When I help clients organize their homes or help them prepare for a move, the topic of the housing market often arises. I decided to ask for some professional insight from a realtor. His observations might surprise you!

“Reasons to be Optimistic about the Housing Market” by Dan Faulkner

I spent all of December hand-delivering holiday gifts to clients, and without fail, I heard  the same question from everyone, “So Dan, how is the market?”

Well, From the end of 2008 through much of 2009 there was  a deep pessimism and fear about where the market was headed. However, the reality is that we have most likely bottomed out. Consider these facts:

• Closed sales in King County are up 33.4% over the last 12 months
• Pending home sales are up 85%
• Months of inventory is at 5.9 months (6 months is a neutral market according to the National Association of Realtors)
• Interest rates hit their lowest point ever  in early December at 4.71% for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage

And, we are entering a new era where the Echo Boomers, the children of Baby Boomers, will  be coming of age. There are 6 million more Echo Boomers  than there were Baby Boomers, and households are expected to increase by 1.25 million annually over the next decade. This means there’s going to be a lot more people to buy a lot more stuff!

Nobody expects the market to surge anytime soon. In fact, we may not see any significant appreciation for a number of years, but one thing seems abundantly clear… there are reasons for optimism!

Moving is something many people dread.  The packing, the unpacking, and all the boxes can be overwhelming quickly!

To avoid a frustrating moving experience, here are a few tips to make it a little easier, on both you and the environment:

• Purge before you pack – have 3 bins labeled as Trash, Donate, and Sell.  Make sure anything that belongs in one of these categories is sorted, purged, and doesn’t go with you to the new place!
• If it doesn’t sell, give it away – remember, the goal is to get rid of the item.  Posting on websites such as Craigslist and Freecycle are great ways to advertise.
• Use Frogbox reusable moving boxes – these plastic moving boxes are used hundreds of times, saving trees and preventing tons of cardboard waste from entering landfills.  Frogbox also provides recycled packing paper.  They are one of my favorite moving tools!
• Packing in same-size boxes means easier stacking – whether you use Frogbox or just regular cardboard boxes, try to get multiples in the same size.
• Label, label, label – not only should you label what’s inside the box but also what room the box belongs in. This will make it straight forward for movers to place the box in the correct room.
• Avoid mixing items in a single box – as you pack, limit adding items from another room into a box just to fill it up.  It will be a lot easier to unpack if the contents of each box go with a specific room.
• Limit loose items – make sure you pack everything!  Tossing small items into a car or van will only create confusion later.  No matter how silly it seems to pack some items, it will be easier for your movers to stack and move similar size boxes than several odd-shaped items.  It will also allow for unpacking at your destination to go much smoother since each item will be labeled inside a box.

If you have other tips or questions regarding packing and moving, feel free to email us at info@innovativelyorganized.com or go to our Contact Us page.  We’re always happy to hear from our readers!