the
Home Connection
Volume 12 | Issue 2
FEBRUARY 2021
eye on the market Along with resolutions, goals, and a fresh start, the new year has also seen an incredibly active housing market. Pending sales, new listings, closed sales, and home prices are all up in the Puget Sound region compared to last year at the same time with near double-digit increases, according to the recent report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Homebuyers also rapidly purchased available houses and despite a significant increase in property listings, still experienced intense competition as demand far outweighed supply. This shortage of inventory combined with record low mortgage rates continues to drive the voracious property demand of homebuyers which in turn is propelling the housing market.
experience this! Buyer demand has also contributed to the price escalation of houses for sale in the Puget Sound region. The Northwest MLS shows year-over-year median closedsale prices for single-family homes have increased compared with the same month a year ago. In King County prices are up by 10.43 percent, in Snohomish County up by 12.45 percent, in Pierce County up by almost 17.07 percent and in Thurston County up by nearly 17.65 percent. As sellers continue to experience multiple offer situations and price escalations, brokers predict that the first half of 2021 will continue to be a seller’s market. It will be interesting to see if 2021 brings in a surge of new homebuyers and how that may affect home prices in the coming year if inventory does not increase accordingly.
Tax tips and tricks
Virtual Family Paint Party 2/2
Virtual tour of the Seattle Aquarium
Valentine Virtual Family Cook Off 2/6
Play a virtual escape room game with friends
Density City Film Festival 2/26 – 3/7
Virtual Storytime for Kids
Interactive Valentine’s Day Games for Kids
Virtual Tour of Australia Zoo
Pacific Northwest Ballet, Streaming 2/11- 2/15
Virtual tour of Sweden and the Northern Lights
Tax season is almost here and now is a great time to get prepared. To help prevent stress, here are a few helpful tips to make the tax process as smooth as possible.
• A great first step towards preparing for
tax season is to get organized. Clean out your filing cabinet, desk, or junk drawer where you keep your mail and make sure important papers are in order.
• Create a folder for all the tax paperwork and forms you’ll need for this season that is separate from last year’s forms (including your returns) and have them ready to go in case you need to reference them.
• As soon as you have your W-2
form(s) you can start your taxes. The earlier you start the more leeway you have to correct mistakes or
to seek professional help if you realize you need it.
• Round up all 2020 receipts, canceled
checks and other documents that support income and/or deductions that you plan to claim on your return. Set aside an envelope or folder to collect the documents that arrive in the mail so you’ll have them all in one spot when the time comes to complete your return.
• Your W-2 and/or 1099 has
to be postmarked no later than January 31, so be on the lookout for delivery of these in early February.
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