How do you make sense of it all? It’s a simple answer really; remember that real estate is local. What drives and affects the real estate market here in Fairbanks is different than what drives and affects the market in Poughkeepsie, NY or Manhattan, Kansas.
But, what does “real estate is local” really mean?
What I mean is that local factors affect local home prices. In the big picture, it could be regional, based on the overall economy or the availability of employment, for example. On the local level, other factors could be the location of schools, neighborhood amenities, local commercial or residential developments, where your parents or children live, along with a host of other reasons. Home prices are also dictated by local supply and demand, local cost of construction, etc.
Despite the ‘national’ housing woes, our average sales price has steadily increased without fail every quarter since the first quarter of 2006. Overall home prices have increased by 12.3% to $214,011 and market time has decreased by 15.8% to an average of 53 days on the market. Long term trends also show Fairbanks real estate has been a solid investment; since 1999 the average sales price has increased 65.6% for an average of 8.2% per year.
Remember real estate is a long- term investment. If you have grandiose plans of buying now and selling next month for a huge profit, you’re only kidding yourself. If you want to buy a home to live in now and enjoy for a few years and then sell, I think you will be find that to be a wise decision. The same holds true for investors looking to acquire rental property; rising energy prices and property taxes, among other factors, have made some properties more difficult to ‘pencil out’ than others, but there are good investments to be had.
Real estate IS local; get the facts before you buy into any national hype... good or bad. If you’re looking to cut through the hype and understand the local market, we can help. We specialize in residential real estate in Fairbanks and North Pole; existing and new construction homes and can provide detailed information on the overall Fairbanks market as well as help you evaluate individual homes.
Santa's Art Show
Old Saint Nick, easily North Pole's most famous resident, definitely has his hands busy right now. Aside from keeping all the elves busy making toys and making sure his 'naughty or nice' list is up to date (you have been good, haven't you?), he's up to his elbows in red tape preparing for his upcoming 24 hour round-the-world gift blitz, which btw, is less than 60 days away.
Then, of course, he has to make sure Rudolph and the gang is in top to shape for the trip, but despite his increasingly hectic schedule, Santa has graciously agreed to sponsor Santa's Art Show, which will be held on December 7th at the North Pole Grange. (Follow the signs off Santa Claus Lane).
Members of Watercolor Wednesday, an offshoot of the North Pole Art Society, can display and sell their paintings at no charge. Nonmembers will be charged a nominal $5 fee. Membership to Watercolor Wednesday/North Pole Art Society is $25 year, which gives members a portion of the gallery for showing their work during the First Friday events and allows artists to participate in the weekly Watercolor Wednesday painting sessions and to get discounts on workshops.
Be sure to stop by and see the "itty bitty, teeny weeny, elf-sized paintings. For more information on Santa's Art Show, Watercolor Wednesday, or North Pole Art Society, call John Poirrier at 488-7247 or Sandra Giddings at 488-2127.
The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation has announced it will be issuing three separate bonds designed to reduce the interest rate veterans will pay on borrowed funds. See the press releae here.
Everything costs more in Alaska, according to conventional wisdom, and for the most part it’s true, though not to the extent it used to be. In fact, it’s now significantly less expensive on average to live in Anchorage, Fairbanks or Juneau than it is to live in San Francisco, Manhattan or Honolulu – and a handful of other U.S. cities are at least slightly more expensive than Alaska cities.
Prices were up in nearly all major categories. Housing costs, the category with the largest weight, rose by 4 percent. A subcategory of housing – fuels and utilities – experienced a hike of 11.9 percent over the year. (Read More - .pdf)
Residential Mortgage named top lender
Residential Mortgage LLC was named the top lender in Alaska by the U.S. Veterans Administration earlier this month. The ranking placed the company above 56 other statewide lenders. Residential Mortgage made 783 VA loans totaling $194.3 million.
Professor Joel Shurkin (Center)
Donors, appointees celebrate impact of endowed chairs
Two faculty members appointed to serve in the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ newest endowed chairs recently met with representatives of the donors whose gifts established their positions. The meetings allowed donors to learn more about the faculty members and the work they plan during the time they serve as the chairs. An endowed faculty chair requires a donation to the university exceeding $2 million. UAF currently has four endowed chairs.
