It’s time to sell your house. You’ve weighed the pros and cons and come to this big decision. But now you have to pick a real estate agent. “Wait!” you say. “I’ve gone on Zillow, it says my house is worth x amount of money. I’ll just put a sign in my yard and sell it myself. No need to pay a real estate agent when I can do it myself”. Did you know sellers actually net MORE money when they use a real estate agent? The National Association of Realtors does a comprehensive review of trends in buying and selling every year. Nine percent of buyers purchase a home from a sign in the yard, while 77% of buyers come from real estate agents and internet.

An October classic is a visit to a pumpkin patch, but unless you drive by one, you may not realize how many options are in the South Sound area! We have a list of fun places to go. When my kids were younger, we went to Spooner Farms or Maris Farms for pumpkins and the corn mazes. Carving pumpkins, and drinking apple cider on the porch are still some of our fall traditions. I hope that you enjoy this changing season with your friends and family. If changing your address is in your future, I’d be glad to help.

The leaves are changing (or simply falling), rain is in the forecast more often, and pumpkins fill fields and grocery stores. Before winter creeps in, there are a few home maintenance things you should check off your to do list! For our rainy falls, the first one (cleaning your gutters) is especially important!

In a previous post, Understanding Market Reports for Single-Family Residential Homes, I talked about the difference between a sellers market and a buyers market. This is a great graph that shows a sellers market and buyers market in terms of supply and demand (on a national level). Please note, although Washington state is coded as a very strong buyer demand outpacing seller supply, this statistic is taking to account the entire state.