consider all of the facts. The important message to take away from these events is not that buying a home is a bad idea, but that you must be smart about buying your home. The housing market, like every type of market, unavoidably has its ups and downs. That doesn’t mean buying a home is a bad investment. As a long-term investment, homeownership is still one of the best investments for individual households. Historically, real estate has consistently increased in value, despite shorter periods of depreciation due to local markets and/or national economic conditions. The data shows that homes generally appreciate about 5% per year. Savings & Investment Five percent may not seem like a great return on investment, but you have to think about it in the context of the situation. For example, let’s say you put 10% down on a $200,000 house. That’s a $20,000 down payment, or initial investment. At a 5% annual appreciation rate, your $200,000 home would gain $10,000 in value during the first year. Earning $10,000 on an investment of $20,000 is a whopping 50% return. For further perspective, let’s say instead of spending that $20,000 on a down payment, you invested it in the stock market. With a 5% return, you would gain only $1,000 in profit. Tax Benefits So now you’re saying that a home may have a higher return, but that’s before you consider all of the costs of home ownership, such as taxes, etc. Well, think of it this way: your property taxes as well as the interest on your mortgage are both tax deductible. You can deduct those costs from your income, thus reducing your overall taxable income. In other words, the government is subsidizing your home. Other Benefits It’s easy to get carried away with all of the economic reasons for home ownership, but it’s important to remember that not every reason is financial. Have you ever wanted to paint the walls of your apartment? Well when you’re renting, you can’t. Has anything in your apartment ever needed updating, but the landlord refused to do it? When you own a home, you can make the space yours in almost any way you want. And you benefit when you do home improvements, both financially and psychologically. Homes generally have more space, for storage, living, etc. than other living arrangements. Not to mention that you have space outdoors for barbecuing, pets, and kids. Owning your home carries with it a sense of pride, accomplishment, and even an elevated social status. So when you’re considering buying a home, consider the broad range of benefits that owning a home can have. And always make sure you have an experienced real estate agent and loan officer to help make sure you’re getting a home that is right for you, both financially and psychologically.