Ever heard of a neighborhood specialist? You know, the brokers that claim to know everything there is to know about a certain neighborhood or area? That’s a good thing right? It’s like going to a Toyota dealer and buying from a salesman that really knows about Toyotas. Or going to the Apple store because you are only interested in an Apple product. But what if you are selling your home in one area and buying your home in another? Or what if you haven’t narrowed down an area and are open to several? Don’t you kind of want the Nordstrom of agents who sells the stuff YOU want and knows a lot about ALL of it? Now its time for my 2 cents.

I read an article recently with the exact title that I am titling this post. I read the article and then reread it again (its ok I was in the bath and needed an excuse to stay in a little longer). Then I scanned it a third time because something was missing. Throughout the entire article I was waiting for the number 1. to appear because then I would know the 5 signs were about to begin and that was my whole reason for reading the article. Well that and so I could read it and then doctor it up in my own words and pass it off to you as an original blog post. Kidding. Anyway, I never saw the number 1. nor did I see numbers 2-5 and the very last line in the story said this: “Regardless of the economic indicators, the best time to sell is when its right for you.” Wait, what??

It’s a bit of coincidence (or a coinkidink if you’re from 1989) that over the last week I met with 4 buyers and 1 seller and each outing resulted in seeing at least one home on a busy road. The busy roads ranged from 405 to 520 to Avondale to Redmond Woodinville Road. The degree of noise level and proximity to the road differed and I found the different reactions to the road noise interesting.

The best part about my job (besides the people) is seeing houses. Who honestly doesn’t love to go into someone else’s house with complete permission to look around? You can critique their layout, their décor, their ability to keep their home clean, their location and their neighborhood without any repercussions. But more than that, it’s fun to see how trends have come and gone over the years.

Shadow inventory does not refer to the supply of eye shadow behind the various cosmetic counters at Nordstrom. Well, I guess I don’t know that for sure but the type of shadow inventory I’m referring to has to do with real estate as you can obviously imagine. In a nutshell, shadow inventory refers to the homes that are currently going through the foreclosure process but have not been reclaimed by the bank and put up for sale. Although it can also refer to regular homeowners who are waiting for market conditions to improve before putting their house on the market, I’ll save that topic for another day.