Through a real estate looking glass

Sun., Feb. 13, 2005

Don Walker The Spokane Association of REALTORS®

A lot of interesting real estate milestones are happening in Spokane. For the first time in history, the total residential dollar volume has climbed above the $1-billion level and shows signs of another good year in 2005.

When exceptional things such as record levels happen, this requires checking in with Glenn E. Crellin, the real estate guru who collects the real estate data from around the state from his office in Pullman at the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at WSU. He has the jump on everyone else in the business because he created a system and a number of intricate real estate formulas while working at the National Association of REALTORS® headquarters in Washington, D.C. They are still in effective use.

The Spokane Association of REALTORS® gets a lot of phone calls and e-mails about a lot of different subjects regarding homes, land, etc. Anytime there is a question about something we can’t tie down and deliver, we give Crellin a call.

Light bulbs in one’s head seem an ordinary occurrence while talking with this man who is never without an answer to a real estate question. He knows his stuff, so when we need to get some light on subjects that apply to Inland Northwest real estate questions, Crellin is the “go-to guy.”

We called him recently to go over material from banks, buyers, sellers and REALTORS® to see if we were on the right page. Spokane has bloomed with a large number of newly constructed homes and a caller asked what was the percentage of new homes for sale? Our figures showed 27 percent, which seemed too high. Crellin said, “That’s just about right where it should be.”

What is his view on the housing market in 2005? He looks for another very good year.

Another question concerned the number of foreclosures on Housing and Urban Development (HUD) dwellings in Spokane. A few years ago there were a lot of them.

The best way to get a straight answer is to talk with the person in charge. Right?

This guru runs the HUD office in Spokane from the Inland Northwest to the Cascades, and formerly ran the show in Alaska. Arlene L. Patton, Spokane field office director, inherited a goodly number of foreclosures.

“As of January 27, 2005, HUD’s REO inventory had dropped to only 51 houses within Spokane County. Of the 51 foreclosed homes, 29 are under sales contract and moving toward closing. That is the lowest inventory in the five years I have worked from the Spokane HUD Office,” Patton said.

That is remarkable! A few years ago there was a glut of HUD homes. No more. The change in the housing economy has prompted buyers to fix up the homes that needed some tender loving care (TLC) and resold them to buyers — kind of an industry within an industry.

Everyone benefits when this happens.

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