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February 3, 2012

Anchorage Alaska Snow and Wind Has Made Conventional Marketing Difficult

This year has been particularly difficult for traditional curb-side real estate marketing!  After the Internet and the Real Estate agent themselves, the sign at the curb is one of the strongest advertising components you can have. 

Deep Snow Is Making Curb Signage Difficult!

The 2011 – 2012 winter in Anchorage has had at least two high wind storms which have stripped the signs from the yard-arm posts all over town.  I can’t help but wonder where the signs actually end up, because it seems you can never find them.  There must be a big stack of wind-blown and thrashed real estate signs in China or in the bottom of sea because you never find the sign once they blow off the yard-arm post.

The other unusual obsticle has been the snow.  Many years, we get snow and a few weeks later the tempature goes up and the snow melts, only to come again in a few weeks.  This year, the snow came right on schedule in late October and kept coming, kept coming and kept coming.  The last I heard we have had over 100 inches! 

Now a real estate sign is only 48 inch tall.  Can you see the delema of trying to get a sign on the curb when the snow is higher than the yard arm? 

You need a sign, if you are going to put a advertising brochure or flyer up.  Consumers don’t like to walk up the driveway to the house, for obvious reasons.  Right now, if you put the sign at the edge of the lot, the odds are real good a snow plow will take your sign away.  If you put the sign on the lot, the snow is so deep customers can’t get through the snow to get a flyer! 

I’ve seen some signs where only the very top of the 4×4 post is visable through the deep snow! 

The good news is the days are getting longer in Anchorage over 5 minutes a day.  It’s late January as I write this so spring is only three months away in Anchorage.

February 1, 2012

2012 Economic Forecast by AEDC

Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, or AEDC,  is a group of business and community

City of Lights - in the winter!

leaders in Anchorage with a focus on increasing business activity in Anchorage as well as making the city even more desirable place to live, work and play.

Many influential local businesses leaders have a voice in this endeavor including GCI, Wells Fargo, CH2M Hill, USKH, AT & T, Princess Tours, BP, Conocophillips and a host of other important companies. 

Every year at an important lunch a report is given on the “state of Anchorages economy from these companies’ considerable insights and perspectives.

This year the luncheon was sold out early at the Anchorage Dena’ina Center with over 1,500 in attendance.  The report is lengthy.  If you email me, I would be happy to email you a copy for you to review, but in short AEDC shows strong evidence that the Anchorage economy is continuing its recovery.  In 2009 the local economy experienced its first job losses in 20 years; Anchorage had enjoyed 20 years straight with each year being slightly better than the previous prior to 2009. 

On average, in 2011 there were 1,700 more jobs in Anchorage than there were in 2010.  Looking forward to 2012, this year, AEDC is projecting similar growth, expecting to see 1,500 new jobs over the course of the year.  These jobs are expected to be in oil and gas industry, the visitor industry, transportation services, and health care.  Government jobs are expected to decline slightly and construction jobs will remain flat at best but mostly likely decline due to lack of construction.

All in all, the mood at the luncheon seemed positive.  The recap of last years forecast caused the crowd to clap because the year was more positive than the early projection.  The forecast for 2012 is positive, especially in light of the fact so many area’s in the country are suffering in decline and loss of jobs.

January 29, 2012

A Humorous Video about Anchorage Goes Viral

Filed under: Alaska,Just for fun,Life in Anchorage,Uncategorized — Tags: — Dan @ 2:39 pm

Anchorage had an advertising contest for their “Live Work Play” theme this year.  It was won by Brian Dollerhide who took home the Grand Prize & the People’s Choice Award.  His video is called “Things People in Anchorage Never Say.”  You have to be from Anchorage, or at least Alaska to appreciate many of them. Brian, you are a creative guy – Thank you for making us laugh!

 

January 28, 2012

Northwest Craftsman-Style Bungalow Home

Filed under: Alaska,Marketing,Uncategorized — Tags: — Dan @ 3:00 pm

I was fortunate to represent a home last week that is truly unusual.  The home is a style of construction called

Isn't this a warm inviting exterior? This is a great example of a Craftsman Home Style

Craftsman style.  It is sometimes called a  ”lodge” or “bungalow” style home.  This particular home was built in 2008 and is approximately 3,100 square feet in the home and the garage is another 800 square feet.

The home has an open floor plan, like a great room plan.  There is a lot of custom hand finished trim, built in cabinets and shelves and really attractive personal touches.’

