As reported in the Seattle PI on Dec. 3:

King County house sales continued to surge in November, as buyers rushed to close deals before a tax-credit deadline, while prices remained lower than a year earlier, according to a new report.

Closed house purchases were up 81 percent countywide in November from a year earlier and 78.4 percent in Seattle, according to data the Northwest Multiple Listing service released Thursday. That’s up from year-to-year increases of 33.3 percent in the county and 39.5 percent in Seattle in October.

Pending sales, which indicate more-recent activity, were up about 31 percent in Seattle and 36 percent countywide from a year earlier. That’s about half of October’s year-to-year increase.

The reason pending deals were higher in October and closed sales in November is that buyers were rushing to take advantage of a $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit for sales that closed by the end of November.

Click here to read the full article.

Foreclosure is Devastating to Your Credit

There is nothing more damaging to your credit than a foreclosure. It will reduce you credit score about 300 points and stay there for 10 years or more. If you have both a low credit score, and a foreclosure on your credit report, you will have a very hard time getting approved for new credit to purchase a car, receive a student loan, or even to be accepted as a tenant. Many job applications ask if you have ever had a foreclosure. The devastation of losing your home to a bank foreclosure will keep rearing it’s head for years to come, even after the deal is complete.

Click here to learn about 11 alternatives to protect you and your family from foreclosure.

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale is where a property is sold for less than it is worth. The lender must agree to the short sale, and a process is followed.

1. The homeowner must be deemed in a distressed state, behind in payments, and the property is usually faced with threat of foreclosure.
2. Documents must be completed to prove the homeowner cannot continue mortgage payments, a letter explaining the cause of the financial distress is usually required.
3. Efforts must have been made to sell the property at its full market value and a detailed report of the sales activity supplied.
4. If the lender approves the short sale, a buyer is found, and a price is agreed upon. Then the sales process would continue as a normal sale would.

Many times the lender will pay almost all of the seller’s required fees and commissions in a short sale. The homeowner may walk away owing nothing, but they cannot walk away with any proceeds. The process from start to finish can take anywhere from 3 to 12 months, and help from our Certified Distressed Property Experts© can be invaluable.

Don’t let a temporary problem become a long-term nightmare.

Call Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty today at 425-454-4141, or fill out and submit the information form so we can contact your for a completely confidential consultation. Contact us now so we can help.

EXPANDED Collaboration with Architectural Digest Offers Unique Opportunity for Designers and Connoisseurs of Life.

Our brand has chosen to partner with Architectural Digest on the launch of their exciting new ShopAD program, an original portal to see, source and buy the best in design. The site launched last month with more than 20,000 high-quality products: furniture, lighting, carpets,
accessories and the largest collection of textiles from leading manufacturers on the Web.
ShopAD truly is unique in its space, and through this exclusive relationship we are showcasing our brand to a key audience.

As a result of this “smart” partnership, our brand will gain unlimited exposure on the ShopAD
site between September and December with a property search tool, links to articles in RESIDE® magazine and brand web banners all leading to sothebysrealty.com.

By incorporating relationships with like-minded partners such as Architectural Digest into our overall marketing strategy, we have reached a very precise consumer base and saw unique visitors to our Web site, www.sothebysrealty.com, increase by 26% year over year.

Click here to view pdf of August issue of Highlights News & Information for Sotheby’s International Realty®.

Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC announced its RESIDE® magazine recently was honored with a 2009 Hermes Platinum Award for creative excellence and outstanding design and editorial in the overall magazine category.

The award was given for RESIDE magazine’s issue two, volume two, which was distributed in Fall 2008.

The Hermes Creative Awards are administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.  According to the organization, they are an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs and emerging technologies.  The organization’s mission is to honor outstanding achievement and service to the communications profession.

“Our goal when we created RESIDE magazine was to offer consumers a valuable resource for the latest information on luxury real estate, lifestyles and trends, and to showcase the extraordinary property represented by the Sotheby’s International Realty® network,” said Wendy Purvey, senior vice president, marketing, Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC.  “This magazine was one of more than 4,000 entries worldwide, and only 17 percent of entrants were recognized.  This honor illustrates that we have achieved our goal.”

The Sotheby’s International Realty network currently has more than 10,200 sales associates located in nearly 500 offices in 39 countries and territories worldwide.  RESIDE magazine is published by MacDUFF Publishing in Atlanta, a custom content provider and specialty agency that develops effective branded communication tools for leading passion-based brands.

For more info on the Hermes Creative Awards, go to: http://www.hermesawards.com/index.php.

2009 Best of Bellevue Contest

Handling the toughest real estate transactions well is what we’re known for. We’re both proud and grateful to have recently been recognized for our hard work.

As reported in the April 25 issue of the Bellevue Reporter, Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty was listed as #1 Real Estate Agent in Bellevue!

Every year the top businesses, retailers and service companies are chosen by Bellevue Reporter readers — this year hundreds of ballots were submitted from people selecting favorites from 51 different categories. Click here to visit the Bellevue Reporter online, and view all 2009 winners.

