The combination of a falling market and the new appraiser laws have created some interesting problems. I will comment on a couple of them. Hopefully it gives you some insights to be prepared for.

a. Know that many are complaining their appraisal was wrong, too low. Appraisers are now randomly chosen. Each bank has it’s own approved list. I comment on it on my national blog: Real Estate Undressed.

b. Be sure of your value if you are a seller. Value is based more on comparable sold homes, not prices of homes on the market. A surprisingly common buyer strategy you should be prepared for is what I coin as the ”Option Offer“. An Option is the right to purchase - say for example your home. Over my real estate career I have negotiated over a hundred options for buyers. Options are often a terrific solution. They also have an interesting effect on coming to the proper value.

Here is an example of what I mean by this. Near Marymoor Park in Redmond is a large apartment complex. The seller wanted too much money for the land. I was contracted to secure the land for the builder developer. The option worked perfectly. The seller believed his value was based on a certain number of build-able units on his land. We knew the zoning would limit the units to a smaller number.

When a seller gives an option, mentally the seller has sold the property. We knew that. After submitting our plan to King County we were approved for the number of units we expected. We returned to the seller that  our price would have to be lowered accordingly or we would walk from the transaction. We got our price. He got a fair market price.

That can happen to you the home seller. When the home you have mentally sold doesn’t appraise for the price you got, you must either reduce the price or chance a new transaction working out. No buyers pay a higher price than the appraised value. (I have seen one acception to that many many years ago on a terrible VA Appraisal).

Take note, some buyers are intentionally making you an “Option Offer”. Yep that surprises me too, just be aware it is happening. Take the time to know what your home is really worth, versus what you are dreaming, feeling, or needing it to be worth. You must be prepared to know how to react if your home doesn’t appraise for what you sold it for.

So it didn’t appraise, now what? A. You draw a hard line and take your chances. B. You change your price.

This photo is one Kathleen took from our current Park Drive Condo listing. If you are looking for a home in Issaquah Highlands call us at 206.618.3724. There are some good buys out there and some not so good. We can help you find that treasure.

Road Construction on NE Park Drive
Construction scheduled to begin on NE Park Drive, between the fire station and Huckleberry Circle. Work is scheduled begin Monday, July 6^th and will continue on and off through the next few months. During this time there will be no parking along NE Park Drive. We appreciate the community’s patience and caution while traveling though the construction zone.

And as you slow down - watch out, even take a snapsot of the goats.

The Goats are Almost Here!
The first of two herds of goats is scheduled to arrive July 6. The second herd of Nature’s original weed eaters should arrive a few days later and begin the large task of chomping down weeds in several of the community’s open spaces. See your July edition of Connections for vantage points and more information. The 400 goats will be enclosed with portable electric fencing so be sure to keep away from the fences.

Goat photo from Flickr and by  2-Dog-Farm 

Below is the breakdown for homes on the market in Issaquah Highlands.

 Below is the breakdown for condos on the market in Issaquah Highlands.

Below is the breakdown for homes sold in the last  30 days in Issaquah Highlands.

Below is the breakdown for condos sold in the last 30 days in Issaquah Highlands.:

2 sold for under $160,000 and  3 condos sold between $350,000 and $399,999 - thats it folks.

We are finding these stats are bringing sellers to the point they are lowering their expectations. Those homes that are selling, condos too, are those that are the best values. Buyers are low balling their offers and moving on if they don’t get the best value.

Highlands Day Parade 2008

There is a Bounce House, Turtle Races, Carnival Games, Beer Garden at Zeeks, Bring your picnic basket, bike or costume decorated to the nines to win a prize.

This costume must have been a prize winner!

There is a need for more volunteers. Can you help? email Christie Santodomingo at csantodomingo@live.com. Village Green and Blakely Hall.

Eastside Master Chorus performs at 11am

Rain City Riff Raff gives us live music 12-2pm. Come and celebrate!

You can find anything at a garage sale!