The flooring is a commercial grade of bamboo.  Much of the lighting in the home is either recessed or unusual custom lighting.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so a video must be worth ten thousand words, right?  Check this home out here.

January 20, 2012

Multiple Listing Service Releases New Positive Statistics!

Earlier this week Alaska Multiple Listing Service released some encouraging real estate news. 

Anchorage Alaska Real Estate Homes for sale

Mid-town Anchorage as seen from Government Hill

First was that the number of new listings, measured year-over-year is falling.  Not a lot, but slightly declining. For instance: in 2009 there were 2,974 new listings, 2010 2,932 new listings and in 2011 2,819 new listings.  That means home supply isn’t increasing, it’s flat or slightly decreasing.  Generally that means prices stay stable and maybe a few builders will get back into home construction again.

I know I’m reaching here, but I’ll take whatever good news I can get.  In 2011 local real estate agents sold 60 more homes than they did in the previous year.  Each year from 2007 through 2010 has had fewer sales than the previous year.  This is the first year sales have been better, albeit slightly.

This is how the market improves; we talk about the good improvements we’re seeing – a little here and a little there!  Keep the faith, Anchorage!

January 19, 2012

How Are Property Taxes Paid in Anchorage Alaska?

In Anchorage, the way real property taxes are billed and paid to the Municipality is a little different than in some other places.  I get asked about real property taxes a lot during the home sale process, prompting me to talk about it here.

Our real property taxes are paid annually.  You recieve a notice from the City Tax Assessor early in the year informing you of what your property is assessed, or valued, at. I recieved my assessed valuation the third week of January this year.

 Around May 15th, you’ll receive your tax bill which shows the value the city has put on it (assessed value), multiplied by the latest  “mill rate” or the multiplier the assembly and the Muni Budget has put in place.  This gives you the amount of tax due on the property that you own.

The taxes are due for the calendar year, January through December.  In Anchorage, they can be paid in two installments, but the installments are close to each other.  The first installment for the first half of year is due June 15th.  The second half is due August 15th.

If you pay the tax yourself, which you would be doing in you own your property “free and clear“, you’ll need to pay on the schedule above.  If you have taxes being escrowed and collected each month with your monthly payment, the lender will get your tax bill and you will get a copy mailed to you for your files that says “Do Not Pay”; that’s because the lender will pay it for you.

If the amount of money the lender has built up in their escrow amount is short, your monthly payment amount could be increased so their is enough money in the escrow account when taxes are due.  If your assessed value hasn’t changed in several years, that could happen.

When you sell the property, the taxes are generally pro-rated for the year by the title company closer so that the buyer pays the taxes going forward from closing and the seller pays the part of the year they owned the property.  If their is an escrow overage at the bank, the money is returned to the seller.

It all works out!  If you have any questions or comments on the process, just ask!

 

January 18, 2012

Positive Forecast in Anchorage Alaska for 2012

Filed under: Alaska,Life in Anchorage,Property Values — Dan @ 2:46 pm

The local business community is always anxious to hear reports from different market sectors to see how they faired in 2010, over the previous year and get  sense of what is projected for the near future. I have listened to two speakers so far and read a couple business articles on the economy saying nearly the same message. 

Most recently, I attended a luncheon for the Alaska Association of Realtors where Neal Fried, a popular Alaska Department of Labor economist, shared the results of his studies, looking back at previous years and projected his thoughts into the near future.

The short version was that, while employment in Anchorage dipped slightly in 2009, it grew in 2010 to recover from the previous employment loss.  Neal felt that all signs point to another year of growth for the Anchorage area, albeit modest growth; In relation to many other cities and States these days, any growth is good and well received.

The individual sectors that make up an economy have different strengths and weakness’s, for instance, construction employment is expected to decline for the 6th year in a row.  Health care employment will continue to rise.  Our oil industry is still doing well and and the visitor industry (tourism) is projecting a stronger year this year.  The retail employment numbers are expected to remain about stable and not change much.

Meanwhile, the municipal tax assessor, Marty McGee, has stated that assessed, or tax values, are up slightly.  The Municipality of Anchorage hires appraisers to assess real estate.  They make every effort to have the tax appraisal at 100% of value.  McGee also echo’d confidence of the stability of the Anchorage market and employment.

I’ll continue to keep you posted, but for right now, Alaska is looking like a great place to live and work in 2012!

 

January 13, 2012

2011 Was an Amazing Real Estate Year for the Dan Wolf Team!

Filed under: General Real Estate Industry News,Uncategorized — Tags: — Dan @ 5:47 am

Our team finished 2011 as the #2 agent in the entire State of Alaska!  Thank all of you for your support and faithful business over the years.  I’m proud to work with a team of hard working real estate professionals!  Thank you!

