1. Run the day or it will run you.

Part of the key to time management is just staying in charge. Here’s what usually happens: We start something and we’re in control, but as the day starts to unfold, we start losing it. It’s like running a business. If you don’t stay on top of things, the business will run you before long. You have to stop every once in a while and say, “Wait! Who’s in charge here?”

“Some will master and some will serve.”

Here’s a good phrase to remember: “Some will master and some will serve.” That’s the nature of life, and you have to make sure you become the master. You have to run the day. You have to stay in charge. What is the key to staying in charge? You must have your written set of goals with you at all times.

We hope that most of you walked away with lots of new information and some helpful tips and strategies to use in both your professional and personal life.

But, what's the next step? Come check out Cary's course next week: "Eat That Frog" Business Plan Implementation Class. We handed out business plan booklets to all this week's attendees and now we want to help you use the content in that book, take it to the next level, and put it into action! 

RSVP early to guarantee yourself a spot, there is only one day available for this class with a limit of 30 reservations- don't miss out!

When: Wednesday, January 25th from 10am - 1pm (and yes, that time is correct :P )

Where: The Cascade Team Headquarter Office

RSVP HERE!!!

Here are links

The Cascade Team Real Estate would like to take a moment to say that it is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to the Issaquah Press and family of papers. Over the years we have done a lot of advertising with The Issaquah Press Group from our Open House Treasure Hunt, Mobile App, and more.  The Issaquah Press, Sammamish Review, SnoValley Star and Newcastle have also been a wonderful partner in helping promote community events such as Project Crayon Drive, YMCA Halloween Events in Sammamish and Snoqualmie, and also the Free Horse Drawn Carriage Rides and Santa photos in Issaquah, Snoqualmie and Sammamish.

More than that, they have also been great community members promoting stories that matter and relate directly to the communities they feature.

Drum roll please….

The top housing market in the U.S. in 2017 will be metro Phoenix, according to a new realtor.com forecast. It’s about time. The Valley’s steady growth in sales and priceincreases, tighter new home market and short supply of foreclosures make it one of the healthiest in the country. Plus wise housing analyst's who track home sales and trends every day state last year that 2017 would be the big year for the Phoenix-area housing market. Realtor.com, a national real estate website, is predicting Valley home prices to climb 5.9 percent, and sales to jump by 7.2 percent. That’s not the biggest projected price increase on its list of top 10 markets in 2017, but it’s the biggest sales increase.

It makes sense since one of the

Inventory shortages persist, but Northwest MLS brokers notch record-setting sales totaling $40.3 billion during 2016 

Among other highlights in its annual compilation of statistics, Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported: 

• About 45 percent of last year’s single family home sales had three bedrooms, while the vast majority of condos (nearly 76 percent) had two bedrooms or fewer.
• The median price for a 3-bedroom home that sold in 2016 was $311,000, about 9.8 percent higher than the previous year’s figure of $283,250. A comparison by county shows the median price for a 3-bedroom home ranges from $120,000 in Ferry County to $485,000 in King County.  
• Of the condo sales, about six of every 10 (61.7 percent) were located in King

Conceptual hotel design – side view of access lane.

This latest article by Dana McCall in Living Snoqualmie is already stirring up a myriad of mixed emotions from those who live in and around Snoqualmie from the Ridge to Valley. What will the impacts be on local traffic, kids safety, tax revenues for the city, creating a more vibrant community center for Snoqualmie like other areas have experienced or is small town Snoqualmie on the verge of being lost forever? Read Dana's full article below and add your thoughts to the discussion. 

If the City of Snoqualmie Planning Commission recommends some changes to the Snoqualmie Ridge (SR) Business Park Binding site improvement plan and the SR Mixed use plan – and the city council approves them – next summer

Selling your home means selling a lifestyle, but not necessarily your own. In home staging, you're striving for a look that is fresh and welcoming yet not really taste specific. People with varying tastes need to feel that they can make the home their own if they purchase it.

This is the distinction between decorating your home and staging it to sell. It can be hard to understand at first, but if you don't know the difference, you might not sell your house as quickly as you like.

Have you heard from clients who want to delay listing their home until the season begins? Because sales and prices tend to peak in the spring and summer, it's a common request in many markets.

However, this year is different, and the conventional wisdom of waiting for spring and higher prices isn't correct this winter. Conventional wisdom in real estate holds that sellers should time the market to maximize their price. Why? Because home sales are extremely seasonal: They peak in spring and summer, when prices peak as well. That’s why in most markets, most years, the optimal time to list is in the spring, so that the maximum number of potential buyers view the home.

But we’re in an era in which conventional wisdom is becoming an

Last week I did a blog about how incredibly low the inventory was/is in Snoqualmie Ridge, Fall City and North Bend (http://nwrealestate.thecascadeteam.com/blog/hows-the-inventory-snoqualmie-north-bend-and-fall-city.html). This week I wanted to put some interactive charts behind my numbers to really give a visual to people about just how low inventory is relative to a year ago. 2016 proved to be a record year with where sales prices reached. Much of it was driven by the extremely low inventory that was available throughout the year. You'll be surprised where the trend is heading into 2017 compared to where it was in 2016 and what that can potentially mean for the market in the year ahead and what it could mean for you if you choose to make this the year to

Trudging through snow and sleet in boots and heavy coats might not seem ideal when you’re shopping for a home, but there are many good reasons to buy in the dead of winter. For example, you’ll have less competition from other buyers or encounter more sellers eager and willing to make a deal.

But as you may have heard, we’re coming up on what may be the worst day of the entire year to buy a home: Jan. 19.

That’s what RealtyTrac (now ATTOM Data Solutions) found in a 2015 study that culled data from 32 million home sales from 2000 to 2015. Researchers compared premiums paid over estimated market price to define the best and worst days. (For the record, they found the best day to be Oct. 8.)

Buyers who closed on Jan. 19  paid, on average,