Rhonda
I would recommend that you find a few top REaltors in your area.
Establish network for professionals that can keep you up to date on the market. Business is built on relationships, and to succeed in this market we need to work together.

Figure out a way to create win-win partnerships. Most experienced Realtors know that lenders need five to ten agents to feed them leads, so it would make sense to work with local, top Realtors. Even if they have established relationships with lenders. after this market shift many might be open to new ones.

Hi Rhonda - I'm not sure what stats you are looking for exactly, but I'll give you some that my clients, both buyers and sellers, like to know. Let me know what more you might need. First, in single family homes, as of 9/15/08, 19% of listings and 22% of sales and pendings were bank owned or short sales - can be great opportunities for buyers, and tough competition for sellers. Currently we have 438 homes for sale, ranging from $121,900 to $1,900,000, with the most inventory from $250-$400,000; and we have a total of 98 homes pending and sold in the last 30 days. So, about 22% (or about 1 in 5) of homes for sale are actually selling. Federal Way also has 54 new homes for sale ranging from $385,000 to$1,300,000, with the bulk being under $500,000. Average time on the market for homes that are selling is about 75 days. I hope this helps you! (All stats are from NWMLS data)

I've been keeping NWMLS stats on South King County for nearly 10 years. I'll forward the spreadsheet to you if you'll email me. I don't have a breakout for Federal Way however.

Hi,
I would look at the NWMLS site by area as there is lots of really good info that you can tailer to your needs. Another of my favorite sites is Trendgraphix. Excellent graph & spreadsheet data for all types of questions.

Best,

Sean Goddard

Email me with what you want. :D