Last week, MLS reported 51 new single family sales in Anchorage. Of those sales, 19 were under $300,000 and 15 were under $400,000. In other words, more than 50% of the sales were under $400,000 while at the same time, the new construction average valuation in 2014 Continue Reading
Archives for 2014
It’s the Usual Summer Slow Down
From Memorial Day through the Fourth of July weekend, there’s not a lot happening in the local housing market. Potential buyers go fishing; friends and relatives from the lower 48 come to vist; local movers and shakers fly or drive out to their cabins and summer homes Continue Reading
Alaska Housing Market Crunch
Good luck trying to find a place to rent in Anchorage which has high rents and low vacancy rates. The last survey by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation put a 3.3% apartment vacancy rate and just 2% vacancy for single family homes. It doesn’t help that Alaska Continue Reading
How to Manage Upgrades
The number one complaint about builders is not that they don’t finish on time, not that they don’t return calls or do warranty work; it is that their allowances for light fixtures, cabinets, flooring, even faucets is not adequate and that most buyers of new homes end up Continue Reading
The Changing Face of Anchorage Home Buyers
Owning your own home has long been considered a part of the American dream. It ranks right up there with owning your first car and the memory of your first kiss, only it is a lot more expensive and in some cases emotional, particularly in Alaska. Anchorage is one of Continue Reading
It’s A Vision Thing
Recent articles and headlines in the local newspaper have prompted lots of public discussion about the lack of housing, and affordable housing in particular, in Anchorage. Finally, everyone has come to understand the consequences of the past several years of Continue Reading
New Home Ideas from the International Builders Show
The International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas showcased some new ideas and also a return to more traditional living. New homeowners continue to discard the formal living room. After all, who wants to buy two sets of living room furniture so the great room concept still Continue Reading
What You Need to Know about Appraisers
You would think that with a continuing historic low of only 322 residential listings for sale in MLS last week that an appraiser should not have any difficulty in meeting the agreed upon sale price that has already been established between the buyer and seller. But, Continue Reading
AHFC Offers Help to Struggling Homeowners’ Association
Condos have been the segment of the housing market that has been the slowest to recover from our most recent real estate recession. However, due to lack of current inventory (there is now less than a two-month supply of condos for sale between $150,000 and $250,000) Continue Reading
Alaskans Have a Lot to be Thankful for When It Comes to Real Estate
You still hear it often in local conversations, the "We're not like the lower 48" and thank goodness for that when it comes to our local residential real estate market which has experienced fewer highs and lows over the past eight years than our neighbors to the south. Continue Reading
Connie Yoshimura, Owner/Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty.