Sue Lunsford Homes

10/20/2026

🏡 When Does a Home Seller Get Paid?

Accepting an offer is exciting—but sellers do not receive their proceeds immediately.

Payment typically happens after:

✅ The buyer’s funds are received
✅ All final documents are signed
✅ The sale is officially recorded
✅ Escrow is authorized to release the proceeds

In many transactions, sellers receive their money on the same day the sale records or by the next business day.

Thinking about selling? I’ll help you understand every step between accepting an offer and receiving your proceeds.

10/20/2026

🏡 **MORTGAGE MINUTE
In the recent real estate cycle, average 30-year fixed mortgage rates brushed up against or briefly crossed the 8% mark in late autumn 2023 (specifically peaking around October and November 2023).
Here is how those numbers broke down:
The Indexes (Freddie Mac Weekly Survey): Freddie Mac’s national weekly average topped out at 7.79% in October 2023, which was the highest weekly average recorded in over two decades (since late 2000).
Daily Market Rates: Because Freddie Mac reports a weekly smoothing average, daily indexes (such as Mortgage News Daily) frequently crossed into the 8.0% to 8.03% range for a brief period in late October 2023 as 10-year Treasury yields spiked past 5%.
How We Got There
The Pandemic Lows: Mortgage rates had bottomed out at a historic low of around 2.65% in early 2021.
The Rapid Hike: As the Federal Reserve aggressively raised the federal funds rate to combat post-pandemic inflation, mortgage rates experienced one of the fastest climbs in history throughout 2022 and 2023, jumping from the 3% range straight into the high 7s.
Before that 2023 spike, the last time national average mortgage rates consistently sat at or above 8% was back in 2000.
Questions? Send me a DM
📲 **Sue Lunsford**
Windermere Real Estate/PSR, Inc.
📞 206-390-7578

10/18/2026

🍂 Local Events | October 18–30, 2026 🎃

Looking for something fun to do around Renton and the Seattle area? Here are a few local events to add to your calendar!

🍁 Oct. 18 — Fauntleroy Fall Festival | West Seattle
⏰ 1–4 PM
📍 Fauntleroy Schoolhouse
Enjoy a free, all-ages neighborhood fall festival filled with family activities and autumn fun.

🎃👻 Oct. 23 — Halloween Spooktacular at The Landing | Renton
⏰ 5–7 PM
📍 The Plaza across from Regal at The Landing
Bring the family in costume for store-to-store trick-or-treating, music, photo booths, and more at this free community event!

👻 Oct. 24 — Olde Fashioned Halloween | Downtown Renton
⏰ 1–4 PM
📍 Legacy Square + Downtown Renton
Enjoy downtown trick-or-treating, costume contests for kids, adults, and pets, games, vendors, a pumpkin patch, zombie makeup, and a 3 PM Thriller dance.

🚚🎃 Oct. 30 — Truck or Treat | Renton Community Center
⏰ 5–7:30 PM
📍 Renton Community Center
Celebrate Halloween with decorated trucks, candy, costumes, characters, and plenty of family-friendly fun.

🏡 One of the best parts of living in the Renton area is the incredible sense of community and all the fun local events happening throughout the year!

Sue Lunsford | Windermere Real Estate/PSR, Inc.
📞 206-390-7578
📧 [email protected]

10/17/2026

🏡 **Price isn’t just a number—it’s your home’s first impression.**

When positioning a listing to sell, every single detail counts. ✨

📸 **Staging & Professional Media:** Clean isn’t enough anymore—your home needs to *sparkle*. Outstanding photos, video, and thoughtful staging create an emotional connection so buyers can fall in love before they even step through the front door.

📊 **Smart Pricing Strategy:** Today’s market doesn’t care what homes sold for 3 to 6 months ago. Active inventory, pending sales, and recent price adjustments are your real competition.

🔍 **Details Matter:** Buyers notice *everything*.

The current market rewards precise strategy, not luck. 🎯 Thinking about making a move? Let’s talk about the best strategy for your home.

📞 **Sue Lunsford | 206-390-7578**

10/15/2026

🏡 **Seller Concessions: What Buyers & Sellers Need to Know**

When buying or selling a home, the purchase price is only part of the financial picture. Closing costs, lender fees, insurance, taxes, prepaid expenses, and interest-rate considerations can add thousands of dollars to a transaction.

