The construction industry in Anchorage lost 600 jobs in 2020. It was down from 7,800 in 2019 to 7,200. Most of that loss was in the commercial sector. In its January 2021 Jobs Forecast, Alaska Economic Trends reported that two of the three new hotels Continue Reading
Alaska’s Ever Changing Real Estate Market
More people are leaving Alaska than moving in. According to the Department of Labor, Alaska has lost more movers than it’s gained every year since 2013. As of July 2020, the population had fallen to 728,903 from 740,637 in 2016. Like many economic factors, the Continue Reading
What You Need to Know When Considering a New Build
Late August is the rainy season and it’s also a reminder that if you want to have a new home built this year, you have about 45 days to get into the ground before builders will have to heat and tent their foundations which will add between $5,000 and $10,000 to the cost of a Continue Reading
Lack of Affordable New Housing Continues
Here at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alaska Realty, we have just analyzed the single family permits from January 1 through July 24 2020 and the news is not good for buyers wanting to purchase a newly built home for the average sales price of $391,235 as reported by Continue Reading
Thank You for Reading My Real Estate Columns for Almost Forty Years
As many of you know, I began my real estate career with the goal of making enough money so that I could quit work and write poetry. Poets are inevitably poor and I grew up in a midwestern factory town which manufactured Maytag parts and where my Caucasian grandfather Continue Reading
How Alaska’s Changing Demographics May Affect our Housing Trends
Alaska’s population fell in 2019 to 731,007 which is 8,600 below the peak of 739,649 people in 2016, according to the Alaska Economic Trends February 2020 report. The major factors affecting this decline is the number of people moving out of Alaska and fewer Continue Reading
Why I Work the Street
That’s what I call doing open houses on weekends. That’s about the only time buyers have to look at homes. The rest of the week they’re busy working one, two, maybe even three jobs so that they can qualify to purchase a new home. I work the street Continue Reading
2019 Real Estate Market Report & 2020 Predictions
There’s been little change in the Anchorage real estate market over the past five years. The average price of a single family home has remained stable, varying up and down by only a few thousand dollars from $364,919 to $375,000. Residential inventory has had a slow decline Continue Reading
It’s Time to Increase Lot Coverage Ratios
Seventy-seven per cent of all home buyers, regardless of age or geographical location, prefer to live in a detached single family home. That percentage has consistently increased since 2003 when the National Association of Home Builders first began Continue Reading
Evolution of the Thanksgiving Kitchen
The kitchen will always be the heart of the home, especially during the holidays, but its design and function continues to evolve. Over the decades, we’ve had the galley kitchen, the L shaped kitchen, the peninsula, the island, then the larger island with a sink/dishwasher 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.