3-hour clock class, Nov. 7, on Bainbridge: $15 Oct. 17, 2008 Class registrations are nearing the half-full point, so don't miss Dylan Chalk, local home inspector, is the lead instructor for this 3-clock hour class on "green" housing and how to add credible sustainability and energy efficiency features to your listings.  Course will cover: ·    Basic tenants and programs for new construction "Green Building" ·    Options for retrofitting existing homes·    How we can improve energy efficiency in our existing housing stock·    How to pick the "low hanging fruit" of residential energy efficiency Here is a video recap of what Dylan will cover in this 3-hour clock class for REALTORS:   If you can't see a video here, go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUXr1H1kJEA 10/21/2008

Last year the Jumbo Loan market came to a screeching halt when the investor market for Jumbo loans disappeared and the difference between interest rates for a conforming loan and a Jumbo loan widened sharply. The Conventional Wisdom at the time was that the big banks would seize the opportunity to own this market and would have the best Jumbo loan pricing around. But what happened was something quite different: mortgage loan losses at the big banks began to quickly dull the big bank's appetite for Jumbo loans. Since Jumbo loan investors also disappeared from the market place, the big banks would have to add these loans to their portfolio and take on the risk themselves instead of passing the risk off to an investor. If a big bank was going to put a Jumbo Loan on their books, then by gol... 10/21/2008

Treasury yields where higher this week. The 10-Year Treasury Note closed the week at 3.98%, up 10 basis points from last Friday's close at 3.88%.  Mortgage rates this week once again departed from the trend of the 10-Year Treasury. Next week: Thursday will see a lot of financial announcements, from Jobless Claims to the Consumer Price Index and Housing Starts will be announced on Friday. The Dow Jones industrials, closing down 127 points on Friday, still ended a disastrous three-week losing streak with its best one-week gain in five and a half years, up 4.75 percent.  The three-month London interbank offered rate, or LIBOR, fell to 4.41 percent from 4.50 percent on Thursday, the fifth consecutive day of declines. This is the key indicator to watch because a decline means commercial cred... 10/21/2008

Wild swings are not limited to the stock market as mortgage rates also swung swiftly throughout the week, ending with an improvement versus last week. 30 Yr Fixed Rate conforming loans locally are in the 6.25% to 6.625% range depending 1 point to no points (along with other credit factors); 15 Yr Fixed also improved, now ranging from 6.125% to 6.50%.  ARMs continue to show a broad range with interest rates on 5 Yr ARMs ranging from 5.625% to 7.00%, depending on one point to no points.  SOME GOOD NEWS HERE: While Jumbo loans rates among local lenders are still frozen in the 8.00%s, there are some niche lenders offering some pretty great Jumbo rates: 30 Yr Fixed Rate Jumbo loan (up to $900,000) are as low as 7.00% with 1 point; 15 Yr Jumbo loan rate up to $1,500,000 is as low as 6.375% wi... 10/21/2008

"HOW GREEN IS YOUR LISTING?" is a three-clock hour course with Dylan Chalk, one of the Island's top inspectors with Orca Inspection Services. Dylan is a great teacher and has a terrific power point to complement his class. Sterling Place (meeting room below the John L Scott Office) 9:00 am to 12:00 noon 600 Winslow Way, E. Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 $15 for 3 clock hours Register now by email to greenlistings@gmail.com Flyer at http://www.bainbridge-island.us/green Video highlights of the course at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUXr1H1kJEA 10/02/2008