This report was sent to me by another agent and rates each agent’s volumn between Jan 1 and Dec 31, 2011.  I put the top 50 Alaska real estate agents on this report.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Market Penetration Report By Members

Status: SoldSearch Parameters: Property types Residential, Condominium, Vacant Land, Multi-Family, Commercial Borough/Census Area of ’1A – Anchorage Municipality’, ’1B – Kenai Peninsula Borough’,

As of Tuesday, January 3, 2012 12:03:29 Noon

     
 

Date Range: Jan/1/2011 to 12/31/2011
Number and Volume Calculated By Sides

 

Rank

Name

Listings

Volume

Average

% Total: Number

% Total: Volume

1

Barbara L Huntley (11635) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

247

52,516,976

212,619

1.85

1.69

2

Dan Wolf (9030) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

124

38,194,077

308,017

0.93

1.23

3

Kristan Cole (10066) of The Kristan Cole Team Branch Office Keller Williams Realty – Alaska Group (2955)

203

36,449,464

179,554

1.52

1.17

4

Reed J Moore (15861) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

126

30,354,468

240,908

0.94

0.98

5

Dar Walden (15606) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

84

27,496,100

327,335

0.63

0.88

6

Matt E Dimmick (14317) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

102

27,072,800

265,420

0.76

0.87

7

Sarah Haltness (16111) of Dynamic Properties (85)

66

23,325,648

353,419

0.49

0.75

8

Elizabeth MacMullen (15401) of RE/MAX Dynamic of the Valley (2026)

121

21,395,536

176,823

0.91

0.69

9

Mary Cox (11792) of RE/MAX Properties, Inc. (134)

78

21,341,225

273,605

0.58

0.69

10

Krystal Rogers (15235) of RE/MAX Dynamic of the Valley The Real Estate Center (2055)

112

21,183,405

189,138

0.84

0.68

11

Donald Zimmerman (10935) of IEC Realty (2017)

106

21,109,858

199,150

0.79

0.68

12

Audrey G Mason (3408) of RE/MAX of Eagle River (342)

67

20,649,756

308,205

0.50

0.66

13

Kevin B Cross (17358) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

69

20,548,950

297,811

0.52

0.66

14

Les C Bailey (13143) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group of Eagle River (1019)

75

20,095,150

267,935

0.56

0.65

15

Non-Member – Non-Member (4999) of Non Member (9999)

98

19,745,702

201,487

0.73

0.63

16

Roger E Briley Jr. (16395) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

73

19,622,693

268,804

0.55

0.63

17

Kibe Lucas (13217) of Kibe Lucas Team Branch Office Keller Williams – Alaska Group (2121)

96

19,276,955

200,802

0.72

0.62

18

Christina Swires (13551) of RE/MAX Properties, Inc. (134)

51

17,891,555

350,815

0.38

0.58

19

Connie Yoshimura (4562) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

59

17,267,391

292,668

0.44

0.56

20

Wesley Madden (17038) of Madden Real Estate, LLC (7036)

115

16,891,050

146,879

0.86

0.54

21

Gordon Sloane (15431) of RE/MAX Properties, Inc. (134)

48

16,060,202

334,588

0.36

0.52

22

Robert Brock (7888) of Dynamic Properties (85)

70

15,221,774

217,454

0.52

0.49

23

Jim Murphy of Dynamic Properties (85)

61

14,629,665

239,831

0.46

0.47

24

Kathleen Poulin (15998) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

42

14,605,377

347,747

0.31

0.47

25

Laverne Pettigen (15348) of Dynamic Properties (85)

60

14,561,575

242,693

0.45

0.47

26

Roy Briley (15309) of Real Estate Brokers of Alaska (933)

53

14,521,422

273,989

0.40

0.47

27

Robert Baer (2667) of Dynamic Properties (85)

36

14,220,290

395,008

0.27

0.46

28

D’Ette M Owen (15545) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

52

14,148,150

272,080

0.39

0.45

29

Jerry Dewhurst (13564) of RE/MAX Properties, Inc. (134)

46

13,895,350

302,073

0.34

0.45

30

Kelly D Griebel (15474) of Freedom Realty – Soldotna (3008)

62

13,777,349

222,215

0.46

0.44

31

Laura Halverson Dufour (16168) of Dynamic Properties (85)