Additionally we’d like to share a note we recently received from a satisfied client…

“To paraphrase Winston…Never before in the history of human endeavor, has so much, been owed to so many, by so few … or something along those lines.

It is difficult to express the gratitude we feel right now with our sale being completed today despite all of the last minute hurdles that cropped up. It was interesting at several instances along the way as we talked to various folk, that there was consistent feedback that the bank we chose, and the Brazen’s at Sothebys, are the best – you guys are lucky to have them on board. Any time you want a reference from a satisfied customer, we would be happy to shout it from the rooftops as to what a superb team effort you have provided.

On behalf of my wife and I, please accept our heartfelt thanks for he help you have provided and the difference you have made to our family through this work.

Who knew that mountains could indeed be moved??”

Peter Wihman, Director
Online Integrated Sales, WW EPG, Microsoft Corporation

So we’d like to say thank you for the wonderful kudos. We appreciate your support, and look forward to serving our community in 2009 and beyond!

Click image above to see this unique relationship.

The Sotheby’s International Realty brand and The Wall Street Journal will co-host The Business of Extraordinary Living on the publication’s website, designed to provide insights into the real estate market from the brand’s worldwide network.

The Business of Extraordinary Living was designed to serve consumers in two ways: by presenting the many values of real estate as a long-term investment and by showcasing unique properties from our network’s 10,700 sales associates located in more than 500 franchised offices in 39 countries and territories worldwide.

In the section entitled “The Address”, The Business of Extraordinary Living will provide information about the properties represented by the Sotheby’s International Realty network.  The website’s “Insights” section will feature data, statistics and other relevant market information.  The “Living” section will focus on lifestyle trends including home styles, living, architecture and art.  The “Brand” section will give an overview of the Sotheby’s International Realty network, its history and relationship with the Sotheby’s Auction House.

Click here to visit the website.

I am proud to report that our brand website is now available in Italian and French!

This is the latest step in Sotheby’s International Realty® language translation initiative that, when complete, will allow users to view the website in eight different languages. The first two languages, Spanish and Portuguese, went live in January. Consumers now can view the Web site in these four languages and English. Translations into German, Russian and traditional Chinese will be active within the next few weeks.

Another refinement of the brand website is the redesign of the property search function, which will be completed later this year. The first step in this effort was to restructure the main navigational header, making it a more user-friendly and efficient tool. A RESIDE® eMagazine quick link also was added, providing users with links to the current issue and those published in 2008.

I will continue to update you as additional progress is made with this important initiative.

Kathy has the innate ability to put clients together with their perfect home.

One of the Seattle/Eastside’s leading relocation specialists rejoins Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty in Bellevue.  With nine years of experience in this field and a lifetime of living in this area, Kathy Madsen blends her unique local knowledge of the neighborhoods and her innate ability to put clients together with their perfect home.  “With referrals being my primary source of business, teaming up with Brazen Sotheby’s international Realty has given me a global network of clients purchasing in the United States.  I not only work with clients who are relocating from one state to another, but literally one continent to another.” said Kathy Madsen. “Add to that the power and cache of Sotheby’s and it was easy to see why I wanted to come back and work with such a sophisticated, dynamic team.  When clients walk in they immediately feel like they are building long lasting relationships with us.  That’s a feeling you don’t get in most offices.”

Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury real estate firm based in Bellevue, Washington, today announced that this month marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Sotheby’s International Realty network, of which it is a member.

“Five years ago, Sotheby’s International Realty made a commitment to build the quintessential luxury real estate franchise system in the world,” said Joseph Brazen, President and Designated Broker of Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty.  “They set the bar high and have worked with passion and undying commitment to achieve that vision.  We are proud to be part of a growing network that has attracted and selected the most exceptional firms in the world.”

Today, the brand has more than 10,700 sales associates located in more than 500 franchised offices in 39 countries and territories worldwide.

“It is very exciting to be part of a brand that has grown so much in just five short years. Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty joined the network with the goal of providing our clients a global reach,” said Randi Brazen, Vice President of Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty “Since that time, the brand has offered us all that and more, as well as the differentiating factor we needed in our market.”

This month, the Sotheby’s International Realty brand also was ranked second on Franchise Times’ Fast 55 list, a ranking of the fastest growing franchises, published in the March 2009 issue.  The Fast 55 list is compiled based on FRANdata research and is published by Franchise Times.  According to the publication, in order to make the Fast 55 list a franchise company must meet two criteria: they must be a brand that has been franchising for five years or less and they must exhibit positive franchise unit growth for each year during this period.

Affiliations in the Sotheby’s International Realty system are granted only to brokerages and individuals meeting strict qualifications. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC supports its affiliates with a host of operational, marketing, recruiting, educational and business development resources. Franchise affiliates also benefit from an association with the venerable Sotheby’s auction house, established in 1744. For more information, visit www.sothebysrealty.com.