Tom Kelly
Equity rising but 4 million borrowers still ‘underwater’
"One of every three borrowers in active foreclosure has a current loan-to-value ratio of 150 or more, meaning they owe 50 percent more than their homes are worth."
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Builders add more standard features yet basics vary
Most new homes still don't come with options like rear-yard landscaping and a fenced backyard.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Multiple offers now norm as home shopping hits fever pitch
Multiple offers have become expected. One Kitsap County seller received 16 offers on a $698,000 property while a waterfront estate listed at $2,098,000 is under contract at $2,512,000.9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Where’s the buyer loyalty when open-house agents surface?
The "phantom" agent - one who surfaces at the last moment and collects commissions for work done perhaps by another - has been the focus of many commission discussions.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Stressful? Consumers pick root canal over homebuying
The survey, based on responses from more than 1,000 consumers, also found that homebuying can cause tension among couples.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Home offices have become a much ‘safer harbor’
Accountants say that the original rules for home offices simply became too complex for the nearly 3.4 million taxpayers who claimed deductions for business use of a home.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Home shoppers flock to listings, ‘fresh’ or ‘stale’
As of March 31, nearly 70 percent of the homes on the market were considered "stale"- homes that have sat on the market unsold for more than a month.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Tacoma’s U.S. Open: Tax-free cash for owners willing to rent
According to the Internal Revenue Service, an owner can derive tax-free income from renting a property, provided the owner rents it out for 15 days or fewer.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Do real estate agents ever turn down a listing?
Recently, a longtime acquaintance and agent reduced the price of a waterfront second home by $500,000.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
New reverse mortgage ‘review’ timeline pushed back
The new prerequisite is a first for reverse mortgages, which had carried no financial qualification requirement since the loans were first offered in 1989.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Referral power: Survey reveals lack of shopping for mortgages
Researchers found that higher-income and younger-aged borrowers were the most likely to gather multiple quotes when shopping for a mortgage.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Real estate will ride three-year wave, new survey predicts
Economists predict that existing home prices will rise through 2017-rising rising 5 percent this year, another 4 percent in 2016, and by 4 percent in 2017.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
New to the neighborhood? Test noise at different times
Your dream home could be in a flight path or on an ambulance or fire truck route.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Interest rate hike for June still ‘in play’
June is being viewed as the likely month for the Federal Reserve to start raising rates.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Local prices skyrocket as inventory lags behind intense demand
Disgruntled buyers are dropping out of the market to wait out this cycle only to be replaced by a new wave.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Beyond basic wear and tear: 5 inspection red flags
What repairs should buyers especially be alarmed about that could possibly send them back to the negotiation table?
9 years ago
Dave Ross
Traffic a big factor in recovery of Seattle suburbs
Dave Ross asks Tom Kelly, host of Real Estate Today on KIRO Radio, when houses in Seattle's suburbs will finally bounce back.9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Spring break: Buyers flock to booming second-home market
Vacation sales in 2014 nearly doubled the combined total of the previous two years.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
The waiting game could prove costly in local housing
The inventory of resale and pre-build homes is not expected to recover until summer or fall.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
One-quarter of Seattle’s lower-end homes remain ‘underwater’
At the peak of the real estate crisis, more than 15 million homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Saints alive! Taking home marketing to a higher level
One legend has it that some European nuns, desperate for additional land in the 1700s, buried statues on their property in order to get the attention of the Big Agent in the Sky.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Best time for open house continues to be 2 p.m. Sunday
The church-going crowd also influence the timing of open houses.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Housing affordability: Detroit, San Francisco at ends of spectrum
San Francisco buyers need 72 percent of their median income to afford a home.
9 years ago
Tom Kelly
Survey reveals most millennials unaware of closing costs
Most of the adults surveyed said they end up learning about closing costs from their real estate agent or by doing their own research.