Fairbanks Ak Real Estate News & Info

5:35AM. The view from the bedroom window was bleak.  Is that snow?  It was a morning that, if not for promises made, I would have succumbed to the urge to drift back to sleep.  Not today. Today we were going arm in arm with our fellow citizens to make our collective voices heard. 

"It's not a Republican thing... It's not a Democrat thing.  It's an American thing."  Partisan attacks were nowhere to be seen on this day.  We gathered... young, old, black, white, business owners, retirees and the recently unemployed... out of a growing anger that our representatives seem to have forgotten this great nation belongs to us all. 

By noon more than 400 patriots gathered, armed only with homemade cardboard signs and flags to protest wasteful spending, government bailouts, and special interests winning out over folks on Main Street. 

A young mother holding a flag and pushing a stroller with her youngest tucked inside asks, "When money is tight, I have to watch my pennies.  Why won't they?"

Perched on a busy intersection near downtown Fairbanks, we watched as car after car drove past with horns blaring and drivers waving in support.  More than a few stopped to offer boxes of tea.  One not-so-clued-in fellow stopped ten feet or so behind me, spooled the passenger window down and yelled out to anyone within earshot, "What hell are you people celebrating?" 

American citizenship, my friend.  The right to not only question our government, but to demand accountability from it.

A short walk later found us at the steps of the Federal Building.  Flags were unfurled as Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA was heard for at least six city blocks amid chants of "Enough is enough" and "Stop spending my money."

Toward the end of the event a group of folks collected the tea bags and carried them to the office of US Senator Mark Begich. No violence, no arrests... just a group of citizens exercising our right to be heard.

More later, but the Fairbanks Tax Day Tea Party turnout was... GREAT!

As much as it will surprise many buyers, and a few sellers, parts of the Fairbanks market are starting to strongly favor sellers. A limited inventory of homes for sale is causing buyers to scramble for, and in many cases, compete with other buyers for homes. I've talked to no less than 7 or 8 agents in the past couple of weeks who say their clients lost 'the house' because of multiple offers. It's true. Multiple offers are alive and well in Fairbanks.

North Pole, for example, has seen a marked decrease in the number of homes for sale. New(er) 3 and 4 bedroom homes under $250,000 in good condition are very much in demand. As of this writing, there are 13 homes for sale priced between $200,000 - $250,000 (the median market for North Pole). Of those, 11 have been on the market less than 60 days. 63% of the ($200-250K) homes sold in North Pole since March 1st spent less than 22 days on the market. The marketing time for Fairbanks homes trends somewhat higher, but is declining.

Overall, the trends for March are good news.

Average Sales Price - UP

Average Days on the Market - DOWN

Homes Sold - HOLDING STEADY

List to Sales Price Ratio - UP

Average Sales Price

Homes Sold

Days on Market

Discount from List Price

Is this a good time to buy Fairbanks real estate? Absolutely. Prices have come down, seller concessions are available and as of this morning a 30 year fixed rate loan will cost you 4.625%. Call or contact us online today to start the search for your piece of the Last Frontier.

It's time to send a message to our government... Stop Spending Our Money. 

I have long been a small government fiscal conservative.  The Federal Government was not designed to be nor did the Founding Fathers dream it would ever evolve into a bloated, inefficient, constituent ignoring, revenue inhaling entitlement distribution center. 

It's time for a modern Declaration of Independence from those who serve only to further their own power.  We need to return this nation to her people.

Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  -Declaration of Independence

I have no desire to see my children and grandchildren saddled with the debt from this seemingly endless stream of federal handouts.  $12.7 trillion?! Where does it end?  If we leave it up to the politicians in Washington it won't.

Attention Patriots!  It's time for a Tea Party.  The last one sent a clear message that our current 'representatives' would do well to heed.

WHEN: April 15, 2009

Principles of negotiation.  Books have been written about it.  Speakers travel the world lecturing about it.  Millions have been spent trying to uncover the secret.  For some, it will remain an abstract principle they will sadly never master.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to speak with a fellow for whom negotiations had not been a kind mistress.  This fellow, we'll call him Stanley, set out to buy a home for his family and ended up outmaneuvered by a more skilled negotiator into a contract he now wishes he had never signed.

Stanley and his family had been renting a small house in Fairbanks for the past couple of years.  It was comfortable and the price was right but with the changes in the housing market, he hoped to make the transition from renter to owner. A yard for his children to play in... a place in which to make memories of opening presents on Christmas mornings and birthday BBQ's on the deck.  Reasons which we can no doubt all relate to.

When Stanley found 'the house' he sat down with his lender and later the seller to hammer out the details of a purchase agreement.  The seller was ready to sell... he and his wife had plans of moving to be closer to their grandchildren and were ready to take the house off the market. 

"Let's get this done and get you moved in." Motivated seller. That's good, right?

Having watched HGTV's endless parade of real estate programming and read every real estate article he saw on MSN, he had a plan.  Take the purchase price, slice 10% off the top and negotiate up from there, if necessary.  Armed with his offer strategy, Stanley and the sellers put pen to paper and in short order had a mutually agreeable contract.

"10% off the asking price and the seller agreed to pay $5,500 toward our closing costs if we would waive any contingencies and close in three weeks." The anguish was palpable as he told me the story.  He ddn't need to continue... I knew the house and where this conversaton was going.

"Earnest money was placed in escrow with the title company.  An appraisal was ordered and we were planning furniture placement."  Imagine Stanley's surprise when the lender calls to say the appraisal came in... well... a little low.  Seems as though there's a near $37,000 difference between appraised value and the contract price.

A call to the seller turns the butterflies in Stanley's stomach to catapulting, trapeze-flying monkey's trying to claw their way through his belly button.  No re-negotiations.  "You agreed to remove the contingencies for the 10% price reduction and the $5,500 in closing costs I'm paying" replied the seller.  Hmmm. Now what?  This is where Stanley begins his search for answers and where he lands on this blog and calls us for answers... guidance... absolution... something. 

Unfortunately the only truly helpful advice I could offer is a referral to a reputable real estate attorney.  Where and how did the train heading to paradise go so far off the tracks? 

Representation - Stanley had none.  No buyer-agent representation.  No legal representation.  Nothing.  Mano-a-mano as it were.  Given the complexities of contract law, finance, discovery, disclosures, etc. representation is key.  A buyers-agent is the buyers advocate in a transaction.  What a concept, huh?  Their primary responsibility is to protect and promote the buyers interests.  Most of the time said representation comes at little to no cost to the buyer.

Research - If you don't know the local real estate market, you need to hire someone who does.  A sellers asking price is simply a number.  Unrepresented sellers are notorious for having an inflated opinion of their homes worth.  What are comparable homes selling for?  How long is it taking to sell those homes... and how does that compare to the subject property?  You need detailed market information... and someone to interpret that data.

Last but not least, forget the hype.  Not even HGTV, your Uncle Bob in Poughkeepsie or Donald 'Combover' Trump will be much help in crafting a negotiation strategy in Fairbanks, Alaska... or in any market they're not well versed in.  When the time comes to buy a home for your family, and now is a pretty good time, rely on a local expert. As luck would have it, I happen to know a couple.

(gold man image courtesy of Guido Jansen)