I am not a financial professional.

-Tim Ritchie

Inflation. Inflation. Inflation. We’ve heard it so much and we see the impact in our everyday lives. Someone recently reached out to me asking if buying a home could be a good hedge against inflation. Because I am not a financial professional, I can’t speak to their specific situation, but I can say that I believe home ownership is an excellent hedge against inflation.

• As inflation rises, your home value should as well. Of course, home values are subject to highs and lows like any market, but over the long term home values have historically increased.
• The loan to value of your mortgage should decrease as your home value increases over time as you pay down the principle. If you have a fixed rate mortgage, your payments will remain the same as your home equity increases.
• High inflation impacts many product categories, including those products necessary for building new homes. As the cost of building new homes increases, their sale price must also increase. Increased prices for existing homes is a knock on effect.
• If you own rental property, it is likely you will be able to increase rents in a high inflationary environment.

The median sale price for a home rose from $329,000 in the first quarter of 2020 to $428,700 in the first quarter of 2022 according to the Commerce Department- that’s an increase of about 30%. Balance that against inflation of 11.5% for the same. And you are ahead of the game.

The Federal Reserve has few levers to pull to get inflation under control. Their primary tool is manipulating interest rates to accelerate or slow down the economy. We have seen record interest rate hikes over the last several months and I expect we will continue to see them until inflation moderates.

Contact me if you are inspired to find your next home.

I am not a financial professional. Please seek a financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.

The post Property as a hedge against inflation appeared first on Tim Ritchie Homes.

• Rise of mRNA vaccines. mRNA vaccines had been in the lab since 1989 and proven effective once scientists figured out how to stabilize the vaccine. In March 2022, Moderna announced it would test and develop mRNA vaccines for 15 diseases. mRNA will allow for simpler and more rapid development of vaccines moving forward.
• Normalization of remote work. Sure, some remote working happened prior to the pandemic. But, often under management duress. That was sure my experience. I had the sense that management was suspicious when I worked from home or on the road. The truth is that the tools have existed for quite a while allowing productive remote work. With no options during the pandemic, those tools were refined and went mainstream as did the concept of working remotely.

Which brings me to my point.

Airbnb recently published a study identifying Seattle as one of the five most popular destinations for long-term rentals. What a great way to experience a new region.

Contact me to find a property to use as your escape from the ordinary or to offer as a short term rental.

The post Pandemic silver lining appeared first on Tim Ritchie Homes.

1. Noise
2. Not cleaning up after pets
3. Intrusive/nosy
4. Parking issues
5. Unsupervised children
6. Aggressive animals
7. Heavy/loud footsteps
8. Cigarette smoke
9. Unkempt landscaping
10. Passive aggressiveness
11. Overflowing garbage
12. Odors
13. Marijuana smoke
14. Grumpiness
15. Dirty home exterior
16. Overly chatty
17. Unsightly storage
18. Not cleaning up after children
19. Trespassing
20. Public intoxication

Unsurprisingly, the No. 1 annoyance was noise. And the homebuilder’s survey dug further into the issue. Within the noise category, the biggest complaints were, in order: loud music, shouting, loud children and noisy exterior work (like lawn care or construction). Most respondents agreed that loud noises should cease by 10 p.m.

The post Are you annoying? appeared first on Tim Ritchie Homes.

The market is still shifting. Active listings of both single-family homes and condos nearly doubled year over year. New listings grew nearly 15% to 11,805 from June to July. Pending sales are down 24% and closed sales decreased 30%, compared to July 2021.

It’s not all bad news for sellers. The median price of homes and condos in King County rose about 2.7% from June to July, from $789,000 to $810,000. The median price rose 5.4% in Kitsap County, 9.3% in Snohomish and 12.7% in Pierce. 

I’m happy to help you better understand this shifting market. Contact me if you are looking to buy or sell your home.

The post Housing inventory at highest level since 2018 appeared first on Tim Ritchie Homes.

Woodinville, Washington is the most popular market on all of Zillow so far this year. Edmonds also had a reasonable showing, coming in at #5 on the list. This is largely driven by the trend to work at home, eliminating the need to commute and enticing buyers to prioritize larger homes and suburban lifestyle over short commute. Over the last year suburban home values have increased 20% on average, whereas middle tier priced homes in Woodinville have increased more than 37% year over year and are now selling for an average of $1.4 million.

If you have a home in Woodinville and are looking to sell, contact me and let’s get that thing sold! I’m happy to provide a no-obligation comparative market analysis to give you an idea of what your home is worth in this market. If you are looking to buy a home in Woodinville, I know a good banker that can help.

The post Woodinville Tops Zillow’s Most Popular Market appeared first on Tim Ritchie Homes.