News reports are saying that this is the year for the “bottom of the housing market”. They don’t counter in the fact that Western Washington has a significant increase in employment due to the latest Boeing contract. This strengthens the Seattle & Tacoma real estate market.

Keep in mind that it takes the average person 60 to 120 days to close on a home once they begin searching for their home! This means if you begin looking today, you’re not likely to close until sometime in March or May of 2012. This is the time to buy a home!

This will not be an overnight recovery, folks.  Existing homeowners are not expected to see the price of their homes increase any significant amount for at least a few years.  Several people in the following areas (Seattle, Tacoma, Federal Way, Des Moines, Browns Point, Dash Point, Fife, University Place, Burien, Kent, Auburn, Redondo, Renton, Kirkland, Redmond, New Castle, Issaquah, and Bellevue) are actually deciding upon a strategic Short Sale, rather than being faced into foreclosure, or some people have even gone for a strategic foreclosure, obviously not realizing what kind of damage this can cause to their credit.  If you are in such a situation, it’s best to talk to a Realtor, licensed real estate agent, or real estate attorney about your options.  Some people have hardships that they are not even aware of to allow them to qualify for a short sale.  It is strictly on a case-by-case basis.

If you're underwater or upside down on your home, talke to a real estate professional, immediately.

My recommendation is that if you are underwater on your house, right now, and not sure of your options, you should speak to somebody that knows more about the current housing market and who would be able to advise you of your options.  If you are curious about how to short sale in the Puget Sound area, be sure you’re looking for the best short sale experts possible, so you’re in good hands.  If you have any questions, you can always contact us and we’re here to help in any way we can.

To sum this up, remember that timing the market can be a very difficult thing to do if you’re not factoring in housing inventory, closing times, or recent local changes in the market, such as rate of employment, housing starts, and the local economy.