Associate professor Mary Childers Mangusso, lower photo; left, who was recently appointed to the Arthur T. Fathauer Chair in History, stands with Ted Fathauer during a reception earlier this month. Fathauer is a trustee for the University of Alaska Foundation and lead forecaster for the Fairbanks National Weather Service office. His mother, the late Helen Ann Fathauer, established the Fathauer Chair in 2000 in honor of her late husband, who studied history at the University of Chicago. This is the first year it became fully endowed, which allowed the university to fill the position. Mangusso will serve in the position for three years, during which she will teach and mentor students, as well as give public lectures.
Professor Joel Shurkin, top photo; center, who was recently appointed to the Charles W. Snedden Chair in Journalism, meets with Snedden family representative Virginia Farmier, left, and College of Liberal Arts Dean Ron Davis during a reception earlier this month. Helen Snedden established the Snedden Chair in 2003 in memory of her late husband, the former publisher and owner of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Since its establishment, the chair has allowed the UAF journalism department to bring a series of nationally known journalists to Fairbanks to speak to students, local journalists and the public. Shurkin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who will serve in the position for the 2007-2008 academic year, is the first full-time faculty member appointed to the Snedden Chair.
Copyright University of Alaska Fairbanks; 2007
Good Morning, A client emailed me this morning to say she couldn't find our quarterly market reports. It looks like we lost some content in the redesign last month. We are working to get this information back online for you, but in the meantime I'll post it here. Click the image to the right to download the report in .pdf format. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let us know.
A report put out today shows that foreclosures dropped 8 percent for the month of September compared to August when they hit a 32 month high. According to the report by DREN foreclosures are still up 99 percent compared to one year ago.
There were 223,538 foreclosures in September -- one in every 557 households. California, Florida and Nevada are the hardest hit followed closely by Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Texas and Indiana.
If you're in a situation where you're facing foreclosure or you're concerned about being able to afford your home, now is the time to take action. Call us for a no-obligation consultation... We will be happy to sit down with you and discuss options for either helping you restructure your mortgage debt or market and sell the property. We have talked to several homeowners who let their homes go into foreclosure because they didn't think they could afford to do anything. There are options. While we can't guarantee a miracle, if you're in the Fairbanks or North Pole area we can certainly meet with you and give you some options to help avoid foreclosure.
It looks like DOT is hard at work on the new North Pole/Dawson Road interchange. Dawson Road is temporarily closed while a culvert in installed. Check out the master plan on the D.O.T. website here.
Local Electric Rates Set To Rise... Again
Golden Valley Electric Association is asking state regulators to approve a 3.12 percent rate increase for all customers. The increase would impact the energy charge on all bills and the demand charge added to the bills of larger businesses and industrial customers. For a residential customer using 780 kilowatt hours of electricity a month, the hike would increase monthly bills by $2.63.
The request is the fourth GVEA has made since March 2004 and the second this year, following a 4.13 percent increase regulators approved this summer. Typically, utilities must wait much longer between rate cases, but regulators allow electric cooperatives to file more often through a procedure called Simplified Rate Filing. (Read More)
Help keep your bills low and the planet healthy with these easy energy savings projects. Here’s a list of 5 energy saving tips that take 5 minutes of less to complete.
1. Go Fluorescent $60 savings While fluorescent light fixtures may be a thing of the past, fluorescent bulbs are here to stay. Replace your incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones--they are four times more energy efficient. New types of fluorescents provide a much more natural-looking light. This quick mini-project can save you about $60 a year on your utility bills. Fluorescent bulbs will set you back about $4.00 apiece (buy them in bulk). Of course, if you’ve got fluorescent tube lights already but want to replace them, talk to folks at your local lighting showroom or a well-stocked hardware store. There are newer tubes that emit a warm, almost sun-like glow.
2. Get Reflective If replacing your old windows isn’t within your budget this year, think about covering the glass with a protective film. Found at any home improvement store, this film keeps retain heat during the winter and reflect it in the summer. Some brands boast up to a 70% reduction in heat during those hot months, which is good news if you aren’t lucky enough to own an air conditioner! Other pluses: the film can prevent your belongings from fading due to sun exposure.
3. Bundle Up… Your Water Heater. Heating water requires a lot of energy and costs a pretty penny, so insulate your water heater with a kit purchased from your local home improvement store. The cover will only set you back about $10, but can save you up to 25%-40% on your water bill by retaining the tank’s heat, thereby using less water. (You can also make a cover with fiberglass insulation and metallic tape, but don’t wrap the flue collar or burner access.) If your unit is less than 7 years old, it probably is already insulated and doesn’t need to be wrapped, but you can insulate your hot water pipes instead for added savings.
