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
Hot and Weak Spots in the Market
First, for those of you who checked in earlier this am, my apologies for this late posting. It’s been a busy week in real estate. Closing transactions is getting harder and harder. No mortgage lender can afford to have even the slightest paperwork mistake or oversight or Continue Reading
Up, Down, or Flat?
Alaskans used to be known for their contrary ways. “We don’t care how they do it in the lower ‘48’. Now, it seems all that has changed with technology and we’re bombarded with internet articles, emails, blogs, TV segments about the demise of the residential real Continue Reading
To Build or Not to Build
To build or not to build? That is the question facing a lot of new home buyers in today’s market. With Anchorage’s aging housing inventory, home buyers are frustrated with the lack of aesthetically up to date homes and ones that are built to current code standards, Continue Reading
Anchorage Need More Housing
The 2010 census data is out and Anchorage grew 12.1 percent to a total population of 291,826. That’s about 60,000 more residents than ten years ago, creating another small city in our midst! The Mat-Su Borough grew by 50% to a population of 88,995. If population is the Continue Reading
Housing in 2012
So the question on everyone’s mind is whether or not 2012 is going to be a turnaround year for residential real estate. The answer is maybe. All signs are pointing in that direction BUT Anchorage’s recovery will depend upon the willingness of local lenders to allow Continue Reading
Connie Yoshimura is the Owner and Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty. With over 40 years of residential real estate experience, she continues to be a leader in Alaska’s housing market. Most recently, she sold the highest-priced home ever recorded in the Alaska MLS.