Move threat fades, home sales rise

Following a temporary hiatus to await the outcome of the legislative move vote, homebuyers in Juneau are beginning to resurface, according to some people in the real estate business.

• Photos

Others, however, say business has been on the upswing for several months.

Ballot Measure 2 attempted to move legislative sessions from Juneau to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. It was widely considered to be a capital move plan. The McDowell Group research firm estimated passage of the measure would cost Juneau property owners $1 billion in home equity.

The initiative was defeated by a 2-1 margin, according to unofficial election results.

While local real-estate agents and mortgage bankers aren't necessarily seeing a dramatic spike in the number of homes selling since the Nov. 5 general election, some say there has been an increased interest in residential property.

"I'd say our whole office and probably the industry in general has been a lot busier," said Shawn Paul, an associate broker for Re/Max of Juneau.

He began noticing a slump in the housing market last spring, when it started to become more difficult to sell homes priced higher than $200,000.

One of the most noticeable changes since the election is in the number of people coming to open house showings of homes costing more than $300,000, Paul said.

Leading up to the election, Paul said he'd be lucky to have two people show up to an open house for a home in the $300,000 price range. In comparison, Paul said he showed a $420,000 home last week in the Twin Lakes area and more than 30 people showed up.

Paul said he saw more clients putting their homes on the market prior to the election in anticipation of the initiative passing.

Many sellers were listing their homes for less, Paul said, noting that he anticipates new homes coming on the market in coming months will be at higher prices.

Debbie White, an associate broker for Coldwell Banker Race Realty, agreed that the pace for buying is picking up.

She said she was not sure if actual closings were down in the months and weeks leading up to the election, but added that not as many people were looking.

"There have certainly been some people that have been waiting on the decision," White said.

One way of telling, White said, is through the number of visitors to the Coldwell Banker Race Realty Web site. In the day following the election, the amount of traffic to the site showing properties in the Juneau area nearly doubled, she said.

White said she had three deals that were contingent on the failure of the Ballot Measure 2. One of those was an employee who worked for the Legislature, she said.

Janie Bee Powell, broker owner for Powell Realty Inc. GMAC, said she expects the change in administration will bring new homes on the market within the next month.

"We will see houses go on the market for people leaving Juneau, and we will see new people coming into town needing a home," she said.

Powell, however, said her business experienced an influx of buyers leading up to the election because of peoples' confidence the measure would be defeated.

Low interest rates on home loans also have prompted owners to refinance their mortgages and upgrade to larger houses, Powell said.

Vicki Perry, branch manager for Residential Mortgage, said the interest rate for a 30-year loan has dropped from 7.25 percent to 5.875 percent since Jan. 2. Likewise, the 15-year rate for a home loan dropped from 6.75 percent to 5.375 percent, and the rate for first-time buyers dropped from 7.125 percent to 5.75 percent, Perry said.

"First-time home buyers really get a break on their interest rates," Perry said.

Residential Mortgage's property loans have increased since the defeat of the initiative, while refinancing has remained steady throughout the last several months, Perry said.

Along with buying and selling existing homes, the construction of new properties appeared to increase following the election.

Debbie Purves, who reviews building permits for the city, said although there were no hard numbers available she did notice a rush to permit new construction projects following the election.

One contractor noted his customers were waiting to build until after the election, Purves said.

Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.