IH has their spring garage sale this Saturday. Go early for the GOOD stuff. 9am - 4pm.

WSDOT Pond in IH in March

WSDOT Pond in June

A Closer Look at Flowers on the Pond by Janet Jelen

The pleasant paved walk goes all around the pond. It is refreshing and very delightful. You can’t be there and be in a bad mood. Pond is across from the Issaquah Highlands retail center and Fire Station.

One day there will be Condos in stratigic places adjacent to the pond. But for now just a beautiful trail, waterfalls and flowers!

Port Blakely is dealing with two Grocery store chains.  QFC & Safeway who have the ability to place a store here in the Highlands during tough economic times. The type of Store will be a high end model.  
Marcelas is changing to a new name, they are currently in a remodel and going to be called Aquava. 
Ochio Vision Care is adding a Pediatric Doctor. 
There is a firm deal with a 14 screen Cineplex and across from it will be a plaza and a drug store to open in 2011 or 2012 with talks of a Ram Restaurant going in there also. 
Swedish is about to break ground and open the Hospital in 2010. 
Starpoint is close to signing a Childrens Dentist and a Hot  Yoga Studio. 
Sip is continuing Thursday Night Jazz night. 
Zeeks is scheduled to open at the end of June.

Thats all for now, as I learn more I’ll update everyone.

In today’s chilling Real Estate climate it helps to have an edge and a Real Estate agent who can give that to you.  Plateau Real Estate has purchased the Exclusive territorial rights to use www.Miles4RealEstate.com as a Marketing Tool for Sellers and Buyers. In a market that is dominated by frequent Price Reductions, Miles 4 Real Estate allows Sellers the opportunity to offer Air Miles to Buyers in lieu of further price reductions. This will give Sellers an edge from competing Homes and also helps Bridge the gap on Low Ball offers.  Buyers, if you use Plateau Real Estate to purchase your next Home they’re giving you up to 100,000 Air Miles at Closing.  These Air Miles can be redeemed on numerous air carriers including but not limited to Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and others. Great example how this benefited one of our recent Sellers, similar Condo was for sale in the same complex but it was $500 lower in price. Buyer indicated that the Seller offering the Air Miles was the deciding factor in pursuing their unit over the other one.  For more details you can contact Scott at 425-890-7140.

KING 5 NEWS story on How Air Miles can work for Buyers and Sellers

Virtual Tour of this Home

1) Indexes start rising

There was a flicker of good news in April, Overall consumer confidence advanced 30.1 points to raise the RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household (CASH) Index to 38.3 in April, compared to 8.2 in March when the Economic Cycle Research Institute’s Weekly Leading Index rose for the first time in six weeks.

 The index, a composite of daily and weekly data on economic drivers of the business cycle, including corporate profits and housing activity, is still looking pretty weak, said Lakshman Achuthan, the managing director at ECRI, but it has stopped falling, and there has been some stabilization since mid-December.

“When these leading indexes begin to start rising, that will be a very clear and, as importantly, a very objective sign of a recovery,” Achuthan said.

Detailed information about the institute’s research is available only to subscribers, but the leading index is frequently mentioned in news reports and is worth following as a reliable indicator of key changes in the business cycle.

 Another statistic worth following is consumer spending. The Index, comprising four components ― tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages and real home prices ― fell to 1.19 percent from an upwardly revised gain of 1.57 percent a month ago.

2) Cardboard boxes are in demand

Cargo and cardboard are two heavy-duty industrial signals to watch.

The Baltic Dry Index is an assessment of the price of moving raw materials on cargo ships around the world. When the world economy is fading, shipping gets cheaper. When growth returns, shipping costs more. The index has shown some improvement this year, after sinking to a 22-year low in early December.

“In terms of a glimmer of hope, a tap has been turned,” said Michael Gaylard, a derivatives broker at Freight Investor Services.

“The fundamentals — the raw materials needed that are paramount to infrastructure rebuilding and investment around the globe — they’re starting to move,” Gaylard said. “Once the flows that we’ve seen in the past few weeks start to have some continuity to them, then the market will rebuild. The turnaround has started, but it’s going to be a long and slow process.”

Then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan used to watch the cardboard box business as an indicator of industrial production. About 75% of all nondurable goods are shipped in corrugated cardboard boxes; when demand for boxes is high, that’s a sign that the economy is doing well.

3) Diamonds are forever . . . again

Jewelry sales are a leading indicator of recovery in the retail sector, according to Mike Niemira, the chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. So what better store to watch than Tiffany (TIF, news, msgs)?

Sales of engagement rings have been down in recent months, said Mark Aaron, the company’s vice president of investor relations.

“It’s not that people don’t fall in love during a recession,” Aaron said, “It’s whether they’re making that commitment and buying a $10,000 engagement ring and making wedding plans.

“When people start to feel a little more secure about their jobs, when the stock market starts to stabilize, that might be enough to help restore confidence. If we see greater interest in the big-ticket items and a pickup in store traffic, that will be encouraging.”

4) Restaurants are bubbly

There was no obvious sign of a recession at BLT Steak in New York City on a recent Thursday night. The tables were full, and the bar was packed.

But co-owner Keith Treyball said he has seen some pullback among his customers. He said he’ll know the recession is ending when the most-affluent diners stop ordering the $150 bottles of wine they’ve been drinking lately and start ordering the $300 bottles they drank when the economy was stronger.

 Some restaurateurs have already seen signs of recovery.

Valentine’s Day, traditionally a big one for restaurants, was even bigger for Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants this year: Sales were up 25% across the board, said Tom Kaplan, the senior managing partner of Wolfgang Puck’s Fine Dining Group.

Some in the restaurant business see sales of Champagne as a leading indicator. If you buy that, there’s hope, as bubbly remains very popular at hip bars, nightclubs and hotels, said Stephen Brauer, the general manager of wines and champagnes at Pernod Ricard (PDRDY, news, msgs).

“You have the 25- to 35-year-olds who do not have mortgages and children in college who continue to spend money and enjoy themselves,” Brauer said. “You do not have to go to the bank and get a loan to enjoy a great bottle (of Champagne).”

5) Little splurges are back in style

Here’s another sign of life. Murray’s Cheese Shop in Greenwich Village was packed on my last visit. I’d never seen it so crowded.

Some glass-half-empty folks might say people were buying cheese for a night in, instead going out to dinner, but Murray’s, which Forbes named the world’s best cheese store, does not sell Kraft (KFT, news, msgs) singles. Cheese lovers end up spending $20 for a hunk of cheese. I did.

And people are still lining up for cupcakes at New York City’s Magnolia Bakery. The bakery, which recently opened two more stores, has seen sales of its $2.50 cupcakes continually rise.

Strong sales of small indulgences demonstrate Americans still like to treat themselves and may soon be ready to move on to bigger treats.

Our own economic indicators

So what are other people watching?

Mike McLaughlin, an Asics sneaker salesman and an avid golfer from New Jersey, said he’ll know things are improving when tee times become more expensive and harder to get.

Jen Sundstrom, a pharmaceutical sales representative in Philadelphia, will know when she finds herself back at Whole Foods Market (WFMI, news, msgs) for all of her grocery shopping.

Eric Goldberg, a regular at BLT Steak’s bar, said his indicator is “the amount of time it takes to get a seat at the bar at BLT Steak.” It’s been easier to find a seat because fewer people have been out, he said.

Readers, take note: Goldberg stood the whole night.

Other people said they’d know a recovery was coming when they:

Upgraded to a bigger flat-screen television.
Saw lawyers working until 2 a.m. again.
Replaced generic dog food with organic brands.
Bought Starbucks (SBUX, news, msgs) lattes again.
Rejoined a gym and purchased sessions with a personal trainer.
Had more trouble catching a cab in New York City.