If you’re a first time homebuyer looking to purchase your first residence under $250,000, you are in luck due to the lowest interest rates in over 50 years. For you, buying is cheaper than renting—something I do not usually say because not all renters are well-suited to Continue Reading
Title 21
The title 21 rewrite began during the real estate boom years of the early 2000’s. What better time to hire an outside consultant from Colorado and pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars  to tell us how they did it outside and how we should do it here, forgetting that Continue Reading
Is The Upper End Market Getting Soft?
There are currently 103 homes above $700,000 listed for sale in the Anchorage Multiple Listing Service which includes Anchorage, Eagle River and Girdwood. According to MLS, this amounts to over a two year supply based upon current absorption. The amount of inventory and the Continue Reading
Why Square Footage Is Not Important
Using the square footage of the home and dividing it into the asking price is a popular method of evaluating the comparative market value of a property. You’ll frequently hear buyers and realtors quoting a square footage price when showing property. Unfortunately, this is Continue Reading
What You Need to Know About Homeowner Associations
If you live in a condo, an attached zero lot line or even a single family dwelling on a fee simple lot, odds are you are a member of an HOA (Homeowner’s Association). Depending upon the bylaws, the articles of incorporation and the design criteria standards, a non-profit Continue Reading
Moving Up is Hard to Do
So you’ve decided to take advantage of today’s historic low interest rates and move-up to your dream home—only you can’t find it. You’ve looked at over 20 pre-owned homes with your realtor and nothing fulfills the dream you have in your mind about how you’d like Continue Reading
Who Are Anchorage’s Top Builders?
Hello, again. I’m Connie Yoshimura, a local residential real estate associate broker. It’s been 18 years since I’ve written publicly about what’s happening in the local real estate market and people still ask me about those real estate columns I wrote for ten years Continue Reading
What Are the Most Popular Price Points for New Home Construction?
The affordable home category ( $200,000 to $400,000) in Anchorage and Eagle River is doing a brisk business. However, the same can’t be said for the upper end market which is reflected in the latest new construction permits. Anchorage building permits and Eagle River land Continue Reading
Where Are All The New Homes?
Over the past l8 months, new home building permits have been at a decade low level but some new home communities are garnering a greater share of permits than others. So here’s a chart of where all the new homes are being built. You may or may not be surprised to know that Continue Reading
How to Determine the Price of Your Home
It’s a familiar refrain from sellers, “The house down the street sold for (fill in the blank), followed by “ so my house should sell for (add  $10,000)â€.  Unfortunately, sellers are not the only ones who make that mistake. Realtors, appraisers and buyers-- all Continue Reading
Connie Yoshimura, Owner/Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty.