Housing markets: Best recovery bet

According to Walt Molony of the National Association of Realtors in October, up to 16% of transactions have had problems related to appraisals. "There's been a pendulum swing in appraisals, from foolishly lax to overly restrictive," said Molony.

Given recent history, it is not surprising that the appraisal system has changed. Unrealistic valuations were one of the underlying causes of the recent bubble. Buyers paid more and borrowed more to purchase homes in what turned out to be an unsustainable market.

Congress reacted by drafting the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and subsequent Appraiser Independence Requirements. These requirements protect the independence of the appraisal process by placing a firewall between appraisers, who work for a fee, and the other parties involved in the transaction whose compensation may be commission based.

Although intended to reduce the chance of an appraiser being unduly influenced there have been other consequences. The distance between the appraiser and the other parties has led, in some cases, to a lack of consistency and continuity.

The current market makes valuations more complicated. Added to the general drop in prices over the past couple of years, is the number of homes in a short sale or foreclosure situation.

One further factor is the risk-averse stance of lenders. After suffering losses from financing homes at inflated prices, banks and other lenders are naturally cautious when accepting an appraisal. As appraisers must now take into account recent sales in the area, there have been reports of appraisals coming in under the sales price and even the build cost of homes.

In response to growing concerns, the Appraisal Institute, released tips to help homeowners and buyers make sure their sales are completed in a timely manner

"Too many consumers in this struggling real estate market face problems with appraisals," said Appraisal Institute President Joseph C. Magdziarz. "But rather than passively endure delays in closing a sale, homeowners and buyers can take proactive steps to avoid pitfalls."

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In Tacomas first State of the City address in recent memory, Strickland told a crowd at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center that the city needs to support previous investments while pursuing new opportunities that build on Tacomas strengths.

Among the most high-profile tasks on the citys to-do list that Strickland cited:

 Finish renovation, in time for the April opening, of Cheney Stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League champion Tacoma Rainiers, in what will likely be the nicest minor league stadium in the entire United States.

 Finish construction of LeMay  Americas Car Museum for its fall opening.

Make $4 million in repairs to residential streets, including construction of accessible curb ramps, and spend another $11 million on overall street improvements.

Strickland spoke at the BE Green/Tacoma Shift Happens gathering at the convention center, a daylong sustainability seminar and networking event. An estimated 250 to 300 people heard her speak.

The talk was billed as the first-ever State of the City address by a Tacoma mayor. Audience members chuckled when Strickland playfully ended the speech like a president giving the State of the Union address: Thank you, very much, and may God bless Tacoma, Washington. Good night.

While the speech may have been the first State of the City address delivered by a Tacoma mayor in recent decades, former Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain wrote what amounted to a State of the City address on Sept. 11, 1942, according to an e-mail Monday to The News Tribune by C. Mark Smith, whose biography of Cain is about to be published.

Monday, Strickland emphasized the need for Tacoma to form public-private partnerships.

Twenty years ago, the city made strides with significant public investments,she said, referring to the renovation of Union Station and construction of the Washington State History Museum and the convention center.

Its really easy to spend your own money. Whats tricky is to get people to invest in your city,she said. We now must focus on attracting more private investment. This will require a shift in how we approach business and how government approaches business.

The city has taken steps the past year to support small business, including elimination of the city portion of the business and occupation tax for firms making $250,000 or less in annual gross revenue.

But Tacoma needs to market itself as a convention and event destination and work with business to attract private investment to build more hotels, she said. It can encourage job creation and growth in health care by focusing on Tacomas Medical Mile, with St. Joseph Medical Center on one end and MultiCare on the other end of Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Instead of chasing the shift, Tacoma, let us be the shift, she said.

Daniel Briggs, who plans to open a slow food deli in Tacoma later this year, called Stricklands speech fantastic.

He originally planned to start up in Seattle but opted for Tacoma after discovering how the city had cleaned up the downtown core. Strickland exemplified what he finds attractive about the city's business climate.

I liked how she focused on small business and talked about the investments we're making for the future, he said.

Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com

I would like to share with you an email received by our very own Michael Robinson, after sending his new client a listing update.

Thank you! That is very informative. I am very pleased to
know that the hits increased quite a bit on the two properties we cancelled
with Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx and brought to you guys. I've attached a copy of my
spreadsheet so you guys can see how many days it took to get a certain
amount of hits with Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx versus the number of days it took you
guys to get the same or more. for example it took WPP 18 days to get 26
agent published hits on 6014 S Warner. It took Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx 57 days to
get 24, or basically three times as long to get two fewer hits. (Not to
mention you guys accomplished this at a much slower time of year.) Very
encouraging!

Thanks again,


Mark Lawson

With that being said, it proves using the technology provided, allows you to be a better broker than Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx. Frankly, I call that a Smackdown!

                The Windermere Foundation is celebrating its 20^th anniversary and over these 20 years, Windermere agents and associates have assisted countless families with their generosity and commitment to community through the Windermere Foundation. Windermere celebrated the Windermere Foundation’s 20 years by giving each office around the area the chance to win $2,000 for the Windermere Foundation that their office is most passionate about. Windermere Professional Partners of Tacoma, WA, was announced as the winners of the Windermere Foundation 20th Anniversary Video Contest for their Multicare Treehouse Dinner video entry.

                On May 20, 2010 many realtors and staff from Windermere Professional Partners gathered at the Multicare Treehouse to volunteer their time to cook a dinner for the families staying there. The dinner was a great success and because there was so much food they even went into Tacoma General Hospital to invite some patients and their families to come down and share in the dinner. Multicare Tree House is a facility near Tacoma General Hospital that provides housing for adults or children and their families that are patients at Tacoma General Hospital or Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. It was established to accommodate families that travel a long distance to the medical facilities and need a place to stay. You can view Windermere Professional Partner’s Tree House video entry at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59b_1LIkzok