One factor that could help this summer is the first time home-buyer tax credit for military personnel. Unlike the tax credit for everyone else, the credit for qualifying military buyers is good until spring 2011. The great news for our area is that 18,000 troops are returning to Lewis-McChord from tours of duty. About 3,000 of those troops are here, with the rest coming some time before October 1st. We thank them for their service to our country. We are glad to have them back!

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_realestate/2010/biggest_gains.html?hpt=T2

First is Valhalla Coffee Roasters on 6th Avenue. I have walked past it countless times on my way to one of the national coffee chains for an Americano. One day I stopped in to introduce myself and asked if they also sold drinks. They do. Byron proceeded to pull the darkest, richest espresso shot I ever recall enjoying. I buy beans from them as well. Often the beans I get were roasted that same day. I am told the beans I buy at national coffee chains may have been roasted in a previous year! Fresh is good. Local is great! Give Valhalla a try. They are on 6th Ave in Tacoma, just west of Proctor.

I have also rediscovered roller skating with my kids at Wheelz Arena at 2101 Mildred St W. I am happy to have a place to take my kids to skate. They offer free skate nights, which are free if you have your own skates; otherwise you do pay a $3 rental fee, but that’s still an affordable night out.

I hope you will support local businesses like these and keep dollars circulating within our local economy. Perhaps those same business owners may one day support your business!

Tacoma is ranked first! Moody’s Economy.com expects the Tacoma real estate market to bounce back strongly, with home prices increasing 22 percent by the first quarter of 2012 and 41 percent by the first quarter of 2014. They cite the military bases here in the Tacoma area, a diversified ecomomy, and The Port of Tacoma as reasons the outlook for our real estate market is so promising.

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/10-hard-hit-housing-markets-that-are-ready-to-rebound.html

If you hope to qualify for the $8,000 1st time home buyer tax credit, you are running out of time. The credit, which is part of the President’s stimulus package is set to expire December 1st. So in order to close by that date, a home would really need to be identified and placed under contract by mid September in order to close on time.

The Gintz Group, the developer I am working with to sell 27th Street Station Condos, have launched a push “blow out” all condo units by the time the stimulus expires. To this end they have dropped prices across the board. Their fully renovated, beautifully appointed homes range from $99,900 to $139,900. There is also a $4000 preferred lender bonus towards closing costs. They offer choice of one or two bedroom floor plans. More information can be found at www.27thStreetStation.com.

My suspicion is that the expiration of the tax incentive will slow the lower end market, but the big question is whether the market will have enough momentum at that point that we can avoid slipping into a winter slump. More to come...

The Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported more home sales closed in Pierce County in July than in any month since August 2007. Nearly 21 percent more sales – of single-family homes and condominiums – were pending than were pending a year ago. David Gala and The Hume Group is cautiously optimistic at this point that the worst is behind us. Although mortgage standards have toughened, rates are still at historic lows. We are hopeful that Tacoma buyers will take advantage of these low rates, attractive prices and a plentiful supply of homes on the market from which to choose! If you would like to see what is available in your price range, give us a call!

I heard today that the Ways and Means Committee pushed through legislation that would allow first time buyers to use their $8,000 credit toward their down payment. This could really improve the results we have seen to date.

It has been amazing to watch the transformation of downtown Tacoma and neighboring Hilltop, so named because it is perched on a bluff overlooking downtown, Commencement Bay and Mt. Rainier. I remember seeing Hilltop on the show Cops in Tacoma at a time when there was a proliferation of gang activity and crime.

A lot has changed. Wikipedia has this to say: "Since the mid-1990s, neighborhood watch efforts, increased police presence, commercial real estate development efforts along Martin Luther King Way, and rising real estate values in all areas adjoining downtown Tacoma have served to lower the amount of crime in Hilltop". What has happened is a renaissance of that area. There are new restaurants and businesses, a light rail line with expansion plans and museums. The University of Washington Tacoma campus has been expanding since its inception.

One of my clients, The Gintz Group, a real estate developer, is headquartered in downtown Tacoma in the Mecca, a building that was once an adult movie house, but which they have since renovated beautifully into a mix of office and residential use. They are currently developing a site at the corner of 23rd and Martin Luther King Way. Here they partnered with Ivory and Eric Crittendon in a planned mixed-use redevelopment of a former brownfield site. The site was a gas station in the 1940s and 50s before housing Ivory's Auto Rebuild. The first phase of the redevelopment plan is well under way with the excavation of storage tanks and soil remediation to be completed this week. This will clear the way for a 6 story mid-rise building that will house high-end apartments and commercial / retail space.

And just down the street is a project I am representing for sale: 27th Street Station Condominiums. Despite the economic downturn, 27th Street Station has sold 17 units since opening in April and is the fastest selling condo in Tacoma. Dave Gintz says the success is attributable to deluxe finishes, low prices starting at $124,990, with monthly payments of about $1,000. You can get a condo at the Station with a view of Mount Rainier for less than rent, particularly now with historically low interest rates. Forgive me touting my listing here, but I'm just very excited about the project and the area generally.