39

13,754,171

352,671

0.29

0.44

32

Adrian Jaime (15383) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

46

13,628,578

296,273

0.34

0.44

33

Glenda Feeken (12001) of RE/MAX of The Peninsula (3012)

60

13,618,900

226,982

0.45

0.44

34

Edward E Erickson (15937) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group of Eagle River (1019)

63

13,580,032

215,556

0.47

0.44

35

Ryan Tollefsen (15921) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

46

13,229,180

287,591

0.34

0.43

36

Vickie Hudson of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group of Eagle River (1019)

55

13,127,027

238,673

0.41

0.42

37

Brooke Stiltner (12264) of RE/MAX of Eagle River (342)

47

12,994,140

276,471

0.35

0.42

38

Teresa Bell (14939) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

44

12,444,881

282,838

0.33

0.40

39

Non-Member – FSBO/Other (4997) of Non Member (9999)

59

12,008,812

203,539

0.44

0.39

40

Marty Van Diest (12901) of Valley Market Real Estate (2118)

71

11,955,560

168,388

0.53

0.38

41

Elena Novitsky-Mabeus (15057) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE Eagle River (1208)

54

11,813,754

218,773

0.40

0.38

42

Alex Mitchenkov (16024) of RE/MAX Properties, Inc. (134)

66

11,639,216

176,352

0.49

0.37

43

Shari Boyd (3819) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

35

11,373,350

324,953

0.26

0.37

44

Nancy Bergh-Pollock (4902) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

35

11,208,377

320,239

0.26

0.36

45

Michael McLane (13324) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

40

11,182,000

279,550

0.30

0.36

46

Derek Hert (16913) of FSBO Anchorage-Alaska LLC (1093)

42

11,124,825

264,877

0.31

0.36

47

Jennifer Stalcup (17344) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group of Eagle River (1019)

49

10,821,051

220,838

0.37

0.35

48

Patrick James (17128) of Keller Williams Realty Alaska Group (955)

40

10,631,868

265,797

0.30

0.34

49

Brian Broderick (12465) of Prudential Jack White Vista RE (208)

34

10,575,100

311,032

0.25

0.34

50

Fred Braun (14729) of Freedom Realty – Kenai (3020)

61

10,495,250

172,053

0.46

0.34

 

 

January 12, 2012

What A Differance a Photo Can Make!

Filed under: Marketing,Preparing Your Home — Dan @ 8:36 am

The front of the house, or at least the garage and driveway side

We all know a picture is worth a thousand words.  I just had an example of the huge differance the picture can make, too.

You’ve seen those pictures of famous actors when they don’t have their make up on, right?  You’ll see this person without their “face on” and it won’t even resemble the actor!

Check this house out, same house photo’s taken with different cameras and at different angles on the the same house. 

What a differance a photo can make!

If you were looking at list of properties, which house would draw you in and look more interesting?  It’s obvious and reminds me that taking your time and thinking about your photo’s on the Internet make all the differance in marketing!

December 29, 2011

Winter Solstice – The Days Get Longer going forward!

When I am out of Alaska and meet new people, the most common question I get is “Does it really stay night all day long” or the reverse “Is true the sun doesn’t go down at night?”  This probably sounds familiar to you, doesn’t it?  Of course the second most common question is if I “know Sarah Palin:)

I took this photo at 3pm in the afternoon. See the glow from the setting sun in the windows?

The shortest day of the year is December 21 which is called Winter Solstice.  On that day in Anchorage our sunrise will be about 10am and sunset will be around 3:30pm for a really short day.   In some rural areas of the State, people might tend to begin their day when it’s daylight and begin to feel really tired when the sun goes down.  For most people, we have normal schedules to follow regardless of the amount of day light, although the long dark days certainly can affect your energy level.  The further north you go, the longer the darkness is.

The days begin to lengthen after December 21;  in the beginning, maybe just a few minutes a day, but each day is a little longer than the preceding day – and before you know it, it’s still light when you pull the blinds down to go to bed at night!  In the summer close to the summer solstice, or June 20th, it doesn’t get dark at all; the sun didn’t go down in Anchorage on that day!

The short days aren’t that good for the real estate business.  I have a small window of time when I can take photos a property to have photo’s to use on the Internet.  I have learned a few tricks such as raising my ISO and increasing my exposure time, using a tripod for the long exposure time, but still, it’s a short day to get that done.  Homebuyers don’t like to see properties as late in the evening either. 

Of course, just the opposite is true in the summer.  An anxious buyer and his realtor could work late in the night in their quest for a home!

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