4. Vacuum Your Fridge As if you don’t have enough to clean, now we are telling you to vacuum your fridge! But because it’s on all the time, your fridge accounts for 8% of your home’s total energy expenditure, so this is a worthwhile project. First, take a peak behind your fridge. If there are big black coils mounted on the back of the appliance, they don’t need to be cleaned. If you aren’t so lucky, unplug the refrigerator and move it away from the wall. Check the manual to see where the coils are located (most likely underneath). Next, remove the plate protecting the coils and using a static cloth or a vacuum with an attachment, clean the dust off of the coils moving from front to back. Replace the plate when you are done and plug in the fridge. Experts recommend that you clean the coils once every 6 to 12 months, depending on your lifestyle. (If you have pets or live in an area that’s prone to dust, it’s best to clean them more often.)
5. Change your Settings If it isn’t already, turn your water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit; you don’t really need tap water any hotter. This works both as a safety measure especially if you have small children as well as a money saving tip. When you aren’t at home, remember to turn your thermostat down to 58 degrees so that you aren’t heating an empty house, but warm enough to keep things from freezing. In the winter, keep the temperature at 68 degrees Fahrenheit; in the summer, aim for 78 degrees. Installing a programmable thermostat is a fantastic way to ensure the device is always where you want it to be. Finally, check all of your appliances for energy saving setting options and switch them over accordingly.
Additional energy saving tips and resources can be found at this US Department of Energy site.
Interior Weatherization Inc., a nonprofit program associated with the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., uses state and federal grants to help qualifying homeowners make their homes more energy efficient. They don’t turn people away who are higher income and looking for advice, however. “We’re always happy to talk to folks,” said director James Lee. Call them at 452-5323.
Anyone can hire an energy specialist to look at their home and advise them on how to get the most bang for their buck. AHFC keeps a list of “AkWarm Certified Energy Raters” by region on its Web site at www.ahfc.state.ak.us/home/energyraterguide.cfm.
Always timely and a rich source of practical home improvement information, the Cooperative Extension Service recently published a new pamphlet titled “Tips on Insulating an Existing House,” available online with other publications about everything from caulking and sealing to tuning up your furnace at www.uaf.edu/ces/faculty/seifert/energy.html.
Golden Valley Electric Association has its HomeSense program. For $40 a specialist will come to your home and recommend ways to reduce electrical usage and install some energy-saving devices at no cost. The free gadgets, plus savings on future electric bills, make the visit well worth the $40.
“The best part it, I tell people, is you have a guy in house at a time that is convenient for you when can ask him questions and learn as a family how you can save,” said energy efficiency specialist Todd Hoener. Call him at 451-5607 or learn more at www.gvea.com under the link labeled “Help With Your High Bill.”
The results of the general election are in.... and the sales tax issue has gone down 71% against vs 29% for. See the rest of the election results here.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough is auctioning off several lots in Moonlight Acres Subdivision and Evan's Hideaway Subidivion.
Moonlight Acres, located at the intersection of Moose Mountain & Spinach Creek Road, currently has 5 lots up for sale. Two 3.5 acre parcels with opening bids of $43,415 and $41,800 and three larger parcels of 11.1 acres, 39.1 acres and125.4 acres with opening bids of $73,625, $129,675 and $238,450, respectively. Information on Moonlight Acres Subdivision can be found here (.pdf).
Evan's Hideaway Subdivision is located at the intersection of 14.3 mile Elliott Highway and Himalaya Road. Lots range from 7.3 acres to 24.9 acres and range from $14,630 to $35,625. Information on Evan's Hideaway Subdivision can be found here (.pdf).
Bidder cards can be purchased at the land management office at the FNSB building @ 890 Pioneer Road October 8th - 13th from 8am - 5pm or on the morning of the auction @ 9:30am in the firts floor lobby. The outcry auction will be held in the Assembly Chambers at 10:00am. If you have any questions feel free to call the land management office at 907-459-1241 or email them at property@co.fairbanks.ak.us. Good luck and happy bidding!
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Jesse & Kathy Clifton, Spouses Selling Houses Jesse Clifton Real Estate, LLC dba Carriage House Realty 410 Dunkel Street Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 Direct: 907.699.6024 Fax: 866.421.4339
