"Thank you so much for your patience with us...we were a little picky. What we appreciated the most was that you didn't push us to buy a home that didn't fit what we wanted 100%." -Carrol Stokes

Spanaway Washington Real Estate information and homes for sale.  

The following resources are available to assist you in your search for a home in Spanaway and the surrounding communities at www.PhilSharpHomes.com.  Are you relocating to Pierce County?  Need help and education about the area and the home buying process?  Please go to PhilSharpHomes.com to learn more about:

• Buyers Toolbox…A well stocked resource with articles and information written by Phil and others.  You will find information in the home buyers tool box about the home buying process, financing, inspections, general real estate and home ownership information. 
• Sponsorship…Yes, we assign you a sponsor.  Gina Mckune is our relocation Sponsor.  Gina is not a real estate agent, and has nothing to do with selling homes.  Gina is available to you or your spouse prior to your move to answer questions about schools, employment, or special needs.  Gina puts everything she has into making your move a smooth one, I really encourage you to make use of her knowledge and resources.
• Home Buyer Education…Webinars, online video tutorials, and live people to answer your questions about every aspect of buying a home!  Do you have questions…..

• Ask me about our Home Buyer or First Time Home Buyer Webinar Presented by Phil, a local lender, and a home inspector.
• Learn about Financing and Pre-Qualification.  I can help you get started.
• Planning your house hunting trip…scheduling, hotel recommendations, area info
• Searching for listings..My assistant Stephanie specializes in Manually searching for and researching listings….we also have automated searches and alerts as a back-up.
• Market Snapshot Reports…Real time real estate market reports generated from current MLS data, not tax records.  Presented in a format that allows you to accurately assess the market; list to sales price, time on market and detailed comparables.  These reports are derived from neighborhood level data, using  daily sales information.

Relocation Packets….request a relocation packet by US Mail.  The information  provided in these packets is provided by JBLM, and the surrounding communities in Pierce and Thurston Counties.  We also include recreation and tourist information from both the State of Washington and Oregon.  The materials are free…and I cover the postage.

Phil Sharp retired from Ft. Lewis in 2004, after a 25 year Army career culminating in his assignment as the Fort Lewis Garrison First Sergeant.   Phil’s business plan is based on his experiences as a frequent mover (9 PCS moves), and lessons learned from both the good moves and the not so good moves.  Phil is also an experienced real estate investor and developer.  Phil and his wife Gayle have built several small sub-divisions since Phil’s retirement, and they own numerous rental properties in Washington and elsewhere.

“I offer a clear plan that puts the mission first….the mission being to locate, negotiate and close the best deal possible, in the shortest amount of time.  While this sounds like common sense, most agents don’t seem to get it.   Communication, Education, Technical and Market knowledge are the keys to success in this business.   I offer a clear plan that is built around those fundamentals…..I would like to put my plan to work for you”.  You can call me direct at 360-970-9977, or email me:  Phil@PhilSharpHomes.com

Spanaway Washington real estate information, and homes for sale in Spanaway.  Find a wealth of information about the Spanaway community, Spanaway Public and Private Schools, Links to private and government information in Spanaway and Pierce County.

Spanaway Real Estate Housing and Market Report

The housing market in Spanaway has remained strong, along with all of western Washington.  While home prices fell across the board by approximately 12%, when looking at the most active sector of the market (homes under 300K), the local housing market actually lost only about 5% of its value thru 2008 and 2009.  In 2010, driven mainly by the strength of the local economy and large military population, home prices in this price range have actually regained most if not all losses of the past two years.

The biggest single factor in the strength of our real estate market has been the huge population of Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB (Joint Base Lewis-McChord).  The current population of Ft. Lewis is approximately 30,000 active duty soldiers, and McChord has a population of approx. 7000.  Of these, 15,000 are scheduled to re-deploy from Iraq and Afghanistan late summer and fall of 2010.  Add to this the strong possibility of two new brigades being relocated here in 2011 (another 9000 soldiers), and you see the writing on the wall…real estate in this neck of the woods is a hot commodity.

If you are considering purchasing a home in Spanaway, Roy, or the outlying areas, every indication is that you are making a sound investment.  Even during the worst of the economic crisis, home values in the Spanaway area remained strong….and are actually going up rather than down at the time of this writing.  I believe that this bodes well for recovery.  As the rest of the country struggles to come out of their housing market declines, we are already on the way up…..I expect that as the national picture normalizes, and financing becomes easier for home buyers,
that our market will continue to appreciate at a stronger pace than the rest of the country.

I mentioned military home buyers being the biggest factor in our market.  The reason is that military home buyers able to use their VA loan benefits are just about the only people not being required to make large down payments.  VA loans are still zero down; conventional loans are requiring a minimum of 10% down, and in some cases 20%.  I expect conventional loan criteria to relax over the next year…but for the time being, eligibility for a VA home loan makes you as a buyer part of a group able to buy without $20,000-40,000 down.

Housing Shortage Coming in Pierce and Thurston Counties?

This may sound contrary to what you hear on the news, Western Washington housing market is getting difficult for home buyers.  While we have a large amount of inventory on the market, it has been pretty well picked over.  Add to this that builders are not being allowed to get ahead of themselves as they did in years past, and things start getting very difficult for home buyers.  Banks are allowing builders to build one home, and can not start another until the first is sold.  Many looking for new homes are being forced to purchase “Pre-sales”, meaning homes that are either not built…or are early in construction.  Timelines for construction average 120 days from the date a contract is signed…making TDY house hunting trips well in advance a must if you want anything other than a “cookie cutter” home.

If you are relocating the Spanaway area, or if you already live in Spanway, Roy, Graham and the surrounding areas, this is a great time to buy a home.  The housing market is strong and getting stronger, growth projections are incredible (lots of people want to move here…must be climate and economy), and interest rates are lower than they have ever been….also, if you have been overseas or deployed you may still qualify for the $8000 gift from Uncle Sam known as the Home Buyer Tax Credit. 

If you would like to learn more about the real estate market in Spanaway, and about buying a new or existing home, give me a call, shoot me an email, or visit the Buyers Tool Box.   I encourage you to challenge me to demonstrate how I represent home buyers with the care, protection and guidance of a committed expert.