That’s where **seller concessions** can become a valuable negotiating tool. 💰

A seller concession is a credit the seller agrees to provide toward certain eligible buyer expenses, such as:

🔑 Closing costs
🏦 Lender fees
📉 Discount points or approved rate buydowns
🏠 Title and escrow fees
🛡️ Homeowners insurance
💵 Prepaid taxes and other allowable expenses

For buyers, a seller concession may mean **less cash needed at closing**.

For sellers, offering a concession can sometimes make financial sense as part of the **overall negotiation strategy**—especially when it helps overcome a buyer’s cash-flow concern while preserving other important terms of the offer.

But there’s an important point: **purchase price isn’t the only number that matters.**

Sellers should look at the complete offer, including financing, concessions, earnest money, contingencies, inspection terms, closing date, appraisal risk, possession terms, and ultimately the seller’s **net proceeds**.

Seller concessions aren’t automatically a sign of weakness from either side. When structured correctly, they can simply be another tool for bringing buyers and sellers together. 🤝

Every property, offer, and financing situation is different. If you’re buying or selling in **Renton, South King County, Seattle, or the Greater Puget Sound area**, I can help you understand the numbers behind the offer and develop a strategy that makes sense for your situation.

📲 **Sue Lunsford**
Windermere Real Estate/PSR, Inc.
📞 206-390-7578

10/14/2026

🍰 Happy National Dessert Day! 🍓✨

If you’re looking for a sweet way to celebrate, stop by Vino at the Landing in Renton and check out their fabulous rotating dessert menu. There’s always something delicious to pair with a glass of w**e—or enjoy all on its own. 🍷❤️

Supporting our local Renton businesses is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the community we call home.

🏡 Your Helpful Agent
Sue Lunsford Homes
📞 206-390-7578
📧 [email protected]

10/13/2026

👻 Looking for a little spooky fun around Renton this fall? 🎃

You don’t have to travel far to find some seriously eerie experiences! Whether you’re looking for full-on scares or something the whole family can enjoy, there are several haunted adventures in and around Renton worth checking out.

🌲 Haunted Forest of Maple Valley – Just outside Renton, this outdoor haunted trail returns for 2026 with “Shady Grove Asylum.” Friday and Saturday nights are Full Fright, while Sundays offer a daytime Family Walk for those who prefer fewer screams.

🧙 Sure Lock Escapes – Renton – Want spooky without a traditional haunted house? Their Renton location offers immersive escape-room experiences, including Spell Struck!, featuring an ancient coven of witches and a rather ominous invitation.

🕯️ Explore Renton’s darker history – Renton has more than a century of local history, and the Renton History Museum’s archives are filled with stories, photographs, newspapers and records from the city’s past. It’s a fun place to start if you love local legends and historic mysteries.

And if you’re willing to venture a little farther, the Seattle area has plenty of additional haunted attractions and ghostly destinations to explore.

🎃 What’s your style: haunted house, spooky history, or absolutely NO THANK YOU? 😂 Tell me in the comments!

🏡 From your local helpful Realtor®
Sue Lunsford Homes
📞 206-390-7578
📧 [email protected]

10/12/2026

🏡 **MORTGAGE MINUTE
The Fed recently had a "hawkish" meeting... but what does that actually mean for your home buying plans? 🧵👇
A hawkish Fed means policymakers are prioritizing crushing inflation over economic growth—signaling that short-term rates will stay "higher for longer."
Does that mean mortgage rates are automatically going up?
Not necessarily! Here is why:
👉 Mortgage rates aren't tied directly to the Fed. They track long-term bond yields (like the 10-Year Treasury).
👉 It’s already priced in. Bond markets anticipate policy weeks in advance, and mortgage rates price accordingly before the meeting so rates often barely move after the actual announcement
👉 The Inflation Plot Twist: If investors believe the Fed’s hawkish stance will successfully control inflation, long-term bond yields can actually fall—which can lead to lower mortgage rates! 📈➡️📉
Don't let the headlines panic you! Understanding the market is key to making smart real estate moves. Have questions about your buying power right now? Drop a comment or send a DM!

📲 **Sue Lunsford**
Windermere Real Estate/PSR, Inc.
📞 206-390-7578

10/09/2026

🔑 First-Time Homebuyer Guidance

Buying your first home is exciting—but there are a lot of moving pieces along the way.

Financing. Home searches. Offers. Inspections. Negotiations. Closing.

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own.

I’ll help you understand each step, answer your questions, and guide you through the process so you can make informed decisions about one of your biggest investments.

Thinking about becoming a homeowner? Let’s start with a conversation.

📞 Sue Lunsford | 206-390-7578

10/08/2026